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The Princess Goes to Singapore on MSY-ORD-NRT-SIN-NRT-ORD-MSY (UAL C Class)

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The Princess Goes to Singapore on MSY-ORD-NRT-SIN-NRT-ORD-MSY (UAL C Class)

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Old Jan 21, 2004, 2:25 pm
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The Princess Goes to Singapore on MSY-ORD-NRT-SIN-NRT-ORD-MSY (UAL C Class)

The Princess Goes to Singapore – Part 1 – The trip over the Pacific

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

I woke up at the ungodly hour of 4:30AM this morning. The two days prior to this trip I had been in New York for business and didn’t land in New Orleans till 10:30PM Tuesday night, which meant I had a late night of packing ahead of me. I hadn’t gotten to bed till almost 1AM and woke up 3.5 short hours later to finish packing and shower for my long journey Singapore. Getting up wasn’t too bad since I knew I was going on a pleasure trip and not a business trip. I was actually ready and packed by about 5:45AM which was ahead of my schedule of 6AM. Dad got up early with and made a small pot of coffee for me and off I went in “Mom’s Taxi” to the airport. (Thanks Mom & Dad)

I got to the airport pretty early for my 7:40AM departure to Chicago, expecting there to be long lines at the United Airlines (UAL) counter. Luckily there was no line and I checked in immediately. Since check in was a breeze I had close to 45 minutes before they even began boarding. Nothing much is open at the airport this time of the morning other than a few food shops. I passed the time by reading a magazine and people watching.

Boarding started right on time and I took my first class seat (1C). Coffee was offered for a pre-departure beverage and was pleasantly surprised to find out that UAL served Starbucks coffee. Good thing, I needed the caffeine to make it with so little sleep. I am really trying to hold out till I get on the Chicago-Tokyo flight to sleep in the comfy biz class seats with footrests and such. The plane was very empty and only 4 of the 8 FC seats were taken. After take off the FA brought me another steaming cup of Starbucks! Breakfast trays were then passed out. Continental is my airline of choice and I think the CO breakfast food on domestic flights is better than what I received this morning on UAL. Presentation was nice with a linen tablecloth (haven’t seen those on domestic CO in over a year) but the food was ho hum. Breakfast consisted of a small fruit plate (grapes, one strawberry, pineapple slices, and kiwi slices), an Eli’s Oatmeal Raisin bar (which I stuffed in my bag for later consumption) and a breakfast panini. The panini consisted of a biscuit dough crust stuffed with scrambled eggs, cheese, and ham. I scooped out and ate the “protein middle” and discarded the crust figuring it had the most fat and calories. I knew the international flights ahead would be laden with food so I was trying to save up my caloric intake for the international business class food.

We landed in Chicago (ORD) right on schedule. The temperature outside was pretty chilly and the FA asked where my coat was. I told her I was only passing through and headed for warmer climates. MSY-MSP had left a text message telling me which Red Carpet Club (RCC, the UAL lounge) he was hanging out in. I flashed my business class boarding pass (BP) and collected my one free drink chit from the agent. We checked email and made phone calls before our long flight to Tokyo (NRT).

Shortly before boarding we walked around the terminal aware that we would be trapped on the plane for the next 13.5 hours. Our scheduled departure was 12:10PM (UAL flight 881) and we made our way to the gate about 30 minutes prior. They were boarding through 2 doors but it was still mass confusion since the plane was packed full.

We were seated in the upper deck of a Boeing 747-400. Our seats were 16G&H. I really like the feel of this mini cabin. There are only 24 seats on the upper deck which makes for an intimate quiet flight setting. We settled into our seats. Amenity kits and headphones were in the seat back pocket. The amenity kit was ho hum but had the essentials (socks, eyeshade, toothbrush & paste, and a small lotion). CO has a much nicer kit that includes lip balm and better products.

Takeoff was right on time. Lunch orders were taken quickly. First they passed through with the drink cart and passed out cold nuts. Deciding to start the trip off right I started off with a glass of Brut Royal, Pommery, NV champagne.

