Short hair Francis

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It's odd to hear that, I've requested it at BKK, JFK counter, AMM Crown check-in and AMM Lounge and always gotten it.
Not too sure if it is a recent rule change?

I didn't fly RJ to HKG because I didn't have a HKG ticket with them
It was a JFK-AMM-BKK-RGN
And a separate BKK-HKG ticket

Short hair Francis

Part 22 – Singapore Airlines Long Haul Business HKG – SIN – DPS



With a one week break in HKG, I finally packed about 3 weeks’ worth of stuff in my carry-on for my 2nd Double Around the World trip of the month. First stop, Denpasar Bali, Indonesia, usually beach type of places aren’t really my type of destinations I tend to visit, but I decided to give it 2 days for a try and add a new country prior to heading off to Burma for a 4 day trip with a bigger group of friends.

Jun 25, 2013 – Tuesday
SQ 1 HKG – SIN 8:00am – 11:40am (77W/J)
SQ 946 SIN – DPS 4:40pm – 7:10pm (772/J)

With an early bird flight ex-HKG, yes 8am out of HKG is considered the earliest block of flights, I took a Night Airport bus to the airport departing from the apartment at 5am which got me to HKG around 6:15am.

Singapore Airlines Check-In


Quick check-in and I was airside by 6:30am, I was lazy and just went for the Silverkris Lounge today for an early-bird breakfast

HKG Singapore Airlines Silverkris Lounge






As it was a morning SQ flight, what gate does the flight leave from?

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER

If you guess Gate 15, you are correct


*27th flight, 73984 Miles flown since Apr 28
Singapore Airlines 1
Hong Kong to Singapore Changi
Scheduled – 8:00am – 11:40am, 3 hr 40 mins flight
Actual Departure – 7:51am
Delayed Arrival – 11:41am
Business Class, Seat 11K
Food – Breakfast
Equipment – Boeing 777-300ER (8F/42J/228Y Non-Refreshed)




Boarding started at 7:20am, and I went onboard shortly

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER Mini Business Class Cabin





Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER Main Business Class Cabin



Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER Business Class Seat, picked 11K







Part 22 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Row 11 Window seat were great, with the collapsible front leg rest which gives you extra space, it is getting closed to SQ 77W First Class Seat, except in legroom and some other minor details.
Business Class was mostly suits with the exception of the Dad and child in 11D/11G, and the mom in 2D.

Pre-Departure Beverage


As HKG Station board 40 minutes prior, we were door closed by 7:51am with a pushback 5 minutes later towards Runway 25L. Yes runway 25L so that was a 25 Minutes taxi with 4 planes wait ahead of us



Our turn, Roll off at 8:25am


*Bye Bye HKG, back in 3 weeks

The Hong Kong – Macau – Zhuhai Bridge under construction below


Flight time today to Singapore Changi was 3 Hour 5 Minutes, quite a ways faster than usual




SQ 1 Breakfast

Prelude
A Choice of Apple, Tomato or Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Sliced Fresh Fruit

Starter
Choice of Cereal or Yoghurt
Kellogg’s Special “K” with Milk or Birchermuseli
Plain or Fruit Yoghurt

Main
Braised Beef and Turnip Noodle Soup
Egg Noodles in Rich Beef Stock garnished with Braised Beef and Turnips, leafy greens, spring onions

Selection of Dim Sum
Steamed Rice Roll with Char Siew, Pork Dumpling, Prawn Dumpling, and Vegetable Dumpling

Spinach Omelette with Veal Sausage, Grilled Tomato, Mushrooms and Potatoes

Breads
Assorted Breakfast Rolls
Butter – Fruit Preserves

Beverages
Gourmet Coffees & Selection of Fine Teas

What is my motto? 1 SQ Flight, 1 Singapore Sling


Starter Tray


Starter, Fresh Fruit Plate



Part 22 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Bread Basket



Cereal and Yogurt


Main Course, Braised Beef and Turnip Noodle Soup

*Went with a HKG classic, it was REALLY good, better than CX snacks by a mile

Green Tea to end the service


The entire service took about 1 hour 30 Minutes and now over Vietnam


I decided to take a light nap seeing we still were 1 hr 35 mins out




I slept for around 40 minutes then the child in 11G started playing with the curtain separating Business and First Class cabin.
Great, one of those day
As a J pax, I can’t really complain too much, if I were a F pax then I probably would’ve raised hell. That said, I think of the curtain somewhat similar to an invisible wall except for crews, so overall it was annoying.
This, I did have a encouraging talk with the inflight manager after the flight

Coming into the Malaya Peninsula


Pre-Landing Water


At around 11:05am, we started our descent into Singapore


What’s with the system, we are arriving close to noon and it’s showing 4am connections?


