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| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
entrance to cathay pacific the pier at hong kong international airport |
the four small kids arrive at the elevator entrance to the pier before boarding our flight to tokyo due to the tight connection the kids did not get a chance to visit the hong kong lounges on the way to vancouver so donut makes it a point to show the workout kids and his best friend little devil as many of them as possible on the stopover on the return | |
| despite having to wake up very early to prepare for the morning flight his spirits were high this shall be the last flight for donut this year and he is determined to show the kids a good time |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 5.6 |
departure gate 2 at hong kong international airport |
b-kpm is already at our departure gate getting ready to fly us to haneda but where are the kids ? normally you would find them lining up and the first to board but there are just so many lounges to visit in hong kong ! and so i stood in line to save our spot while donut and the gang continues to explore lounges from gate sixty three back to gate one pineapple goes along with them opening his eyes once every now and then to chaperon | |
| pineapple has a tough job though as the kids move fast and cover a lot of ground in a blink of his eye aiya — the kids have already left the cathay lounge but pineapple is still sleeping at the haven !! |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 6.3 |
british airways & qantas lounge at hong kong international airport |
for the third and final lounge visit today donut takes the kids to a fellow oneworld lounge they are able to enter as cathay passengers ticketed in first [ this was about two weeks before access rules changed to prevent this ] originally a bit nervous since this is his first time in this lounge but the lounge staff at the entrance are very welcoming and so donut is completely at ease now and he is off to happily explore with the other kids | |
| after so much sight seeing the kids decide to take a nice long shower to freshen up prior to boarding this means pineapple dull dull can finally relax and take a longer nap on the chaise outside hehe |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 6.3 |
cathay pacific boeing 777-300 er cabin |
a little against the rules but just one more photo of the kids as we prepare to take off with a little japanese from school donut explains to little devil what the japanese cabin announcement was saying donut likes this line the most « marukopouro kurabu menbaa no minasama honjitsu mo goriyou itadakimashite arigatou gozaimasu » hehe he looks forward very much to the day when he is old enough to join the marco polo club himself | |
| a few more photos as these kids head off on the final flight of the year [ except little devil who will return to vancouver with laurie and the other canadian kids after they come visit us in tokyo for christmas ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 8 |
cathay pacific lounge at vancouver international airport |
the three tokyo small kids enter the lounge waiting for their return flight back to haneda ... with little devil !! little devil wants to visit tokyo too after hearing from snail about the delicious food here [ hence my need to start jogging ] though if you ask donut later he will tell you that little devil is also wanting to secretly investigate if the disappearance of his tea time money has anything to do with me | |
| « thank you for waiting ; we now invite passengers travelling with small children to board » the announcement cannot have come too soon — with pineapple moonlighting as the lounge dragon he predictably let everyone in while he slept and the lounge has become rather crowded ! |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin |
workout dull dull + donut dull dull + little devil dull dull + workout mug mug — awake and ready to explore !! the four kids are not at all sleepy on the flight when everyone else in the full cabin [ again sigh ] are asleep or are about to be they ask for my permission to pair off and stroll around the plane ; the workout kids want to exercise on the steps again donut and little devil on the other hand are looking for some quiet time | |
| as the kids head out do you notice something different about little devil ? his hood is down ! this is a rare sight — he only lowers his hood to reveal his inner self when his mind is truly at ease [ something about the still of the night and the company of donut seems to relax him ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 6.3 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin |
the four small kids return to their seat on b-hue as we commence our descent into hong kong the kids has almost lost track of time having fun around the plane by themselves ; it might have something to do with all the sugar and caffeine they consumed back in the lounge [ little devil led everyone to the fridge when he noticed it was stocked to the brim with soft drinks and honestly what kid can resist the temptation of hay shui ? ] | |
| donut and little devil stop by the arrival for a quick bite and some time alone together just the two kids we hope that some time away with donut will let little devil enjoy life more as a small kid without worries [ unlike his brothers little devil is too young to work and so is a little insecure and money conscious ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 8 |
cathay pacific boeing 777-300 er at tokyo international airport |
three excited kids watch the arrival at the gate of our first of two aircrafts today b-kpt will be the first one taking us from japan to hong kong after having spent the night resting up at a remote gate it arrived the previous evening as cx 542 and is turning around to head home twelve hours later now as cx 543 once in hong kong we shall of course be connecting onwards to vancouver on cx 838 | |