Starters were passed out from the cart, which I think is it bit crass for a biz class service.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">To Begin (as printed in the menu)

Spiced shrimp and chicken Wellington
Cocktail sauce and fresh lemon

Garden Salad
Asian Sesame ginger dressing</font>
The shrimp didn’t have any spice on them that I could tell. The plate had three shrimp. I ate about 1.5 shrimp and decided I would save room for the rest of the meal. I don’t like chicken Wellington so I don’t know if it was good. The garden salad was fresh and tasty.

Salad plates were cleared and the main course was served from the galley.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Main Course (as printed in the menu)

Filet mignon with barbecue sauce
Buttermilk mashed potatoes and braised Swiss chard

Macadamia nut breast of chicken with plum sauce
Mushroom fried rice and broccoli florets

Japanese Obento selection
An appetizer of salmon sushi, rolled egg with salmon roe, chicken roll marinated fried shrimp and buckwheat noodles
A main course of braised white fish and vegetables with mushroom, dried daikon, Japanese-style beef and steamed rice with peas served with green tea</font>
I chose the filet, because there was going to be a chicken dish as a pre arrival snack and I don’t eat sushi. It was a bit over done for my taste but there was some hint of pink in the middle. MSY-MSP chose the Obento box and said it good but he would probably not order it again. Dinner trays were cleared promptly and shortly there after they were out again with the cart for after dinner drinks and dessert.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Dessert (as printed in the menu)

International cheese selection
Havarti and Longhorn Cheddar cheese

Eli’s Crčme Caramel cheesecake </font>
Another difference between CO and UAL is that CO has a separate cheese course and dessert is always hot fudge sundaes made fresh in the aisle from the silver trolley.

MSY-MSP and I both chose the cheesecake which was creamy and filling with a glass of Sandeman port.

During dinner we watched our in seat personal TVs (PTV). I watched Under the Tuscan Sun and MSY-MSP watched Freaky Friday. I dozed off before the end of the movie so I have no idea how it ends.

The rest of the service dishes were cleared and the cabin settled in for our long crossing. The entire flight would be in daylight so that asked everyone to shut the window shades. We would be taking the northern route flying over Alaska and along the coast of Russia and then down to Tokyo.

Seeing as it was the middle of the afternoon and I wasn’t terribly tired we settled in for another movie. This time we picked a DVD to watch on the computer. We decided on Disney’s animated Finding Nemo. MSY-MSP didn’t approve of my cheap earphones I had brought along and decided we needed to do something about them once we go to Singapore (more on this later). Finding Nemo was adorable and I highly recommend it for those who haven’t seen it. Still not tired more movies were in order. I watched Road to Perdition on my laptop and MSY-MSP watched Lord of the Rings II on his. Once again I fell asleep just before the end so I have no idea how it ends.

The cabin was dark and quiet now. I settled in for a few good hours of shut eye. I donned my eyeshades, reclined my seat and caught some much needed sleep. I woke a few short hours later thinking we must be getting close. I checked the airshow map on my personal TV only to find out that we still had 4.5 hours more to go. I was ready to jump out the plane at this time. I had hit the proverbial wall in flying. This was the longest flight I had ever taken and was ready to get off the plane.

The mid-flight snack cart was placed mid cabin and was a serve yourself type option.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Midflight Snack (as printed in the menu)

Please help yourself to assorted treats between the two main meals.
Sandwiched or noodles are available upon request. </font>
Since I was now wide awake I decide to peruse the snack cart. It was stocked with ham cheese sandwiches, cheese and crackers, chocolate chip shortbread cookies, Jelly Belly jelly beans, Toblerone chocolates, cheese and crackers and hand fruit (bananas, apples, oranges). I wasn’t really hungry yet but I did take a few cookies for later on at the hotel. I restlessly flipped channels on the PTV but couldn’t really concentrate on any one movie. I watched Matchstick Men but really have no idea what this movie was about. Finally I managed to go back to sleep.

When I woke back up I thought a half a sandwich sounded good. Making my way back to the snack tray I found locust had attacked it! There was nothing but a few crackers left. I went to the galley and asked the FA if she had any more sandwiches. She said they were out. Bummed I decided I really didn’t need it anyway. We would be having our landing meal in not too long. A few minutes later the FA appeared at my seat with a sandwich. She went down and had gotten me one from the first class cabin. I thought that was awfully nice of her, and told her so. I munched on my sandwich and chatted with MSY-MSP about what we would like to do once we got to Singapore.

