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London to Singapore & Bali – SQ A380, 777, a private villa and a wedding!

London to Singapore & Bali – SQ A380, 777, a private villa and a wedding!

Old Apr 8, 2010, 4:55 am
  #16  
 
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This is really helpful, I'm slumming it in the A380 SYD-SIN in a couple of weeks and was agonising over whether to spend the money on an exit row seat. Methinks US$50 is steep for a seat with no window and no side bin, when SQ seems to have okay pitch in other seats as well. I'm going to rough it, I think.
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Old Apr 8, 2010, 3:36 pm
  #17  
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Singapore and the Singapore Marriott

I’d spoken to Mum and had arranged to meet her and the rest of the group near their hotel (The Mandarin Marina) in an hour or so. After checking in at the hotel I went up to my executive level room on the 27th floor. This was also where the executive lounge was located.


The Singapore Marriott on Orchard Road

The executive lounge provides free soft drinks all day as well as breakfast and evening cocktails and snacks. Free wifi is also available as well as a work area a TV area and various places to sit and relax and enjoy the 180 degree views over Orchard Road.
I’d actually stayed here in November so I knew what to expect. My room was quite dated, but classy and had everything that I needed including a large bathroom and large LCD TV. I’d used some of my Marriott points to obtain this stay for free. That is the only reason that I did not stay with the group, saving myself around Ł300-400.


Typically comfy Marriott King Bed


The room including the work area and chaise lounge


Looking towards the entrance with the TV and wardrobe

I took a shower was soon feeling pretty refreshed, despite the long flight. I jumped into a taxi and met Mum and the group at an Italian restaurant overlooking the Marina.

I’ve been to Singapore a couple of times previously but have always travelled by myself so I’d not really had the opportunity to experience Singapore’s nightlife. Travelling in a group meant that I had an excuse to get out of the hotel at night and consume some alcohol at a local establishment.

It was great to catch up with everyone but the restaurant did spoil the mood a bit. Unfortunately, the service was poor and it took over 30 minutes to even get some drinks (they weren’t busy). The food was ok, when it arrived, but it came out sporadically meaning that some of us had finished before other members of the group and even received their meal. We complained, and refused to pay the service charge which didn’t go down too well. It spoiled the evening a bit really. After this, with a second wind, myself and a couple of others from the group found a bar along the esplanade and had a few drinks before retiring for the evening.

I slept like a baby and woke up feeling pretty good. I only wish that my bed at home was as comfortable! I went to the executive lounge for some (free) breakfast before meeting up with the group at their hotel. I’d never been to the Mandarin Marian before but I was definitely impressed.

The hotel centres around a huge atrium which is where reception and the bar are located. On each side of the atrium the rooms rise up to around 20 storeys. Uniquely, on one of the lower levels were exotic birds in cages that filled the atrium with their songs. It was quite a weird experience as it made you feel like you were outside.


The bar area in the central atrium (the birds are above the paintings, top right)


The huge central atrium and floating lifts

We’d agreed to start the day at Sentosa Island which is a rather over developed resort island very close to the Singapore mainland. I’d been here only once prior, about five years ago. Originally, we’d planned to get to the island by cable car, however, upon reaching the base station we were turned away as it was closed for refurbishment. We then had a bit of trek to find the monorail but eventually find it tucked away inside yet another shopping mall. My aunt entertained us by saying that we’d have to wait a while for the next train to arrive as there was only one train, hence the term monorail. Oh dear.

The monorail took us quickly over to the island and I was amazed to see how much development had taken place. We headed down to the beach and me and a mate did the manly thing and took a ride on the luge. I’ve done this in Queenstown, New Zealand and it was great fun back then. This time was good but it was over all too soon. We headed down to the beach to dip our toes in the water. It was absolutely fantastic (albeit manmade) with golden sand stretching far into the distance. We were all tempted to simply wade in with our clothes on, however, that would have made the journey back on the monorail a little soggy.

After returning to the main land we spent the afternoon wandering around Singapore with no particular agenda. This was great for me, having been to Singapore a couple of times before I wasn’t too keen on doing the main attractions again such as the zoo (as good as it is). In fact, I turned out to be the nominated tour guide and started off by wandering to the Merlion, Singapore’s famous mascot.


The Merlion, Singapore’s Mascot

We then sauntered up past the Fullerton Hotel (I must stay here one day) and followed the river along to Clarke Quay, watching the ‘bum boats’ (yes they are called that) ferry people up and down the river.

It was pretty hot and sticky so we soon decided that we’d had enough so retired to our respective hotels for a swim. I met up with the group again in the evening at their hotel. We’d nominated someone’s room and met up to have a pre-dinner drink. I was very impressed by the views that were on offer which certainly beat the rows of shops and apartments on Orchard Road.


Looking over the Theatre and into Singapore’s business district

We had agreed to head up to the Swissotel The Stamford and the Equinox roof level bar. This comprises of a bar and night club as well as a restaurant on the lower floor. It is located high up on the 70th floor of the hotel and provides sweeping views over Singapore. I understand that this place is a bit of a haunt for visiting airline crews and expected to see a group of people spending their allowance here!


The Equinox Bar

The bar offered a very extensive and expensive cocktail menu with cocktails around 25 to 30 SGD each. We were all in the party mood so didn’t paying this, however, it did make for a rather expensive night.

The following day we walked down to the wander past the F1 circuit which is located at the base of the Singapore Flyer. After this we decided that it was a little too hot to spend anymore time outside if it wasn’t in the pool so headed back to the hotel.

In the evening we’d decided to pay a visit to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel. Yes, I know, very touristy, but it wasn’t somewhere that I’d been before so it was good to see what it was like.


Singapore’s Raffles Hotel

The Long Bar is seemingly away from the main areas of the hotel and non-residents are not made to feel particularly welcome with lots of signs indicating that certain areas were for residents only.

We made our way around to the side of the hotel, up the stairs and into the Long Bar. It was here that the famous Singapore Sling cocktail was first made.