Photos were very hard to get this time around as Singapore was being affected by the slash and burn technique used by Indonesia farmers to clear their fields in Sumatra



Final Route of today’s SQ 1 HKG – SIN


The smog was slightly better once we were on the ground



Taxi was very quick as we landed close to Terminal 3 and we were at the gate at 11:41am, right on schedule.

A quick train ride took me over to the older Changi Airport Terminal 2



Part 22 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2




Singapore Airlines Business Class Check-In


SIN Terminal 2 Singapore Airlines Silverkris Lounge














I finally lucked out once at the T2 lounge when it wasn’t packed, most mornings I’m here, I’m usually barely lucky enough to find a seat.
Today, I even got a seat with a power outlet, lunch time!

At 3:45pm, I made my way to gate F54 for the Bali flight
Gate security was slow, what did I expect, I’m flying to Bali

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200



*28th flight, 75031 Miles flown since Apr 28
Singapore Airlines 946
Singapore Changi to Denpasar Bali
Scheduled – 4:40pm – 7:10pm, 2 hr 30 min flight
Actual Departure – 4:33pm
On Time Arrival – 7:07pm
Business Class, Seat 16C
Food – Dinner
Equipment – Boeing 777-200 (30J/293Y Non-Refurbished Regional)





Part 22 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 Non-Refurbished Business Class Cabin



Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 Non-Refurbished Business Class Seat








Pre-Departure Beverage


The haze was getting worse outside


Load were light in business 11/30, Y was about 85% full and door closed at 4:33pm

Who names their plane Scootalicious, they coping Fergie now?



This haze is still getting worse, Singapore is starting to look like Beijing


Airborne at 4:50pm towards Bali


Flight Time of 2 Hours 12 Minutes to Denpasar Bali



SQ 946 Dinner

Appetizer
French Duck Foie Gras and Confit with Mizuna Salad

Main Course
Seared Lamb Loin with Thyme Gravy, Ratatouille, and Gratin Potatoes

Southern Indian Fish Curry, Spicy Vegetables, Basmati Rice

Wok Fried Chicken in Sesame Oil and Ginger, braised beancurd with Vegetables and Fried Noodles

Finale
Tiramisu
Italian Mascarpone Cheese with Coffee-Flavored Sponge Fingers
Gourmet Coffees & Selection of Fine Teas

I finally took a break away from the Singapore Sling, a Tomato Juice to start


Dinner Tray


Appetizer, French Duck Foie Gras and Confit with Mizuna Salad



Part 22 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Bread Basket


Main Course, Seared Lamb Loin with Thyme Gravy, Ratatouille, and Gratin Potatoes



Dessert, Tiramisu


Meal is a bit scaled back from my usual SIN – HKG flights, no fruit or praline service and the plate

Substitute for Praline, emergency Cookies


Extra Bottled Water Service


With a little extra reading, we started our long descent into Bali around 6:40pm



Final Route for Today’s SQ 946


The plane landed at 7:02pm and we were at the gate at 7:07pm.
From afar, the terminal looks very dinghy…
Great, another 3rd World Country


Next Part
Part 23 – This is Paradise? Bali, Indonesia

LH4116

Interesting about the haze. I was in Singapore around the time you took those flights, in fact I left SIN for Kuala Lumpur on the 24th of June. I suppose I chose the worst week possible to visit this region because the haze almost completely ruined my holiday. Thankfully I didn't suffer from any respiratory issues from inhaling the smog, though my clothes didn't smell too good.

I guess the most pathetic thing was that no pharmacy in Singapore had stocked masks, and the government didn't seem to do anything about it. Heck they didn't even seem to do anything about those criminal farmers.

Anyways, back to the flights. Must say that the meal service on the 2nd leg looked rather impressive. Didn't know they served Foie Grass, and the lamb loin looked pretty darn delicious too. Too bad it's not a BTC meal.

themapelligroup

It's great to read your trip report! I can't wait to see Bali's part.

