Moomba

Errm nope. I write them primarily for myself as this flying lark is something <aside> I think I have just answered my own question</aside> I am passionate about. They are a good reminder of my flights for me although I am pleased that others get some enjoyment from them as well. But yes FT is the only place I post my reports.

Ha. I didn't even notice that. After so many flights in the last few years on CX in both J & F I didn't even think about it at the time. Now you point it out that is indeed the F crockery my breakfast was served on.

Moomba

The Photos

The time has come to reveal how I go about flying the return leg of my NZ HKG-LHR-HKG ticket and then making my way back to the UK in yet another long weekend trip to South East Asia.

Roll on Bits and Bobs 4 – "You do things I can only ever dream of"

That was a quote from a colleague at work today after I told them about my long weekend excursion to Hong Kong & Singapore. Thanks to FT I can do the things I only ever dreamed of in the past. ^

The Sunday prior to this adventure I was on the tube going to work (great huh?) as we had a new version of our software to ‘put live’. I was probably looking quite miserable on my journey until at some point the thought crossed my mind that I would be on an NZ aircraft in J heading back to HKG that following Friday night. An involuntary smile immediately transformed my face.

I clung to that thought as I trudged my way through the following week until Friday afternoon knock off time came around.

I headed home and freshened up before gathering up my gear and heading out the door at around 18:00. Now you will never guess but I needed to catch 2 tubes and the HEX to get me to terminal 3. I managed to catch the 18:40 HEX to LHR. The HEX seemed quite empty for a Friday night, let alone a Friday night before a long weekend in the UK.

I was walking up to the empty NZ queue by 19:00 and was stopped at a pre check-in BP check where the agent wrote down what time I showed up for check-in. It looks like they were doing some metrics about how many people show up how long prior to the flight.

I stood in the Business Premier queue for a couple of minutes until an agent became free. She processed my BP and quizzed me about having no checked bags as this was the return journey of this ticket. She asked if I lived in Hong Kong and I said I was flying on to SIN on SQ later on my day of arrival in HKG. She asked if she could see my itinerary. I pulled out a copy and she said ‘Oh you are coming back to London?’ I confirmed and she was finally happy. She wrote out a lounge invite to the UA lounge at T3 and handed it to me along with the BP.

Security was done and dusted in around 3 minutes but this time there was a BP check by UK immigrations. I needed to queue for this for a couple of extra minutes before skilfully avoiding the eye of the shoe x-ray queue guy and scooting past him into the shopping mall.

As usual I avoided the shopping experience at T3 and headed straight down to the lounge. But not the UA lounge, I knew better than that.

I approached the guy at the SQ lounge and handed him my BP and BMI Gold card and he was happy to let me in and directed me upstairs to the Business Lounge.

The lounge is quite small and had the usual seating with a nice view of the tarmac and some computers and food and beverage offerings. The hot food on offer was mushroom soup, vegetable jalfrezi, chicken korma and rice pliau.
I had some soup, chicken and rice along with a refreshing Tiger beer to wash it down. It had been a long time since lunch and the meal on the plane would be a few hours away yet. Around an hour before my flight I headed out and wandered back around to the UA lounge. The lounge agent welcomed me by name (after seeing my BP) and asked me to make myself comfortable in the Business Class section of the lounge.
There were quite a few people in the lounge when I went in. It is quite large though and I had no trouble finding a seat away from the madding crowd.

The offerings in this lounge were pathetic in comparison to the SQ lounge yet this lounge was much busier. Oh well secrets like the SQ lounge should remain that way so that we all can enjoy them more hey?
Crisps, sandwiches, cakes, cookies, pre-packed nuts and pretzels were about the extent of the food offerings. Beer, wine and non alcoholic drinks and coffee/tea were up for the taking as well.

I quickly became bored with this place (they didn't even have any decent magazines to read) and decided to make my way down to the gate at 20:25.

There was no queue as I entered the lounge area where my passport and BP were checked. As my BP was being scanned I heard an announcement calling for certain rows to board through door A and for Business Premier and Premium Econ to board through door B. I walked straight down to door B, flashed my BP and walked onboard the aircraft.

Flight NZ 038 LHR – HKG Seat 3A
Aircraft: B747-400
Departure time: 21:05

I stowed my gear and was greeted by the crew and then offered OJ or sparkling wine before take off. The cabin slowly filled up and the pointy end was completely full by the time the doors were closed.

We pushed back at 21:16 and taxied out past T5 again before heading up into the night sky heading west. As with my last flight out of LHR we turned tail soon after take off until we were heading north east.

On this flight we had the most annoying of fellow passengers – The Sniffer. If there is one thing I hate it is the continual sniff, sniff, bloody sniff. You just want to throw a box of tissues at them and say blow FFS. He seemed to dry up not long into the flight or I might just have had to make good this threat.

The captain came on the horn and gave us a routing and told us flying time would be 10 hours and 50 minutes.

The cabin manager or whatever they are called on NZ came around to introduce herself and hand out landing cards for HKG. When she realised I was flying on to SIN she wrote out a lounge invite for the UA lounge for me instead. We had a bit of a chat about London as she and the rest of the crew were London based.

There was no drinkies round and the crew went about serving the dinner, I gather as it is a later flight they like to get it over with so people can sleep.

The Menu:
Supper:
Fast Dine:
Butternut, lemongrass and coconut soup with roasted red pepper puree

Hot sourdough bread

Chocolates

Starter:
Salad of shitake mushrooms, smoked duck breast, orange and pecan nuts with New Zealand manuka honey mustard dressing.

Bakery:
Black olive sourdough, potato rosemary bread and garlic bread

Main Course:
Braised New Zealand lamb shank with tamarind and dates, lemon, hazelnut and mint pesto, roasted parsnip, carrot and potato

Roast halibut on parmesan mash, green beans and tomato herb salsa and crispy buckwheat

Ginger and hoisin stuffed corn fed chicken breast on shimeji mushroom, wakame seaweed and cashew stir fry with coconut rice and ginger sesame dressing

Dessert:
Gourmet ice cream dessert of strawberry and white chocolate ice cream

Cheese and Fruit:
A selection of Cashel Blue cheese, Mull of Kintyre cheddar and Somerset brie with fresh seasonal fruit


The tray was delivered with the starter already on board and bread and wine were offered by the crew. The wine selection was the same as on my earlier flight to LHR.

In interests of as complete a report as possible I ate the full four courses. The starter was quite nice although I forgot to apply the dressing at first which was provided in a small tub on the tray. I started with the Pinot Noir which was a very nice drop and the switched to the Syrah later with the lamb. The lamb shank was quite nice and actually had some taste without having to add salt.
The ice cream, well it was ice cream and it is pretty hard to go wrong with that. The cheese and fruit were good but not the wonderful cheese I had on the inbound flight.

