Around the World with Hello Kitty

Episode 59: Show Notes.

When EVA Air released its Hello Kitty livery on a 777-300ER, we just knew we had to hop on! Today, 10 years later, we reflect on our EVA Air Hello Kitty trip and why this particular adventure is still one of our most memorable. We discuss how we became aware of the Hello Kitty jet, the near-disaster of our first connection, and the wonder of our in-flight experience with Hello Kitty branding, literally, everywhere!  Then, we examine our itinerary, which included stops in Taiwan, Bangkok, Vientiane, Laos, and Singapore, before detailing our experience of the Crowne Plaza Vientiane and other attractions Laos had to offer. We also learn of Tom’s unlikely affair with beer, his aversion to Thai foot massages, why we’re definitely going to do an entire Fifth Freedom Flight episode, and why taxis in Singapore may have saved Trevor’s marriage. To end, we share fond—and socially unacceptable— memories of the entire Lufthansa First-Class (drink!) service, and we rank our Hello Kitty trip as a complete travel experience worthy of high praise.      

Key Points From This Episode:

Quotes:

“Everything was Hello Kitty. You had the Hello Kitty-imprinted butter. You had Hello Kitty signage everywhere. Even the toilet paper in the lavatory was Hello Kitty.” — @tmount [08:31]

“That’s probably the only airline experience that I’ve ever had that has been so complete. It was almost like a Disney World-type experience where they just had everything right; everything aligned to Hello Kitty. I was really impressed with that.” — @tmount [09:09]

“Any lounge that provides ice cream – they get an extra star automatically.” — @TktweetsKim [14:43]

“I am absolutely not a beer drinker. I actually usually detest the beverage – [but] for the weather, for the environment, [Beerlao] was just the best beverage.” — @TktweetsKim [24:22]

“I cannot think of a bad Cathay flight that I’ve flown.” — @TktweetsKim [29:37]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

EVA Air 

EVA Air | Hello Kitty Jet

Sanrio | The Official Home of Hello Kitty and Friends 

Lufthansa

Thai Airways 

Bangkok Airways 

Crowne Plaza Vientiane 

COPE Visitor Centre 

Beerlao Lager 

Cathay Pacific 

United Airlines 

The La Première Experience | Air France 

The Milenomics Podcast Network

Thomas Kim on X

Trevor Mountcastle on X