The view from the terrace looking into the courtyard


The not so long, Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel

The Long Bar is definitely unique with it’s classic styling and all of the nut shells on the floor. A table was arranged and we ordered a round of ‘Slings’.


My Singapore Sling

The cocktail was pretty good if not a bit sweet. After this we headed down to Clark Quay to get something to eat. We decided to split up and I went for an Indian, after my recent experiences in Mumbai. The meal was great and afterwards I headed back to the Marriott for the night with a very satisfied stomach.


Verdict on the Singapore Marriott

The hotel is very comfortable, centrally located on Orchard Road with friendly staff and good size rooms. It is fair to say however that the hotel could do with a re-fit. The rooms are a little dated and couldn’t match the contemporary feel of the Marina Mandarin. However, I’d still be happy to stay there again.


Verdict on Singapore

Although I’ve been to Singapore several times I enjoyed this time the most. It was great having my family around me and getting the opportunity to visit other areas of Singapore that I hadn’t seen before.

I found the Long Bar at Raffles a little touristy, but I suppose that was always going to be the case.

I’m going back to Singapore in May for work and I’m looking forward to it.
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Old Apr 9, 2010, 3:57 am
  #18  
 
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The serving of courses in Singapore restaurants is often uncoordinated, even in the more expensive establishments, especially if more than 3 or 4 are dining together.

There must have been quite an argument regarding the service charge since its regarded as an entitlement by the restaurants.
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Old Apr 10, 2010, 10:59 am
  #19  
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Singapore To Bali – Singapore Airlines 777-200

Our flight wasn’t scheduled to take off until 7pm so we had a few hours to kill in the morning so decided to visit China Town.

At 4pm, having packed everything up, we assembled outside the Mandarin Marina for our fleet of taxis to arrive. It turns out that someone had made a mistake and there was one less seat available then required, but we managed to squeeze in. The ride to the airport was pretty straightforward, only taking around 30 minutes.

Flight: SQ948
Carrier: Singapore Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Scheduled Departure time: 19:00
Duration: 2h 30m
Scheduled Arrival time: 21:30 (local)
Routing: Singapore (SIN) T2 – Denpasar, Bali (DPS)
Class: Economy
Seat: 33A – (seat plan)

We arrived at Terminal 2 to find it not very busy at all. Not too surprising for a Tuesday afternoon. We checked in and secured the seats that we’d previously chosen online. Boarding passes in hand, we were quickly through immigration and into the large expanse that is Terminal 2 (security is at the gate).

After visiting the duty free shop to pick up some vodka (alcohol in Bali is expensive) I decided to split from the group and take a wander around.

Terminal 2 is huge and almost every inch of floor space is taken up by shops and restaurants.


Terminal 2 shopping


A comfy TV area


Open seating area


More shops

Regular visitors will know that Singapore Airport offers a wide variety of amenities to travellers including a rooftop swimming pool. There wasn’t time to visit this time around though.

Although having travelled through Singapore Airport only last year, I hadn’t been to Terminal 3 so decided to take the Skytrain and get some photos.


Terminal 3 Shopping Area

Compared to Terminal 2, Terminal 3 was a lot more modern and brighter. I preferred it. I’d be travelling from here on the return leg in a couple of weeks time.

There was about an hour left before the scheduled push back so went back over to Terminal 2 and to gate F34, where our 777-200 was waiting for us.



Some of SQ’s fleet waiting at Terminal 2


Our ride to Bali


Close up of this 777-200

I met up with the group at the gate and very shortly after the gate opened and we went through the security check. Our boarding passes were checked and we were handed the immigration and customs forms for Bali.

Boarding took place very soon after through two air bridges. This was a two class service and business class passengers had use of their own air bridge, attached to door 1L. Economy class passengers boarded through door 2L. Upon boarding it was clear that this aircraft was of the older variety.


Leg room shot

Unlike SQ’s longer range 777’s, this aircraft did not contain the new economy product. Despite this, the seat was still very comfortable, and AVOD IFE was on offer, despite the short duration of this flight.


Looking down the cabin on this 777-200


Down the back


Rear pair of seats at the back of this aircraft

The flight didn’t seem too full at only 30 minutes after boarding had started the doors were closed. Hot towels were handed out by the crew. The Captain came over the PA and announced a short flight time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. After a quick taxi and take off we were in the air.

No menus were handed out but a full dinner service was on offer. Dinner was served very quickly after take off, perhaps 20 minutes into the flight. The options were spicy beef with rice or chicken noodles.


Beef curry with rice

The meal was really good and included a roll, water and tiramisu ice cream. Dinner was cleared about 40 minutes later so I decided to go for a wander around the cabin. On this aircraft, the economy cabins stretch all the way from door 2 to the back of the aircraft, with business between doors 1 and 2. The flight wasn’t particularly full at about 40% in Y.

At this point we hit some turbulence so I made my way back to my seat near the front of the aircraft, almost falling over along the way!

We hit the top of descent at around 20.45 and started making our way down to Bali. The descent was very calm, with a clear night sky revealing almost nothing. It was difficult to get my bearings and I had no idea how high we were or what we were flying over. Soon, the sea came into view and we made a smooth landing, touching down early as promised at 21.15.

Now, while the flight was good, we had the Indonesian immigration process ahead of us. My Mum had warned us beforehand so we were well prepared.

For Bali, there is a ‘visa on arrival’ process for British Passport holders. However, unlike other countries, there is a fee, to be paid on arrival. Frustratingly, this can only be paid in US dollars, so unprepared visitors would have been in for a bit of a surprise. We were fully prepared though and had our $25 ready. Firstly, we queued to pay for a our visa and were given a receipt to show that we’d paid the correct amount. Then, we had to queue up at the actual immigration desk and handed in our immigration form. At this point, the visa is issued which takes up a full page in your passport. It can only be used once, so as soon as it is issued it effectively expires. I can imagine that this could get quite annoying for regular visitors. Imagine having to give up a whole page in your passport every time you entered the country.