I finished up with a coffee and then decided to hit the sack.

I made the seat up into a bed which involves the back of the seat folding forward, the back side of which becomes the mattress for the bed. A mattress cover and duvet were supplied along with a nice sized pillow. I slept fitfully during the night flight and found the shoulder area of the bed quite hard and there were joins and bumps where I didn’t want them to be. For a flat bed it wasn’t one of my favourites I am afraid.

I did get some sleep and was woken by a shade opener across the aisle at which time one of the crew was passing though the cabin with hot towels. I got up and went to make my bed back into a seat just as the crew were coming around with morning drinks. One of the crew made my bed back into a seat for me and then offered me a smoothie or juice.

Wake-up Drinks:
Start your day with a fruit smoothie, you choice or juice, freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, jasmine tea, herbal tea or hot chocolate

Light Breakfast:
A bowl of organic muesli topped with yoghurt and fresh fruit is available as a lighter option.

Fast Dine Breakfast:
Please let your flight attendant know if you would like to sleep-in and we will wake as late as possible and offer you a breakfast pastry and a beverage of your choice.

Full Breakfast:
Fruit and cereals will be offered followed by a hot bakery selection and you choice of hot meal or cold plate.

Fresh Fruit Salad

Yoghurt, natural or blueberry

Organic muesli, organic toasted whole wheat, Weetbix, Cornflakes

Bakery:
Croissants, wholemeal and fruit toast with fruit conserve

Hot Breakfast:
Mature cheddar and chive omelette with grilled bacon, wild mushroom ragout and tomatoes

Vanilla poached pear brioche tart with crème fraiche and blackberry compote

Cold Plate:
Ham and mortadella cold plate with brie and cheddar cheese, Dijon mustard and crusty breakfast rolls

I went with the muesli and some toast and I almost squealed with delight (well not really – it just sounds good to say that) when I noticed some vegemite in the basket.

I am afraid I have failed you all in that I could not face the hot breakfast offering as I was still over stuffed from the meal the evening before. I can tell you that the omelette did smell nice though.

I whiled away the time playing sudoku and listening to an AVOD cd, at the same time, on the IFE until such time as we had to lock down for landing.

The captain came on the horn and said he would need to put on the belt sign earlier than normal as we were expecting a bumpy ride descending into HKG.

Just before landing that good old NZ tradition was upheld as the boiled sweets were offered by the crew.

We landed at 15:35 and had a very long taxi to get us to our gate.

The CSD or whatever announced that the Business Premier passengers would be disembarking first followed by the E+ and finally the Economy crowd. Both doors were used as is typical in HKG and I was off in search of an SQ transfer desk.

I supose I had better tell you where these next tickets came from. This next HKG-SIN and the SIN-LHR a couple of days later were courtesy of BMI cash and miles where I was able to secure a F seat on both sectors.

Right now, back to searching for an SQ tansfer desk.
This time I had some smarts about me and checked the transit signage which said I need to go to E2 (IIRC) transit area in order to find an SQ desk.
The NZ flights land down near the W transfer desks at the end of the long pier where the terminal splits into a Y shape. This meant catching the train to the foot of the Y where the E transfer desks were located.

Upon reaching the other end of the line I rose up the escalators and popped out pretty close to where I needed to be. I located the desk and was given my BP for seat 2F. I also asked if I could change from 2A to 2F on the SIN-LHR sector (which turned out to be a good move as you will find out next time).

The agent gave me directions to the lounge which was basically through security and upstairs. Security was quick and efficient as ever in HKG and the lounge was in front of me when I walked off the escalators.

I was greeted by the staff and I enquired if they had showers. The agent I was dealing with said they were out of order at the moment. The other agent suggested I go to the Thai or UA lounge as I could get a shower there. I thanked her and headed back down to the train and back down to where I started.

I went up to the UA lounge near gate 60 and was warmly greeted. I said to the guy I have three options for you in terms of my right of admission to the lounge. My SQ F boarding pass, the NZ invite I got on the plane and my BD gold card. He said I will use this and held up the BP. He said to me by using that he could let me have access to the separate First Class section of the lounge.

He escorted me into the lounge and I enquired about a shower. I had noticed when I walked in there seemed to be a queue in the J section where the showers were. I suspect it was a load of NZ transit pax wanting to freshen up before heading down to Auckland. The agent said I have my own private showers in the F section with no queue and pointed them out to me. Bonus no waiting for me.

The shower suites were quite small but had some nice H2O Spa branded toiletries in them. The suite did have a problem with becoming quite humid though.

After my shower I explored the rest of the F lounge. There was hot and cold food and beer, wine and Laurent Perrier NV champagne which was the same as that served on the NZ flight.

As I did not partake of any on the flight I thought it apropos to do so now with some salad and some dim sum. I checked mail etc on one of the two PCs in the lounge and sat and sipped champagne for a while. I was the only person in the lounge for the entire time I was there.
Around and hour and half before my flight I headed out, thanked the agent and walked the long walk back up to the SQ lounge.

The SQ F lounge in HKG has a reputation of being one of the worst in their network. Well I can confirm that I agree entirely. There was some soup and Singapore noodles on offer with some other cold offerings. I grabbed a tiger beer and some noodles. The lounge is small and was quite crowded with some very noisy people indeed. I decided I’d had enough and gathered my things and went window shopping for 15 minutes or so before heading to the gate just before 18:00.

There was a queue of 4 or 5 people at the F/J elite side which I joined. My BP was checked and the agent told me they would be boarding soon. Eventually they got the all clear and started to push us down the air bridge. When I got to the scanner the agent thanked me for my patience.
As I got to section where the Y pax go down one way and the J and F go the other I was stopped and asked to wait as the crew were not ready for us yet.

A minute or so later I was allowed to proceed down to the aircraft.

Flight SQ 865 HKG – SIN Seat 2F
Aircraft: B747-400
Departure time: 18:30

On board I was escorted to my seat and offered a newspaper. I was then offered a drink and requested champagne. Krug or Dom Perignon sir? Krug please.

The menus for the flight were handed out at which time the FA asked if I would mind swapping with 4A as he was travelling with 2D. She said not to feel obliged and it was entirely up to me. I said I had no problem and gathered up my belongings and walked back to 4A. The guy who swapped didn’t even acknowledge me as we passed. The crew however, were most appreciative and thanked me for being so accommodating.

I was asked what I would like to drink after take off. I said could I be cheeky and do a Dom vs Krug taste test? The FA said that it would not be a problem.