| the 11 am departure gives me and the workout kids some time for a morning run before coming to haneda we have recently taken up jogging koukyo no mawari [ around the imperial palace ] to lose some weight |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin and in flight meal |
the kids are a little tired from waking up rather early for the jog as well as the tight connection in hong kong they fall asleep on the buddy seat almost immediately after take off leaving me to enjoy a lovely dinner service on my own « caviar and balik salmon tsar nikolaj » the long haul cathay pacific appetizer staple is served against the fast setting sun there cannot be too many better ways to start a vacation | |
| a couple of photos from the haneda flight — it took the three kids a while but with some team work they were able to put the seat in the original take off position ; our flight attendant was impressed too ! [ on the right you can see the three kids about to doze off in buddy seat 4 a on the second flight ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin |
workout dull dull + workout mug mug + donut dull dull — awake and ready to explore !! the three kids wake up about halfway into the flight when everyone else in the full cabin tonight are asleep or are about to be donut asks me if it is okay to leave the seat as he is eager to take the workout kids around the plane to explore of course it is okay although they need to be careful as the cabin lights are dimmed throughout the plane | |
| donut first takes them star gazing though admittedly the energetic workout kids find it a little boring with permission from the crew they then go to the upper deck which the workout kids enjoy a lot more [ because going up and down the stairs is very good exercise ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 8 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin and in flight meal |
about two hours from meeting laurie in vancouver the cabin lights come back on waking up after a good night of rest on my part and exhausted from over 140 meters of exploration on theirs everyone is ready when our flight attendants set the table for a healthful brunch service on b-hug « fresh seasonal fruits with grapefruit juice » starts us off | |
| for the main course we have the « abalone and chicken congee with baked spring onion puff » though not before finishing off the remaining caviar from the dinner service heh |
| nikkor 20 mm 2.8 f ⁄ 8 | cathay pacific airbus 330-300 |
itadakimasu [ let us eat ] on b-hlg !! this colorful photo of donut getting ready to dig in the herb omelette we have in the brunch today was taken by martin ashford who we had bumped into earlier at the lounge | |
| it is always nice to run into a fan of my web page ; donut took some time to warm up to him though [ martin took the bassinet location seat next to me that donut originally would have enjoyed all to himself ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 20 mm 2.8 d f ⁄ 2.8 |
cathay pacific airbus 330-300 cabin |
donut dull dull is our youngest kid and as you probably already know is the one who loves air travel the most he also holds the distinction of being the only one to have flown all three travel classes — he gets excited no matter he is flying up in front [ so many kids want to come with us on those flights we have to hold a lottery ] or toughing it out in the back of the plane with me no lottery needed on those flights ! | |
| donut also loves visiting lounges before he flies where he likes to observe his fellow travellers where are they flying to ? are they travelling with family and do they also have any kids ? [ although for my photographic purposes none of them is shown on this blog ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 8 |
cathay pacific lounge at vancouver international airport |
snail dull dull [ !! ] leads the way to the gate after a brief stay at the lounge with donut staying behind in vancouver for the summer holidays with laurie and the other canadian kids snail volunteers to be our guide on our return flights first to hong kong and then onwards to tokyo he is even more knowledgeable about flying than donut is | |
| indeed it was snail on a flight from nagoya three years ago who inspired donut to be the avid flyer he is today since then snail has curbed his flying to concentrate on his studies at the trafalgars noble kindergarten |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 8 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin |
snail dull dull and butterfly mug mug [ where is fishball ? ] enjoying the views as we took off on b-hke snail is a lot like me — despite being three years older than donut he is more impulsive and has a hard time doing things in moderation he told me for one of his homework assignments the teacher gave him some sweets to take home and he had to count them but unfortunately he ate all the sweets on the way home and so the answer was zero | |
| and like me he has trouble staying away from a nice full bodied red wine such as the lynch bages hehe [ butterfly and fishball order a pot of earl grey to wake snail up ; they also save an extra dessert for him ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin |
this photo is from about three quarters of way into cx 839 when most likely there is a glass of the pauillac swirling in my hand and we are wishing for some strong head wind and perhaps even a re-fuelling stop hehe ; incidentally do you notice big mug mug in the photo above ? he was giving big dull dull a boost so his younger brother could see out | |
| after catching up land side with edward who had come to spot our plane landing in hong kong snail again leads everyone airside to enjoy a meal at the haven before our connecting flight to tokyo |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 8 |