Approximately 1.5 hours before arrival the cabin came to life and you could here the clanking of dishes in the galley, which meant arrival was fairly close and a pre arrival snack was on it’s way.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Prior to Arrival (as printed in the menu)

Breast of chicken with wild mushroom sauce
Risotto with white wine and peas and a fresh fruit appetizer

Or

Fresh seasonal fruit plate with creamy yogurt </font>
MSY-MSP and I both had the chicken, which was surprisingly moist. I was really glad that we would be landing soon. I was tired of being cooped up in the plane. We landed in NRT a few minutes ahead of schedule. Our flying time had been just shy of 13.5 hours.

We had to reclear security in NRT but it was very efficient. TSA could learn something from the Japanese on efficiency. We only had a little over an hour to make our connecting flight to Singapore (SIN) hence we had no time to enjoy the famous lounge in NRT. We did however stop in to use the clean restrooms. We headed over to the SIN departure gate, where boarding had already commenced. There was a separate cue for biz and FC passengers so we didn’t have to wait in the long line. They were also boarding using two doors.

The flight from SIN – NRT was on a Boeing 777 airplane flight UAL 801. The legroom wasn’t quite as roomy as the 747 but was adequate for the relatively shorter flight to SIN. Our seats were 13 G&H. Scheduled flying time was 7.5 hours. The entire flight crew was Asian and they were extremely polite and efficient.

After takeoff dinner menus were passed out and orders were taken. The drink carts were used for pre dinner drinks. A packet of “kibble” was served with it. Calling this a nut mix was a joke. There were maybe 3 peanuts in the small bag. The rest were little pretzels and such.

Starters were served also from the cart.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> To Begin (as printed in the menu)

Herb marinated shrimp
Mesculan salad with Asian-style dressing</font>
The starters were all on one plate. It was good but nothing spectacular. I was getting really tired at this point. Tokyo is almost 12 hours ahead of the US so it was now some ungodly hour of the night back in the states. Dinner trays were served.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Main course (as printed in the menu)

Orange and honey braised pork chop
Chicken rice, carrot spaghetti and sautéed spinach with bacon

Pulehu breast of chicken with teriyaki sauce
Stir-fried rice and snap peas with red peppers

Yuzu-flavored red snapper with taro potato
Grilled yuba, mushrooms and hanagata rice with yukari powder</font>
I chose the pork chop and MSY-MSP had the chicken. I could barely keep my eyes open at this point. I had about three bites of pork chop and I don’t really remember if it was good or not.

They brought out the cart once again to serve dessert and after dinner drinks.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Dessert (as printed in the menu)

Tropical sherbert medley
Orange, mango, and raspberry flavored</font>
I didn’t touch the dessert and the only thing on my mind was sleep! I couldn’t wait for them to dim the overhead lights.

We didn’t get new amenity kits on the second flight, which I thought was really cheap on UA’s part. If you were to fly the same distance to Europe from the USA you would have received a fresh amenity kit. Such as life, luckily I had remembered to bring mine with me from the previous flight. The cabin lights were dimmed and MSY-MSP and I both settled in for some much needed sleep.

We landed in SIN at approximately 11:30 PM local time (approximately noon in the states). We cleared immigration quickly and popped into the duty free store for a bottle of wine. I picked up a bottle of 1998 Jacob’s Creek Cabernet Shiraz Limited Release to enjoy at the hotel over the weekend.

Cabs were plentiful and we hopped a cab and headed to our hotel. Downtown Singapore is only a short 20 minute ride from the airport. The cab was less than S$20 (less than $15 USD).

We checked in to the Conrad Centennial Hotel and were given nice room on the executive floor. The room was well laid out and had a big work desk, two dining room type chairs, and a big comfy chair with ottoman.

The bathroom was very large, and had mirrors on three of the four walls. It was well lit and well stocked with amenities including the famous Conrad rubber duck. We had a nice glass enclosed walk in shower and a separate large soaking tub. Two terry cloth robes were provided.