We pushed back at 18:35 and took off over the water after a lengthy taxi.

After the belt sign was switched off the FA came around with a glass and the bottle of Krug to present to me before pouring. He said would I like the Dom now and I said yes please. He soon came back with another glass and the bottle of Dom to present to me. The other FA came around with some garlic flavoured hard bread thingies that were quite tasty.
At one point the lead FA came past and asked if I had made my mind up yet. I said was still deliberating. Later I stopped her and said Krug was the winner. She said I had two bottles to drink on this flight.

The dinner orders were taken whilst I sipped on my Dom and Krug.

The Menu:
Dinner International Selection:
Appetisers:
Oven-baked warm oyster with tomato salsa and spicy cheese sauce in half shell

Gooseliver and smoked goose breast with mesculin salad and port wine jelly

Soup:
Cream of mushroom served with sautéed duck confit and chanterelle mushrooms

Salad:
Baby romaine lettuce with crispy bacon and shaved parmesan Coriander citrus dressing or Thousand Island dressing

Main Courses:
Stewed lamb shank in red wine jus with lentils, seasonal vegetables and potatoes

Prawn dumpling congee – Rice porridge served with prawns and prawn meatballs topped with deep fried Chinese cruellers

Indian butter chicken with spiced vegetables and pilaff rice

Penne pasta with mushrooms in cream sauce

Dessert:
Warm sticky date pudding with vanilla sauce and macadamia ice cream

Cheese:
Selection of cheese with granishes

Fresh Fruit:
A selection of fresh fruit

From the bakery:
Oven fresh rolls with a choice of extra virgin olive oil or butter
Garlic bread

Dinner – a complete and perfect Chinese culinary experience:
Cold xiao chi:
Seabass with bamboo shoot salad

Lobster with bitter gourd and jellyfish salad

Abalone with yam noodle salad

Chicken in rice paper with xo sauce

Cuisine from the wok:
Wok fried pork rib in sweet and sour plum sauce

Steamed marrow stuffed with conpoy

Braised roast duck with chestnut

Braised Chinese greens, mushroom, ginko nuts and white fungus

From the paddyfield:
Choice of steamed ride or porridge

Soup:
Double-boiled chicken soup with ginseng and fish maw

A sweet note:
Sweet herbal tea soup with quail egg and lotus seeds

Selection of Chinese teas:
Pi Lo Chun, Jasmine, Oolong, Tie Guan Yin, Long Jing

Wine List:
Champagnes:
Dom Perignon 2000

Krug Grand Cuvee

White Wines:
Mersault Les Clous 2005 Bouchard Pere et Fils

Beaune Du Chateau Premier Cru 2006 Bouchard Pere Et Fils

Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett 2005 Mosel-Sarr-Ruwer

Red Wines:
Chianti Classico 2001 Castello Di Brolio

Chateau Leoville-Poyferre 1999 Saint-Julien

Port:
Dow’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port Portugal

Tea Selection:
Pure Ceylon Tea
Earl Grey
Darjeeling
Camomile
Decaffeinated Tea
Fruit Tea
Japanese Green Tea
Mint Tea

Chinese Tea Selection:
Jasmine
Ooolong
Tie Guan Yin
Long Jin
Pi Lo Chun

Gourmet Coffees:
Brazil Santos Bourbon
Colombian Supremo
Jamaican Blue Mountain
Kenyan AA ‘Kilimanjaro’

As I am not a fan of oysters I started with the goose liver which was a tasty start to the meal. I followed up with the mushroom soup which was absolutely delicious. The salad was quite nice and fresh. I had booked the cook several weeks ago and my main was none of the above. I had pre-ordered the Lobster Thermidor. This was very tasty and quite a substantial amount to boot.

I was drinking Krug throughout the meal, well actually I was drinking Krug throughout the whole flight, truth be told.

I was asked if I wanted dessert and said could I sit for a while which wasn’t a problem.

At one of the Krug refill points I asked the FA if I was the only one drinking champagne, after noting the near empty bottle. She confirmed I was and I said you mean I made you open a bottle of DOM for one glass? She said not to worry and topped up my Krug a little more now that the bubbles had settled. I suppose I should add here that it was an entirely full F cabin on this flight.

I asked for the dessert a while later and for a Blue Mountain coffee. Both were lovely and I was full up to pussy’s bow towards the end of the flight.

My lovely leading FA appeared again and refilled my glass, this time with a new bottle of Krug. I downed a couple of more glasses before the flight was through always at her prompting. How do these crew know that I am a champagne lush? I have no idea do you?

As usual with these champagne fuelled reports the details tend to dwindle off towards the end of the flight. I do recall Mr 4B or is it C? do the unthinkable and puked his way through the descent. He had been sleeping the entire flight and did not eat anything so perhasp he knew what was to come.

There is no arrival time noted in my little book but it was supposed to be around 20:10. We did land at the new terminal and I proceeded to catch the train to the immigration area. The large hall was empty and I walked straight up to a waiting agent. I was quickly processed and then headed out of the baggage hall. A limo taxi ride later and I was at the check-in desk of the Sheraton Towers Singapore.

I noticed that the room number was on the 14th floor. Just when I had almost given up on these people they deliver a decent upgrade. Usually I have been assigned the 5th floor rooms with no view but an outside balcony.

This time however I was assigned the Shanghai Suite. It was a two room suite with a lounge area and separate powder room in one section and the bed and bathroom in the other. There was a platinum gift of a bowl of fruit and half bottle of Aussie red on the table.

The room was looking tired as does much of the ST SIN these days and it paled into insignificance when I switched hotels the next day.

But that is another story for my next report.


The Photos

Kiwi Flyer

Nice saying ^ and I share your sentiments re FT.

I know that feeling well. Nothing like a nice weekend (or longer) break or even just new travel experiences to look forward to.


I hope they do the same for transfer desk. The current setup where it only opens a short while before departure is annoying. Not only do you risk losing out on a good seat but annoys the lounges when you enter purely off a printed itinerary because you can't get a BP. Not to mention having to remember that you don't have a BP and go back to the transfer desk at the appropriate time.

Do you prefer the SQ or AC/SK lounge?

The BD*G and NZ invite only provide access to business class lounge. The F BP is needed for F lounge access.

They probably noticed you were an FTer from your taste test and ease at which you swapped seats. SQ FAs are well used to FTers and their taste for champagne

chris78cpr

Moomba,

Another fantastic addition to your trip report series! I always look forward to the updates. I left LHR Sat morning on AA51 to DFW to start a weekend of 7 AA segs around the USA arriving back to T3 on monday morning! Was a blast and in premium cabins although the AA ones are a tad behind the SQ F! Instead of Dom or Krug choices i got told Pommery or water? Ugh. ah well.