DHalltheway

Not sure if you know, but thought I'd mention there are trains air side so you don't need to go through customs. Could have easily just popped into the SKL to get your BP.

Short hair Francis

Hi LH4116, ya The haze was pretty bad, I didn't want to stay outdoors for more than a minute. Definitely was making breathing hard for sure.
It's sad for SIN because you think of SIN as a overall clean city.
I can't explain for the stocked mask but short of Singapore going to war with Indonesia, there isn't much SIN can do in this case.
Since it was the Indonesian farmers doing the slash n burn, then the wind direction causing the issue
Another great environmental case study of up-stream/up-wind effects.

For a 2 hour flight, SQ is really good with their food servings.
It's awesome you brought up Foie Gras, I've actually had it a couple times this years in J/F
Mar - SQ J HKG-SIN, Apr - AC J CDG-YYZ, Jul - NH F - LHR-NRT.
They certainly are there once in awhile, Foie Gras on the menu

And you probably notice, I don't tend to do BTC.


Thanks themapelligroup, glad to see people are still reading this TR.
Bali? I think it's an ok part, personally I think the Rangoon and Bagan parts are better to be honest

Hi DHalltheway, I know you can do airside, I'm just one of those that likes to collect stamps on passport and collect the entire boarding pass is all

Should have the next part up shortly

Short hair Francis

Part 23 – This is Paradise? Bali, Indonesia


After getting off SQ 946, it took around 30 minutes from the empty Visa on Arrival counter to immigration counter all the way to the arrival cube side where the hotel driver was waiting to take me to the Bali Hyatt in Sanur.
Business Class does help in diminishing the wait time for the VOA counter seeing most of economy had to line up in long lines to pay the 20 US Dollars fee.

The drive to the Bali Hyatt took another 30 minutes so all in all I was at the hotel by 8:15pm local. For Bali, I stayed 2 nights in the Bali Hyatt, both nights on points, category 1 burns here.


Bali Hyatt in Sanur















Welcome Drink, given while checking in at the lobby

Upgraded to a Club Room at Check-In

Welcome Amenity



Lemper for the 1st night, Fried Gyoza the 2nd night

Bali Hyatt Regency Club




Part 23 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Breakfast include hot western and Indonesian options

The only complaint I had with the room was yes, the TV was horrible as shown in the pic, it’s a TV in a college dorm and the internet was still old school cable.
Otherwise I had a fine stay.
I rested up early seeing I had a private car to show me around Bali tomorrow.

And at 9am the next morning, I was good to go.
First Stop, Besakih Temple

But on the way, guess I need to try this at home, a scooter is a fantastic family vehicle


About an hour car ride, we finally got to the Besakih Temple


















A Morning Hindu Prayer



Part 23 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

A Reminder you are still at a tourist attraction


After Besakih, we made our way towards Lake Batur which took about 45 minutes of driving. Lunch also took place here




Afterwards was the Tirta Gangga Water Palace

*Talking very bluntly to the ladies








Then another short ride to the Rice Terrace




As it was just 2pm now, I declined to go to the Coffee Farm in lieu of Tanah Lot on the other side of Bali

In the meanwhile, who needs competent realtors in Bali

*I sure hope my realtor was legally component

Knockoff of the usual Coffee Chain


Drive over took about 2 hours with some traffic

Tanah Lot







Part 23 Continues Below

Short hair Francis

Lucked out with Today’s Weather, sunny skies really held up the entire day



After 45 Minutes at Tanah Lot, it was finally time to head back to Sanur
One problem with Bali, god that traffic is annoying


When the guy pushing a food trolley is going faster than you, ugh


Boy it’s been a long day, time to sleep it off….

The next day, I took a light day and just relaxed in the resort seeing I had a hectic 4 day trip in Burma coming up with a group of friends.

One problem being outside, the weather didn’t hold up and started to shower


*Plus the place doesn’t hold a handle vs. Abu Dhabi, not in a million years

Overall Bali was fine, but a huge tourist trap and not what I had in mind as Paradise.
Tanah Lot was crazy full of tourist and I just find the overall experience not authentic.
Sadly it’s going to be one of those place where I would just say, been there done that.
And around 1:45pm on thurs, I left the Hyatt and went back to DPS for a trio of flights in Southeast Asia


Next Part
Part 24 – The Zig Zag way of flying in Southeast Asia, DPS – BKK – SIN – RGN