We were both tired but weren’t ready to crawl into bed since we had been cooped up for so long on two very lengthy flights. Out we went for a little midnight stroll around the area surrounding the hotel in the balmy air. Not much was open but it was good to be out in the fresh air and stretch our legs. It was after 1AM and we decided we needed to adjust to local time and go to bed. I took a nice warm soak in the tub before jumping into bed. I felt so refreshed.

Coming Soon: Part II – Which will cover what I did and saw in Singapore including pictures!


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Old Jan 21, 2004, 4:33 pm
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Rachel this is simply a non-stop exciting trip report...cannot wait to read the rest of it...

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Old Jan 21, 2004, 6:10 pm
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One drink chit...kiddo the RCC ripped you off...you should have gotten two.
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Old Jan 21, 2004, 6:39 pm
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Hi Rachel, you're putting me to shame that you have already started your Trip Report and I'm still to start mine from our trip.

You're lucky that you don't live in Australia then, if you don't like long flights . Look forward to reading the next installment.
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Old Jan 21, 2004, 8:12 pm
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by auh2o:
One drink chit...kiddo the RCC ripped you off...you should have gotten two. </font>

I should have checked with the master before entering the RCC for the first time. I am a RCC newbie. I didn't know any better
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Old Jan 21, 2004, 8:17 pm
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Finally another "Princess does/goes..." trip report.

Mike

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Old Jan 22, 2004, 9:54 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by auh2o:
One drink chit...kiddo the RCC ripped you off...you should have gotten two. </font>
But remember, Rachel's used to the 'free flowing' beverages at CO's PC's!!

PS- I had the same experience on a UA EWR-IAD-EZE where I initally received a measly one drink coupon, I had to go back and ask for more, all the while knowing they were thinking "boy, is she an alcoholic, or what!"
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Old Jan 22, 2004, 9:56 am
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Great report! and sooo sorry I missed everyone. Nice to see your comments on UA vs CO. I thought I was the only one to think CO was somewhat better than my recent experiences in UA (both domestic & int'l)!
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Old Jan 22, 2004, 9:11 pm
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I am so jealous.

Your report brings back fond memories!

Reminds me of my last 2 January trips to SIN with other FT buddies. Ah, how I miss those chile crabs at 1:00AM.

Dan
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Old Jan 26, 2004, 6:12 pm
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The Princess Goes Singapore – Part II – What I Did While in Singapore

Friday, January 16, 2004

Sleeping in was a good thing. No alarm clocks this morning. After all this is supposed to be vacation! Doing pretty good I got moving around 9AM and took a fabulous steam shower. Our room was on the executive floor, which meant we got complimentary breakfast in the lounge. We made our way to the lounge and we were seated at a lovely table for two by the window on the 31st floor, overlooking the city. The breakfast buffet was quite impressive. There were scrambled, banana French toast, bacon, sausage, a dim sum basket, fresh breads and pastries, hot and cold cereals, and fresh fruit. There was also a selection of fruit juices and milk. A lounge attendant would bring each table a fresh pot of coffee or tea. Cold Evian water was chilling in a bowl on the buffet. The lounge attendants were very attentive and cleared away dirty dishes promptly and kept coffee/tea cups full.

Sufficiently stuffed we made our way down to the concierge to arrange a city bus tour. The concierge was extremely helpful and polite and arranged a 3PM tour. We had the entire morning to explore on our own.

Just across the street is one HUGE mall, Suntec City. You can get seriously lost in this mall. It’s on multi-levels that begin and end without warning. In some ways I felt like I was in a fun house, going up and down all the escalators. I am positive we went in EVERY electronics/cell phone/gadget gizmo shop in the mall. MSY-MSP was looking for this very specific set of earphones. It just wasn’t happening. They were nowhere to be found. I did however find a new headset for my cell phone.

It was getting to be lunchtime, so we headed down to the food court in the mall. This food court was definitely not like any food court in the states. Apparently all the stalls are owned by one company because the stalls are only identified by the type of food that is prepared at the stall. For example, there was Beef Noodles, Fish Ball Soup, etc. I had peppered beef with rice and MSY-MSP had a noodle soup bowl with funny things floating in it.

