I’m live-blogging my SAS EuroBonus SkyTeam Million Mile challenge this week. Click here for background and route information.
Time for a health update on my son Augustine…some bad news followed (thankfully) by some good news. After coming to the brink of hitting pause for several days, Augustine has made a nice recovery in the comfort of Xiamen Airlines 737 business class.
Xiamen Airlines 737 Business Class
After getting sick on our KLM flight to Jakarta, Augustine vomited again once we arrived in Jakarta.
At this point, I planned to reserve a night at the Park Hyatt Jakarta and call it a night, with the possibility of extending the stay a day or two longer if he needed it.
While I sorted out the transit mess at CGK, Agustine slept.
An hour later, he was like a whole different person. His energy was back. He said he was feeling great.
Ordinarily, I think I would have still said, enough is enough, but based on his improved condition I made the choice to proceed with the rip.
Why?
- We were flying business class on Xiamen (our next two segments)
- Had we paused for even one day, I would have had to change six tickets:
- Xiamen (CGK-XMN-TPE)
- China Airlines (TPE-SGN)
- Vietnam Airlines (SGN-SIN)
- Garuda Indonesia (SIN- CGK)
- China Eastern (CGK-PVG)
- Korean Air (PVG-ICN-LAX)
Had he been really sick, I would have just as soon given up the value on any or all of these tickets, but young Augustine claimed he was feeling “much, much” better and ready to go.
Okay, then.
After a nice break in the Plaza Premium Lounge, we boarded our Xiamen flight…and it was quickly clear upon boarding that our decision to proceed was the correct one.
The lovely flight attendants doted over Augustine from the moment we boarded, making sure he was comfortable.
Yes, the Xiamen 737 has only eight old-school business class seats that do not lie-flat, but the extra legroom and recline made a difference…for Augustine.
Slippers and Voss water were provided at each seat in the seatback pocket.
What surprised me the most was that Augustine loved the food onboard…a midnight snack included noodles and soup and Augustine devoured it.
I was apprehensive…I thought he should take it easy, but he greatly enjoyed his meal. I’m so glad one of us likes Chinese food! (though I thought the soup was very good)
While I could not sleep in the seat, Augustine did..and we arrived to a cold, damp morning in Xiamen.
This time, Augustine was not sluggish or tired…he was chipper. Seems it was just jetlag and maybe too much ice cream…
Nothing better than snacking with some Zhawuxiang to enjoy your flight.
Color me amused that your son is far more adventurous with food than you are…
The kid likes noodles…I guess he doesn’t discriminate against what’s on them!
Awe and I was sooooo hoping to see a disaster post one of these days.
LOL
Very good. Eating like a horse is always a sign of recovery from a bug.
Yay. Good meal for recovery!
Vomiting twice but attributing it to eating too much ice cream? That is medical judgment that is in the toilet. Matthew is a fine travel writer but his medical knowledge is terrible, despite his wife being a nurse. Overeating ice cream doesn’t cause multiple episodes of vomiting over 36 hours. It may have been a moderate listeria infection.
This is why Matthew should stop being a bad influence and start wearing masks while writing about it. The pandemic is ongoing with people still dying.
Not sure if this is serious or satire…
Derek, the posts may be delayed but he threw up twice in a two hour period, NOT 36 hours, and (fast forward to today) was perfectly fine after it. No more problems for the rest of the trip.
So no, you can take your mask and shove it…
Get off the internet, gag yourself with your mask, and bend over for your next booster wise guy…
Chinese culture is very much child oriented, and quite male child oriented (or at least it can be), so no wonder they took awesome care of him.
So pleased to hear he made a good recovery.
I suppose there’ll be no drama connecting in XMN, and probably also at TPE.
“After a nice break in the Plaza Premium Lounge, we boarded our Xiamen flight…and it was quickly *clean* upon boarding that our decision to proceed was the correct one.” “Clear” instead of “clean”?
Good catch.
Great news! A couple of vomits after some long haul flights and lots of ice cream isn’t a medical emergency in my opinion. As noted in the last post I’ve has numerous of these episodes and the kids recover quickly usually with a good rest.
My daughter was sick after arriving from Sydney into sfo (again she was woken from a deep sleep for arrival). She slept on a daybed in the United lounge and woke up after an hour feeling great. I was on the verge of cancelling the next leg but we got through fine.