Rachel,

An Alt enhanced brain though may have (a fine beverage of which I could not partake this year, Grrrrrr.....) , it will surely clear soon and let you see that SIN is a place you simply must be. Good luck with the finances and let us know when I can move you to the Red Font grouping. :)

Hope to see you there.

Mike

Turning into? It's been a party since Sunday! ;) And for those of you starting on 869 in SFO, those of us joining you in HKG will be expecting our drinks to be awaiting our arrival on the plane! :D

Who needs an ATSB guarantee when there's a FT DO to fund the coffers?
 

(my apologies for the silence today, I managed to muck my reservation, and work was extra busy for a monday)

I hear the party 747 is UA 869, I too will be upstairs in 12H, back and forth across the pacific I go. While I had intended to go to OZ and the land of Kiwi in January, what better way but to do it in true FT style (even if I am new at this): I'll just fly down there another week that month and get even more EQMs!

This is going to be fun! I look forward to meeting everyone, I only wish it wasn't so far off!

Thanks to klau for the itinerary, we're on the same ships (the rep started to ask questions but decided it wasn't worth it and she changed the subject. hehe)

Hmm folks might want to check the price of their itineraries. I just refared. Just be warned you will need to reconfirm your upgrades ;)

Thanks to wireless for posting his fare otherwise I never would have refared. Anyhow still in 17A on all International segments and 1A on the domestic ones.

Tossing out another idea for Sunday's Hawker Stall run...

I had mentioned the Chinatown Complex Food Centre, and then in reviewing some of my notes, remembered that the Maxwell Road Food Centre is only about 200 m away. Maxwell Road FC does have a pretty good Chicken Rice stall (Stall 10 “Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice”) and Stall 87 has good Rickshaw Noodles.

Any interest in going to Maxwell Road first, then walking over to Chinatown Complex Food Court Block 335 Smith Street where there are hundreds of stalls.

Note that these FC's do not have air conditioning.

If I had to recommend just one, it would be the Chinatown Complex FC.

This area can be reached easily, by cab maybe 6 minutes from the Conrad down South Bridge Road, Maxwell Road FC by the East-West Blue MRT to Tanjong Pagar (W1) and walk up Maxwell Road and the Chinatown Complex FC by the Northeast Purple MRT to Chinatown (NE4) down Pagoda St, right on Trennganu.

Comments? Preferences?


SRDO2005 Food Centre Map

hmm Maxwell Road...there is one good teochew restaurant around the next block on a strip of restaurants near the food court. Good suggestion! ^

Also, I am sure there will be local FTers who will be in Singapore early than the runners. I myself will be there earlier, and could be as early as Jan 10th/11th. I am willing to offer my services as a tour guide :)

I'll be joining the skeptics and wait until post-Labor Day for East Coast-SIN fares. ;) My telepathetic powers insist on EWR-SIN fare wars later this year.
:D

^ Well you know....there's also lunch on Saturday! It looks like we're going to have some fantastic food options for the weekend! ^

Don't even think about doing this online! For $10 savings, you lose your upgrades and your seat assignments.

And 15A went away in the 30 seconds i was pushing the buttons - definately not worth it for $10

Flight confirmed
 

Jan 9 ORD-SFO UA 137
Jan 9 SFO-NRT UA 837
Jan 10 NRT-SIN UA 881

Jan 17 SIN-ORD UA 882 (leave that 17B open for me!!!) :)

I"m glad you took that hint! :D

Corporate Rates for Hotels...
 

Hi All!

Here are some corporate rates that my company has with hotels in Singapore. Let me know if you guys are interested and I may be able to negotiate for better...

Sheraton Towers Singapore SGD180++ Deluxe Room
Grand Hyatt Singapore SGD209.80
Swissôtel The Stamford, Singapore SGD160++ Harbour view, SGD150++ Deluxe Room
Raffles the Plaza SGD165++ Deluxe Room
Furama Hotel SGD105++ till Sept 04, SGD120++ Deluxe
Grand Plaza Parkroyal SGD130++ Superior, SGD 140++ Deluxe
Plaza Park Royal Singapore SGD120++ Deluxe, SGD150++ Orchid Club6
New Park Hotel SGD90++

Let me know if you guys prefer any other hotels and I'll try to get my office to ask for corporate rates. :)

For those of us who booked the last couple days ^

Fares are now corrected :D All itins should be $200 more now.

It sounds like some of us got lucky over the weekend and yesterday with the V fares as I've been told those are supposed to be 6-day min stay. ORD fares for the 13-17th are now $10xx.xx for a Q fare

^ Thank you, RestlessinReno!
 

Kudos to RestlessinReno for alerting us to the fare. Who knew it would turn out to be such a short window? I've bought, I've upgraded, no stress waiting at the gate for my upgrade - thank you, Mr. RReno!!

On that routing, the only place to look for you is in 15H, since I "know" that 15A will be taken!!!!

:cool:

Best wishes, Dave

ticketed !?! already ...
 

ok... i understand why. as for me and sean, well the HKG-SIN fare war is on, now that Valuair are here, but let'd just wait a while and see what else comes along, we may be doing a complex routing via KUL or BKK to save even a few more pennies.. :p

So, Dave - have you ticketed? The no minimum V fare is gone now - I hope you bought while the buying was good.

By the way, Thaipusam is Feb 5, 2005. We won't see the penitents on the street this trip.