It was nearing the time that the car to pick us up for the tour was due at the hotel so we headed back to drop off our packages and pick up our sunglasses and cameras so we could truly play tourist. :-) The car was right on time and took us to meet the rest of our tour group.

Our orientation tour of the city which began with a drive pass the "Colonial Heart" for a view of Padang, Cricket Club, Parliament House, Supreme Court and City Hall. Enroute to Thian Hock Keng Temple, one of the oldest temple in Singapore, the coach passed Chinatown. Next stop was at Mount Faber for a panoramic view of the harbour before proceeding to a local handicraft centre. The tour then continued to the National Orchid Garden located within the beautiful [b]Botanic Gardens. Our final stop was at Little India.

The tour gave us a nice overview of the city. I could have done without the stop in Little India. We really weren’t given time to shop in Little India but luckily we had time to stop back through on Saturday. The tour was interesting and gave lots of little tidbits about like in Singapore. I would recommend this tour for a first timer to the city.

The tour was over 3 hours long and it was getting late in the evening when we made our way back to the hotel. Our evening plans were to head over to the Night Safari. The Night Safari is located next to the local zoo but is set up especially for viewing the animals that are only out at night due to the extreme heat in Singapore. The zoo was a little ways away but thankfully taxis are cheap. Our night safari included walking tours and a tram tour. We boarded the tram and began our adventure. The tram is very dark and doesn’t use headlights so you don’t disturb the animals. There is strategic placed lighting in the zoo so you can still see the animals. Half way through the tour the tram stops and you can take a few walking trails. Taking pictures here was rather difficult if you didn’t have high-speed film and a tripod.

After getting off the tram halfway and walking the trails it was pretty late. The park is open till midnight and it was after 10PM. Jet lag I think was starting to catch up with me. We boarded the tram for the last part of the tour and I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. It was just so dark and peaceful in the park that I slept like a baby on the tram. Taxis were plentiful outside the park and we hopped a ride back to our hotel. The taxi ride back was MSY-MSP’s turn for jet lag to catch up with him. After a nice cool shower, it felt so good to fall asleep.

Saturday, January 17 2004

Hoping not to waste too much time an alarm clock was a necessary evil this morning. Of course it seemed way too early when it went off. Breakfast once again was in the executive lounge. The selections this morning were similar to yesterday with a few modifications (specifically no banana French toast).

After our leisurely breakfast we consulted our guidebooks and decided to explore the area around Boat Quay and Clarke Quay. Before heading out MSY-MSP tasked the concierge with finding a shop that sold the elusive headphones he was in search of for me. I had little faith that the young concierge would find them. The weather was nice so we walked over to Clarke Quay, instead of taking a taxi. Most of the shops and restaurants weren’t open and we decided the area must be more happening in the evenings. You could however take a traditional “bumboat” river tour. The boat cruise was approximately 45 minutes long and gave a history of the area and pointed out significant points of interest along the river. It was very cheap and I thought worth the price. It was getting late so we walked back to the hotel since we were meeting some long time friends of mine at 1:30PM.

Nancy, Dirk and their two girls Rylee and Erin (The Smith’s) met us in the hotel lobby. MSY-MSP checked back with the concierge and low and behold they were able to track down the elusive headphones. Since the store wasn’t open on Sunday and would be closing shortly MSY-MSP went to purchase the headphones and the Smiths and I headed to Chinatown for lunch. Dirk took us to one of his favorite restaurants in Chinatown (Xin Tao Yuan Restaurant. It is located at 63 Tanjong Pagar Road and the phone number is 6323 6367) . We never would have found this place without his knowledge. Dirk did all the ordering and he did a great job. We had spicy beef noodles, which were prepared fresh in the front of the restaurant, absolutely fabulous. A shredded pork “fajita” since I don’t know what else to call it. It was a sort of sweet pork that you wrapped in flour tortillas and finally steamed dumplings. It was all delicious and Dirk, Nancy and I caught up on things that had happened in our lives recently. MSY-MSP arrived shortly after carrying the now famous earphones and quickly ate lunch.

