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The ABC Traveller

@theabctraveller

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Currently Oneworld Maxxing #QantasPlatinum ✈️
+ World of Hyatt Maxxing #Globalist 🥂
Sydney based 📍

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Last year I transited through Haneda twice, and so was able to visit the JAL Haneda First Class Lounge. The first time was for a morning flight so I was able to see the relatively empty lounge, and the second time was for an evening flight, where I was able to enjoy more of the facilities and food.

The best part about the lounge is exploring all the corners of the space. From The Salon, to the Red Suite, JALs table and Sushi Tsurutei, there are so many luxurious spaces for you to relax before the flight.

Across my two visits I was able to order quite a few items from the menu. There are so many traditional Japanese dishes to try, including the fresh made sushi, the ramen, and the bento box. I also enjoyed the western dishes as well, they have a good range of pastas and mains.

The shower room has always been available, and I loved their amenities.

There are quite a few other lounges which you could visit in Haneda Airport, including the other JAL Lounges and the Cathay Lounge. We decided to spend all our time in the JAL FC lounge - so will definitely need to go back!

#firstclasslounge #sushitsurutei #jalfirstclass taken in JAL First Class Lounge - Haneda by @theabctraveller

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4 months ago

Running is a such great way to explore a new city. I would always try to go for a run in every city I visit.

Which cities have you visited that are great for running?

#sightrunning #travelrun #runcation taken in Chengdu, Sichuan by @theabctraveller

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4 months ago

What a beautiful 6 nights stay at the Hyatt Regency Sydney celebrating my birthday. I booked with cash, but with my Explorist status we were able to upgrade to a Harbour View Room.

I also added Club Access, which was a great experience. There was breakfast until 10am everyday, with an egg station. Raman was super friendly and remembered your egg preferences. There were also canapés from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, with unlimited drinks.

The club lounge staff were all super friendly, and always happy to chat. Massive thank you to Hilary & team for such a memorable time!

During my stay we were also lucky to be able to see Vivid from both the room and also the club lounge. Although the daily drone show was canceled, we were able to watch the fireworks twice everyday at 7:30pm and 9:30pm. Such an incredible viewpoint!

Although Sydney is home, I had such a great time, and would definitely consider coming back!

#hyattregencysydney #clublounge #vividsydney taken in Darling Harbour, Sydney by @theabctraveller

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4 months ago

NEW YORK CITY!

What an amazing place. Spent 8 nights here and feels like we’ve barely scratched the surface of exploring this city 🏙️

#concretejungle #thebigapple🍎 #flyover taken in New York, New York by @theabctraveller

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5 months ago

On a recent status run, I had the chance to spend around 4 hours in the Qantas First Class Lounge in Melbourne. It was my first time at the international terminal of Melbourne Airport, as I am based in Sydney and usually fly international from there.

The First Class Lounge in Melbourne seems a bit smaller than Sydney, and was very empty during my time there. Checking the departures, I saw that the big flights left at around noon (to LAX and SIN), and by the time I got there at around 2pm, there were not many flights left for the day (AKL, ZQN).

The staff at the lounge counter proactively offered a massage, which I was able to book for 3pm. There was a massage menu offering 4 different types of treatments, I chose the neck and shoulder massage on the recommendation from a friend. It was my first time trying the elusive Qantas lounge massage.

I was able to do the sit down dining twice, for both lunch and an early dinner. Champaign, salt & pepper squid, and a pad thai for lunch, then steak frites, red wine and pavlova dessert. What a great way to spend a day!

There were also two meeting rooms on the left side of the lounge as you entered, which was completely empty the whole day. I was able to snag one to prepare for some interviews I had coming up.

Although it was a smaller lounge than other Qantas first lounges I’ve been to, and not as iconic as Sydney’s one, I still really enjoyed the quiet space, and excellence service. Will hopefully be back again!

#statusrun #qantaslounge #firstclasstravel taken in Qantas First Class Lounge Melbourne by @theabctraveller

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7 months ago

I recently hacked myself into the Qantas first class lounge on a domestic Jetstar flight.

Here’s the story…

Every now and again Jetstar will fly a repositioning flight from the Sydney Airport International Terminal to Melbourne. Looks like the flight comes from Saigon, and then flies back to Asia from Melbourne.

When you book online, Jetstar will show you the flights that leave from the International Airport.

And an amazing perk that you have with QFF status is that you can get into Qantas lounges with any Jetstar flight too. That means since I have Platinum status, I was eligible to enter the Qantas First Class lounge. What a great perk!

I had to pass security to get in, which means bringing my passport, even though I’m going to Melbourne. They give you a special stamped boarding pass which means you are waved through customs on either end.