After getting my visa it was then further checked at the next desk. After all of these checks, we were out into the baggage reclaim area. Here, there were a large number of porters that will, without asking, remove the bags from the conveyor and stand by them waiting for you to arrive. However, a polite ‘no’ soon fends them off. After this, it’s through customs, with all bags being scanned and then out into the arrival area. We went to the taxi booth and sorted out a couple of taxi’s to take us to the Bali Hyatt in Sanur which was approximately 30 minutes ride away.

Verdict

I love Singapore Airport, it has to be one of the best airports in the world. There is so much to see and do and although I didn’t have too much time for this, I still enjoyed my brief stay.

The flight was good, very quick, and possibly the shortest flight that I’ve had on a long haul aircraft. The food was excellent and really filled me up. Very satisfactory.

The immigration process on arrival is not particularly easy or welcoming but it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. It wouldn’t stop me going to Bali again.

To follow

- The Bali Hyatt
- The Ylang Ylang Private Villa
- The return flights back to London
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Old Apr 11, 2010, 11:53 am
  #20  
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The Bali Hyatt

We arrived at the hotel at around 10pm and once through security at the gate we drew up to the reception area. To my surprise, we were greeted individually and presented with a flower garland. The gong was struck to announce our arrival. We were ushered into the large open, semi-outdoor reception area and seated on comfortable sofas. One of the staff came over from the bar with a cool fruit juice and cold towels. The reception staff then approached and asked for our passports and payment cards. After a few short minutes he came back with our documents, cards and folios to sign. Our luggage was brought into the reception area on a trolley, waiting to be delivered to our rooms. With all of our rooms assigned, two of the porters escorted us through the hotel, outlining the layout of the hotel before we left reception.

The Bali Hyatt is a open air affair with none of the major areas enclosed. The rooms are laid out in three overlapping squares with the corner of the first square leading on to the next. I was in the third square which meant a little walk from reception to get to my room.


My room – standard garden view king


The bathroom


The room during the day, and the balcony

The room itself was a reasonable size with a large bed, modern TV and a small balcony. The bathroom was a bit small but it had everything that one needed.

We’d read reviews before arriving at the hotel which stated that the décor is a little dated. I’m sure that’s true, but I think that one would argue that it is in keeping with the Balinese style. I found the room to be very comfortable.

After settling in, we all headed to the bar for an evening drink.

The next seven days were spent doing pretty much nothing, and that’s how it had always been planned. It had been a few years since I’d had a holiday that was focussed around sitting by the pool or going to the beach. To be frank, it was bloody brilliant. My work life can be pretty hectic and stressful so it was so relaxing to find that the biggest decision that I had to make was which pool to sit by and when to have lunch. I’d forgotten how much fun doing nothing can be and how important it is to have down time on holiday.

The hotel is set in many acres of landscaped gardens giving it a very green feel. There are two pools, a traditional ‘blue’ pool with sunken pool bar and the larger ‘green’ pool as well as a plunge pool and Jacuzzi. The hotel fronts onto a long private beach with golden sand and palm trees. During most of the day, soft, calming traditional Balinese music is performed by local musicians to entertain and relax the guests.


The view from the entrance to my room


Walking through the gardens to the beach


The private beach


Relaxing by the blue pool


Bridge over the green pool


Relaxing by the green pool

Our typical day tended to start at about 9.30 for breakfast in the large Wantilan Café. Breakfast was a buffet affair with both hot and cold dishes available. Eggs and waffles were also cooked fresh, to your liking. After breakfast we headed down the pool for a dip. Lunch was taken either by sitting down at the Omang Omang Grill or delivered by one of the waiting staff to our sun loungers. In the evening we mostly headed out of the hotel to one of the bars and restaurants close by.

I have to say that the quality of the food at the local restaurants was outstanding.


Snapper with a mango sauce

The quality of the ingredients and presentation were both unexpected, especially for the price, which was always relatively cheap. Drinks on the other hand were not with everyone expected to pay something close to London prices most nights. This was however offset by the price of the food and it was certainly cheaper than Singapore.

After the third day we’d decided to head out to see what Bali had to offer. We’d arranged a driver through a local contact that Mum had. He took us first to a local temple. We all had to cover our legs and shoulders and colourful saris were provided for this purpose.


Traditional Balinese temple

Next it was off to see one of the islands active volcanoes, Mount Batur. The weather wasn’t good with the volcano mostly surrounded by cloud. However, the most annoying thing were the local street sellers. I’ve been approached before by local sellers in both India and Thailand but the guys in Bali take it to another level. While I was trying to take photos they were literally sticking t-shirts in front of my camera and trying to insert whatever they were selling between my face and the camera itself. I was trying to be polite but eventually lost it and shouted a very loud ‘No!’ at them and walked away. They left me alone after that. I understand that these people rely on tourists for their living but I think that they have to be very careful in finding the right balance. What we experienced could simply be called harassment and it certainly ruined the views of the volcano for me.

The weather had started to get a bit better so we headed off to view one of Bali’s famous rice terraces and then down to some of the rice paddies themselves.


Rice terraces


Rice paddies


A local rice paddy

Call me stupid, but I’d never really thought about how rice is grown or even what it looks like before it is harvested so it was certainly educational to be able to stand right next to the plants and get a closer look.

The last stop of the day was to one of the Elephant ride parks. I must admit that I wasn’t keen on this, ethically. Despite assurances that the elephants were rescued from harsher conditions I did feel that it was distasteful to then exploit these amazing creatures by making them give rides to rich tourists.

We arrived at the Elephant park and went up to the reception desk. This is were the strangeness began. There were no prices and it appeared that the cost of the ride was down to negotiation with lots of calculator tapping. The initial price was a very steep half a million Rupiah which is about Ł36 or $55. For a 15 minute ride this was ridiculous so we walked away. They then called us back and offered a viewing for 100,000 which we accepted. I felt at this point like the place was run by an organised crime gang, that is how it felt.

