Gatwick Alan

Stepped off the plane at 9.43pm at one of the far gates, a brisk walk to immigration, cleared that at 9.52pm, walked to baggage and collected my suitcase at 9.55pm and was in a cab at 9.58pm.
Stepped up to the front desk at the hotel at 10.18pm. This is Singapore. Efficient in every way.
As soon as I handed my booking over at the front desk, a Guest Services Manager or some such title rush over to attend to me, escort me to and check me into my Club room.

The next morning I went for breakfast in the club and I don’t remember it being that good last time.

There’s not much to say about Singapore that I haven’t said in previous reports. By god its hot and sticky today though and the predicted thunderstorms arrived by lunchtime, which was a bit of a relief.

The food in the club in the evening is more style over substance, but they do have a good array of drinks, which I managed to assist in consuming.

Next up - Its my birthday and I’m on a SQ 77W to Seoul

chris78cpr

Still throughly enjoying this report Alan, have a great birthday aboard the 77W! I have flown this bird before and it's a great experience! Make sure you fully take advantage of both the Krug and the Dom!

Look forward to hearing all about it.

Chris

BiziBB

:-: Happy Birthday, Alan! :-:

Thanks to your timezone-tripping, I think it might still be your birthday. Not a bad way to prolong the day, in a range of First Class establishments and suites.

I do not think you are a sad old rocker... you are our young, ace reporter!
You either have balanced your note taking and Dom/Krug intake rather well or have an incredibly good mind which can withstand a few drinks.

Like you say, these reports preserve the fresh experience and memories.

Caz Gordon

Not sure if it's still your Birthday where you are, but it definately is here! So...Happy Birthday Alan! Glad you enjoyed Melbourne and Singapore... probably my favourite place in the world out of the comparatively few that I have visited.
I would say have a drink on me but I think it's probably a bit late for that!
Hopefully, I'll get to look at your photos soon, but as only Kana has an MSN account and keeps her computer account password protected, I can only view them when she's here (and in a good mood!) - teenagers eh?!
Lots of love,
Carol
x

Gatwick Alan

So I set my alarms for 5am, but true to form I’m awake at 4.30, so get up and down some coffee. By 5.30 I’m thinking I might as well head for the airport. I head to the front desk at the hotel and that is the last time I touched my luggage til the baggage belt at Seoul.

They call a cab round for me and I’m off to the T3 first class terminal.
As I exit the cab I’m surrounded by personnel, 2 men attend to my 1 suitcase, whilst 2 women fight for my attention (yeah ok maybe that’s wishful thinking) and I’m escorted into an armchair and a check in lady, who quickly issues the boarding pass and sends me through the private passport control. The lady there wishes me a happy birthday, very attentive !!

Off again to the SKF lounge in T3 which manages to annoy me once again. Please, please, please find something useful for all those people to do instead of hovering to remove things from my table the moment I’ve finished them. Or in the case of one woman to watch me drink coffee and check how much was left, before deciding to remove it.
The array of breakfast food was outstanding and the showers were running hot today too.

After a quick trip to the shops to buy my mother a gift, never forget your mother!!, it was off to A14 and my first sighting of the 77W first class cabin.

I was in seat 1A and only one other seat was occupied, 2K on the far side of the cabin.

When you first look at the seat you just think wow, you could sit 2 of me on that seat.
I found it comfortable as a seat and though I didn’t use it as a bed on this 6 hour daytime flight, that didn’t stop me checking out the size of the bed, to the amusement of the flight attendants. The bed is so wide that if you are one of those people who likes to curl up, you’ll have no problem doing so.
The 23 inch widescreen tv is just amazing and with such a huge collection of films, tv, music and games I was at a loss what to tackle first.
Playing games such as Bejewelled 2 on that screen is better than playing on the computer at home.
To reinforce my reputation as a sad old rocker, I found Neil Young live at the Massey Hall 1971, so that got a play too.
I was also able to put my photos on the screen for viewing, as well as write up the menu ready for the report - Amazing

I was extremely upset when the captain announced a short flight time of 5 hours and 45 minutes and when the inflight manager asked if there was anything he could do for me, I said yes, slow the plane down !!

