What a great report. Thank you. I'm thinking about Amanpulo, so it was very interesting to read about the resort as well as the flights and other stays that you wrapped around that portion of the trip.

I, too, was a bit disappointed with my stay at the Crowne Plaza at the airport in Singapore. It took a bit to find the way to walk to it, then I didn't like the open steamy corridors at the hotel. Service was a bit meh. If I have a short stay again, I'll pay for a few hours to sleep in the transit hotel.

I was disappointed to hear of the adequate but not exceptional food at Amanpulo. They charge a substantial price, and I would have hoped that every experience would justify it. I was also disappointed to read you were charged $100 to be taken to the mall. That seems a bit of nickle and diming, rather than simply seeing that your very long wait time was passed as smoothly as possible.

I've never heard of Under the Bridge in Hong Kong. I've now made a note of it for a future visit.

I'm thinking of going to Manila via HKG which would make it a substantially shorter trip than yours. You flew 9988 miles to go SFO-MNL via SIN, whereas to go via HKG is 7637. And I do understand why it was sensible for you to go via SIN, given the great gift from the mileage gods that one day when it was possible to book SQ.

AHH....you ordered the black bean clams...oh those are soooo good....i actually think about them all the time. they have a very good bite...in fact, what is often good is to order some chow fan (or even just some white rice) and spoon the crab mixture/sauce from the clams onto the fried rice...i was going to say i hoped you had the clams as you DID!!! outsanding.

SanDiego1K, I think we would get along very well! :)

Many thanks for reading my TR and for your kind words!

Indeed! And I did think to order white rice to go with it as well! I thought it made sense to temper the fiery spice! To be honest, since I was about to re-board an aircraft, I did not partake in the spicy crab topping as much as I would have liked! Next time I will clean the plate! :)

Damn you! Now I'm really hungry. I actually looked up flights for tonight to Manila from Denver to try out Spiral!

Great TR! In the Philippines, Boracay used to be on par with the one you went to, but has since been overdeveloped (as I understand it). And even there, much of that beautiful, long beach was not as wide as at the Amanpulo.

As for the food...for all of the things I love about the country (having lived there for six years), I would not put the cuisine high (even as prepared at high end places) on the list, with the exception of a few specialty dishes such as pangga (tuna cheeks).

Best beach in the world? I've seen some stunning ones, such as in the Seychelles and the Caribbean, that might equal this one. But it would be hard to say that any of them were superior.

My wife and I also had that spicey crab in Hong Kong. I loved it! (Though it did burn a bit of a hole in my stomach afterwards...I'd advise folks eating it to down some pepto bismal beforehand..and afterwards.) It was too hot for her, though.

Very nice to fellow pax. I on the other hand on a layover to blr was not so nice. Was not at under bridge that time but was with my wife's uncle and a cheaper place up in sha tin. I did partake and the garlic was rather er er. Um gas creating.

Always wanted to go here. Looks nice but it seems there is coral not far out.

I like to step straight into sand and walk pretty far out just on sand. My favourite beaches were:

Paradise Island Ocean Club
Cayman Islands
Turks and Caicos
Maui
St Barts near the Eden Roc
Sardinia but the water is freezing.

Thanks for the pictures.

I believe this hotel is a fortune?

That's why you fly CX F and get free pj's ;)

LOL. That sounds remarkably like something that I would do!! :D

But seriously, if you want to find out more about the new Spiral buffet, they have their own Facebook page now, and you can check out this press report.

Well yes and no...There are free very nice Givency PJ's on Singapore, although not nearly as cool as CX's Shanghai Tang ones. Also, there is no longer First Class on CX from Toronto....But even still, I think that CX in the new J is a no-brainer way to go to Asia if it is non-stop from YYZ or elsewhere. I guess there is still CX F to HKG non-stop from YVR?

Many thanks for your thoughtful feedback, Thunderroad! The Seychelles is definitely on my list to check out, although after such a long trip, I am thinking that I really should try to focus on the Caribbean which is so much closer to home and should have some very nice beaches as well, such as Turks and Caicos.

As far as Philipino food is concerned, I don't think that it is nearly as well regarded, as you point out, as with other Asian cuisines such as Thai or Japanese, or Chinese. Of course it is obligatory for a resort in the Philippines to have Philippino food, but I don't think it will ever be that embraced by the foreign guests.

Many thanks for the info!

BTW, yes you could walk out very very far on pure soft sand without getting anywhere near a coral reef. That is what I did every day.

Out of the places you listed, how would you rank them in terms of the beach and perhaps in terms of the snorkeling or scuba?

Yes, Amanpulo was very expensive, and accordingly it must usually be reserved for one of those aspirational vacations of short duration...

Interesting. At HKG they actually made people who ate at Under the Bridge in the last 24 hours, board last. ;)

Your Kaui picture looks awesome! Well, maybe you now have a place to look forward to for your five or ten year wedding anniversary!