Btw, I assume this was a Krug fueled mistake but i am intrigued to know how you checked into the HKG Sheraton Towers after making a HKG-SIN flight...

Chris

Moomba

I haven't tried the AC/SK lounge yet so can't make a call on that one.

Thanks Chris. There was probably some residual alcohol left in my system after this weekend of flying so I will blame that. I have corrected that little error. Perhaps this passion / addiction thing is getting to the point that I travel so much I forget where I am?

I recall once, when doing a lot of back and forth across the pond for work, landing at an airport and for a split second having no idea where I was. I looked outside and recognised the airport as being DFW and my mind was at rest.

Moomba

The Photos

Rightyho on with the show. After a seriously bad, jet lagged affected night and most of the morning sleep I finally managed to drag my butt out of bed around noon.

I made myself a coffee and feasted on the fruit basket for breakfast but left the wine alone.

After ironing a couple of shirts and getting showered and made presentable I did the final room sweep and headed down to reception to check out. This was a painless exercise as there were no extra charges and the room was pre-paid.

I jumped into a cab out the front and said I needed to go to the St Regis hotel. He said I never heard of that one. He kept repeating the name as if trying to make a memory appear in his head. He eventually waived over the doorman and asked him if he knew where it was.
He did and told the guy where it was. I knew roughly where I needed to be but not exactly so I could keep an eye on where he was heading.

We turned into Tanglin Road and the driver said this is the road and to keep an eye out for it. As we drove down he said this place coming up is the only new building along here. I looked and saw very small St Regis logos on some posts out the front and confirmed this was indeed the correct place. From street level in a car the signage is not terribly good.

As we pulled up the doorman and a bell hop came over, the former opened the door whilst the latter grabbed by bag from the car. I was greeted by both and escorted to check in by the bell hop. Check in consisted of 3 writing tables with chairs in front where the guest sits whilst the paper work is attended to.

I was checking in a little earlier than I had suggested I would and the room they had pre-assigned for me was not ready. Some swift work by the clerk secured me another room that was the same number but two floors further up. I was asked if I needed late check out but declined as my flight was 12:45 the next day.
I was also asked if I needed a wake up call and upon confirming this asked if I would like tea or coffee in the morning. Coffee with milk please was my response.
I was asked what SPG Platinum amenity I would like and I decided to break tradition and go for one of their gifts which were a CD of either male or female singer. I chose the female.

My check in agent then escorted me to the elevator whilst the bell hop carted along my roll aboard. We ascended to the 9th floor where the butler was waiting to greet me. The check in agent handed me over to the butler and wished me a pleasant stay and disappeared into the elevator again.

The butler then took me down to my room which was at the end of the hall. On entering I was blown away. I didn’t know which way to go.
There was a small entrance way off of which you could enter a living room, the bedroom or the bathroom. I walked into the living room with the butler and the bell hop shot off into the bedroom to deposit my case in the walk in robe. He then returned and wished me a pleasant stay, by name, and exited the room.
The butler then proceeded to describe the room and its various bits if technology. There was a remote that controlled the lights and you could set it to different moods, reading, movie, etc. This remote also controlled the electronic drapes in the room. There was a huge Sharp flat screen TV connected to a Bose surround sound system. There was a couple of CDs in the cupboard and I found out later you could ring the butler in order to get a list of others you could borrow. Likewise you could get a list of DVDs that you could also borrow.

The butler explained that I could connect my PC, iPod etc to the sound system using the cables provided and a convenient set of connectors embedded in the desk. The desk and mini bar had nifty drawers that once you closed them to a certain point they would finish the job for you.

We next headed into the bedroom where the butler showed me a small pull out control panel where you could control the lights, again with various modes, drapes and the do not disturb function. There were air conditioning controls in both the living room and bedroom. The bedroom also contained another huge Sharp TV and Bose sound system.
The walk in closet had a safe and plenty of space. Through the other end of the walk in closet you could enter the bathroom which was all marble and mirrors and had a free standing bath and separate enormous shower. Remede amenities were provided in the bathroom and the small toilet area room which as a separate basin.
There were windows beside the bath that looked out into the bedroom and then outside. You could lower a shade, by push button of course, for privacy if you needed it. A small TV was set at one end of the bath as well.
After showing me how to use the high tech telephone and letting me know I could order coffee from the butler service my butler ( I could get used to this) asked if I needed any pressing done. Damn shame I had just done that at the Sheraton.
He then have me an envelope and explained it was an invitation to a wine tasting later that afternoon in one of lobby bars.
He then wished me a pleasant stay and left me to explore some more and play with all those buttons and gadgets.

On the table in the living room was a bowl of fruit and a welcome letter from the hotel manager.

I grabbed one of the CDs and set the lady a singing whilst I unpacked and took in these luxurious surroundings.
The rooms were an interesting mix of modern glass and lovely wooden furniture. There were glass chandeliers in both the main rooms. A two seat couch and a single chair were in the living room along with a lovely soft leather chair at the desk. The mini bar was in the entrance hall and was stocked with large bottles of liquor, 350 ml size, and the fridge had full size bottles of champagne and wine inside.

There were two complementary bottles of water on top of the bar.

I headed out to do a bit of shopping on Orchard road which is only about 3 or 4 minutes walk away.

Once back in my room I had a shower to freshen up. The very large shower has an overhead jet and smaller independently controlled jets at torso height (depending on how tall you are I suppose). One wall of the shower is a mirror that is heated so it does not fog up.
I was not too impressed with this feature as I am no longer the trim taught terrific guy I once was. Thanks to a dicky knee which lead to the premature end to my running regimen.

Once refreshed and into some new clobber I headed down to the bar to taste some wine. The wine tasting was a little bit of a disappointment as I expected it to be a proper tasting with someone telling you about the wine. In fact it was just a few glasses of different wines that you got to sup, in my case, on your own and you could help yourself to some cheese, fruit and crackers. It was fun listening to chatter of some guys obviously on a work trip to SIN. One asked the staff member what grape is this Sangiovese wine?
I exited a quickly as I could and headed back up to my room.

The remainder of the evening consisted of more walking the streets and grabbing some food. I was able to, well at least attempt to, lull myself to sleep to the soothing sounds of the Bose sound system. But sleep evaded me yet again.

Have you ever noticed how many led lights there are in hotel rooms? Aircon, light switch, TV, sound system, cable receiver box, emergency lighting indicators. The whole room was aglow with this eyrie light in red, blue and green.
I decided not to push the sleep thing as I was flying back to the UK the next day anyway.