If possible the crew were even better than the last 2 flights with a totally outstanding service, drinks kept full, meals spread out through the flight and even wine recommendations. Have to say I thought the Cloudy Bay was excellent.

The crew shook my hand and wished me happy birthday, and as I left the plane one of them handed me a bottle of water and said you’ll need that on the bus journey into town.

The menu is below. How do SQ manage to serve Steak which is so tender and moist, and for those that know me, that chocolate dessert was to die for.

Canapes
Satay with onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce

Appetizers
Oven baked warm Oyster with tomato Salsa and corriander cheese sauce in half shell
Terrine of crabmeat and avocado with tomato confit

Soups
Clear Oriental broth with bamboo piths and Yunnan ham
Cream of chantelle mushroom and ceps with chicken

Salad
Butter lettuce heart with baby cress and cherry tomato
sesame soya dressing or Singapore dressing infused with shallot oil

Main Courses
Pan seared beef fillet with green peppercorn sauce sautéed wild mushroom and baby spinach
Korean style chicken with spicy sauce, jap chae and steamed rice
Seafood and rice vermicelli soup

Rack of lamb in Red jus with roasted vegetables and garlic mash potatoes

Salad of oven dried roma tomatoes with mozzerella cheese, couscous and rocket

Desserts
Black and white chocolate cake with passion fruit coullis

Cheeses
Selection of cheeses with garnishes

Fruits
Fresh Fruits in Season


Yes I’d have to say that was the best flight I’ve ever taken.

Kevincm

Happy birthday Gatwich Alan... and congrats on a great Trip report so far ^^^

Gatwick Alan

Thanks for the birthday wishes guys (and gals), lets hope now that i'm a year older i dont get more grumpy.
Ive really enjoyed writing this and it'll bring back memories for me.
BiziBB, its all about restraint, when your head starts to spin, youve had enough alcohol and its time to turn to coffee. Funny really i dont drink much back at home.

Thanks again
Alan

Gatwick Alan

A fairly short walk to immigration was met by a fairly short queue, unfortunately I picked the one with problem people, so immigration took 15 minutes, even though processing me only took 30 seconds. The baggage was already on the belt, so I was still outside in under 30 minutes.

This is a new city and new country for me, I’d done some homework though and opted for the KAL Limo bus. It costs 14000 won, about $14 or 7 pounds. The coach itself is pretty comfortable, being fitted out with old business style seats, only 3 across. As well as a service to the City Air Terminal it also runs 3 routes which call at the major hotels.
I was on the coach that served the Gangnam area.
If you come to Seoul, get a coach, do not get a cab, they are expensive because the airport is a long way out of town and then there’s the traffic.
Ah, yes, the traffic, we covered about 35 of the 40 miles in 35 minutes, the last 5 miles took over an hour. The roads are very wide, 4 or 5 lanes each way in places, but they are still jammed with traffic.

When we eventually got to the Co-ex Intercontinental, I was quickly attended to at the desk, had my priority club membership recognised and escorted to my room on the 27th floor. The upper floors are designated business rooms and come with free internet and free breakfast in the brasserie. That breakfast had the biggest spread of food ive ever seen, the fruit juice was made in front of you with fresh fruit and there was hot and cold dishes of all descriptions. This normally costs 33000 won, about 17 pounds. Eat well and you are set until dinner !!

I chose to stay in the Gangnam area, partly because the better hotels seemed to be there and partly because I like to set off and explore and a city centre hotel would have meant just walking out of the front door.

Opposite the Intercontinental is a very nice temple complex that is worth a look and beneath the hotel is a massive shopping mall, with eateries galore, both western and Korean and sadly there was a Mcdonalds, though I managed to avoid it.
I did find a great CD shop though and managed to part with 15000 won for an Asia live double album.

Now it was time to head up to city hall and explore up there. There is a subway station about 400 yards from the hotel.