We were directed up to where the elephants were. The place was reasonably busy and the handlers there encouraged us to come and get up close and personal with the elephants. They were trained to put one foot up on the footpath and allow visitors to sit on their knee.


Elephants at the elephant park

Strangely, they then asked us if we’d like a ‘free’ ride as long as we gave them a nice tip. I declined by one of our group decided to give it a go. Again, this all seemed very dodgy! They enjoyed the ride which included a dip into the nearby bathing pool. After this we went back to the hotel to meet up with the group. The Elephant park left an uneasy feeling with me and it’s not somewhere that I can recommend to anyone.

The rest of our time at the hotel was taken up with more relaxing, swimming, book reading, drinking and general laziness.

Verdict on the Bali Hyatt

The hotel is probably not quite what I expected, however, I thought that it was excellent. Yes, it is a little dated but the friendly staff and facilities more than make up for this. The open air design was very welcome in the sticky Balinese heat, allowing what little wind there was to blow through.

The room was very comfortable with everything that one would expect. The bars and restaurants served good quality food and drink however it was outrageously expensive with similar prices to Singapore. Better deals were to be found outside of the hotel.

The pools were great and despite housing quite a large number of guests it never felt busy. We never felt the need to rush down to the pool in the morning to secure sun loungers.

I’d definitely go back to the Bali Hyatt and I’d recommend it to others looking for a hotel in Bali with great facilities which is decorated in a traditional style.
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Old Apr 11, 2010, 12:04 pm
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Ben Ell
Just out of curiousity, you briefly touched on the lower deck seeming a little more spacious give that its wider.
As a single traveller I'm a fan of the 2-4-2 layout much more that the 3-4-3 just because its better for both window and aisle preferring people, but is the upper deck claustrophobic or cramped in any way? Or is it just a matter of spacious vs uber-spacious?
How tall are you for the head space to be a problem?
Is there much of a flight noise difference (engines, wind roar etc) between the decks?
I'm not particularly tall, but it did seem that getting into the seat on the upper deck meant that I had to duck my head to the side before being fully seated. The upper deck certainly feels smaller. I wouldn't say that it offers any less personal space than the main deck, it just feels more cozy. It is certainly not cramped. I sat in very different places on both legs, on the way out I was upstairs right at the back, behind the engines, on the way back I was right at the front of the wings. I can't say that I noticed any noise difference but I suppose that it would be logical to say that the forward position would be quieter. However, it's such a quiet aircraft anyway it hardly makes a difference.
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Old Apr 11, 2010, 3:02 pm
  #22  
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Talking The Ylang Ylang Private Villa

And so on to my favourite part of the entire holiday. Forget nice hotels in Singapore, the open air Hyatt, trips on the A380, elephant rides, this tops the lot and is something that I will never ever forget.

Originally, back in August when booking this trip Mum had advised us to book a full 10 nights in the Bali Hyatt however, a few months later, she told us to amend this to 7 nights and that she’d arrange the last three. She told us nothing more than that.

Even before anyone stepped foot onto a plane speculation was rife. Where were we going for those last three nights? There was talk of boats, villas, beaches, private chefs and even the thought that we might be flying back to Australia for the wedding.

We’d been instructed to meet Mum in the reception of the Hyatt at 12 after checking out of our rooms. Two mini-bus style taxi’s awaited us plus a small van for the luggage. Mum was still tight lipped.

After travelling for about 40 minutes we turned off of the main road and onto a narrow country lane. Where were we going? After a few bumpy minutes we arrived in the driveway of an enormous villa. Even still, we couldn’t believe it as the staff helped us out of the taxis and welcomed us to the Ylang Ylang villa.

I was completely blown away. I get that feeling very, very rarely. This place was just unbelievable. I felt as though I was on MTV Cribs! The luggage was taken care of by the staff and we moved into the lounge area where another member of staff was standing by with wine and cold beers which were gratefully received. I still couldn’t believe it.

The Ylang Ylang is a 6 bedroom private villa located in south east of the island overlooking a secluded beach. It is fully staffed with waiting staff, a full time personal chef, cleaners and grounds keepers as well as security. There is an infinity pool and two Jacuzzis. Both master suites also contain large baths. Each bedroom sleeps up to two and all are en-suite.

Let me show you around…..


The main lounge, entrance and dining area


The view of the infinity pool – the bedrooms are located at either side


Looking back at the villa


One of the master suites


The large bath in one of the master suites


The view from my room

Looking at the photos now I’m still blown away by it. Forget every hotel that I’ve ever stayed at, there has been nothing like this before.

After we started to settle down a bit, everyone chose their rooms and their luggage was duly delivered accordingly. It was then time for lunch which our chef Kadek had prepared for us. All of the food was pre-ordered prior to our arrival and Mum had already sorted out the drinks earlier in the week. Wayang and Dewa served us lunch which consisted of sandwiches and chips. I’m not a fan of tomato so asked if I could have mine without, not only did I receive tomato free sandwiches they remembered this for the remainder of the stay. I didn’t have to mention it again. Amazing service.

A word on the staff. We had 10 staff during our stay. Our personal chef Kadek prepared the most amazing food for us at our request. The waiting staff, I guess you could call them butlers (but that would indicate a stuffiness, which there wasn’t) were Wayang and Ketut tended to our every need and the manager Dewa ensured that everything ran smoothly.

Having an entire villa as our playground took a little while to get used to. We felt inclined to ask if it was ok to do things, such as, whether we could go for a swim, or put on some music. Dewa informed us in the most sincere terms that this was our house now and we could anything we wanted to and that himself and his staff would be here to make sure that we were completely taken care of, perfect.

And so, we had to try out the pool. Like kids we ran to our rooms to get changed and excitedly jumped into the pool. At this point, Wayang appeared with fresh towels for us all and laid them out on the sun loungers.