entrance to cathay pacific the wing at hong kong international airport |
with still some time before boarding the kids head to the wing which is closer to our departure gate butterfly mug mug is looking forward to some quiet time in the library in particular — it is one of his favorite places this sociable canadian kid excels not only at singing [ he held his first concert almost four years ago under the stage name papillon ] but he also possesses excellent book smarts which are second only to those of big mug mug | |
| in general the mug mugs seems to be just a little smarter and more capable of seeing the big picture than the dull dulls — especially the younger ones — who often focus on certain things and do not let go |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 8 |
the library at cathay pacific the wing at hong kong international airport |
the kids finally arrive at the library [ going from the pier to the wing takes about an hour for them ! ] butterfly is reading up on japanese current events in preparation for their one month exchange in tokyo with me and the tokyo kids but i tell him there was no need to worry — we will be taking good care of him and snail at our home in tokyo we stay for about another half an hour or so before heading to gate 2 to board b-hku | |
| incidentally you may have noticed that one of snail's two antennas faces backwards — this is no defect rather his bi-directional antennas help snail better scan the surroundings for his favorite restaurant [ mcdonald's ; his favorite food there is shu tiu ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific the cabin at hong kong international airport |
donut dull dull looking out of the window [ while fishball strolls around — this is his first time here ] he is however in a vastly better mood from the last time he sat in a lounge quietly by himself about four months ago the hong kong kids have since joined him in tokyo and we have all adapted well to our new environment donut is sitting quietly tonight partly because he wants to stay heung pun pun after the shower | |
| but also because he cannot stop admiring b-kpt who is parked right outside the lounge at gate 23 this two-month old with the new business class cabin just happen to be his ride tonight !! |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 777-300 er cabin and in flight meal |
the expression on the kids faces is one of non stop awe since stepping into our seat in the new cabin the sleek and relaxing design captures their undivided attention from boarding to take off and even through the supper meal service [ you can see donut and fishball posing next to their new favorite seat during taxiing and take off immediately below ] and after the meal service all three of us sleepsoundly in the new wider flat bed hehe | |
| it has been a year and a half since our previous night flight [ day flights are much easier to photograph ] but this detour on cx 888 has clearly been well worth the extra time ; indeed this new mini cabin may have even eclipsed the cathay pacific 744 upper deck as our new favorite business class cabin |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 6.3 |
cathay pacific boeing 777-300 er cabin and in flight meal |
three hours out of vancouver the kids have woken up and are ready for some breakfast in the sun if my recollection is correct the two kids travelling today had been looking forward very much to this trip and for different reasons : donut dull dull because he will be staying behind in vancouver to attend english summer classes at trafalgars with little devil and fishball because he will be flying first class for his first time on the return !! | |
| and with donut dull dull going over we are hoping he will be able to calm his best friend down a bit little devil had recently become somewhat obsessed with looking for money and stashing it away [ he was embarassed at school when we missed a payment for his tea time fee ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 8 |
the living room and bedroom in my studio in tokyo |
other than the bose l1 compact speaker and the apple products and accessories everything else from the long curtains to the long table is from the fantastically zen mujirushi ryouhin after my relocation to tokyo was confirmed i fantasized almost daily about setting up my perfect minimalist living space [ even made the switch to an apple laptop just to complete the look ] | |
| yes some people have told me this is perhaps too minimalist and ocd but have you ever run a vacuum cleaner across twenty feet of unobstructed floor — it is so immensely pleasurable ! |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 20 mm 2.8 d f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin |
donut enjoying seat 66 a in this sunny photo on board b-hot who is taking us to our first stop hong kong todaywe usually sit in an exit row but edward highly recommended this seat to donut when we met him for breakfast last month [ fishall mug mug is also traveling with us today connecting to vancouver but has opted to stay in the carry on haha ] the seat is not bad — with extra storage space by the window from the reduced seating configuration | |
| this is donut and my first flight after three and a half months of hard work in tokyo and from hong kong we shall be connecting to vancouver on a 77w featuring the new cirrus business class seats !! [ fishaball mug mug will be joining donut in the cabin for that one hehe ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 6.3 |
cathay pacific the wing at hong kong international airport |
four days after returning from vancouver we have packed up everything at our place in hong kong and are at the airport again for our morning flight to tokyo to start my new job ; before we board b-hud though even though he knows they are all in vancouver donut walks around the lounge just in case some kids are hiding to surprise him [ he checks behind the bookshelves and every single one of the bar stools too ] | |
