You can catch up by Reading Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 first.
I finally had a good night’s sleep. Because of the rain storm, I went to bed early in Warsaw and slept in until about 9am. I felt great, and ready to go out and explore.
My flight to London wasn’t set to depart until 6:30pm, giving me plenty of time to get some things done before heading out to Chopin Airport. First stop? Warsaw’s famed Targ Śniadaniowy, or Breakfast Market.
The second I read about the Breakfast Market online, I knew I absolutely loved the idea. Every Saturday from 9am until 4pm Warsaw residents gather at a park in Żoliborz to cook and eat food. A number of stalls are set up, serving everything from tacos and perogies to burgers, Indian curries and fruit. There is a stall to borrow blankets and sit on the grass while whiling away the morning.
As I was waiting for an Uber in front of my hotel a thin older lady with a thick European accent, perhaps in her 60s, stopped me on the street to ask if I enjoyed the “congress”. I said “Pardon?” I said I’m not here for a congress. She apologized and explained there was some kind of international youth congress underway near the Presidential palace that she had just attended, closing many of the roads in front of the hotel. Indeed I noticed there were no cars coming, and wondered how my Uber would find me.
Not sure whether the woman was crazy or just friendly (in Europe, it’s not uncommon to strike up conversations with people at practically any age), she asked where I was going and said she would join me. Sure enough she hopped into the Uber’s front seat and I took the back, where she regaled me of stories of meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping (even knowing his name surprised me), how classy his wife is, how great Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is, and how she knew his father (former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau). Then she said, “Melania is also a very classy woman. You know, Donald and Melania bring a touch of Hollywood to the White House.” I have no idea if she was off her medication or actually had met these people, but I couldn’t totally rule it out. It appeared she worked in some kind of NGO that took her around the world.
Regardless of who she was, I didn’t sign up to be her Warsaw tour guide, so I’m thankful she felt the Breakfast Market was too far away once we arrived, and she went directly back to the hotel. A wave of relief washed over me.
The market wasn’t quite what I pictured – it was much better. I had pictured a more formal market, large-scale in size, in a huge park, but it was none of those things. It was an unpretentious local community gathering with regular people cooking up food, a little bit of music, and attendees eating away on picnic benches in the middle of the park. It was absolutely wonderful, and a highlight of my trip.
I first got a coffee before walking around to see what I might want to eat. Sure enough foods from around the world were represented, but I wanted something with a Polish flavor so opted again for perogies. The woman who made them is apparently well known and spoke no English, but through a translator explained she had been to Canada before and loved it. Her perogies with sweet onions on them were A1.
These were exceptional.
After finishing I ordered another latte from another stall I pulled up a chair at a picnic bench and took in the sights. There is something special, and even inspiring, about witnessing the spirit of a local community as an outsider. The Warsaw Breakfast Market is definitely not a tourist attraction – it was regular people speaking Polish and joining friends and family for food. Kids ran around with their friends and played on a merry-go-round while their parents sat chatting in the sunshine. After spending a couple of hours there I knew I had to return to the hotel to check out, but had to pry myself away. I probably could’ve stayed there until it closed at 4pm, it was such a calming and happy place to spend one’s hours. It was a highlight of the trip.
I headed back to the hotel to check out around 1pm and made my way to Chopin International Airport early to kill some time (I need time to write these things, after all!) There is so much to see in Warsaw, such as museums, galleries, live music venues, memorials and more, and it’s on my list as a city to return to. With such a short visit, one can only get a taste of a place – but for me, it’s enough to know I want to return.
I arrived at the airport and checked in via British Airway’s mobile app, because the check-in counter hadn’t opened yet. Unlike Qatar Airways, the procedure was easy and clear and it downloaded my boarding pass effortlessly to my Apple Wallet. I then used the boarding pass to go through security and head towards the Fantazja Executive Lounge, one of two I would check out.
This was a surprisingly good lounge, with yummy perogies and great working areas.