We spent most of the afternoon in the pool and exploring the villa. Often one of the staff would come over to offer to make us a drink. I can’t describe how well looked after we were, we didn’t have to lift a finger.

For all of us, this level of service is something that we’d never experienced and there were several conversations about how the staff were treated by other guests. At all times we treated the staff as friends and invited them to join us for a drink etc.

After some time in the pool I decided to go and read a book under the gazebo near the sea. All I could hear were the crashing of the waves and some splashes in the pool.


Looking back at the villa from the gazebo


The beach

Dewa came over and asked my Mum what we’d like for dinner and what time we’d like it to be served. We decided on a BBQ and so Kadek and the other kitchen staff went out to do the shopping. All we had to do is let them know if we had any particular preferences. Having had Balinese satay on a couple of occasions before we all agreed that this had to be on the menu.

We’d agreed a time of 8pm for dinner at about 6pm the staff came out into the garden to start setting up. This was no ordinary BBQ with a few plastic chairs and paper plates. The guys took the entire dining table including candles and table decorations down to the bottom of the garden and set everything up.


The BBQ set up

Kadek and the staff then cooked the most amazing BBQ food that I’d ever had before and while doing so kept us topped up with drinks. At 8pm we were invited to help ourselves to dinner. We had satay, fish, steak, rice and two different salads. The guys even set up a small table and set up all of the drinks to act as the bar. It was simply an amazing experience.

The next morning and most of the afternoon was spent totally relaxing by the pool. Unlike the Hyatt there was no need to be concerned with finding somewhere to sit or any annoyance from other guests. We received some excellent service from the guys again including Wayang overhearing my comment that it would be good if we had some inflatables to much around with in the pool. No sooner was the comment made and a lilo, ball and rubber ring were produced. Amazing again. Throughout the day guys kept us topped up with drinks, from a cool beer, a diet coke or a full on G&T nothing was too much trouble.

This however was not just any other day. This was the day that my Mum was getting married to her partner, my step-dad (to be, at the time). They’d both moved over to Australia from the UK about 5 years ago and had decided to get married about a year prior to actual day. Well this was it.

The wedding was to take place in the grounds of the villa, overlooking the sea. At about 4pm people started arriving to set up the garden and arrange the flowers. They did a brilliant job.


Setting up for the wedding


A trail of petals


The main flower arrangement, looking towards the villa

The wedding took place at about 6pm. We’d got ourselves out of the pool and changed and as the sun was low in the sky Mum and my Grandad made their way out of the master suite towards Mum’s partner and the guests.

The wedding was perfect and intimate. There were only 8 guests, myself included. The priest performed the religious ceremony and then two officials performed the legal service. The whole thing was complete within 30 minutes to a few tears from Mum and the ladies of the group.

After the service, and a few photos we headed up to the 1st floor of the villa for the drinks reception. This took place on the roof terrace overlooking the pool with the sun setting over the sea. It was very memorable as we watched the sun go down with a glass of champagne.


The view from the roof terrace

The staff had cleared away the sun loungers and had set up the dining table beside the pool with their immaculate attention to detail as ever.


The dining table for the evening meal

Dinner was fantastic as always. Mum had chosen the menu a few weeks ago and everything was great. However, just after finishing the main course it absolutely tipped it down with rain! Everything was getting soaked so we ran inside but then took pity on the staff so went back outside to start grabbing everything to take it indoors. This was pretty funny and actually added to the day. As a few of us were pretty wet anyway we decided to go for a dip in the pool, fully clothed. Well why not?

After drying off, the staff and reset the table inside and we had desert followed by a few more drinks. We all went to bed very full, a bit drunk but beaming from a fantastic day.

The next day going to be our last day in Bali and in typical fashion we spent the day rotating between the pool, the two Jacuzzis and the sun loungers, briefly stopping for lunch. I spent the afternoon finishing off my book and taking in the beautiful surrounds so that I could recall them during moments of stress at work.

As the sun started to set I grabbed my camera to get a last shot of the villa.


The villa at dusk

We’d asked Kadek to prepare her favourite Balinese dishes for us for dinner which again was fantastic. This included a succulent beef rendang curry which had a bit of a kick to it! We’d joked with the staff that fireworks would be good for the final evening and to our surprise, they’d taken us seriously and proceeded to put on a short fireworks display to much laughter from everyone.


Fireworks on our final night

After the fireworks I gathered everyone up for group photos, including the staff. We invited them to join in a final drink with us which they did.

We all got to bed about mid-night, not looking forward to our 5am start in the morning.


Verdict on the Ylang Ylang Villa

What can I say? The single most amazing accommodation experience I’ve ever had. Nothing could possibly come close, except a repeat visit. The villa itself was fantastic, modern and comfortable but so sophisticated. The staff were all amazing. The level of personal service that they all gave us was unbelievable and the quality of the food that Kadek prepared for us was on par with some of the top restaurants that I’ve been too. So much so that on the last night we asked her to join us and we gave her a round of applause and my Mum gave her a big hug.

Whilst Mum had taken care of the arrangements I found out later how much the villa had actually cost. As we stayed during the low season the rate was $850 US per night. That sounds like a lot on the face of it, but don’t forget that rate is for up to 12 people and includes use of all the facilities and the staff, so in short, significantly cheaper than a hotel.

Mum has wet my appetite for private villas, frankly now I’m spoilt. A hotel just won’t do it for me anymore!

I can’t recommend the villa more ^.

Take a look at their website: http://www.theylangylang.com.
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Old Apr 11, 2010, 5:23 pm
  #23  
 
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While there's not much to comment on your Ylang Ylang Villa experience beside a simple statement that such a vacation for, say, a fortnight would be anyone's dream come true, I'd like to touch on Indonesian payable "visa on arrival". That you have to pay for it is nothing unheard-of. Egypt, for example, reaches into your pocket for USD 15 (euro 10) each time you enter the country. Their visa, once postage stamps size, now is half page. The desease spreads ;-)
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Old Apr 12, 2010, 4:04 pm
  #24  
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WOW. The villa has upstaged your trip report, matthandy. That looks simply fantastic. ^
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Old Apr 30, 2010, 11:13 am
  #25  
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Bali to Singapore to London

And so, our experience at the villa was about to end. At 5am we rose and got ready to leave for the airport. Our chef was up preparing tea, coffee and juice for everyone (had she even been to bed??).