We walked over to the outdoor market area in Chinatown. It was wall to wall people. It sort of felt like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. The vendors were set up very close to each other in the walkways. Chinese New Year was less than a week away so people were really cramming the markets to buy new items for the Chinese New Year (the year of the monkey). I bought several small souvenir items to take back home. Rylee and I both got a coconut drink. Basically they crack the top off the coconut right in front of you stick a straw in it and that’s it. It’s now a drink. It was really sweet and I was still full from lunch so I didn’t finish it. It made for a cool picture though. Nancy also bought some barbecued pork slices which were yummy. I would have brought some back if we would have been able to bring meat products back on the plane.

Our next stop was Arab Street in Little India. Many of the shops were closing but Dirk wanted to buy Dad an Indian sarong. Dirk modeled the sarong so I would be able to show dad how to put it on.

It was getting late and MSY-MSP and I had plans to meet some of FT Sin Runner’s for dinner than evening so we had to part ways with the Smiths. Seeing Dirk and Nancy and their two children was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Dirk and Nancy have been living in Singapore for three years and I haven’t seen them since they moved away and it was sad to see them go but I am glad I got visit them in there home away from home.

We hopped a taxi back to the hotel and had a quick shower and made it just in time to meet jan_az, SanDiego1K, w8sn, chemist661, mjm, dlouise37 (and spouse), zvezda and others I can’t recall by name for pre-dinner drinks in the lounge. mjm had arranged a taxi van for us and we headed over to Jumbo Seafood at the East Coast Seafood Market. Officially we were there for the chili crab but I definitely have to say that I really preferred the pepper crab washed down with a cold Tiger beer. The company and the food were both very pleasant.

The group headed back to the Conrad. Those of us with fortitude headed to the lobby bar. The bartender wasn’t the best mixologist so the crowd thinned once again and we headed to the bar across the street from the hotel. Violist treated us to a bottle of Merlot and we all had some fun conversation regarding the ever elusive question of why guys asks girls for their phone number in a bar and then don’t call.

It was getting really late at this point but still being troopers the last of the crowd came up to our room to drink the bottle of Jacob’s Creek I bought at the Duty Free in Singapore’s Changi Airport. We tried calling a few of our frequent flyer friends back in the states but since it was the weekend not many people were around. The bottle of wine was empty and MSY-MSP was already half asleep so it was time bid adieu to our friends and catch a few hours sleep before our early morning wake up call.

Sunday, January 18, 2004

Having had a fairly late night Sunday morning seemed dreadfully early. Listening to the alarm I really dreaded the fact that we had scheduled a morning excursion We willed ourselves up and got dressed and made it down in time for our 8:30AM pick up. There was no time for breakfast so the emergency granola bars in my backpack came in handy.

Today we were taking a half day trip to Malaysia. We drove across the causeway linking Singapore and Malaysia. As we are driving across the bridge MSY-MSP, being the good child thinks I should call my parents and let them know that I am leaving Singapore for another country. I used his world phone to let them know where to come collect the body should I become missing in the next 24 hours. After immigration formalities, we commenced our tour of Johor Batu with a visit to Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque, a Moorish-styled mosque that is strategically positioned on top of a hill overlooking the Straits of Johor. Built in 1900 and is one of the most beautiful mosques in Malaysia, before arriving at a Kampong. The next stop was at a Muslim cemetery with a view from the exterior The Royal Mausoleum, an area where one can't help but appreciate the serene and tranquil atmosphere befitting a resting place for eternity. The Royal Mausoleum has been the final place for Royalty of Johor and the architecture is one of a fine, unique and aesthetic design of yesterday. Our final stop was a handicraft center to observe batik painting.

This tour wasn’t as well organized as the city tour on Friday. Crossing the border was a lengthy process. We probably wasted about an hour each way crossing the border. It was however cool to get the Malaysian stamp in our passport. The batik painting was really cool and we got some good deals at the little shop attached but the rest of the tour was a bit of a disappointment. Crossing back over to Singapore was a disaster. Everyone on the bus cleared immigration quickly except for one young Indonesian gentleman. He was with a group of 10 other Indonesians. They didn’t speak English but apparently he was detained because they thought he was trying to extend his Visa and work in Singapore. I think there was something fishy going on with the group because they never left the bus at any of the stops. Finally things were cleared up and we headed back to Singapore.