The subway in Seoul is easy to use, the lines are colour coded and numbered and the stations are numbered. So for example my journey was from Samsoeng (station 219) on the green line 2 to city hall (station 201). Fares are calculated by distance and a map at the station shows all the fares. You can put coins into the machines or buy from the ticket office. Signs were in English as well as Korean. The train I caught was very modern with video screens advising the next station. Very easy to use, very cheap and recommended if you come to Seoul.

City hall is the stop for Deoksugung Palace and the National Art Gallery.

One thing which did puzzle me was the seating etiquette on the subway, the trains were busy and I remained standing, offering my seat to a lady, but she insisted I should have the seat. Not wishing to offend, I took the seat. I can only imagine that people who had been on the train longest were expected to have the next available seat.

Seoul is architecturally quite an ugly city with lots and lots of high rise blocks of flats built very close together, in amongst all this though are hidden gems, often very historical. I’m one of those people who find looking at anywhere new a worthwhile experience. The city appears to have built to be practical rather than aesthetically pleasing.

The Korean people were unfailingly polite and friendly.

I would say this was a 3 day stopover city, I’m glad I came but wouldn’t put it high on my list of places to return to.

Hope I haven’t gone on too much, but you don’t see too many reports about Seoul.

Next - A drop in class, Asiana C class to Tokyo

BiziBB

Alan, I bet you are a happy old rocker this week. ^
Yes, keep the Korea reports coming as you will see and experience a lot of colourful culture.

Moomba

Another belated birthday wish from me.

I am glad you are enjoying your trip and that my advice is working for you.

I am also very pleased you like my home town. Although I live in London I still call Australia Home.

I look forward to the reading about the rest of your journey.

Gatwick Alan

I caught the bus back to the airport and this time the traffic at 6.50 in the morning was fairly light. I couldn’t help but notice that almost all the cars are black, white or silver.
It gave me the chance to play I Spy on the way to the airport and of the thousands of cars I saw only 1 was red and 2 were blue, no other colours whatsoever. I wonder why that is.

At 8 in the morning Incheon Airport was absolutely heaving. I walked to the Asiana check in area and saw this long snake and thought that must be the economy check in, wrong, that was round the corner and 5 times as long. So I joined the business class snake and took 30 minutes to reach a check in desk. Just as well I was early. As you approach the check in desk the lady gets up and bows before she serves you. I then headed to the only place without queues - KISS - Korea Immigration Smart Service. Security and passport control were done in moments.

Time to bore you with another statistic. Of the 6 airports so far 3 have not required you to take your laptop out of the bag, LHR, KUL and ICN whilst 3 have, BKK, SIN, and MEL.
Now why is this, either 3 airports are being sloppy or 3 are being excessive. I’ll leave you to guess what I think.

There were even long queues at duty free so I headed for the sanctuary of the Asiana business class lounge, which was busy, but seats were available. Food and drink offerings were reasonable and plenty of computers were available.

Eventually I headed for the gate, which had great views of the start of the runway. When Asiana say boarding will begin at 11am, that is exactly what they mean. At precisely 11am the 3 gate agents bowed in unison and pulled back the barriers.

This flight was less than 2 hours, but we had a 777 2 class with the new business class seating. After playing with everything I’d be happy to take this on a long flight, especially with the high level of service from the flight attendants.

There were 2 choices on the menu a 3 course western and a Korean. Despite being the only westerner if the cabin I thought I would try the Korean. They served the other aisle first, so I was able to watch how to eat it, but in any event the dinner came with an instruction card. I’m sure the Koreans watched with amusement as I tried to wrap my beef, rice and paste up in a lettuce leaf.
Wine, tasting first, flowed freely. So did the champagne before take off.
I thought the service was excellent and would be interested to try a long haul in first.

All to soon we are touching down at Narita and after a long taxi, 25 mins, we are at the gate and a long walk to immigration.

Oh dear, have the Japanese been taking lessons from the Americans. This was the worst immigration I’ve had for some years, slower than DFW and on a par with LAX.
When I reached the crocodile there were only 2 desks open for foreigners and the queue kept growing, later they opened 2 more but the queue continued to grow, finally 2 more opened but by this time I’d been queuing for 35 minutes.
Japan have introduced the click, click, smile as in the States. Didn’t seem to work that well as a lot of people were having difficulty pressing hard enough for the prints to register. Down to baggage and of course the belt was already loaded, then customs who wanted to know why one side of my hand luggage looked stiff, that’ll be the laptop then.

