Short holiday to London with SQ
Jul 23, 2017, 9:27 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Singapore
Posts: 15
Short holiday to London with SQ
I wanted to squeeze in a short vacation before the busy season at work started without spending too much money. Considering my options, I decided to go to London since the pound had fallen in value recently and I could bunk in with my cousin who was working there (and save on accommodation costs too).
26 March 2017
SQ308
SIN-LHR
Changi Airport Terminal 3
0900hrs to 1540hrs
A380-800, 32F
Check-in was a standard affair, I soon had my bag tagged and was through immigration. I originally planned to travel HBO, but I had to bring over some chili sauce for my cousin… I think he’s unable to get spicy enough chilies in the UK.
Changi Airport isn’t a good airport for spotting. There are many sunshades to keep out the heat which also blocks your view of the planes.
ZK-NZG preparing to head back to Auckland as NZ281.
Didn't really feel like window shopping, so I went through security to wait in the boarding area.
Random comment: whenever I travel alone, for some reason I always get selected for additional security screening…
Waiting area. The flight to Guangzhou had just finished boarding and no other flights were departing, so there were a lot of seats available.
Today's flight would be operated by 9V-SKQ.
I was one of the last to board in the premium economy cabin. Blanket and pillow were on the seat, while the menu and headphones were in the seatback pocket. Cabin crew came through with a hot towel service before we took off, and there was a cocktail service before breakfast.
Bacon frittata with mushrooms, spinach and a cherry tomato. The other choices were an egg dish or some asian noodles.
I used the flight to catch up on some movies I missed when they were showing in cinemas (Arrival is a great show, loved the twist at the end) and the 2 Broke Girls series. Krisworld was having a wizard themed month so all 7 Harry Potter movies were being shown.
A few hours later, there was another hot towel service before lunch was served.
I chose the salt baked chicken, which was served with tuna nicoise salad, sesame danish, strawberry mousse cake and cheese and crackers. Can’t remember the other choices.
During the flight, the crew came through the cabin with trays of drinks every few hours. Apples, sandwiches were also distributed to passengers who wanted them before landing.
The flight landed on time at LHR and there wasn’t much of a queue at immigration. I was pleasantly surprised that the priority tags worked and my bag was one of the first few out. Afterwards, it was a matter of topping up my Oyster card and taking the Tube to King’s Cross to link up with my cousin.
At King’s Cross, there was a long queue for taking photos of the Harry Potter platform 9 3/4 trolley. They would give you a scarf to wear as you posed for a photo with the trolley and one bored looking staff would be swinging it up and down to make it seem like you were running in the wind. Nope, I didn’t bother joining the queue.
After dinner with my cousin, I was ready to go to bed since i hadn’t slept for approximately 24 hours at that point.
Walking through St Pancras International, station for the train to Paris.
Statue to commemorate people reuniting.
Walking past Guildhall on my way to St Paul’s Cathedral.
St Paul's Cathedral.
Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. I’d been to the National Gallery on a previous trip so I skipped it this time round. London museums are some of the best in the world and best of all, most of them are free.
Victoria memorial just outside Buckingham Palace.
Crowds standing outside Buckingham Palace. Security was tighter after the attack just outside the houses of parliament.
Red poppies laid at the War Memorial.
Modern wing of the Natural History Museum.
Triceratops fossil.
Fancy a crocodile handbag?
The Ostro stone.
Royal Albert Hall.
The iconic London institution, Harrods.
Couldn’t resist getting some red velvet cupcakes from the foodhall.
The next morning, I went to the National Maritime Museum.
Battle of Jutland exhibit, sponsored by BAE Systems.
Different kinds of figureheads.
I went to the Royal Observatory Greenwich and took the obligatory photo with the meridian line between feet.
Westminster Abbey, where many famous people are buried.
King.com
Taking the DLR to Canary Wharf station. Just less than 100m away (see the 3 arches) is Heron Quays DLR station (or maybe it’s the other way round). So weird to build 2 stations so near to each other...
Big Ben and London Eye in the background.
I wanted to go on a day trip out of London but because it was quite last minute, train tickets were out of my budget. Thus the next best alternative was a day tour by one of the local tour agencies for a Stonehenge and Bath tour.
Getting to Victoria Bus Station for pickup by the tour company.
Stonehenge. Very windy out there. It was off peak period so it was easy to get a good view of the henge. The tour guide mentioned that during the summer peak, all you could see were swarms of people...
How archaeologists think the ancient people transported the stones to Stonehenge.
After spending about 1-2 hours there, we left for the one hour bus ride to Bath.
I visited the Roman Baths and joined one of the walking tours inside where the guide explained in detail the history of the place when the Romans built it, when they left and when it was rediscovered. You could try tasting of the natural water from the springs which fill the baths. The water was very “hard” and quite an acquired taste. Even harder than normal London water.