Lacking sufficient sleep the night before and lack of breakfast we were glad to get back to Singapore. We didn’t get back to our hotel to almost 2PM. We headed to a quick service Thai restaurant fairly close to the hotel. MSY-MSP went back out to the mall to buy a new cell phone that he thought was totally cool. (okay it was cool, but MSY-MSP already currently has 3 cell phones, how many phones does one person need? )

After returning from Malaysia we met up once again with our Flyertalk friends (SanDiego1K, jan_az, and chemist661) at the Raffles Hotel for Afternoon Tea in the Billiard Room. Tea was a welcome refreshment in the afternoon heat. It was a traditional English tea, with sandwiches, scones, and little dessert pastries.

After tea we headed up to the famous Long Bar and partook in the famous Singapore Sling. I can’t say I really like the Singapore Sling but I am glad I can now add it to the list of things I have done. After finishing our drinks we walked around the hotel and perused the Raffles Museum and gift shop. We bought several souvenirs including the children’s book based on the true story of a Tiger finding it’s way into the Billiard Room!

Our flight the next day was at 7 in the morning and our room looked like an explosion had gone off with all the clothes and bags all over the place. After lunch we took the time to clean up and pack up our stuff since we needed to leave at 5:30 in the morning for our return flights to the US.

The only “Western” meal we ate out was Sunday night. It was late and the room service menu just wasn’t that exciting so we headed to the German brew pub across the street for a quick bite to eat before heading to bed.

The trip was much too short and our time in Singapore was coming to a close. We still had a long day of flying ahead of us but the adventures in the beautiful city of Singapore were ending. Singapore is spectacular country and I am already starting a list of things I want to do when I come back.

To see pictures from our adventures check out the following link:
http://public.fotki.com/prncess674/flyertalk/sin2004/

Coming Soon: Part III – The return trip.


[This message has been edited by prncess674 (edited Jan 28, 2004).]
prncess674 is offline  
Old Jan 26, 2004, 8:42 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
Interesting report, but as a resident Singaporean I can't help but nitpick and/or suggest a few things for the future... isn't it always horrible to finish a trip and only then hear what you should have done instead?
  • Suntec City is not the place to buy electronics, try Funan IT Mall (central Sing) or Sim Lim Square (near Little India) instead. If Sim Lim doesn't have your headset, it probably doesn't exist.
  • Food courts usually have a common management that provides signage etc, but the operators are individual little companies.
  • Arab Street is a part of Kampong Glam (the Muslim Quarter), not Little India.
  • Johor Bahru is probably the most boring town in Malaysia, and the Causeway crossing to Singapore is always congested and chaotic. Alas, all the more interesting bits (Melaka, KL and the islands) are a multi-hour drive away.

But glad to hear you enjoyed your stay anyway.
jpatokal is offline  
Old Jan 27, 2004, 10:35 pm
  #12  
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Rochester, MN
Programs: UA GS, AA PLT, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,437
Well to answer the question regarding the purchase of the earphones. I ended up buying them at Sim Lim Square. The first place was closed, but sent me to there. Got them at a better price than you could even get them in the states. I have to go back there when next in SIN as that place is a gadget persons dream.
MSY-MSP is offline  
Old Jan 28, 2004, 2:03 am
  #13  
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: YYJ
Posts: 4,137
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by prncess674:
[b]Violist treated us to a bottle of Merlot and we all had some fun conversation regarding the ever elusive question of why guys asks girls for their phone number in a bar and then don’t call.</font>
My guess would be the beer goggles

(Ducks...)

cedric is offline  
Old Jan 28, 2004, 6:53 pm
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 4
Excellent Report! So much detail and its so much fun to read!

------------------
Respectfully Yours,
Leigh K.
LeighK is offline  
Old Jan 30, 2004, 10:24 am
  #15  
In memoriam
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
Thanks much for the report: makes me almost
feel as though I had been there ... oh, wait
a sec ...

Glad you and MSY-MSP had a good time.
violist is offline  


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