I did doze off eventually and awoke a few minutes before my scheduled wake up call. The call came and a real person wished me good morning and said my coffee was on its way. The doorbell rand and a butler came in with the tray with a plunger coffee, cup, jug of milk and sugar. He wished me good morning and placed the tray down and also the two newspapers that he had collected from my outside my door on the way in.

I put me feet up read the paper and drank my coffee wondering what the civilians were doing today.

Breakfast was included in my room stay at the restaurant on the lobby level.

After finishing with the papers I had another shower etc and went on down to breakfast. There was a substantial continental style buffet on offer as well as items that could be ordered from the menu all of which were included in my stay. I ordered an eggs Benedict and a pot of tea. Whilst I waited I grabbed some fruit and cereal. My tea hadn’t shown up by the time the eggs came along so I requested another. The guys at the table next to me said they think they got my tea by mistake. A fresh pot was soon delivered followed closely behind by another plate of eggs. Something tells me the wait staff in the restaurant are still a little green.

Nonetheless I still enjoyed my breakfast and went back upstairs to pack my stuff to head out to the airport.

I went down to the reception and was checked out by an agent in training. I mentioned that I did not receive my CD. There were some phone calls and apologies and about a five minute wait but finally a gentleman came out with a little St Regis bag with both the male and female singer CDs inside, by way of apology I presume.

I then grabbed a cab to the airport. The doorman writes a little card with the cab company and cab number on it and gives to you so that you have a reference should you need to complain, leave something inside etc which is a nice touch.

Off we go to the airport. As we approach the driver asked which terminal and I told him Terminal 3. As we drove to the terminal he said First? Do I look like a First class passenger? NO but I said Yes anway. We turned left just before reaching the front of the building and pulled into a side alley way where I received the same treatment as arriving at the St Regis. One guy got the bag another opened the door.
I was greeted at the door of the building by an SQ rep and was about to experience heaven on earth for the next 15 or so hours.

Apart from the couple of glitches in the restaurant and the mix up with the CD the only other negative comment I would make about the hotel is that there is no clock in the room. I had to keep picking up my watch to see what time it was.


But for now I will leave you as it is late, I am tired and it has been a long day at work.

Stay tuned for another champagne fuelled report on my return flight to London.

P.S. I can’t believe I just wrote so much waffle about a hotel stay. I really was impressed with the whole SIN St Regis and wanted to give everyone a feel for what it was like. I hope you enjoyed. Or maybe I have just begun to like the sound of my own, err typing.

Looking back I wish I had taken more pictures though. Perhaps next time I can do that.


The Photos

Moomba

The Photos

Where was I? Oh yes being greeted by an agent at the door to the First class terminal at SIN T3.

She escorted me to a check in desk where I was invited to take a seat. I handed over my passport and was checked in by another agent behind the desk. She gave me a boarding pass and UK immigrations form and wished me a pleasant flight.

My escort then took me through to the dedicated F immigrations desk, on the way explaining where my gate was and where the Silver Kris lounge was.
She wished me a pleasant trip and I proceeded to go through immigrations. There was no queue at all.

I wandered around the swanky new T3 at SIN for a while and then doubled back to go up to the Silver Kris lounge which was up a set of escalators near where you exit immigrations.

A lounge agent escorted me through the J section and into the F section of the lounge. My immediate thought was to how much lighter and airy the lounge seemed compared to their other F lounge at T2.
The lounge has a lot of seating with a bar in the middle section. One end is a dedicated phone free area and the other end is where a couple of PCs are located. There was free wifi in the lounge. The bar was not manned as far as I could tell as it was only around 11 am at the time.
Behind the bar section was a food hall where there were many offerings of hot and cold food and some tables and chairs. The champagne in the ice bucket was Piper Heidseck Brut.

One wall of the lounge was all windows that overlooked the Gate A2 & 3 waiting area. Outside Gate A2 was a guppie staring in at me whilst I ate my plate of fresh fruit and drank my bubbles.

Around 15 minutes before my nominated boarding time I headed down to the B gate area where my plane was waiting. Security was a doddle and I was inside the lounge by 12:10. They started to board at 12:15 and called for First, Business and Elites to board at their leisure.

I wandered on down to the plane.

Flight SQ 318 SIN – LHR Seat 2F
Aircraft: B747-400
Departure time: 12:45

On board I was escorted to my seat and the FA told me I could have any window seat on the right hand side or the Captain Kirk seat. I asked how many were confirmed in First and she said there would be 5 people today.
I was the only one on the right hand side of the plane. I was offered a newspaper and was then offered a drink and requested Krug champagne.

The menus were handed out and the attendant stated that they would be serving Lunch and Dinner on this flight. She confirmed that I had booked the cook and asked which meal I would like it for.

Amenity kits containing shades and Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries were handed out and the FA handed out an XL pair of the Givenchy designed PJs. She assured me the XL was because of my height and not my width.

We closed the doors and pushed back pretty close to on time and then taxied out to the runway. After the longest of take off runs we eventually made it into the air for, as the captain announced shortly after, 13 hours and 55 minutes.

After the belts sign was switched off a round of hot towels were delivered and shortly after that a glass of Krug.

The lead FA came over and asked what my preference was for the non book the cook sections of the meal.

The Menu:
Lunch:
Appetisers:
Oven-baked warm escargot with spinach and herb butter

Anti Pasto – Parma ham with melon, duckliver terrine with fig compote and seared “blackened” scallop with avocado salsa

Soup:
Double-boiled clear Cornish game hen soup with Chinese herbs
Cream of button mushroom with truffle cream

Salad:
Caesar Salad - Romaine lettuce with bacon, parmesan cheese, croutons and anchovy-garlic dressing

Main Courses:
Wok-fried beef in black pepper sauce with garlic, French bean and dried shrimp in XO sauce, fish noodle with bean sprout

Roasted herb crusted lamb chops served with pommery mustard sauce, roasted vegetables and gratin potato

Singapore style chilli crab – A whole crab stir-fried in a spicy chilli sauce served with mantou and steamed rice – A celebrated local dish

Papardella pasta with Chinese style braised roast duck with dried shiitake mushroom, chestnut, asparagus and chilli oil

Warm fillo pastry tart spread with onion jam and topped with roasted provence style vegetables and fresh mozzarella, tomato herb salsa

Dessert:
Warm chocolate tart with Haagen Dazs rum-raisin ice cream and passionfruit

Cheese:
Selection of kapiti aged cheddar, Tasmanian heritage double brie, rambol walnut and chaumes cheeses served with garnishes

