Does that mean mjm cleared into C on UA? Good job!

At The RCC NRT
 

Thank you mjm for helping organize this DO. I had a great time. Fantastic restauraant choice for dinner Saturday night. I,m glad you broke even for dinner Saturday night aafter collecting from everyone. I,m glad you broke even after paying the bill - over a thousand SIN dollars! In return I notice the upgrade Gods were good to you - UA found a seat for you SIN-NRT in C! I'll post again when I'm not strugglling with this computer. :)

mjm DId you get that? Gods. Is that a promotion or what? Could not have happened to a more deserving guy! Still in SIN.

If y'all can pull yourselves away from the beer machine for long enough...pop into chat and say hi!

1 fantastic weekend
 

The list to thank is too long. ^ sailaway75, miles4all, mjm ^ in particular, but it was wonderful to see EVERYONE!

Everyone's left NRT and i'm just waiting for my flight to BKK. 4 hour delay has pushed it to 10:30pm dept.

looking forward to the next one.

good luck to all, fly safely
smiles,

Sean

In HKG now
 

From my pricelined hotel in Kowloon (which, unlike the Conrad here and in SIN, offers free wired and wireless internet in every room...), I'd like to add my thanks to mjm for making this event happen - I had a great time and enjoyed meeting old and new friends!

Apologies to all the people I could not properly say goodbye to, most notably SanDiego1k and jan_az. We had a blast at the Night Safari and only got back at 11.30pm or so... :o

Safe travels and see you next time!

Perhaps the staff at the Sheraton can help you out on that one. :p

mjm did indeed clear the C waitlist.

Whew, posting from the south-bound CalTrain heading into work. kluau88 and I arrived on NRT-SFO without incident, both complaining about a short flight. We had a fantastic view of Mt. Fuji at sunset while taking off, and a nice bay tour prior to landing.

First off, thanks to mjm for organizing what has been an outstanding weekend full of great food, company, and fun. The crabs were great (probably some photos out there, if you know what I mean) and the food court was fantastic (ala Fishball soup). I look forward to the 2006 event, even if I find myself there again sooner.

Special Thanks go to residents (one ex-resident) miles4all, sailaway75, and mafbar for their wonderful hospitality. I think that special attention should be called out for our outstanding tour guide, miles4all who led a fun, informative trek through the various areas downtown. Gaz, thanks for the insider tour of Chinatown and the wet fish markets, that was a welcomed treat after the long trip across the ocean.

The Night Safari was another unexpected treat! Partners in crime skye1, airoli, and I enjoyed the off-tram excursions, visiting the exotic animals and pondering the less-popular uses of game hides. The furball ejecting Golden Cat, randy Hyenas, and gigantic bats ruled! Sorry to have lost the rest of the group during our explorations.

I'm going to have to wrap this up, as I'm approaching lovely suburban Mountain View. San Jose just doesn't hold a candle to Singapore, so I probably should get off the train.

I'll edit this later to add more brief fun memories, assuming I don't get slaughtered at work. Obviously, no bumps for us NRT-SFO :)

Geez did you get back on a northbound train and decide you want to go back :) I don't know but I think there might have been a lurker who was watching this thread :) This individual was on the party flight on friday (UA 895 HKG-SIN), party flight today (UA 838 SIN-NRT), and then I saw him at baggage claim at SFO getting off UA 852 NRT-SFO.

Chicago contingent of bseller, cawhite60156 and wwbgd arrived safely in Chicago.

I was the only FTer on the main deck in 25C and I had the pleasure of experiencing the best FAs I ever had on United from NRT-ORD on UA 882 today.

Thanks for the great turnout in Singapore, I am glad everyone liked my suggestion of No Signboard, it will be tough to top that in 2006 since that has been my seafood restaurant since 1997 :)

Thanks mjm for organizing this and nice to see everyone

A fantastic weekend!
 