Warsaw has lounges dedicated to its national flagship carrier, LOT Airlines, and then just a handful of generic lounges with varying degrees of entry criteria depending on which airline you’re flying, your status, and which credit cards or other membership programs you hold. Fantazja lounge was, to my surprise, practically empty when I originally entered so I pulled up a comfy seat near the window and hauled out my computer to do some work. The lounge was bright and cordoned off into individual seating sections, with a handful of closed-in areas to get some real work done. It also had a decent hot food selection, with – you guessed it! – more perogies! These ones were a bit more traditional, filled with spinach and feta, and they were not bad at all for lounge food. I also had a turkey and vegetable stew, which drove home the point that Polish food is for hearty individuals.
I worked for a few hours before making my way past immigration and to the Bolero Lounge. I only had a few minutes there before boarding, so basically took a few photos and checked out the food. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the Fantazja Lounge.
Upon boarding BA851, I saw a little logo on the side of the airplane that gave me a clue: Ooredoo was providing on board Wifi. Ooredoo is a mobile network company based in the Middle East, and provided the poor Wifi services on Qatar Airways. Sure enough, this BA flight was a code share, and was a Qatar plane. I took seat 1A.
Comfy for sure, but definitely not Dreamliner-style!
The quality of the seat on this trip has declined with each successive flight: the suite on board Qatar to Doha, followed by the lavish and large seat from Doha to Warsaw, and now a much more traditional seat with just slightly more room than an economy seat from Warsaw to London. There was no rosé this time, and no menu. Instead the flight attendant told us they had a chicken and a fish dish, and asked us which one we’d like after takeoff. My seat mate and I both picked chicken and we pushed back from the gate.
It actually tasted better than it looked.
Considering the short flight, the food was actually solid. The chicken was juicy and done perfectly, while the creamy gnocchi in Alfredo sauce provided all the carbs necessary to fall asleep afterwards. A chocolate mousse cake along with crackers and blue cheese was the perfect cap on the meal. After reading for a while, I reclined the seat and tried to get some shuteye – for about an hour, before the pilot announced we had begun our descent into London.
I had never been to London in my entire life until I visited there in the spring, so I had not expected my second visit to come just a few months after the first. London, with its people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe, in all colors and speaking dozens of languages, has been dubbed the capital of the world. But when a city is that big and successful, it means many people want to go there, which means busy airports, which means…….. long lines at immigration.
I flew Cathay to Gatwick Airport on my first visit to London, so nothing could have prepared me for landing at Heathrow. I dutifully queued up to go through immigration at 8:15pm, with plans to meet friends at a speakeasy in Earl’s Court at by 10:30pm. Plenty of time, right? Well, not so fast. This is what I saw:
I felt miles away.
Still, I figured this can’t be more than 45 minutes long? Again, I would be wrong. By 9pm I had moved a few rows closer, but was still nowhere near getting my passport stamped. No, for that, I would need to wait another full hour. I passed through immigration at 10:10pm.
I’m not sure, considering London’s battles with terrorism, if it’s appropriate to complain about the immigration procedures at Heathrow. Asking around, I discovered my experience was not out of the ordinary, and that an hour or more for processing is routine. I will not weigh in on whether this is justified or not, except to say I had never had this issue anywhere else. This is a unique London phenomenon, at least in my own travels. (One that comes close is JFK, which is also an old airport ill equipped to deal with today’s passenger numbers.)
My friends cancelled the table at the speakeasy because there was no way I’d make it in time. Instead they holed up at a bar nearby to wait for me, so I snagged a taxi outside Heathrow and made a beeline to Leicester Square, where I had booked a room at the W Hotel to collect more Starpoints.
One of the reasons I had booked the W is I wanted to sample their keyless service, which lets customers check-in via the mobile app and be assigned a room key to their iPhone or Apple Watch, which can be used to open the door. There is no need to check in at the front desk at all. But while I went through the check-in procedure in the app, it said it would send me the key once the check-in was “approved”. Unfortunately for me, it never was, and I needed to check-in in person anyway.
Sometimes mobile services just aren’t ready for prime time.
W Hotel targets a young, trendy clientele. Upon zipping up to the first floor lobby, I was blasted by electronica pumping from the house bar and followed the dim lighting to the check-in counter. The music was so loud that it was difficult to hear the guy checking me in, but it’s all part of the experience, right? #notafuddyduddy
Loved the room layout and location, right in Leicester Square.
