hsubbu

There was a little bit of drama before I boarded the SQ 503 to Bangalore. I dawdled at the lounge and forgot that my flight departs 11:05 p.m and not 11:25 pm. A few minutes before they closed the aircraft gate they made an announcement on the PA by my name and an agent met me at the lounge and escorted me to the jetway. I was embarrassed but also told myself how often am I going to get the pleasure of being nicely escorted to a waiting aircraft.

I settled into my seat and the captain announced push back and we were on our way. . On an airline like SQ even coach class presentation is done in style. About most US-based airlines on coach the less said the better.

My vegetarian Dinner Menu looked like this:




The meal presentation


Yes indeed! the recipe for the storied Singapore Sling drink reportedly invented at the Raffles Hotel

I ate the standard vegetarian offering on that flight, drank lot of water and managed to get about 1-1/2 hours of sleep.



We arrived on time in Singapore.

Some pictures of the Changi airport post-security area.






Busy morning at Changi


View of passport control from the transit area


I started looking for the Star Alliance lounge. Once I got up to the upper level I was advised to go to the Gold Lounge





I did not have much time at the lounge. I had some coffee got online and wrote a little bit of this Trip Report and then it was time to get in line for boarding


[B]My ride at the gate the impressive A-380 that will take me over the seas back home stateside[/IMG]




Those enormous A-380 wings



[B]A-380 Economy cabin before everybody got on[/IMG]

The seats were comfortable and even though I was seated in the wing area it did not feel noisy. I was able to sleep an hour or so until Tokyo Narita.

We reached Narita on time and again I managed to locate the ANA/Star Alliance Lounge



There was also a nice scale model with stats for B 787. One day I hope to be on this most modern aircraft.





I very much appreciated the unusual pressure controlled 'rear wash' feature of the toilets in Narita airport. There were a lot of buttons and I worked them with care and came out after a pleasant experience.

We arrived in LAX on time and I was glad that I arrived back stateside without any significant incovenience. Everything went according to plan/schedule.



Passage through Passport control and customs was uneventful. Being unfamiliar with the LAX layout, I hiked quite a bit with a big check in baggage to my terminal instead of taking the shuttle. Got through security and made my way to the United Club. Spent a couple of hours there. Nice coffee and snacks.





A chat with a fellow traveler at the lounge who told me he was on his way to London on vacation. Walked over to Baja Fresh for some dinner and waited at the gate for my flight to board.

It was an evening flight out of LAX that would arrive at IAD after 1:30 a.m. We landed on time, I gathered my bag at the baggage claim stepped out to the taxi ranks and took the 10 minute ride home. Glad to see my family and grateful that I could make this trip.

Now there is another trip report to be written on a family vacation that will take us to 3 cities in Europe and 4 cities in India over a 3 week period. That is a story for another day.