It was great to see meet many FTers I hadn’t already encountered somewhere in the world, including a lot who were at their 1st Do and (of course) seeing those I’ve met before and always enjoy getting to spend more time with! ^ Thanks to everyone for a fantastic weekend, and a special round of thanks going out to:

mjm for coordinating -- it was so much fun that many of us have been talking about next year’s SIN Do (consider this my RSVP!),
miles4all for the fantastic walking tour and sharing your knowledge of Singapore with us,
Gaz for the hospitality, door prizes at Saturday’s dinner and walking us through the markets at Chinatown and the sampling that went with it,
mafbar for the gifts and also sharing your local knowledge,
kiwiflyer for the kiwi gifts on Saturday,
traveliter for the pins

MikeinSin -- Very sorry to hear about the death in the family.

Despite a slight change in the “party flight” HKG-SIN, our trip got off to a great start by getting to invade the cockpit of our 747 at HKG for some group photos (including Freddie Jr) at the pilots’ suggestion, and then today following a fun “party flight” SIN-NRT and spending some quality time in the RCC & the SK lounge at NRT, we had a great flight back to ORD including captain’s cards, a special wave from the cockpit just before leaving NRT and “spotting ourselves” in Hemispheres (UA flyers should understand this from the UA forum). The cabana boy never did materialize (although I did get an interesting comment from the desk clerk :o )….but I have my pool guys instead! :p

Photos to be uploaded in the next couple days after a lot of editing ;)

^ :D ^ :D ^

For those who missed it this morning...one of the pax who flew with us on Friday evening HKG-SIN (and hear us chatting about our friends who didn't make the connection, etc and the party that he was now "missing out on") ended up with us in the C mini-cabin on this morning's SIN-NRT flight. He had a pretty good idea before we'd even taken off from SIN what he missed out on Friday!

Back At My Home Computer (Finally)
 

It's freezing here in RNO - I could do with a few more days enjoying Singapore weather. :) Thanks to everyone who organized this. It was great to see everyone, including mjm and mauld, who were at the first FT DO I attended, in Cannes in 2001. I met Sweet Willie briefly Saturday morning. Sorry you couldn't attend dinner. Thank you miles4all for leading the walk, and sailaway75 for the "car tour". After the walk, I had drinks with them and bseller, wwbgd, seanthepilot and others at the Boat Quay - a delightful way to spend an hour. Great view, sunny weather, conversation ranging from politics to miles.

A little late returning to RNO. The SFO-RNO flight (CRJ50) was weight restricted. Only 48 passengers allowed. A free ticket in the 48 states was offered, but since the flight was already 2 hours late, there were no takers. So UA sweetened the offer to a $600 voucher. I couldn't resist. :) So I managed to get on an evening flight and I'll use the voucher to go to the SYD DO in May. Thank you, UA.

SIN Run '06 or bust!
 

Well it is all done for another year. I had a fantastic time again this year and I think it is fair to say this has truly become a group event. We had several attendees bring souvenirs for the group. We had several first time attendees there with friends. We had events throughout the weekend hosted by a variety of attendees. It has really become much more than being about a great feast of Chili Crabs. And to be honest, I am thrilled at the evolution of the event.

A very warm personal thank you to all of you for joining and making it so much fun.

I saw many familiar faces and met several new people. The logistics could not have been smoother. Even a hiccup with the delayed arrival of the HKG-SIN flight was no match for the travel savvy and flexibility of this seasoned travel group. The party started for me at NRT at the RCC prior to heading to SIN. It continued without interruption at Lau Pa Sat the same night where several mini-groups arrived and departed at intervals.

The next day we had one of the main events, the Crab Fest. This year’s White Pepper Crabs were clear favorites over the Black Pepper Crabs last year. The Chili Crabs were exceptional as well and I cannot think of a good reason to change venues for next year. No Signboard did a great job. Some people moved down to Boat Quay for a few beverages later on when I left there was still a sizeable crowd still chatting and enjoying the evening on into the wee hours.