In all honestly, the hotel’s creativity makes it stand out from similar priced hotels. The dark hallways and sparkling room numbers indicate you aren’t staying at a simple Sheraton, and the room design featured an open-style kitchen and mirrors everywhere. I just wish I had more time to spend there!
I had a quick shower and headed out into Saturday night in London, and what a wonderful place it is. The streets in Leicester Square were teeming with people, many of whom were inebriated and having a fantastic time. We walked through Chinatown amid the music, buzz and crowds and into the theatre district where the shows had just emptied, passing by pubs and clubs and jazz bars and members only clubs and speakeasys, all of which seemed packed to the rafters.
We settled on a place I fell in love with at first glance: Opium. Located just off Chinatown, we slipped through a narrow door into a dimly lit red hallway where we climbed three floors of stairs. The stairs opened into a cave, with little nooks and crannies with small tables and groups of people around them. We made our way to the main bar, which in proper light might resemble a large open kitchen in a big US home. We pulled up a stool and ordered several drinks, including newly-created ones like a salted caramel sazerac alongside traditional favorites like the old fashioned and whisky sour. Cocktails were superb, and we finally pulled ourselves out of there, tipsy and giggly, at 2am.
A salted caramel sazerac.
Where to go now? Standing on the street outside it began to pour, and we got soaked. One of my friends handed me a black scarf, which I wrapped around my head and covered my face, the first real indication I had just come from the Middle East. We scampered to a London late night tradition: the casino. Yes, casinos mean different things in different places. They all offer gambling, but culturally their significance can vary. London has rather strict closing times for bars and pubs, so casinos are where the after-parties happen. Sure there are roulette and poker tables along with slots and other video-style games, but there is also a 24-hour bar that was packed and even a couple of different nightclubs and patios upstairs. We wandered into a small carpeted room where young Londoners were dancing the night away, making out, pouring drinks, and living it up. We then meandered back downstairs and grabbed a table to talk for a while longer.
Busy bar at Opium.
It was now 3am. My alarm was set for 6am. Dreading the sleep ahead of me, I decided it was time to go. I gave everyone hugs and walked outside into the pouring rain, then ran as fast as I could to my nearby hotel. I was soaked, but safe. It was time to go to bed. Finally.
You can catch up by Reading Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 first.
My hotel phone rang almost simultaneously with the alarm I had set on my iPhone at 6am. It was already time to get up and head back to Doha airport.
I had a quick shower, made sure everything was packed, checked out downstairs and got a taxi immediately. Again, it was hot in Doha. I. Mean. Hot. If you’ve never been to the Middle East, it’s hard for words to capture the essence of being in a dry, sandy city under the unrelenting sun in a massive desert. Doha is extremely flat and there is almost no natural vegetation anywhere (from what I saw), but it does have a beautiful waterfront and a skyscraper-filled downtown core. Qatar itself is on a peninsula that juts out into the Persian Gulf.
It only took about 20 minutes to drive from Souq Wafiq to Hamid International Airport with hardly any traffic so early on a Friday morning. I paid the driver 30 Qatari dollars and proceeded to the business class check-in area.
Business class check-in counters are in an isolated area of the departures terminal.
I already had my boarding pass so went right through to security, and then downstairs to the main terminal. As I mentioned in Part 4, Hamid Airport is a gleaming expanse of glass and steel, and immaculately clean. It has a wide range of shopping and restaurant options, including such well-known and high-end shops as Harrod’s (a particular favorite in the Middle East). The airport actually didn’t resemble an airport at all, but rather an upscale shopping mall that happened to have a few gates to board airplanes. It is almost tailor-made for transit passengers who need some entertainment options on long layovers.
The gleaming new steel-and-glass airport is more akin to a shopping mall.
Qatar Airways has multiple lounges at Hamid Airport, but two of them are flagships: the Al Shawaf First Class Lounge and the Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge. As much as I’d like to see what the airline offers up to its most important passengers, my ticket told me I’m only eligible for the business class lounge. (I know, I know… I shouldn’t complain).