Fresh Fruit:
Fresh fruits in season


Light Bites:
Noodles:
Fish ball noodle soup – Noodles in broth served with fish balls and fish cakes

Prawn noodle soup – Noodles in broth served with prawn and fish cake

Vegetarian and non vegetarian instant noodles

Sandwiches:
Chicken satay and lettuces sandwich

Beef pastrami and gherkin sandwich

Roasted capsicum and santa lucia mozzarella sandwich

Snacks:
Cashew, almond or macadamia nuts

Toblerone chocolate

Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies

Real McCoy potato chips “Smokey Barbecue”

Assorted walkers biscuit

A selection from the fruit basket

Assorted cheeses with garnishes

Wine List:
Champagnes:
Dom Perignon 2000

Krug Grand Cuvee

White Wines:
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2006 Marlborough

Mersault Les Clous 2005 Bouchard Pere et Fils

OR

Beaune Du Chateau Premier Cru 2006 Bouchard Pere Et Fils

Red Wines:
Chateau Cos d’Estournel 1999 Saint-Estephe

Mr Riggs The Gaffer Shiraz 2005 McLaren Vale, Australia

Port:
Dow’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port Portugal

Tea Selection:
Pure Ceylon Tea
Earl Grey
Darjeeling
Camomile
Decaffeinated Tea
Fruit Tea
Japanese Green Tea
Mint Tea

Chinese Tea Selection:
Jasmine
Ooolong
Tie Guan Yin
Long Jin
Pi Lo Chun

Gourmet Coffees:
Brazil Santos Bourbon
Colombian Supremo
Jamaican Blue Mountain
Kenyan AA ‘Kilimanjaro’

Let the food begin.

I started with the Anti Pasto and followed this up with the Cornish Hen soup both of which were excellent. The Caesar followed which was fresh and tasty and is one of my favourite salads. I continued to drink Krug with the meal of course.
I had booked the cook for the main course and opted for a rack of lamb.
This was lovely, tender and juicy and again quite a large portion. The only difficulty was getting the meat off the bone using the stupid short bladed knives. There was a little note in the cutlery pack apologizing that due to government regulations (I assume UK govt as the it was not there on my previous flight) they could only supply short bladed knives. I drank a couple of glassed of the Shiraz with the main course.

I decided to skip the cheese and go for the chocolate dessert that sounded too good to pass up. It tasted too good to pass up too especially with another glass of Krug to accompany it.

I finished the meal with some Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and a chocolate.

I watched the TV and listened to some music and eventually decided sleep was in order. I got up and started to put the seat into bed mode and the FA came over and made the bed up for me with under blanket a nice big pillow and a duvet.

I snuggled inside and was out to it for a good few hours.

After waking there were still a few hours to go and I was feeling a little peckish. After going to the loo I grabbed a bag of chips and the FA asked if I would like a drink. I requested orange juice. It was delivered shortly after with an offer of a sandwich. I said I would be fine with the chips for now.

Around 3 hours out of London the crew came around with hot towels in preparation for the dinner meal service.

The Menu:
Dinner:
Canapes:
Satay – With onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce

Appetisers:
Chilled malossol caviar with melba toast and condiments

Alaskan crab and celeriac remoulade garnished with assorted tomatoes and mesclun

Soup:
Puree of artichoke soup with sautéed artichoke and crème fraiche

Double-boiled oxtail soup with cordyceps and Chinese wine

Salad:
Baby spinach leaves with shaved pecorino cheese, sem dried red currant and toasted pistachio nuts – Thousand Island dressing or Extra virgin olive oil-chardonnay vinegar dressing

Main Courses:
Stewed beef cheek in shiraz wine reduction with sautéed morel mushrooms, melted leek and brown butter potato

Indian style chicken shahi korma with spiced spinach, cabbage, peas and cumin rice

Pan fried Atlantic cod served with roasted vine ripened tomato coulis, buttered broccolini and capelini pasta

Chinese style stir fried venison in ginger and spring onion served with mixed vegetables and steamed rice

Roasted vegetables and ricotta cheese lasagne with to tomato coulis and arugula salad

Dessert:
Verbena orange jelly

Cheese:
Selection of kapiti aged cheddar, Tasmanian heritage double brie, rambol walnut and chaumes cheeses served with garnishes

Fresh Fruit:
Fresh fruits in season

I was asked what I could like to drink and whether I would like chicken or beef satay or a mix. I replied with Krug and a mixture.

The drink and satay were delivered not long afterwards at which time we experienced some quite severe turbulence. The FAs were asked to take their seats for a while. This did not last long though and they were back about their business within 10 minutes.

The satay was not all that tasty and the chicken a little chewy, considering it is a SQ signature dish was a little disappointing.

The soup and salad were very nice. The ox-tail was so nice that I forgot to take a picture.

The beef cheek was quite tender and tasty although I was little apprehensive about ordering this at first. I had some more of the Aussie Shiraz with the main course.

No dessert this time but as I spied the kapiti cheddar I thought I might give it a whirl hoping it would be the same as the one I had on my NZ flight a few weeks earlier.
The FA came around with a platter showing me the four cheeses on offer with little flags in them indicating the country of origin of the cheese. I asked for some of the Tassie brie and the kapiti. I knew the kapiti was not the same when I saw it as it was a square log and not triangular. It was, however quite nice, but not the same.

Feeling sufficiently stuffed I wiped my hands on the final hot towel service of the flight and sat back saddened by the thought that my trip to heaven was coming to an end.

The crew on this flight were all exemplary and all called me by name whenever they were serving me. The seat I really like in both seat and bed mode although I did have a tendency to move the seat unintentionally when my elbow connected with the seat controls. The lovely soft tan leather was especially nice to the touch.

So as I said all good things must come to an end and so too my weekend in Singapore. It was nice to have it end on the high C that is SQ first.

On leaving the aircraft all three FAs thanked me by name. I then proceeded to walk a mile to immigrations where IRIS was happy and let me through in a few seconds. I then walked out of customs down to the HEX and the usual 2 tubes home. Not quite record time this trip but only 7 or 8 minutes longer than the beginning of the month.

Passion, passion, passion, how else could one describe this trip but by using that term.

Next up my trip West (and North) to Alaska - in two weeks time.

The Photos

Strawb

Good stuff Moomba ^

Like you, I too recently redeemed bmi miles and cash to fly one-way on SQ but I did it in the opposite direction - LHR-SIN-HKG. Excellent value at only 35K miles and £240 plus tax for over 8,200 miles of First Class travel. Throw in a free haircut in the Virgin Clubhouse lounge and it's a sweet bargain!