View of the pool. Once or twice a year, the pool would be drained and cleaned. The guide mentioned that once they found a dog’s leash in the pool, and who in the world would throw their dog into a pool that is green with algae and bacteria… There are signs around asking people not to touch the water and of course, tourists who ignored those signed anyway. Hopefully they washed their hands after that.
Bath Abbey. I didn’t have enough time to visit. Next time perhaps...
British countryside view from the bus back to London.
Couldn’t resist trying the red velvet cupcakes from Hummingbird bakery.
Waiting for the train platform to be listed.
On my final day, I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum in the morning and window shopping at Oxford Street in the evening.
Garden inside the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Japanese cutesy display.
Londoners on their lunch break
Evening view down Oxford Street.
Tube station. Sometimes, I think it’s faster to just walk to your destination if its one stop away than to make your way from the entrance to the tube platform… I also made the mistake of taking the stairs at Russell Square station….
My favourite childhood snack. Eat the biscuit layer first, then the icing part and let it melt in your mouth.
With that my London holiday had come to an end and it was back to being a cubicle smurf. At least there’s still the flight back home to relax.
31 March 2017
SQ317
LHR-SIN
Terminal 2
1125hrs to 0730hrs (+1)
A380-800, 32F
Sculpture outside LHR Terminal 2
Check-in was crowded with masses of people but at least the queue moved.
There was this whiteboard after security for people to pen their thoughts (or thanks) to security personnel. But I think most people use it to write complaints.
View over Terminal 2 departure area.
Air Canada 787
Virgin Atlantic A340-600 being towed.
One of the display in the underground walkways.
Today’s flight would be operated by 9V-SKI in the SG50 livery.
Seat 32F again for the flight back to SIN. I was originally assigned 33F, but some guy had mistakenly seated himself there.
Lunch was served after takeoff. Chicken with roasted potatoes, smoked salmon salad, nut bread and cheese and crackers. Haagen Daaz ice cream was served too but I forgot to take a photo of it. I can’t remember what are the other 2 choices but one was an Indian option.
Although it was 31 March, April selections had been loaded onto the IFE. I spent the flight just dozing off or catching up on the 2 Broke Girls series. Krisworld was having an Oscar special and movies nominated for the Oscars were being shown, but I didn’t feel like watching anything too intellectually stimulating. Sandwiches and apples (or maybe it was bananas, can’t remember what fruit it was) were available during the flight and the crew did a drink run every few hours.
Breakfast was served about 2 hours out of Singapore.
The flight landed at SIN slightly ahead of schedule again. The priority tags worked their magic again and my bag was out just after the Suites bags.
Conclusion
There’s lots to see in London and I didn’t manage to cover all the major sights in the city even though this is my second time visiting. Hope I can go back soon but for now, it’s back to reality...
26 March 2017
SQ308
SIN-LHR
Changi Airport Terminal 3
0900hrs to 1540hrs
A380-800, 32F
Check-in was a standard affair, I soon had my bag tagged and was through immigration. I originally planned to travel HBO, but I had to bring over some chili sauce for my cousin… I think he’s unable to get spicy enough chilies in the UK.
Changi Airport isn’t a good airport for spotting. There are many sunshades to keep out the heat which also blocks your view of the planes.
ZK-NZG preparing to head back to Auckland as NZ281.
Didn't really feel like window shopping, so I went through security to wait in the boarding area.
Random comment: whenever I travel alone, for some reason I always get selected for additional security screening…
Waiting area. The flight to Guangzhou had just finished boarding and no other flights were departing, so there were a lot of seats available.
Today's flight would be operated by 9V-SKQ.
I was one of the last to board in the premium economy cabin. Blanket and pillow were on the seat, while the menu and headphones were in the seatback pocket. Cabin crew came through with a hot towel service before we took off, and there was a cocktail service before breakfast.
Bacon frittata with mushrooms, spinach and a cherry tomato. The other choices were an egg dish or some asian noodles.
I used the flight to catch up on some movies I missed when they were showing in cinemas (Arrival is a great show, loved the twist at the end) and the 2 Broke Girls series. Krisworld was having a wizard themed month so all 7 Harry Potter movies were being shown.
A few hours later, there was another hot towel service before lunch was served.
I chose the salt baked chicken, which was served with tuna nicoise salad, sesame danish, strawberry mousse cake and cheese and crackers. Can’t remember the other choices.
During the flight, the crew came through the cabin with trays of drinks every few hours. Apples, sandwiches were also distributed to passengers who wanted them before landing.
The flight landed on time at LHR and there wasn’t much of a queue at immigration. I was pleasantly surprised that the priority tags worked and my bag was one of the first few out. Afterwards, it was a matter of topping up my Oyster card and taking the Tube to King’s Cross to link up with my cousin.
At King’s Cross, there was a long queue for taking photos of the Harry Potter platform 9 3/4 trolley. They would give you a scarf to wear as you posed for a photo with the trolley and one bored looking staff would be swinging it up and down to make it seem like you were running in the wind. Nope, I didn’t bother joining the queue.