Al Mourjan lounge is absolutely massive. It is multiple floors, and probably larger than the entire airport in my hometown of Victoria, Canada. Like the Qantas lounge in Hong Kong, this one was on a mezzanine level that overlooked the main terminal, giving it an airy and open feel. There were several expansive seating areas, all with slightly different layouts and chairs, along with multiple work stations to plug in your computer or use one of theirs. I counted two dining areas, but there might have been more (yes, it was that big).
I was starving by this point, as I hadn’t eaten anything since the Arabic mezze platter the night before. After looking at the menu, I settled on a turkey panini and a latte. It was simple, but totally hit the spot.
This was totally on point.
Again I didn’t have much time, so I headed toward Gate B3 for the flight to Warsaw. This time I was boarding an Airbus 330, so it had a different business class layout than the Dreamliner the night before. While these were not private suites, the seats were large and comfortable (perhaps too large, as I almost couldn’t reach the items in the pouch in front of me).
Taking Qatar Airways for a second time in as many days, I knew what to expect: I again opted for a rose prior to takeoff, and ordered breakfast to be served once we reached cruising altitude: a mixed berry smoothie, Qatari smoked salmon with wholegrain mustard (I didn’t know Qatar had salmon….) and a cream cheese omelette with chicken sausage as the main.
The mixed berry smoothie was the star of the show.
The dishes were all standard, but interestingly enough I particularly liked the smoothie. It’s rare to get this kind of drink on a flight, and the creamy yoghurt combined with fresh mixed berries made it a highlight. I also ordered a latte that arrived extremely bitter. It tasted like the dregs of a pot of coffee with a dollop of milk in it. I asked for a bit more milk, and the fligh attendant apologized and replaced it without being asked. The second latte was perfect.
Smoked salmon with wholegrain mustard along with a bread and croissant selection for breakfast.
A mid-day flight leaves time to get some work done, so I puttered away on my iPad for a while and read my Kindle for the duration of the flight. I followed the map as we flew over part of Iraq, then Iran, Syria, and into Turkey before crossing the Dead Sea into Eastern Europe. Iran was the most fascinating, as it remains one of the more isolated countries in the world. We few over a few Iranian cities and saw the desert extend for as far as the eye could see.
I tried repeatedly to access on the on-board Wifi, but again it seemed not to work. Wifi is one area on Qatar Airways that needs substantial improvement.
Descending into Warsaw…
Upon landing the plane stopped far from the terminal, so passengers exited and boarded a bus to the immigration counters. I quickly cleared and went out to get a taxi to Hotel Brisol in Warsaw’s old quarter, where I was staying.
The beautiful Hotel Bristol.
Hotel Bristol is arguably the most famous hotel in Warsaw, so I was fortunate it was part of Starwood and I could use my Starpoints to claim a room. They upgraded me at check-in to a quaint little suite that matched the old-world charm of the old quarter outside.
My cute little suite at Warsaw’s Hotel Bristol.
Warsaw is a picturesque city in Eastern Europe with a very sad history. It was often the site of intense battles and occupations during the 20th century, and was razed to the ground by Nazis during the Second World War as a scortched Earth policy as Stalin’s troops approached. Only a few buildings survived the destruction, which saw hundreds of thousands of Poles lose their lives. Poland was part of the Soviet Union until it collapsed, and gained independence in 1989.
Today, Warsaw is going through a bit of a renaissance. The city’s “old quarter” has long since been rebuilt, Poland joined the European Union in 2004, and the country’s economy has been growing at a decent clip. The World Bank expects Poland’s GDP to grow by 3% in 2017.
I met a Polish guy who grew up in Britain but returned to Warsaw because of the job opportunities, lower cost of living, and expanding economy. But our conversation quickly turned to something more immediate: protests that have been rocking the country. A right-wing populist party known as the Law and Justice party won national elections in 2016, and this year introduced a bill that would see the judicial system become a de facto arm of the state. Poles turned to the streets in cities around the country, and President Andrzej Duda eventually backed down. However there is still a sense of unease, as it’s expected the government will try again later. The protests were held at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, which is right beside Hotel Bristol. I missed the crowds by just a couple of days.
Despite the political turmoil, Poland is growing into an artistic, creative and economic hub in Central Europe. On the day I arrived, I walked through the Old Town and snapped photos before stopping at an iconic bar called Karmnik for Polish beer and perogies (which are everywhere).