To be honest, I know SQ First Class is fantastic but I actually prefer SQ Business Class on the A380. I got more sleep on the A380 than I did on the 747! Less pampering yes, no caviar for sure but then again I don't fly for the food. That's not to say I wouldn't fly F again, if I was redeeming my miles I just wouldn't want to waste them by flying in J on a 747.

Nice Eurostar trip report too. I had the Chicken and Leek Pie last Saturday to Paris. The food in First Class is actually heated up in ovens just like on a plane (the microwave is reserved for the buffet food).

Genius1

You must have a lot of spare time on your hands to a) go on these adventures and b) write your marathon trip reports Moomba!

Excellent reading, and great pictures too.

Moomba

The Photos


On the road again da, da, da, da, da I can’t wait to get on the road again…

The all too familiar two tubes and HEX had me wandering around the forecourt at Heathrow Terminal 3 by 10:45.
I walked over to the G check-in area but stayed outside the main building. Located to the far right of this area is the new Park Avenue check-in for AA First, Business and Elites.

I went inside and up to a free agent who quickly checked me in for the LHR-DFW flight which was the return leg of my last AA flight and the onward DFW-AUS flight which was another separately ticketed flight.

After walking into the terminal building I went through fast track security which was reasonably fast. I was chosen for a random pat down though. The passport checkers were in place and I got nabbed by the shoe carnival queue police. Oh well you can’t win em all.

I proceeded directly to the CX F lounge and was safely ensconced there eating dim sum by 11:10. The lounge had only a handful of people in it until the CX flight was called, after which I was the sole occupant for a while.

At around noon I headed out on the long walk to the AA gate area. They did not have any premium entry point and I had to suffer the indignity of lining up with the civilians in order to enter the gate area. After a long wait I finally made it inside and was invited to board straight away.

Flight AA79 LHR-DFW Seat 12A
Aircraft: 777
Departure time: 12:50

On board I stowed my bag and hopped into the new J seat. On the seat were a duvet and pillow and an amenity kit containing temple spa products.
Pre-flight drinks of O.J., Bubbles and water were offered and I opted for some champagne.

The captain announced a flying time of 9 hours and 30 minutes.
Menu cards were handed out and the orders taken on the ground. Orders were taken in accordance with FEBO and started from the back.

We pushed back at 12:55 and taxied out to the runway before pushing through the clouds en route to Dallas Fort Worth airport.

After the seat belt sign was extinguished a round of drinks and warm nuts were dished out. This time the nuts were warm and I did not have champagne but instead opted for a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc which I stuck with for the rest of the meal. Once again and contrary to my trips in recent years no nut refills were offered.

Hot towels were then past out and subsequently collected prior to the lunch service.

On offer for lunch:

The Menu
To Start:
Warm mixed Nuts

Appetizer:
Portobello Mushroom and Cherry Tomatoes

Salad:
Fresh seasonal Greens and an assortment of fresh Vegetables offered with a Honey Dijon Dressing or a Castello Monte Vibiano Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

Bread Basket:
Assorted Gourmet Breads

Entrees:
Roasted Chicken
Savory Herbes de Provence roasted Breast of Chicken and grilled Eggplant Confit served over Orzo Pasta accented by sautéed Yellow Peppers and Cilantro Cream Sauce

Beef Fillet
Seared Fillet of Beef accented by Porcini Mushroom Butter and Bordelaise Sauce, served with Olive Oil Potatoes, diced Yellow Peppers, Haricots Verts and Baby Carrots

Ginger-Soy Salmon
Fillet of Salmon with a Ginger-Soy Glaze offered with Haricots Verts, Carrots and Jasmine Rice

Penne Pasta with Basil and Tomatoes
A flavorful blend of fresh Tomatoes, fragrant Basil, Black Olives and Mozzarella Cheese served over Penne Pasta, enhanced by an aged Parmesan and creamy Goats Cheese Tomato Sauce

Dessert:
A selection of gourmet Cheeses offered with fresh seasonal fruit and assorted Crackers
OR
A scoop of Ben&Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

To Finish:
Assorted Lindt Chocolates

Champagne:
Pommery Brut Champagne

White Wines:
Marimar Torres “Don Miguel Vinyard” Sonoma County Chardonnay
St. Supery Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Red Wines:
Chateau Cantermele
Chapoutier Coteaux du Tricastin Rouge, Rhone

Sherry:
Emilio Lustau Sherry

Dessert Wine:
Graham’s 20 Years Old Tawny Port

The lunch trays were passed out and the starter and salad where on the tray as usual. As people finished their salad the bowls were taken away. A round of drinks was offered with the first part of the meal. The gourmet breads included white, wheat or rosemary bread.

After lunch I slept a bit and listened to some music but didn’t watch any movies as per usual on AA they had nothing I cared to watch.

At some point during the flight I discovered one of the problems with sitting in the second last row of Business class. The delightful odour du stinky nappy pervaded the cabin thanks to my sitting so close to the bassinet rows in whY.

Around 1.5 hours out of Dallas the crew came around with the snack service.

Light Meal:
Uno’s Spinach and Garlic Pizza
A traditional style Chicago-style Pizza featuring Spinach seasoned with Garlic, baked in a buttery crust, accented by rich, chunky Tomato Sauce and topped with a savory Mozzarella, Cheddar, Feta ad Romano Cheese blend accompanied by a fresh Green Salad topped with Broccoli and Plum Tomatoes offered with Italian Herb Vinaigrette

Beef Fillet Sandwich
Slices of Beef served on a sun-dried Tomato flavoured Ciabatta Roll topped with Barbeque roasted Tomatoes and Onions, accompanied by a Greek Salad featuring Romaine Lettuce, Cucumbers, sliced Tomatoes, Feta Cheese and Kalamata Olives served with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dessert:
A moist, rich Date and Toffee Cake

I went with the pizza which was very nice, although as with most of the AA menu is not becoming very tired. The menus always seem to be very same, same if you get my drift. A bloody Mary was my choice of drink for the light meal.

The pre-landing sparkling water with fresh citrus, as promised in the menu was not offered, which seems to me to be the norm these days. I don’t know why they bother with printing it on the menu at all.

We landed at 16:52 and taxied for ever to get to the other side to the D terminal where we parked at the gate.

Immigration was quick and painless and I was through and into the baggage hall within minutes. After 10 minutes my bag appeared and I got the ‘your’re going to Kyle?’ comment from the customs guy, who no doubt was wondering why an Aussie living in London would want to Kyle in Texas. After explaining I had become friends with people from Kyle at a previous job he was happy to let me through.
A quick drop of my bag post customs and I made my way upstairs to an empty security queue and a very empty DFW terminal D.
I caught the SkyTrAAin to the C gates and entered the Admirals Club where I was given a drinks voucher and welcomed inside.

