Vietnam Airlines Economy and Business Singapore Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh & London Heathrow
Jan 15, 2017, 1:49 am
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Singapore
Posts: 977
Audi and Adblue
Before, I start on the return flight, some videos from our UK trip. Our plan was to go on a driving holiday, so we picked up a rental car from SIXT at LHR and started our drive. This driving trip was an education for me in Adblue. Never knew about Adblue.
The rental car we got was in the premium category, an Audi A6 Estate. It was a fine car with plenty of luggage space. Chose the Estate category car for the luggage room. Automatic transmission plus on-board Sat Navigation. Here is a video of the car. Singapore has probably the most expensive car prices in the world, due to the high car taxes plus the COE (Certificate of Entitlement) system. A similar Audi A6 model in Singapore would cost around 175,000 USD. No joke.
Back to the Adblue. We rented the car for 10 days. Shortly after we got the car, driving out, I saw an Adblue warning indicator come up. And the remaining Adblue range kept getting lower. At first I ignored the warning, but thankfully I decided to read up online and I soon found out that the engine would not start if the Adblue Tank was empty! I called SIXT hotline who got Audi hotline to call me and I was told to refill the Adblue myself. Oh bother. I decided to make a video of my experience, for keeps.
Quite an experience.
The rental car we got was in the premium category, an Audi A6 Estate. It was a fine car with plenty of luggage space. Chose the Estate category car for the luggage room. Automatic transmission plus on-board Sat Navigation. Here is a video of the car. Singapore has probably the most expensive car prices in the world, due to the high car taxes plus the COE (Certificate of Entitlement) system. A similar Audi A6 model in Singapore would cost around 175,000 USD. No joke.
Back to the Adblue. We rented the car for 10 days. Shortly after we got the car, driving out, I saw an Adblue warning indicator come up. And the remaining Adblue range kept getting lower. At first I ignored the warning, but thankfully I decided to read up online and I soon found out that the engine would not start if the Adblue Tank was empty! I called SIXT hotline who got Audi hotline to call me and I was told to refill the Adblue myself. Oh bother. I decided to make a video of my experience, for keeps.
Quite an experience.
Feb 18, 2017, 2:58 am
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Singapore
Posts: 977
Return Trip
We went to UK for a driving holiday, even though it was in winter and the days were shorter, it was still lots of fun. We ended the holiday with a few days in London, and very soon it was time to fly back home. The return trip would be on Vietnam Airlines via Hanoi and onward to Singapore. We stayed at Premier Inn Archway, which was located near Archway Tube station. (We usually use the Premier Inn chain in London). Here is a video of the hotel.
We took a Minicab (booked online) from the hotel to the airport. The journey was quite far, about an hour. Still, we got to the airport in good time.
Check in was quick and soon we found our way to the SkyTeam lounge in T4. I had read about this lounge and I was quite excited. However, it was somewhat of a let-down, given that this was supposed to be one of SkyTeam's signature lounges in the network. The lounge, spread over 2 levels, was adequate in seating. However, the food wasn't great, and the coffee machines were not working very well either. They did have some live green plant walls, which were pretty neat. Anyway, here is the video.
We took a Minicab (booked online) from the hotel to the airport. The journey was quite far, about an hour. Still, we got to the airport in good time.
Check in was quick and soon we found our way to the SkyTeam lounge in T4. I had read about this lounge and I was quite excited. However, it was somewhat of a let-down, given that this was supposed to be one of SkyTeam's signature lounges in the network. The lounge, spread over 2 levels, was adequate in seating. However, the food wasn't great, and the coffee machines were not working very well either. They did have some live green plant walls, which were pretty neat. Anyway, here is the video.
Feb 18, 2017, 3:11 am
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Singapore
Posts: 977
We had a good experience flying up to London on the Dreamliner. So, now, looking forward to the return trip. Here is a view of the Dreamliner at the Heathrow Gate, Terminal 4. Heathrow is a busy airport. Air India Dreamliner taxi-ing past behind. Also a British Airways Boeing 747 taxi-ing opposite. Planes taking off too.
For the return trip, the layover was in Hanoi, not Ho Chi Minh. Not sure how this works, but that was the situation when we booked out ticket. So this Vietnam Airlines Dreamliner would be bringing us to Hanoi first. This was a day flight (departure 1100hrs), so we would have more time to experience the service. Recall when we flew up, the Dreamliner was almost new (a month old). From my flightaware app, this Dreamliner was a tad older, about 1.5 years. I am mentioning this because I do see a noticeable wear and tear in this plane already. Some of our seat buttons were harder to press, even though it wasn't a biggie. In terms of passenger load, the flight to London was full. This time round, I'd say only 3/4 full, with a good number of children! (So my 2 weren't the only 2 kids on board). In fact, there was a very cute young child, no older than 4 years too. Thankfully well behaved.
Flight time from London to Hanoi was 10hr 40 minutes. I had my usual pre-take off drink of champagne. Shortly after takeoff, the stewardess came around to take our orders for lunch, including drink orders. For my takeoff drink, I tried their Signature Drink called Saigon Sunlight (made of Whiskey, Lemon Juice, Sugar Syrup). They had a choice of 3 signature drinks, and I tried 2 out of 3 on my way up! This video is first part of the flight review, London to Hanoi Part 1.