Yeah I saw it coming. I probably should have kept my mouth (eh keyboard) quiet on this one :o

In short V fares which we got were supposed to be Q fares that cost $200 more. V fares = 6 day stay, Q fares = 4 day stay. Amazingly these were also available during peak times in December.

The current Q fares are still a drop from where they were (ex-ORD)...they were pricing out late last week at $1345.xx. I've been checking a few times a week as I'm also watching some other fares waiting to ticket those, just checking them all while I'm there.

Ugh I feel so broke now after buying 2 tickets, to PVG in Nov and SIN in Jan

so it's confirmed, paid, ticketed, whatever you wanna call it :D

Jan 9th ORD-SFO UA 137 9J
Jan 9th SFO-NRT UA 837 17B
Jan 10th NRT-SIN UA 881 17B
Jan 17th SIN-ORD UA 882 17B

Thank you for your kind words. It was a pleasure meeting you in London last November. Of course with over 100 FTers there, our conversation was brief! I am looking forward to seeing you again; also I note that we're on UA882 & 890 (SIN-NRT-LAX) together. We're both upgraded! :)


I so glad you, I and so many other FTers decided to "bite the bullet". Yes, I too had no idea the ticketing window would only be a few days. mjm's web site now has 24 confirmed!

I read the entire SIN RUN DO 2004 thread before booking. SanDiego1K - how was your afternoon tea at the Raffles Hotel, Billiard Room? Are you considering this again?

I love Raffles - but I was disappointed in tea in the Billiard Room. It has gone downhill substantially since the last time I was there. Apparently they have moved the tea buffet into the Tiffin Room, and moved the 3-tier service to the Billiard Room.

However, we had a great time walking around the hotel. We had Singapore Slings in the Long Bar, went thru the Raffles Museum, and checked out the shops. I'm a sucker for British Colonial buildings, and I highly recommend an hour or two at Raffles.

If I didn't book a ticket the fares might still be around :o

Have you stayed at Raffles before? It's one of our corporate preferred hotels and one I'm considering staying at.

I haven't - but bseller and - I think - iluv2fly have. Be very very careful that the Raffles on your corporate agreement is the colonial grande dame and not the Raffles Stamford or whatever the modern high rise a block or so away. Since Raffles uses the name concurrently for the cornerstone of their hotel empire and as the brand of their empire, it is very confusing in Singapore. If your corporate agreement is roughly $100 US, it is the modern Raffles. If it is $300 upwards, it is the historic property.

Thanks! I'll double check it tomorrow, but I think it only says on our corporate travel site "Raffles The Plaza" I'll follow the link and see where I end up!

Wrong hotel, sorry. :( http://www.rafflescityhotels.com/ It used to be a Westin; has now been rebranded as a Raffles.

On the other hand, if you have a magic corporate rate at this property, share, girlfriend! :D

Ah well, scratch that one off my list of 3 possible backup hotels! I'll have to talk to our travel dept as well as some of the people I know in our local office to see what can be done about the other Raffles. If I find anything, I'll let you know ASAP!

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!
 

Actually, I ticketed on a Q fare quite a while ago, and was able to refare down to $10XX. So, unfortunately, I missed out on the really cheap V fares, but I knew I wanted to go to this SIN run, and bought while the upgrades (to 15A, I might add!!) were still available....

Too bad we'll miss those guys with the needles, but looking forward to lots of good food nonetheless...Will be great to see you again!!

Best wishes, Dave

I thought bseller managed to get some decent rate at raffles hotel some time ago.

If Le Meridien completes its merging into SPG program, we might have 2 more new properties up for grabs next year.

Not sure if this has been mentioned already... but the InterContinental Hotel is showing rates of $150 SGD/night -- prepaid only. Looks great if you're into the colonial thing.. ;) ^

ws8n is correct that I managed to get a "better than advertised" rate by writing to the hotel email directly and seeing what the best they could do was, but my best recollection is that it was still somewhere near 300$/nite. Quite rich by anyone's standards, but it was fun to do, and I'm glad I did it. OTOH: the Sheraton has very nice poolside rooms that are relatively easy to get if you're Plat....

Worth checking out.....

See y'all in SIN!! Best wishes, Dave

SO RIGHT!

I know myself and at least 3 others are headed to a hawker stand for beers & chow after we land.

Anyone else?

No problem whatsoever.....so long as I'm one of the "3 others" to which you're referring!!!! I'm thinking that La Pau Sat is calling our collective "names".....Whattya think?!?!?!

:)

Best wishes, Dave

I know I am one of those 3...but I will meet you guys at Lau Pa Sat :)

Web page is now updated to show itins. etc.

Please note one change to the gathering place prior to the dinner Saturday Night:

We will be meeting in the Lobby Lounge on the ground floor of the Conrad. This is easy to spot and all of 10 seconds slow stroll from the reception desk if you need directions.

We will gather by 6:30 for departure in taxis (mini-buses actually). People usually start showing up between 5:30 and 6:00 for a few warm up bevvies, so come early if you wish and have a chat.

Another Announcement:

This weekend (I hope) I will be adding a link to a section of the page which will track attendees, times, meeting place etc. for a friday night feed at Lau Pa Sat. Sweet Willie will be there and sheparding and anyone who is s;leep challenged is encouraged to come along and get a head start on Singapore's delicacies at this famous Hawker Centre.

More soon,

Mike

mjm - I have the same itn as klau

as for the friday night, I might be up for some food/drinks, coming in with the rest of the party on UA869

I resemble that remark...
 

You KNOW I'm there!