After dinner with my cousin, I was ready to go to bed since i hadn’t slept for approximately 24 hours at that point.
Walking through St Pancras International, station for the train to Paris.
Statue to commemorate people reuniting.
Walking past Guildhall on my way to St Paul’s Cathedral.
St Paul's Cathedral.
Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. I’d been to the National Gallery on a previous trip so I skipped it this time round. London museums are some of the best in the world and best of all, most of them are free.
Victoria memorial just outside Buckingham Palace.
Crowds standing outside Buckingham Palace. Security was tighter after the attack just outside the houses of parliament.
Red poppies laid at the War Memorial.
Modern wing of the Natural History Museum.
Triceratops fossil.
Fancy a crocodile handbag?
The Ostro stone.
Royal Albert Hall.
The iconic London institution, Harrods.
Couldn’t resist getting some red velvet cupcakes from the foodhall.
The next morning, I went to the National Maritime Museum.
Battle of Jutland exhibit, sponsored by BAE Systems.
Different kinds of figureheads.
I went to the Royal Observatory Greenwich and took the obligatory photo with the meridian line between feet.
Westminster Abbey, where many famous people are buried.
King.com
Taking the DLR to Canary Wharf station. Just less than 100m away (see the 3 arches) is Heron Quays DLR station (or maybe it’s the other way round). So weird to build 2 stations so near to each other...
Big Ben and London Eye in the background.
I wanted to go on a day trip out of London but because it was quite last minute, train tickets were out of my budget. Thus the next best alternative was a day tour by one of the local tour agencies for a Stonehenge and Bath tour.
Getting to Victoria Bus Station for pickup by the tour company.
Stonehenge. Very windy out there. It was off peak period so it was easy to get a good view of the henge. The tour guide mentioned that during the summer peak, all you could see were swarms of people...
How archaeologists think the ancient people transported the stones to Stonehenge.
After spending about 1-2 hours there, we left for the one hour bus ride to Bath.
I visited the Roman Baths and joined one of the walking tours inside where the guide explained in detail the history of the place when the Romans built it, when they left and when it was rediscovered. You could try tasting of the natural water from the springs which fill the baths. The water was very “hard” and quite an acquired taste. Even harder than normal London water.
View of the pool. Once or twice a year, the pool would be drained and cleaned. The guide mentioned that once they found a dog’s leash in the pool, and who in the world would throw their dog into a pool that is green with algae and bacteria… There are signs around asking people not to touch the water and of course, tourists who ignored those signed anyway. Hopefully they washed their hands after that.
Bath Abbey. I didn’t have enough time to visit. Next time perhaps...
British countryside view from the bus back to London.
Couldn’t resist trying the red velvet cupcakes from Hummingbird bakery.
Waiting for the train platform to be listed.
On my final day, I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum in the morning and window shopping at Oxford Street in the evening.
Garden inside the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Japanese cutesy display.
Londoners on their lunch break
Evening view down Oxford Street.
Tube station. Sometimes, I think it’s faster to just walk to your destination if its one stop away than to make your way from the entrance to the tube platform… I also made the mistake of taking the stairs at Russell Square station….
My favourite childhood snack. Eat the biscuit layer first, then the icing part and let it melt in your mouth.
With that my London holiday had come to an end and it was back to being a cubicle smurf. At least there’s still the flight back home to relax.
31 March 2017
SQ317
LHR-SIN
Terminal 2
1125hrs to 0730hrs (+1)
A380-800, 32F
Sculpture outside LHR Terminal 2
Check-in was crowded with masses of people but at least the queue moved.
There was this whiteboard after security for people to pen their thoughts (or thanks) to security personnel. But I think most people use it to write complaints.
View over Terminal 2 departure area.
Air Canada 787
Virgin Atlantic A340-600 being towed.
One of the display in the underground walkways.
Today’s flight would be operated by 9V-SKI in the SG50 livery.
Seat 32F again for the flight back to SIN. I was originally assigned 33F, but some guy had mistakenly seated himself there.
Lunch was served after takeoff. Chicken with roasted potatoes, smoked salmon salad, nut bread and cheese and crackers. Haagen Daaz ice cream was served too but I forgot to take a photo of it. I can’t remember what are the other 2 choices but one was an Indian option.
Although it was 31 March, April selections had been loaded onto the IFE. I spent the flight just dozing off or catching up on the 2 Broke Girls series. Krisworld was having an Oscar special and movies nominated for the Oscars were being shown, but I didn’t feel like watching anything too intellectually stimulating. Sandwiches and apples (or maybe it was bananas, can’t remember what fruit it was) were available during the flight and the crew did a drink run every few hours.
Breakfast was served about 2 hours out of Singapore.
The flight landed at SIN slightly ahead of schedule again. The priority tags worked their magic again and my bag was out just after the Suites bags.
Conclusion
There’s lots to see in London and I didn’t manage to cover all the major sights in the city even though this is my second time visiting. Hope I can go back soon but for now, it’s back to reality...