For the return trip, the layover was in Hanoi, not Ho Chi Minh. Not sure how this works, but that was the situation when we booked out ticket. So this Vietnam Airlines Dreamliner would be bringing us to Hanoi first. This was a day flight (departure 1100hrs), so we would have more time to experience the service. Recall when we flew up, the Dreamliner was almost new (a month old). From my flightaware app, this Dreamliner was a tad older, about 1.5 years. I am mentioning this because I do see a noticeable wear and tear in this plane already. Some of our seat buttons were harder to press, even though it wasn't a biggie. In terms of passenger load, the flight to London was full. This time round, I'd say only 3/4 full, with a good number of children! (So my 2 weren't the only 2 kids on board). In fact, there was a very cute young child, no older than 4 years too. Thankfully well behaved.
Flight time from London to Hanoi was 10hr 40 minutes. I had my usual pre-take off drink of champagne. Shortly after takeoff, the stewardess came around to take our orders for lunch, including drink orders. For my takeoff drink, I tried their Signature Drink called Saigon Sunlight (made of Whiskey, Lemon Juice, Sugar Syrup). They had a choice of 3 signature drinks, and I tried 2 out of 3 on my way up! This video is first part of the flight review, London to Hanoi Part 1.
Feb 18, 2017, 3:39 am
#22
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Singapore
Posts: 977
As this was a day flight, lunch would be served, in a more leisurely manner compared to the faster service during a red-eye. Lunch was served. For starter, I chose the smoked salmon, which was good. For the main, I chose the fried cod with rice. A very hearty meal, with plenty of fish. You will see in the video that I finished it all.
Then, the cabin crew came around with a fruit and cheese platter, as well as honey ginger ice-cream with mango sauce. Check out the youtube premier of pouring Mango Sauce in Honey-Ginger Ice Cream! A first in Youtube history, I have no doubt about that.
Because this was a day flight, l couldn't sleep much. I checked out the self-serve mini bar towards the front of the plane. It had some wines, spirits and soft drinks. Help yourself. During the flight, the cabin crew came around with little snacks. Breakfast was served about 2 hours before landing. I chose the Crayfish noodles, another interesting concoction. All was good. I noticed that this flight did not offer the legendary Vietnamese Pho - we had this famous Vietnamese dish for breakfast on the Ho Chi Minh to London leg. Probably the London aviation kitchen was not able to produce this dish, which is not surprising. Landing was on time and we arrived Hanoi safely, at around 5am in the morning local time. Thanks for the good flight and fine service. After landing, we still had one more flight to go back to Singapore.
Then, the cabin crew came around with a fruit and cheese platter, as well as honey ginger ice-cream with mango sauce. Check out the youtube premier of pouring Mango Sauce in Honey-Ginger Ice Cream! A first in Youtube history, I have no doubt about that.
Because this was a day flight, l couldn't sleep much. I checked out the self-serve mini bar towards the front of the plane. It had some wines, spirits and soft drinks. Help yourself. During the flight, the cabin crew came around with little snacks. Breakfast was served about 2 hours before landing. I chose the Crayfish noodles, another interesting concoction. All was good. I noticed that this flight did not offer the legendary Vietnamese Pho - we had this famous Vietnamese dish for breakfast on the Ho Chi Minh to London leg. Probably the London aviation kitchen was not able to produce this dish, which is not surprising. Landing was on time and we arrived Hanoi safely, at around 5am in the morning local time. Thanks for the good flight and fine service. After landing, we still had one more flight to go back to Singapore.
Nov 11, 2017, 5:45 am
#23
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: SE ASIA
Programs: SQ KF GO, OZ GO, QR PC PLAT, TG ROP SL, LCAH SL, IHG SPIRE, Marriott BONVOY GO, HILTON GO
Posts: 641
Bump
I could've sworn I posted a comment earlier this year when I saw this TR, but I guess I didn't ... anyway thanks for an awesome report!
I've added a link to another thread so hopefully more people get to read this. Thanks for the time & effort u took in writing this.
As I mentioned in the other thread, this TR was so good that I decided I did not have to write mine as our experiences were similar
(I flew SIN-SGN-LHR & back last X'mas & New Year's 2017)
I've added a link to another thread so hopefully more people get to read this. Thanks for the time & effort u took in writing this.
As I mentioned in the other thread, this TR was so good that I decided I did not have to write mine as our experiences were similar
(I flew SIN-SGN-LHR & back last X'mas & New Year's 2017)
Nov 11, 2017, 6:45 am
#24
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Singapore
Posts: 977
I could've sworn I posted a comment earlier this year when I saw this TR, but I guess I didn't ... anyway thanks for an awesome report!
I've added a link to another thread so hopefully more people get to read this. Thanks for the time & effort u took in writing this.
As I mentioned in the other thread, this TR was so good that I decided I did not have to write mine as our experiences were similar
(I flew SIN-SGN-LHR & back last X'mas & New Year's 2017)
I've added a link to another thread so hopefully more people get to read this. Thanks for the time & effort u took in writing this.
As I mentioned in the other thread, this TR was so good that I decided I did not have to write mine as our experiences were similar
(I flew SIN-SGN-LHR & back last X'mas & New Year's 2017)
May 25, 2018, 5:46 am
#25
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Singapore
Posts: 977
Vietnamese are a strange bunch. I seemed to have touch some raw nerve and they start mocking me right in my YouTube channel when I did a nice feature of their National Airlines. Oh well.
Insulting Youtube Comments Removed by TR Moderator
Maybe they prefer negative reviews.
Insulting Youtube Comments Removed by TR Moderator
Maybe they prefer negative reviews.
Last edited by DanielW; May 26, 2018 at 11:47 pm
Jun 5, 2019, 9:32 am
#30
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: JNB
Programs: Flying Blue, Miles and Smiles, Hhonors, ICHotels
Posts: 1,307