We said some tearful goodbyes as many of us would not see our family members again for many months (my mother and step father live in Australia) before boarding our mini-buses to the airport. The sun was starting to break and as we arrived at the airport.

Flight: SQ941
Carrier: Singapore Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Scheduled Departure time: 09:15
Duration: 2h 30m
Scheduled Arrival time: 11:45 (local)
Routing: Denpasar, Bali (DPS) - Singapore (SIN) T2
Class: Economy
Seat: 33A – (seat plan)

After saying thanks and good bye to the taxi people we made our way towards the airport check in. Our documents were checked and bags scanned and tagged before we were allowed into the main check in area. It would appear that we’d arrived a little too early as the desks were not yet fully manned.

After a few minutes the check in agents arrived and started to process the queues. The process was relatively quick and we all received our boarding passes for both the Bali to Singapore flight and our onward flight to London.

Bags deposited and documents in hand it was time to head upstairs towards the departure area. We had to first pay the departure tax if 150,000 Rupiah (approx Ł11.00) and received a stamped receipt. Then it was on to immigration (we’d already filled in our departure cards). This was quick and our passports were checked for the appropriate stamps. We were then out into the rather drab and dingy departure area.


Departure area at DPS

It was a lovely sunny morning and as we still had about an hour and a half before boarding I decided to split from the group and take a wander.

The airport wasn’t particularly modern and could certainly do with a refresh. I found the traditional architecture adorning each aircraft stand a novel concept.


Traditional Balinese architecture, note the air-bridge in the background

Our aircraft arrived on stand at about 7.30am. It turns out that it was exactly the same aircraft that had brought us to Bali some two weeks earlier!


Our 777-200 to Singapore


The flight crew in preparation

After breakfast in one of the nearby restaurants we were called to the gate to go through security and wait for boarding.


Waiting at the gate

Boarding started at 8.30am, 45 minutes before departure and was segregated by class and row. I boarded at 8.50am and sat down in the same seat that I’d sat in on the way out, 33A.

Doors were closed at 9am and it looked as though we would be pushing back early. Hot towels were handed out as the Captain came over the PA to announce a short flight time of 2 hours and 5 minutes. We pushed back shortly after the safety video completed.

We seemed to taxi almost the full length of the runway and then lined up for take off.


Lining up for take off

The take off roll was long and we ascended steeply away from Bali. This was it, the start of the long journey back to London.


Climbing away from Bali

The seat belt signs were quickly turned off, about 10 minutes after take off and the breakfast service started soon after. The choices were chicken noodles or scrambled eggs and sausages. I chose the eggs.


Scrambled eggs and beef sausages

It wasn’t very pleasant as the eggs were quite runny. My step sister commented that it was the worst airline meal that she’d ever had!

After breakfast I took a little wander around the aircraft to say hell to the rest of our party.


The very rear of the aircraft


Spacious rear galley on this 777-200

We had about 40 or so minutes to kill before landing so I made use of the cup holder on the seat in front of me and turned it into an iPhone holder. It worked pretty well.


Watching ‘Cloverfield’

As we made our way towards Singapore and started our descent the view below was rather beautiful.


Islands near Singapore

Our descent was smooth and we touched down to a slightly cloudy Singapore at about 11.20am, some 25 minutes ahead of schedule. This was welcomed because we were worried about our short connection time (only 1 hour). The extra 20 minutes gave us a bit more time to relax.

As we were due to arrive at Terminal 2 we had to taxi all the way past Terminal 3 and over the road. This took about 10 minutes in total but we had the pleasure of not only seeing two A380’s (one was going to take us to London) as well as a 747 and stunned a few drivers on the roads between the terminals.


Our A380 that would take us to London shortly


‘Driving’ over the road between the terminals


747 getting a bit of an airing

Verdict

A pretty standard flight from Singapore Airlines however, I still enjoy the fact that SQ has kept some small touches that other airlines have got rid of such as hot towels on boarding and a full meal service. The meal however was disappointing, but to be honest, I’d had breakfast before hand anyway so it wasn’t an issue.

Next - A380 to London
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Old Apr 30, 2010, 5:51 pm
  #26  
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Sounds like another decent SQ flight. Judging by the photo of the meal, I think SQ do quite a good job compared to other airlines in Economy (particularly for a 2h or so flight).

Nice short of the 747 with all of the doors open - not a sight one usually sees, unless the evacuation chutes are out! I wasn't aware that SQ had any 747s left, I though they had got rid of all of them by now.

Looking forward to the final A380 installment.
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Old Apr 30, 2010, 6:05 pm
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Genius1
Nice short of the 747 with all of the doors open - not a sight one usually sees, unless the evacuation chutes are out! I wasn't aware that SQ had any 747s left, I though they had got rid of all of them by now.
I was particularly interested to see how the upper deck doors open since I could never work this out when I've looked at them before (from the inside).
Here's a close up:


Looks like the lower half of the door has to fold down in order to let you out. I guess that this is the part that contains the slide.

They have 9 747's left but I think they are being phased out in favour of A380s.

Last edited by matthandy; Apr 30, 2010 at 6:14 pm
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Old Apr 30, 2010, 7:07 pm
  #28  
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Singapore To London – A380

Let the fun/hell begin.

Flight: SQ318
Carrier: Singapore Airlines
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Scheduled Departure time: 12.45
Duration: 14h 00m
Scheduled Arrival time: 18:55 (local)
Routing: Singapore (SIN) T3 - London Heathrow (LHR) T3
Class: Economy
Seat: 34A – Main Deck (seat plan)

Originally, we only had an hour between flights but arriving 20 minutes early meant that we didn’t have to rush over to Terminal 3 with quite the same amount of haste.