Over an hour from stepping off the plane to getting landside, not good, and I had expected efficiency from the Japanese.

Next up - Tokyo

gleff

What an outstanding report ^

Gatwick Alan

I decided to get the airport limo bus and rather like Simongr mentioned in his report, found I had a 25 minute wait, unlike him though I spurned the Shinjuku direct bus and waited for the one that would drop me at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Traffic wasn’t too bad at a journey time of 1 hour and 20 minutes.

This is my first stay at a Hyatt hotel and I joined the membership scheme because they had a special offer on at the time about status, I cant even remember what it was.

My initial impressions weren’t good, the bus let me and several other people off, there was nobody to help with the luggage, so we all traipsed to the front desk. I had a regency club room booked, which seemed to get their attention and I was quickly escorted to my room. I had no idea what to expect from a Hyatt, I am well aware that this is not the best Hyatt in Tokyo, but as I intend to be out and about, I didn’t see the sense in paying out very large sums of money for the other Hyatts.

Ive got no complaints about this one, the room is not stunning, but it does the job, has free internet and most importantly a comfortable bed.

The Regency club is very nice indeed, very large too, but broken up into nice areas, a perfect place to down a Japanese beer or 2 at the end of a hectic day.

There have been some wonderful trip reports written on Tokyo and Japan and I’m not going to attempt to match them, however I will give you my impressions on what I’ve found is a wonderful city and one I should have visited earlier. One thing is for sure I will definitely be back.

At 8.00 am, I’ve visited the club for breakfast, so I’m thinking, right time to get out there and explore.

I walked via the underground passage to the West entrance of Shinjuku station. I think I was the only person walking in that direction, with literally thousands walking against me. It reminded me of when I worked in London and had to walk across London Bridge.

I reached the station, yikes, how many people, for 5 minutes I stood out of the way and just watched thinking how the hell am I going to get on a train. Once I’d built up my resolve, I headed to the ticket office for a 1 day JR local train pass. At about 4 pounds this seemed like a great way to be able to jump on and off trains and get myself a bit orientated. The Yamanote line runs in a circle and connects everything together, but as I discovered as the day went on, jumping on some of the other lines is even quicker and I ended up using 4 different lines. When I first reached the Yamanote line platform, I just stood and watched the heaving masses getting on and off the train. They say if you miss one another will be along in a minute and that is absolutely true on this line, about every 2 minutes in the rush hour.

Once over the initial shock I found the train a very easy and effective way to get around, I jumped on and off at the usual tourist haunts, but must give special mention to Ueno park area which looked stunning with all the cherry blossom out.

At the end of that day I needed a long soak in the bath to rejuvenate my feet !!

Well, I’ve mastered the trains, yeah right!, so its time to have a go at the subway. When the ticket man saw me struggling with the machine, he rushed from his office and showed me how to do it. It’s easy when you know how. The subway works as well as the trains.
I must give the Japanese huge credit for making travel around the city easy for foreigners, something we British could learn, all the announcements and signs on the trains and subway are in English as well as Japanese and around town are plenty of maps with English translation as well. It all makes what could be a daunting city to get around, a pleasure and inspires you to be more adventurous than you otherwise might.
Just be aware its full of people and it sure is busy at the weekend, the queue for boat trips at Asakusa went right across the bridge. I didn’t bother !!

Tokyo should be on everybody’s list of must see cities.

For BiziBB’s amusement I should note, the Japanese are rockers and have great CD shops and 3 more have found their way into my luggage.


Next up - to Washington DC on ANA

anc-ord772

Great report Gatwick Alan! It's nice to see it from the view point of someone who doesn't always travel in international F.

coogeeblue

Great report Alan, I really enjoy reading it, one of the reasons I would love to fly SQ first is because of the satay service they have. You had it as a canape on the Singapore to Seoul leg, but I did't see it on your return trip to Melbourne. Didn't they offer it on those legs or didn't you feel like it?