| donut is feeling a bit more upbeat though now that the situation has stabilized a little bit in tokyo and the remaining hong kong kids are scheduled to fly with laurie in a month's time to join us |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 6.3 |
cathay pacific lounge at vancouver international airport |
normally overjoyed each time we fly donut is a little down and sits quietly by himself in the lounge with my relocation next week to tokyo the hong kong kids have all "evacuated" to vancouver to ride out the japan crisis all the kids that is except donut — he insists on travelling with me back to hong kong and then onward to japan he is a brave kid but leaving his brothers behind is tough for his young mind to handle | |
| eventually he gets up and walks around the lounge but he says to me it is not as fun without the others he misses playing hide and seek with big dull dull and big mug mug ; i hug him as we board b-hkv |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin |
donut dull dull looking somewhat emotional here when told the shades had to come down after the lunch service still upset from leaving the other kids he has been hoping to gaze at the passing clouds as that has always made him feel better so he strolls down the aisles to look for a window that is not shut but it is more of the same in the economy and business class cabins then as he heads back to the front with his head down in disappointment — he notices a bright light !! | |
| the light is seeping from under the bathrooms which he now remembers do not have opaque shades !! he rushes in and lowers the lid — we do not want any accidents — and sits rather satisfyingly by the clouds |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 6.3 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 cabin and in flight meal |
the windows are open now but tired from his earlier walks around the plane donut has fallen asleep next to me « caviar and balik salmon tsar nicolaj » is the cathay long haul first class staple that starts us off the second meal of the flight « pan fried black cod on sweet garlic sauce with pak choy and mushrooms » follows which is superb but might have been better with rice « seasonal fresh fruits » of which the mango is invariably delicious closes the meal about two hours out of hong kong | |
| right after landing donut heads to the arrival to check on the kids in vancouver ; he missed them so much that it was much later before he realized he had just flown all three travel classes within one single week [ congratulations and kiss donut !! ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 777-300 er cabin |
this photo brings a smile to my face every time — look at how happy and comfortable big mug mug is ! the aircraft has climbed around 8,000 ft to above some thick clouds and the sun's rays finally shine brightly into the cabin we picked a leisurely and lightly loaded noon flight out from taipei [ which to our delight still sports the long haul flat seats ] to catch in plenty of time our late afternoon onward connection for vancouver on cx 838 | |
| the two brothers have a blast together above before during and after our taipei flight on board b-kpk big mug mug often runs a little slower or pretends he cannot spot donut to let his younger brother win |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 747-400 upper deck cabin |
about three hours after landing in hong kong we were in the air again to vancouver b-hot took me up here along with big mug mug and donut [ the other hong kong kids were in the suitcase with cookies and chocolates ] it is one of the airline's more senior long haul work horses — reflected in the older honey comb style ceiling and wall panelling but the kids still found themselves at home and falling asleep easily in the familiar herringbone flat bed seats | |
| with a full load on the upper deck there are unfortunately not too many photo opportunities with the kids no matter — with the connecting flights in hong kong and the kids are all already quite exhausted |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 6.3 |
cathay pacific the wing at hong kong international airport |
hong kong big dull dull plays hide and seek with his youngest sibling near the entrance to the wing office work in hong kong has finally come to an end and in the intervening two weeks before my new job began in tokyo the kids come with me to taipei before beginning our journey propre on a fantastic ex taipei fare to vancouver via hong kong we hang out and take photos mostly at the wing as this upper level is scheduled for its first major facelift very soon | |
| the photo of the two kids on the left is one of my all time favorites — big dull dull staying along side donut as donut strolls up and down the aisle like he loves to do [ the other kids are sleeping in the rimowa limbo ] |
| nikon d700 + nikkor 16-35 mm f ⁄ 4 |
cathay pacific boeing 777-200 cabin |
donut enjoys the spacious seating in this cabin ; the other kids are of course no where to be seen they prefer staying in the suitcase playing merry go rounds on the luggage belts at the aiports than to fly in economy class the suitcase is a bit tight this time though as we are bringing along all the hong kong kids — concerned about the situation in japan laurie has invited them all to stay with him and the canadian kids during my first weeks in tokyo until things stabilize | |
| once at the hotel donut briefs us on the upcoming flights ; one contentious topic is donut wanting to accompany me to tokyo in spite of possible dangers so my first weeks there will not be as lonely |
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