Sunday started for me at the Sheraton where a group of 12 or so had gathered and we walked to the Newton Circus Food Court for more local cuisine. I bailed after a while to go watch the Jets get undone by the Steelers and most of the rest of the group went on to the Long Bar to take the Historical Walk that miles4all had so kindly organized.

I skipped the night safari and gave way to laziness in lieu of a pool party and now wish I had gotten myself up off the bed. Still, there is next year. : )

My upgrade supplied by RTWSTARALLIANCE cleared and 5 hours of beautiful sleep in business class were just what the doctor ordered.

At NRT, as I bid farewell to all of the people heading for onward connections, I felt a bit sad that it was done, but look forward to seeing many of you again somewhere around the globe in ’05.

Thank you again everybody. This was a great weekend because of you!

Mike

So do we have a date for 2006? :D

We are sure sorry, mjm, that we missed out. Last year in Hong Kong was so much fun, but we actually worked the whole entirety of this last weekend. :( Hunki whined a couple of times about not being in SIN.

Making money is a good thing but this stuff about work interfering with travel is making us a little crazy. :p OK, OK, it is better than the last three years of economic doldrums, but at least we were able to travel whenever we wanted.

Next time around, we will have to remember to be born filthy rich so we don't have to consider letting all of this work stuff interfere with parties.

By the way, since I have Randy P's blessings, I am open to creating custom buttons for other do's as well (preferably the bigger ones, as they take a bit of time to set up and press). Y'all who were at the SIN do and wish to talk up how nice they were [;)], please spread the word.

Hmm... well, they did upgrade me to a suite later that day :D

He must have been running too :) I saw him at immigration in SFO getting off UA 852!

Thanks everyone!
 

Howdy from my home in VT where it is a cool -22°C/-7°F!

Thanks to Mike/mjm for organising this event. For an event with so many attendees, I would have to say that this was different from previous FT Dos as most people actually got to meet and talk. I enjoyed meeting a lot of new people and catching up with others. Despite the difficulty of having to balance my time between some family members I brought with me and FlyerTalkers, it was an excellent trip overall.

airoli: this makes 9 countries for us. Always a pleasure to see you. Oh yeah, despite HCD's embarrassing loss to Fribourg, they've already clinched a quarterfinal berth.
SD1K, Jan, and seanthepilot: no proper goodbyes???-- I'm glad that we actually had time to chat in the Conrad Executive Floor Lounge. Until next time-- where? MUC?
mauld: It was a pleasure meeting you for the first time. What a treat to have you and violist on SQ 22 as well!
violist: Nice to meet up with you again. Thanks for toughing it out with me in that crazy place they call EWR. Welcome back to the USA!
GK and Sean:Thanks for the educating me on the origins of "Maidenhead." Now I'll be thinking of you everytime I set foot in that city. Good to see you both again.
Foady and catwhite60156:To you crazy kids from ORD, thanks for the laughs. Sorry I couldn't party with yall as family members were present (I had to behave).
skye1: Great chatting with you and bringing up good memories of STL. I'll invite myself to visit you there sometime.
sailaway75: Heureux de faire votre connaissance. Please call me when you do end up in YUL or fly out of BTV. Don't you miss the cold weather? A bientôt.
Traveliter: I apologise for not getting a chance to visit with you but many thanks for the wonderful pin!
Kiwi Flyer: Thanks for the cute kiwis!

I hope to see yall next year!

AusTX, thank you for keeping me company in EWR, and glad to hear
that you got home ok. When I got back, My Carol picked me up, and
she was so excited when we got home that she locked her keys in
the car along with her AAA card! I had to burrow into my bags to
get my house key (it was 17F (-8C I think)), and AAA came without
her having to give a card number, and within 15 minutes, a record.

I neglected to thank Faisal (FT name forgotten) for the Tiger Balm.

Finally: guess what happened, Jan? The little creep at Changi
managed to bypass the January 2005 SWUs and take two January
2006 SWUs out of my account!