I gathered up our party and we took the very short journey over to T3 via the monorail system.

The train arrived and immediately we were out in the open of the new and spacious Terminal 3.

Our flight to London was leaving from ‘A’ gates which is an area that is mostly used for SQ’s A380 services.


Terminal 3’s ‘A’ Gates

I could see our aircraft waiting at A5 so decided to take the opportunity to take some photos as they were in the process of loading.


Our A380 operating SQ318 to London today


The SQ A380 livery


Loading the belly of this big bird

The queues for security were already quite long so rather than dawdling we decided join them. Security was relatively quick, there were quite a few different lines active so we made our way through within 10-15 minutes and out into the spacious seating area.


‘A’ gates seating area


‘A’ gates seating area

There was a special announcement by the gate staff inviting passengers to enjoy the A380, which was interesting. Boarding was announced at 40 minutes to departure, at 12.15 and started with suites. The boarding announcements were displayed on the electronic display above the gate.


Gate A5 – boarding announcements were made on the display above the doors

Looking around the boarding area it was really obvious that the flight would be packed. It was also clear how many people you can actually squeeze on to this aircraft!

I really missed the calm of ‘board at your leisure’ priority boarding. You could see everyone hanging off every announcement with an under current of apprehension. It was subtly quite stressful.

As mentioned previously, boarding took place in a strict order. Firstly, Suites were invited to board through door A and business through door B. Main deck rows 53-63 boarded next, then rows 44-63 and upper deck 71-83. All remaining (which included us) followed last.
Walking down to the air bridge I noticed that the A380 next us to looked to be having trouble with one of it’s external sensors. A number of engineers were crowding around trying to get a better look. At one point the fire service turned up although I’m not sure for what reason.


Faulty sensor?

We boarded through door M2L, one step left would have us in the Suites section and the area around the door was decorated in such a style, with framed pictures adorning the walls.


This is all I got to see of the suites for 99% of the flight!

I arrived at my seat (34A) right on push back time at 12.45.

Let me talk a bit more about the seat. It was pretty comfortable, with thin cushions providing passengers with a 32” pitch and 19” width. A foot rest is also provided (lacking on the exit row seats). Crucially, the arm rests can be raised to the vertical to provide bench style seating if you happen to be lucky enough not to have anyone sitting next to you.


My seat for the next 14 hours – 34A


Leg room


IFE screen (taken later in the flight)


IFE controller and phone


USB, video and network port (not used)

Doors were closed at 12.50 and the Captain came over the PA announcing a flight time of 13 hours and 25 minutes. Hot towels were handed out as well as menus. Push back started shortly afterwards as the safety video was playing.
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Old Apr 30, 2010, 7:14 pm
  #29  
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Taxiing past the ‘broken’ A380

On boarding I’d noticed that there was rather a large number of babies present. I was seated in the third row of economy which means there were 30 seats in the rows ahead of me including mine. I counted no less than 8 () babies in these first rows. I couldn’t believe it. They pretty much screamed most of the flight either comforted or not comforted by their respective parents. More on that later.

We took off around 13.15 which was again very quiet and smooth as it always is on an A380. The crew came round with the first drinks round about 20 minutes after take off. After this I decided to take a wander around and went upstairs to see some friends. I told them about the baby situation downstairs and found out that the lucky sods had no less than zero babies in the entire cabin. Grrrr. I couldn’t see the funny side.


Wandering down to the back


The middle economy cabin


The rear economy cabin


Heading upstairs – this gives you a great view of the cavernous main deck cabin


The rear upstairs galley

I returned to my seat to find my granddad tucking into a Singapore Sling, he’d developed a habit for these on the flight over from London. A second drinks round took place and ordered a vodka and lemonade, which was extremely strong, I think she’d made it a triple, that’s what it tasted like!

The dinner service started about one and a half hours after take off.
Here’s the menu:


Economy Menu – Singapore to London – March 2010

Lunch

Appetiser
Marinated seafood with penne pasta salad

Main Courses
Seared beef fillet in cabernet butter, carrots, sautéed potato with onion, cured pork and sage

or

Chicken with ginger and spring onion, fried rice with vegetables

or

Phad Thai – Thai style rice noodles with pork, beansprout and chopped peanut

Cheese
Cheeses and crackers

Dessert
Ice cream

From the bakery
Roll and butter

Hot Beverages
Coffee - Tea


Beverages

Aperitifs
Campari
Dry Vermouth

Spirits
Cognac Otard VSOP
Johnnie Walker Red Label
Jim Beam Black Label Whiskey
Gordon’s Dry Gin
Smirnoff Red Label Vodka
Bacardi Superior

Liqueurs
Cointreau
Baileys Original Irish Cream

Wines
Red Wine – Cabernet Sauvignon
White Wine – Chardonnay
White Wine – Riesling

Beer
International Selection
Stout

Cocktails
Singapore Sling
Alspritizer
Screwdriver
Bloody Mary

Non-alcoholic cocktails
Fruit Spritzer
Orange Cooler

Fruit Juices
Orange
Pineapple
Apple
Tomato

Soft Drinks
A range of regular or low calorie drinks is available
I chose the beef fillet.


The beef fillet

It was really good actually, full of flavour.
While it didn’t take me long to finish this, it took the crew over an hour and a half to clear the trays which resulted in a lot of careful tray stacking in order to get out of the seat.

The babies were still going at it, providing 4-8 way screaming from all directions. Here’s a question, what’s more annoying, a screaming baby or a parent making ‘goo goo’ noises to try and keep it quiet? Definitely the noises.

