I checked out of the hotel and started walking to the train station around 6:54 AM. I took a picture of the Kyoto Tower on the way.
I took a picture of the sign on Kyoto Station with a map of the city.
I already got my tickets yesterday, so I just put them in the machine to enter the station.
I took pictures of the signs showing the way to the correct platform. Luckily it is always the same platformevery day except for a few trains which had a sign telling you where you should go.
I got to the correct platform about 10 minutes before the train departed. I took pictures of it when it arrived.
I got on the train, found my seat and made myself comfortable. Luckily it wasn’t full and I had 2 seats to myself. Unfortunately no power in the seats, but I wasn’t worried as I knew I would be able to charge at the airport.
I took some pictures along the way to the Kansai airport. The train passed over a very long bridge to get to Kansai airport which is on reclaimed land. So much for your famous saying Samuel Clemens…. they are making more of it.
Once the train arrived at the Osaka Kansai airport (around 8:54 AM) I took a few more pictures of the Haruka train and a really interesting black train which is apparently the Osaka Nankai train.
I took a few more photos inside the airport train station.
I checked in for my flight and was looking forward to relaxing a bit in the airport lounge, only to find out the Thai Airways lounge was closed. They gave me a voucher to use at Starbucks, I didn’t feel like waiting in line.
I was able to sit in the Rokko Lounge thanks to my Platinum American Express card. That lounge however only had individually wrapped cookies and soft drinks. It was still better than nothing, and there was no charge to sit there with a power outlet and a view of the airport.
I left the lounge and looked for some food, but didn’t find anything good. The queue for Family Mart inside the airport was too long, so I just walked to the gate and took a couple of pictures of the massive bridge to the mainland and the plane.
I boarded the plane. The business class seat was comfortable, and overkill as it was a daytime flight.
And away we go.
Today’s inflight menu.
I wanted the Japanese Bento set because it came witrh Miso Soup, but the flight attendants told me that it was made in Thailand and if I wanted Japanese food I should get the Western Set because it was Japanese beef.
The braised beef cheeks were actually quite good. I realize the irony as westerners don’t typically eat beef cheeks.
When the plane arrived in Bangkok I literally had to walk a mile to get to the Oman Air Lounge. I couldn’t get my ticket for my next flight yet because the transfer desk wasn’t open. Luckily I was able to enter the transfer area with an email of my flight itinerary.
I was able to enter the Oman Air lounge and pulled out the laptop to do a little work. Luckily they took my passport to the transfer desk and got my new boarding pass for me. They also had some Thai chicken in the lounge as I didn’t see any restaurants nearby.
I boarded the Oman Air flight. This time the business class seats were much needed as it was a long day with a 5 hour layover in Thailand, another long flight ahead which will pass through even more time zones.
The Oman Air inflight menu.
Not surprisingly I had the lime poached prawns and the grilled beef. The beef was good, but not as good as the beef cheeks on Thai Airways.
I got through immigration in Oman and got yet another stamp.
I checked into the W Muscat and they upgraded my room. It’s a really nice hotel with oceanfront rooms.
Today’s timeline:
