Singapore-Hong Kong
Changi JetQuay and
Singapore Airlines SQ 862 First Class
777-300ER
11:00A-2:45P
After our great experience yesterday with Changi JetQuay on arrival yesterday, the departure experience was even better. After a short 20 minute ride from the MO, our limo driver pulls up to a tree-lined, very secured entrance to the CIT terminal just at the end of T2.
Talk about security... a raised steel car barrier lowers for our arrival and then quickly rises back after we pass thru. No paparazzi will be getting close to us today! A couple of graceful turns around more leafy greens and we pull up to the front door...
... where another even more lovely JetQuay Girl is waiting our arrival. She takes our bags and escorts us thru the lobby...
... and no more than 100 feet from the front door into the JetQuay Lounge where three more JetQuay Girls greet us. I could so seriously get used to this.
We surrender our passports at the front counter and are then escorted to one of dozens of comfortable seating areas. We are the only two people here this morning, unlike on our arrival yesterday when the place was pretty busy.
One of the JetQuay Girls brings us OJ and coffee. Ten minutes later, another JetQuay Girl returns our passports (stamped "Departed", by the in house C&I staff ) together with our burgundy FC SQ BPs. She asks if I'd like a tour of the facility which includes a business center, at least 30 computer stations with open internet access, showers, conference rooms, and 4 nap rooms.
50 minutes before departure, our JetQuay Girl comes for us, with a JetQuay Boy to handle our carry-ons. We ride the elevator up one floor to the terminal level where we board our electric cart for our trip to T3, about 2 miles but no more than 7-8 minutes away.
We stop along the way for a photo op and some shopping. I told you she was lovely.
No way I'm showing that last pic to Mrs. SFO.
We then proceed to T3 and gate B4, where we say our good-byes and enter B1-B4 security. She stays at the entrance until we clear security and then waves good-bye.
All this for SGD 107 plus about SGD 50 in tips! This has to be one of the great travel bargains of all time.
As for our flight, ho-hum, it was another fabulous SQ experience. SQ treats this 3.5 hour 77W flight the same as a 12 hour flight... Dom, Krug and a 5 course lunch menu. Man, I could get used to this! Only 6 (of 8) pax this leg with 3 full time FAs providing absolutely flawless service.
For some reason, I never tire of the Singapore Girls...
On a total unrelated subject of course, what's with all the breast enhancement ads in the Straits Times?
Anyway, back to reality... today, I again opted for the eastern menu and the celebrity chef's recommendations from Singapore's Sam Leong.
Appetizer sampler menu supposedly including abalone with avocado, curried chicken salad, beef fillet in BBQ sauce and mushroom tofu soya crumbs... although I couldn't find any chicken salad or BBQ sauce... perhaps it was the Krug?
Double-boiled pork soup with wild mushrooms, long cabbage and conpoy. Not to my palate, but at least I'm venturing out...
Radicchio with baby spinach and Singapore dressing infused in shallot oil with sambal, lime and honey... yum-yum...
Steamed Chilean bass in ginger sauce, broccoli with conpoy and steamed rice with fried shiitake. This was pretty tasty.
For desert, back to the west for a yummy warm apple and pecan pie with ice cream and vanilla sauce.
And of course, throughout the flight I continued to feed my liver with Krug and the Beaune Du Chateau Premier Cru 2006 Bouchard & Fils.
The only negative was our end of the terminal HKG arrival gate and the long trek to C&I. Oh, do I miss SIN and JetQuay. Although we had a Peninsula greeter who tried to jump the C&I queue for us, a People's Republic gestapo agent intervened, chastised her, recorded her ID #, blocked us for entering the queue and let 40 or 50 C&I lice go before us to prove a point that no one is special, especially filthy Americans. Yeah, bite me!
We had the last laugh as we hopped into our air conditioned RR a few minutes later for the ride to the Pen!