on travel

After countless flights to and from YVR & JFK as well as the occasional flight to a near or far-off place, I consider myself to be a fairly seasoned traveller. My passport holds many stamps which I feel fortunate to have as a result of generous parents & the love for exploring new places. I'm sitting in YVR as I type this, waiting to board my flight back to JFK only to realise I'm returning for US Thanksgiving in less than a week from now. Ah, the joy of Aeroplan miles!

From my frequent travels between JFK & YVR, I've come to note some small subtleties:

• Cathay Pacific has awesome deals to & from JFK & YVR ($400+ return). Be warned though, its a red-eye and because it originates from HKG its usually full of loud China FOBs and crying China FOB babies - so it isn't for the faint hearted, unless you're like me and can sleep through an earthquake.
• China FOBs generally have a crap load of luggage - it seems they carry the entire contents of their home and then some to travel with them. I've seen families arriving at JFK with body bag sized luggage. Probably wares for Canal Street.
• Cathay Pacific is probably one of the best airlines to fly transcontinentally: personal tv sets in Economy class, relatively decent plane food (yummy salads included) which you don't have to pay for & decent size seats with enough leg room (note: bias opinion, as I'm only 5'2" and asian)
• Air Canada has made recent upgrades to their planes which allow for plug-ins for your laptop & personal tv sets but no free food and yes, their flight attendants are more mature than CX's.
• People are more than happy to switch seats with you if you possess prime seats ie. windows or aisle (personally, I'm a window seater)
• If you don't like the plane food on CX - you can always ask for cup noodles and if you've got an extra nice & obliging flight attendant, you can ask for a cup of warm Ovaltine from Business Class!
• Flying transcontinental is an excellent way to catch up on movies you really wanted to see but missed out on. I saw Sex and the City, Ironman, Mama Mia, Prince Caspian and WALL-E all onboard CX flights - saved some money from DVD rentals or going to the movies! Economic times call for economic measures!

Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against China FOBs - I simply wished they had a little more manners and no, I'm not paid by Cathay Pacific - I simply love flying with them, but I won't turn down a free ticket from Aeroplan miles. Beggars can't be choosers no? Happy flying!