Here’s a few scenes from this mini- adventure.

As a bit of a bonus I also found myself on the new Qantas A321XLR on the way back. Shiny!

#travelhack #qantaslounge #firstclasslounge taken in Qantas First Class Lounge Sydney by @theabctraveller

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7 months ago

I’ve been lucky enough to visit this beautiful lounge a couple of times over the past few months. Many people said it was the best lounge in Hong Kong!

They have table service dining with a set menu and a la carte options, a massage service, day beds, showers, full service bar and barista coffee and lounge areas.

The location is a little hard to reach out by gate 64 in HKG. The lounge itself is underneath the main gates, and you need to take the escalators down. The Pier Business lounge (also amazing with their Noodle Bar and Tea Lounge) is just a little further ahead.

Some of the favourite items on the menu include the Wonton noodles, the Wagyu Beef Cheese burger, and I also really enjoyed the Hong Kong Tequila Ice Tea (not sure if these are seasonal). They were serving 2 different champagnes, and I really enjoyed the St Hallet Blackwell Shiraz (4.1 on Vivino).

Each time I’ve requested the massage, the wait time has been quite long (a few hours). Luckily I had a long layover on one of the occasions and we were lucky enough to make it in for a 15 mins treatment. You might also need to wait for the day bed and showers. You get given a buzzer for each and come back once it’s ready for you.

They also have a good range of newspapers and magazines to keep you occupied while you wait for your flight.

#cathaypacific #thepier #loungelife taken in The Pier「玉衡堂」- Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge by @theabctraveller

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9 months ago

Flying over the golden state with United Airlines

#californiadreaming #windowseat #westcoast taken in California by @theabctraveller

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10 months ago

I recently had the pleasure of flying QF60 from Haneda Airport in Tokyo back home to Sydney in Business Class. I was able to request the release of this flight award with Platinum status.

Originally, I was hoping to fly out of Hong Kong, as that was my intended last stop of my Asia trip, and I requested around 10 different QF award flights out of HKG, including transferring through Melbourne, but none of them came back approved (anyone know what is going on there?!). And so I settled for buying a Cathay flight to Tokyo, and then flying out of Haneda.

Total cost of the flight was 98,400 qantas points, and $296.29 in taxes.

Aircraft Type: Airbus A330

The staff on the flight were fantastic, with friendly service provided by the cabin crew, and an enthusiastic cabin manager.

It’s my first time on a Qantas flight from Japan in Business, and I really enjoyed the Japanese elements of the service, including the bento box, sake, matcha, and the delicious mochi dessert.

I noticed many people refusing meal service, which makes sense as it was a 10pm flight, and a lot of travellers would have liked to get a solid evening of sleep before landing in Sydney in the morning.

Flying into Sydney on a sunny day without a cloud in sight was a highlight, incredibly beautiful scenes.

#qantas #businessclass #inflightmeal taken in 羽田空港 Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) by @theabctraveller

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a year ago

Loved watching this Cathay Pacific flight take off from HKG… as we waited for our turn

#takeoff #cathaypacific #windowseat taken in Hong Kong International Airport 香港國際機場 by @theabctraveller

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a year ago

What a pleasure staying at the GH Taipei for 3 nights earlier this month!

This was my first ever Hyatt points redemption. I booked the King Room with Club access for 17000 points per night. The going cash rate was $734 AUD per night so it was a 4.3 cents per point which I was happy with.

Was lucky enough to be upgraded on check in to the Taipei 101 view room (do they give that to everyone?)

The Club Lounge was on level 22, and it was very busy during breakfast and Happy hour. At one point I saw a few people were made to wait to come in.

The quality of the food was great! They were serving sparkling wine, red & white too. And they had a rotating made to order section.

You can definitely fill up here for both breakfast and dinner if you wanted to, but I’d definitely make sure to get out into the city to try the local Taiwanese breakfast & street food options.

The hotel is definitely quite old, I believe they were celebrating 35 years anniversary, but rooms are well maintained. They also have a fitness club, with good gym equipment, and a wellness facilities- sauna, steam room, hot and cold pools.

The hotel is said to be haunted, we didn’t see any ghosts during our stay. Although I did leave my passport at the hotel and had to rush back from the airport to get it. Luckily the airline staff held the flight and I got back in time.

Overall a lovely stay at Grand Hyatt Taipei!

#worldofhyatt #grandhyatt #hotellife #taipei101 taken in Grand Hyatt Taipei - 台北君悅酒店 by @theabctraveller

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a year ago

Somewhere over the sunshine state! Not sure exactly where, does anyone know?

#queensland #aerialview #qantasairways taken in Queensland Australia by @theabctraveller

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a year ago