I went back upstairs to see my friends again and on the way back noticed two things:

1. There was a member of the staff from SQ on-board who was dressed incredibly smartly in a uniform that I had never seen before. She appeared to be wearing a very smart black suit and skirt with a white frilly blouse. She seemed to be ordering the crew about. Was she the crew supervisor? She looked like she might be a ‘checker’.
2. SQ provide a decent selection of magazines in economy and I was able to procure a copy of ‘Business Traveller’ on the way back to my seat. Many airlines that I’ve flown on only offer this in business class.


The trays had been collected and people had started to put their blinds down. Unfortunately, the lady directly behind me decided that she wanted to keep hers up. We were now well in to the flight and many people were starting to settle down.

I decided to watch ‘Law Abiding Citizen’ which was enjoyable if not surprisingly violent. After this I too wanted to get some sleep. As the women and her husband behind me went to the toilet the man sitting in the C seat in their row leaned over and stuck the blind down. As soon as she got back she raised it again. It’s important to point out that at this point she was the only person in the entire cabin (140 people) to have their blind up, and the sun was streaming in, directly on to the back of the seat in front of me so it was incredibly bright. The crew walked back and forth past her but no-one said anything.

After about an hour, and noticing that my granddad (who is 82) and my aunt were also trying to get some sleep and grabbed the attention of one of the stewardesses and asked if she would ask the lady behind to close the blind. The ladies response was a plain and simple ‘I prefer it up’. I turned round at this point and wasn’t very nice to her. I abruptly pointed out that her selfish actions were preventing 140 people sleeping including my 82 year old granddad. The guy in the C seat next to them also piped up that he was trying to sleep too. The lady just shrugged it off and her husband kept staring at the back of the seat in front of him through all of this. The stewardess apologised to me and I turned back round and shouted “selfish!” at the woman. No, I’m not proud of this. I can only reason that I was tired, irritated and a totally flustered by the utter selfishness of the woman behind me. I was literally seething.

The stewardess returned with eye masks which would have to do. I was pretty annoyed that she didn’t put more effort into convincing the woman to close the blind. I know for sure that BA or Qantas crew would have dealt with it more assertively.

All different situations ran through my mind as I evaluated alternative options. A big part of me wanted to stick my arm through the gap and close the window blind but I knew that this could only lead to childish ‘tit for tat’ and probably result in me being ordered to the galley for some stern words by one of the crew or worse. It could only have ended badly for me. What an utterly, stupid, selfish cow.

I’d just experienced full on travel rage and it totally spoiled my flight. My rage eventually turned to embarrassment, guilt and remorse for getting so angry.

The lights were turned on and the crew came around with hot towels and a snack service with about 6 hours flight time remaining.


Light Bites
Fancy a snack in between your meals?
Simply take your pick from our range of delectable snacks when our cabin crew comes around during the snack service.


Sandwiches
Savoury sandwich
Vegetarian sandwich

Snacks
Roasted peanuts
Chocolate bar
Assorted biscuits
Potato chips
Fruit

I followed this by trying to get some sleep. This flight was all about trying to slog it out. In theory this is a day flight and it meant that I wasn’t tired enough to be able to sleep all the way through it, despite landing at my body’s equivalent of 3am. The flight really dragged, so much more than the night time flight from London to Singapore.

With about two hours left until landing the final meal service started.

Light Meal

Appetiser
Fish terrine with salad and cocktail sauce

Main Courses
Fettuccine pasta accompanied with chicken Bolognese and parmesan cheese

or

Kao ob sapporod kab koon chiang and koong
(Pineapple rice with Chinese pork sausage and prawns)

Dessert
Chocolate delight

From the bakery
Roll and butter

Hot Beverages
Coffee - Tea
I chose the pasta which turned out to be a dollop of wet pasta with some Bolognese sauce dumped on top. Not very appetising.


Fettuccine pasta – not very nice

After this I settled down for the remaining hour or so of the flight, enjoying the long sunset outside.


Sunset over Europe

We started our long descent into Heathrow and landed rather bumpily slightly ahead of schedule at 18.40 local time. We had a quite a long taxi to Terminal 3. The twin air bridges were quickly attached and we were soon in the bowels of the terminal and into the immigration hall, through here and into baggage reclaim. I got a call from my friend who was picking me up to say that he was waiting outside. I bid my family farewell and started on the final journey home.

Verdict

The flight was a bit of a mixed affair. I found the seat and surrounds of the cabin very comfortable. The first meal was great and the crew were friendly and efficient. It was great to be able to wander upstairs to chat with my friends too.

On the downside, sitting in the same position for 14 hours, not being able to sleep due to the stupid woman with the window blind behind me was rather trying. The way that the crew dealt with this was also quite poor and the second meal wasn’t great.

Despite being on an A380 this is not a flight that I would like to repeat. In future I think that I will try to stick with night flights too and from Singapore.

Verdict on flying with no status

Ok, so at the start of this trip report (some 12,000 words earlier) I stated that this trip would mark the first time that I’d flown long haul on a non-Oneworld carrier for a couple of years.

What I missed (in order of priority)

1. Priority boarding – this would have taken away the stress that is the gate area. Being able to board at one’s leisure is a real joy
2. Lounge access – I actually didn’t miss this as much as I thought I would, especially on the way to Singapore. Being able to have a proper meal before flying was excellent. Of course, given the choice, I’ll take the lounge every time but going without had less impact than I thought it would

What I didn’t miss

1. Priority check in – I suppose that this would have made only a slight difference to my overall experience since I didn’t experience very long queues on any of the flights

Thanks for reading – Look out for my next Trip Report – London to Singapore and Seoul via Dubai on the Emirates A380, 777-300ER and Asiana’s A330 all in business class.
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Old Apr 30, 2010, 7:15 pm
  #30  
 
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Very nice TR!
I got to fly the SQ A380 in economy (SIN -NRT); Sat in the lower deck exit row. the legroom is unlimited. But I had two people next to me (no big deal).
I love those seats in economy in this aircraft.
Of course, its not business class or suites. But, great experience for folks who cant afford to upgrade!
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