Cheers to all
M

Back home at last...unfortunately not as warm as Sin
 

After a couple of superb flights to Nrt and Ord, I am back at home freezing my buns off. What a difference 9600 miles can make.
My sincere thanks to all who made our weekend in Sin spectacular...especially Mike/mjm for organizing the dinner at No Signboard, and to William/miles4all for the lunch event, and his great walking tour of Singapore.
It was fun to meet many new faces, and to hang out with some familiar ones. Sweetwillie, we missed you at dinner, but were glad to hear that you were safe. Maud, thanks for your hospitality, beseller for being a great guide, seanthepilot for the tour of the SQ lounge at Changi, sailaway75 for all of your help, and Faisal for the Tiger Balm.
What are the dates 2006?
Boris

The wildlife wasn't the only thing on display at the Night Safari...
 

Ask and ye shall receive... (well, sometimes... ;) )
http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeANmLho0buWzjg

Thanks chica!

BTW Gaz....thanks for finally deciding to stop sending me test text messages to my mobile (none since I got home)! And you really should have stayed for the rest of the pool party!

see, alcohol isn't required to be a dork in public.

Thanks so much to all

The delay in Hong Kong made me tired :( - but those white pepper crabs were worth it. :)

The Night Safari was great - not sure there is anywhere else in the world that you can do something like that!!!

Jan 2006
 

Isn't it always the weekend of MLK Day in the US which is 16 Jan 2006? Therefore the Saturday dinner will be 14 Jan 2006? Am I correct guys?

I think it's more when the Japanese have a 3 day holiday in January. Usually it's the same weekend, but can change. Apparently mjm's boss didn't like the idea of 2 - 3 day weekends in advance as was the case in 2005 :D

I just did some googling on Japan holidays and apparently the second Monday of January is a holiday for the "Coming of Age." So looking at a 2006 calendar it looks like January 6-8, 2006!

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2280.html

Bonus points to the gentleman from the City (i.e. San Francisco for those of you from elsewhere). :)

The Monday of the three day weekend in Japan at the beginning of January '06 falls on the 9th. Hmmm......

Not so convenient for the U.S. contingent. Have to ponder that one. If I put in a request early enough, I may just be able to manage the MLK weekend again. It would seem to suit most attendees best.

I shall get back to you on this in a few weeks. Probably after the 330 day limit date but still well in advance of the 6 schedule and aircraft changes to take place on the various JFK/ORD/SFO/LAX - NRT/HKG/SIN routes. Upgrades should be eminently possible. My criteria for dates will be the ease of travel for the majority (i.e. a three day weekend in the U.S. if possible) and the ease of getting upgrades from the most reasonable economy fares to business.

Stay tuned...

Mike

The earlier the date can be confirmed the better for me - both in arranging leave and flights. Flights are packed in January.

My turn ....
 

Thanks mjm for setting the weekend up, Miles4All for coordinating lunch on Saturday, Sweet Willie for the hawker run Friday night (what a great turnout for 2 am), izzik for picking a good massage place (at least I got 1 in) ... and all my travel companions from ord-hkg-sin and sin-nrt (I kind of feel bad for that guy that got on the sin-nrt flight and not only saw the same group of people from Friday, but was sitting with us in the mini-cabin, at least he took it well :D ) ... and a special thanks to SailAway75, Kiwi Flyer and Faisl for the various goodies.

As always, great seeing friends and meeting new ones (and hopefully adding a few new names to Shanghai next month - hope to see you guys there).

Note to self, don't end an international trip on a UAX flight, and definitely NOT into IAD and Terminal G!!

THe most important question: Did you miss me?? :)

Of course we did :( SIN wasn't the same without you.

I looked for you in ROW 1 and 2 on every flight hoping you would be there, but all I saw was someone else :(

Funny you should ask, Marty - I just said I wished you had been with us on our misconnect in HKG. Then we'd have the power of Marty in getting satisfaction from Ms. Soucy Bergin!

Does this mean you didn't get the text messages telling you we missed you?

I got them, but I just like to see it here in print. :D