An artistic little hole-in-the-wall with a good Polish beer list and perogies.
While I ate at Karmnik the storm clouds rolled in, and I got soaked as I practically ran back to my hotel for the evening. With all that travel and such a short sleep the night before, it wasn’t long before I drifted off into sleep. The third night was done.
To catch up, you can read Part 1 first.
If you love traveling, it’s important to stick to an airline and hotel rewards program as much as possible. When I was a student, I always opted for the cheapest flight on the tiniest and sketchiest discount carrier, which is understandable when you need to stretch every penny. But if you have even a little wiggle-room, loyalty to a particular airline and hotel program can bring much more value back in terms of benefits over the long term.
Before I go further, I need to point out two incredible websites that do deep dives into mileage programs, credit cards, and what’s possible if you optimize your mileage accrual. One is The Points Guy, which now claims to publish up to 20 stories a day; the other is One Mile at a Time by Ben Schlappig, who has become a star in travel circles. Both sites are quite US-centric, but offer excellent advice on how you can rack up points and enjoy luxury benefits offered by various airlines. I highly recommend both.
The competition for travel dollars isn’t quite so fierce in Hong Kong, where we have one flagship carrier: Cathay Pacific (CX). We’re fortunate Cathay is an excellent airline with an impressive global flight network and the best of Asian hospitality. When I was growing up, Cathay was considered a first tier airline, but it’s slipped in recent years behind luxury carriers like Singapore and Emirates. (North American-based airlines are now among the worst when it comes to service, lounges, and amenities). Nonetheless, it still remains strong.
I’ll often spend a few hundred Hong Kong dollars more to fly Cathay because it beefs up my Asia Miles account and provides lounge access for silver members through the Marco Polo program. That means even if I’m flying economy (which is usually the case), I can visit the business class lounge for some light refreshments before jumping the queue to board at the gate.
I then turn around and cash in my Asia Miles for free tickets, or use them for upgrades — and upgrades are, by far, where passengers get the best value in terms of dollar per Asia Mile. That means I’ve had the good fortune of sampling Cathay’s business class from time to time, including their lay-flat seats and meals from Mott 32, one of the premier Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong. (In fact, we enjoyed business class from Hong Kong to Seoul and back just this past weekend. Cathay definitely does it right.)
The recently-renovated Cathay Pacific First and Business Class Lounge at Vancouver International Airport.
Lounges in Cathay’s network are a little more hit-and-miss. CX has managed to open its signature lounge in some major airports, like Vancouver and London, but others (like in Mainland China and Korea) leave a lot to be desired. In fairness, these are lounges are sometimes shared by other airlines and credit card rewards programs, so the quality suffers as a result.
(Pro Tip: For lounge ideas, reviews, accessibility requirements, and maps, download the LoungeBuddy app for iOS or Android. It’s a must when traveling.)
On board service
This is where CX really shines. Service on Cathay has always been impeccable, the food is as good as it gets on a major carrier, and the in-flight entertainment options are comprehensive and in multiple languages. The one major drawback is lack of Wifi — Cathay has been very slow at rolling out on-board internet connectivity. I had it on a flight from Hong Kong to Gatwick in April 2017, but never before or since.
top rated airline in the world.
The Warsaw to London leg will be done on British Airways economy at full fare, which fortunately came in at a resounding HK$700 (about US$100).
The hotel in Doha is being booked with points from Hotels.com, while Starwood Starpoints are being used to book the Hotel Bristol in Warsaw.
As much as possible, I stick to Starwood Hotels because they have the widest range of iconic hotel brands in their portfolio like W, The Westin, Sheraton, Aloft and others. It’s relatively easy to reach gold status, which means free wifi and 4pm checkouts.
If for whatever reason, Starwood Hotels are too pricey or unavailable, I use Hotels.com as a backup. The company, owned by Expedia, gives you one free night after 10 paid nights, which I save up for precisely moments like these!
I’m taking off in a couple of days, so I’ve been racing around packing and making sure I don’t forget anything. I’m looking forward to writing and posting the next installment from 35,000 feet en route to Doha!