UA875 NRT SIN 1750 0020 777 9J Ch9

It took me a while to get to the plane, as I was walking
at about 1/3 rate. I could quite possibly have been the
slowest person on the moving sidewalks. Easy red-carpet
boarding. restlessinRNO, in the row ahead of mine,
reported failure to detect any of the expected FTers in
the ANA lounge; he remarked on my being winded after the
walk from the RCC. Hello, ejection fraction under 30,
what do you expect. Juice, water, or cheap bubbly were
offered. We were enjoying our PDBs when Lori_Q and shortly
after upup&away came puffing in: their flight had been
delayed first by "positive bag matching" and then "another
aircraft occupying their gate"; whatever, they made it,
and our little party was ready to head to Singapore. The
nice gent in 8H gave up his seat to Lori, so with upup&away
in 9H we had a little FT bloc there in the cabin. A nice chat
and a nice meal and then a nice nap.

The Fredds were in the bigger C cabin, I think, and fellow
FTer Ted unfortunately was in the wayback.

A decent flight with decent food and pretty good service.

to begin
fresh seasonal greens
French vinaigrette

main course
Trader Vic's sweet and sour braised short ribs
Roasted garlic mashed potatoes and glazed carrots and peas

Trader Vic's shredded chicken in Thai green curry sauce
Jasmine rice and roasted mushroom and vegetable medley

salmon topped with chestnut paste
Hanagata rice with white sesame seeds, grilled eringi
mushroom, green beans and carrot flower

dessert
Eli's cherry frangipane tart
With creme anglaise and pistachio

Today's menu features beef from Australia

Trader Vic came through with a palatable chunk of chuck; the
sweet-sour wasn't very sour but thankfully not very sweet
either. The potatoes were substantially garlicky. I did try
the tart, which was okay if a little dry.

We landed a bit late and went our separate ways, I to
check out the broadband (Wireless@SG was misbehaving for me
so I had to find a wired connection) and then to the T3
transit hotel at 3. Nice room, though a bit spartan. In the
morning, more Internet and then the airport outlet of the
renowned Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh. I had poached pig liver and
vermicelli in a rich, peppery pork bone stock - terrific.
Then to T2 basement, whence the #36 bus gets you to Suntec
for a buck and half. It takes perhaps 15 more minutes than
a taxi.

At the Conrad I was pleased to be given a business room
overlooking the Fountain of Wealth. The view was good, the
bed very comfy, and the bathroom extra nice. I recall the
room I was given here when I was gold (I'm now lowly
silver) was not so good as this one.

Amenities: a rubber ducky, a teddy bear, a fruit bowl (good
banana and kiwi, a couple mediocre-looking apples, an okay
orange, and a pear that could just as well have been made of
wax or wood), and a little box of extremely luxurious
truffles - white chocolate mango, dark chocolate hazelnut,
milk chocolate honey, and gilded milk chocolate pineapple,
all of which I gobbled down in minutes.

Met Lori_Q for drinks at the lobby but then was informed
of the executive lounge party by restless. Old friends,
an excellent time. I was really tired, and the wine was
free, so the 10 pm Concorde meeting got knocked off the
agenda. We shared taxis to Newton for the midnight event.
I had a few skewers of satay and a beer and then it was
time to cab it back for a nightcap and bed. I blame my
dazedness on the heart failure rather than inebriation
or the jetlag.