I walked down to my gate around 35 minutes prior to my flight and boarding had already commenced. I joined the short queue and made my way on board.

Flight AA2048 DFW-AUS Seat 4F
Aircraft: MD-80
Departure time: 18:50

No pre-departure drinks were offered and we pushed back on time.
In the air a quick round of drinks were offered with no nibbles to accompany them and 35 minutes later we were landing in Austin.

I made my way to baggage claim and had to wait around 10 minutes for my bag to show up. I then moved outside and a few minutes later my friend arrived, very pleased that she had only had to do 3 rounds of the arrivals driveway before I showed up.

Next up North to Alaska.


The Photos

Moomba

The Photos

After a lovely weekend catching up with my friends in Kyle it was time to head out to the airport again. My lovely Mum’s taxi service dropped me off with big hugs at AUS at 10:50 for my flight to DFW and then on to ANC.

I went inside and straight up to the F check-in desks. An agent called me over and I gave her my Itinerary for the AUS-DFW flight, my wad of coupons for the RTW and my passport.

I explained that I needed to have my bag tagged through to ANC but that it was two separate PNRs. She typed away for a while and after accessing the RTW PNR exclaimed ‘my you are going everywhere’.
She had some difficulty linking the two PNRs in order to get the baggage tag to print correctly. Eventually she managed to get the system to do as she wished and was able to print the label through to ANC. She was also able to print my two BPs and sent me on my way. Later I realised that she had neglected to attach a priority tag to the label.

Security had a short queue and I was through in 5 minutes after having my passport checked.

I headed down to the Admirals Club where on presentation of my BP and BAEC Gold Card I was welcomed by name and given a drink voucher.

The lounge was reasonably full and consisted of a couple of different seating sections, a bar with bar tables and chairs, a couple of computers and other desks. The food and drink offerings, apart from the bar service, were juice, tea, coffee and some fruit and muffins.

Unfortunately the ACs are not a place to go if you want some peace and quiet. Lots of business people all intent on out talking each other on their mobile phones.
I grabbed a bloody Mary from the bar and was asked if I wanted it spicy. I gave the wrong answer of ‘Yes’. Sheesh, talk about hiccup inducing hot. I didn’t get to finish my drink before needing to go down to the gate.

I still had some sense of taste left in my mouth when I got to the gate where I waited around 10 minutes before they opened up the doors. They were offering $300 to offload some people as they were oversold on this flight.

Flight AA1656 AUS-DFW Seat 4A
Aircraft: MD-80
Departure time: 12:10

Once on board I stowed my bag and took my seat in the hot, hot, hot metal tube. Pre-departure drinks of O.J. or water were offered.

At 12:20 the captain announced a delay of at least an hour as there were thunderstorms over DFW and the airport control had asked us to sit on the ground for a while. Obviously the memories of the AUS passengers being held for hours on a plane without being allowed off is still fresh in AA minds. The door was opened at 12:40 and people were invited to get off and go and buy food if they wished as long as they were only away for a maximum of 15 minutes.

At 12:58 the captain announced that we had been given clearance. All we needed now was to get the stragglers back on the plane.

We finally pushed back at 13:20 an hour and ten minutes late. A long taxi to the far end of the runway and we were off for another brief ride to DFW. A drinks service was offered during the flight and again no nibbles were offered.

We landed at 14:25 and had to do another long taxi to get to our A gate.

Once off the plane I made my way to the SkyTrAAin again for the trip over to the D terminal. I grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to the gate to wait boarding.

Boarding commenced with First class and elites asked to board first at 15:15.

Flight AA278 DFW-ANC Seat 2A
Aircraft: 757
Departure time: 15:45

On board I stowed my bag and waited for the rest of the flight to board. We pushed back after a tech delay at 16:20 but didn’t actually power down the runway, as only a 757 can, until 16:50.

Now it its time for a gripe about bulkhead etiquette.
The fellow in row 1A was drinking a bottle of water when boarding. After finishing he put it under his seat behind the bar. So his empty bottle became my problem once we took off and it rolled under my feet. After take off this same gentleman took off his shoes and put them behind the bar in my foot space.
What made this worse for me was that this particular bad mannered flyer had FT tags on his bag. One would like to think that FTers would be better behaved on flights but that is just me being naïve I suppose.

The flight time was reported to be 6 hours and 50 minutes. In those crappy old 757 F seats this was not going to be fun. There is no head support and as I am tall the back of the seat barely made my neck. They were wide enough but the recline was limited and they are not a comfortable seat at all.
Sitting their nibbling my warm nuts and drinking my Scotch and Dry I was thinking already about how much pain this flight was going to be over night in the reverse direction.

They played Eye on America and a movie that I can’t recall the name of. My notes for some reason are decidedly lacking for this flight. I didn’t write down the menu options although I do recall orders were taken following FEBO practices.

I had a chicken dish that was Asian inspired and was quite tasty and some of the rosemary bread I had only seen on long haul flights before.

I spent a lot of time staring out the window watching the US and part of Canada fly by below me.

On approach to ANC we flew over part of the Chugach Mountains and I got my first glimpse of what turned out to be many beautiful Alaskan mountain ranges covered with snow. After landing in ANC we taxied to the gate and disembarked into a decidedly dreary looking terminal.

Once at the baggage carousel I waited and waited and waited for bags to come out. They did eventually start to show up with mine appearing a good 5 minutes after the first bags started to come through.

I grabbed a taxi to the Sheraton that would be my home for the next couple of nights (if you can call then that).

The Photos

Moomba

I have split my Alaskan trip off into another thread

Steady-EDI

Alright, confession time : I haven't been on the TR Forum for the last two months and I forgot that this epic was unfolding.

I see I have a huge amount of catching up to do! ( ... including re-learning how it all fits together. I think I got my head round it once, but it's gone again! )

Steady-EDI

I took a tea-break from cleaning the conservatory (what fun! ) to start catching up. Over two hours later , I'm finally up-to-date. Some great reading - thanks for taking the time and trouble to write it all up. I can't believe you went to the Far East for the weekend, not once but twice in the same month! I've just booked my first ever weekend trip to the USA (he said, sounding like the complete amateur ), so I don't feel defensive about it any more!

I have learned a new phrase ("2 tubes and a HEX") but haven't yet worked out how to introduce it in polite conversation.

Edited to add : PS : may I join the fan club?

Moomba

I have added a table to the first post that shows my flights and how they were ticketed. The colour coding shows where flights are on the same PNR.

Hope this helps with keeping track of things.