SQ32/31 SIN-SFO-SIN in Y: Impressions of Post-COVID San Francisco

[yflyer]

This aircraft had the same seating plan and hard product as my inbound SQ32.

The Business Class cabin, with 2013 J seats laid out 1-2-1...



Premium Economy, laid out 2-4-2...



And the Economy cabin, laid out 3-3-3.



Unlike my recent A350 Y flights, where I sat in the rear of the aircraft, today I thought I would change it up and sit in the first Y cabin.



This really paid off, as there were a few empty seats onboard, and one of the empty seats was next to mine!



That's when it dawned on me that for flights that had some empty seats, it might actually be better to sit in the first Y cabin than at the back, because in the first section of the Y cabin, seats could only be pre-selected free-of-charge if you were a PPS or Gold member. This seemed to mean that for flights which were busy, but not completely full, there would actually be more chance of an empty seat up front than in the rear, where seat selection was free of charge. In any case, I had a great seat in the forward cabin, which was actually less full than the 2nd Y cabin.

Today's flight was an 11.30am departure out of San Francisco, with a scheduled arrival time of 7pm in Singapore the next day. We took off on schedule, with today's flight time a fairly long 15 1/2 hours...



Full post-take-off drink service, starting with Premium Economy...



I asked for a G&T with a lemon slice...



While waiting for lunch service, I began watching the movie "Tolkien", about the early years of JRR Tolkien, the friendships of his youth...



...and his experiences in WW1...

[yflyer]

I headed to the boarding gate...



...where 9V-SJE was being prepared for departure...



Impossible to take decent pics of the plane through the patterned glass windows...



9V-SJE was SQ's 57th Airbus A350. It was delivered to SQ on Dec 31st 2021, just 10 months ago.

A busy gate area...



Boarding was called -- you were boarded based on facial recognition...



You did not even need to show a boarding pass...a camera took a picture of your face, and if it recognised you, you could board. Impressive!

I stepped onboard...

[yflyer]

The next morning, I was at SFO to catch SQ31 back to Singapore...



The International Terminal is no longer new, but it has aged very well, and still looks very impressive...



Moderate queues for Y, shorter queues for PEY and J...



There was a limited airport worker's strike on, so some of the lounges were temporarily closed. I was given a USD 25 voucher to dine at any open F&B outlets...



The United Polaris Lounge was still open, although a business associate mentioned that there was no food available inside. In anywise, the Polaris Lounge was only available to business class pax (Possible only United pax?) and not to me.



The United Club, where Star / Krisflyer Gold members usually went to was closed...



...but to me, this was no great loss, as it was a fairly average lounge anyway. I headed towards the airside F&B outlets...



There were actually quite a few eating options available...



...including this pair of Asian and Japanese restaurants...



I decided on the Japanese...

Wow, lots of freshly made sushi and sashimi...



For the USD25 voucher and a tiny cash top-up, I got this...Hamachi sashimi and a bottle of sake...



Delicious...and better than anything they served in the lounge...

[yflyer]

After drinks at the Buena Vista, we took a short stroll to the Cable Car station at Ghirardelli Square and caught the cable car back to the Marriott...



While there are seats in the cable car, the best way to do it (IMHO) is by hanging off the side (Yes, even after a few drinks)...



....with the best views on the left side...



The ride on the cable car was a nice conclusion to this short trip to San Francisco. We got off the cable car just steps away from the Marriott.

[yflyer]

After polishing off our burgers, we headed to The Buena Vista, a bar famous for having introduced Irish Coffee to San Francisco in the early 1950's...



This was another really busy place...


We watched as Joseph, our bartender prepared 2 Irish coffees with the practised skill of someone who must have made thousands of these over the years...

First pouring the coffee and the whisky...



...and then ladling on the cream.



Apparently the cream has to be specially prepared for it to float on top, rather than sink to the bottom: the cream is aged 48 hours then frothed to a specific consistency...

In the pics above, Joseph just made 2, but look at this Youtube video of Joseph making quick work of a whole row of Irish coffees....

The end result...yum...

[yflyer]

Back at the Marriott, I showered then headed out again to Fisherman's Wharf with my colleague for dinner.

I was stunned to see Fisherman's Wharf essentially deserted at just after 8pm in the evening. Didn't the area used to be much busier in the evening? What happened to all the restaurants and street side stalls selling seafood? Or was it always like this at night? It couldn't have been.



I had no time on this trip to visit Fisherman's Wharf during daylight hours, hopefully it was more lively during the afternoon or early evening.

While that part of Fisherman's Wharf was eerily quiet, the nearby In-N-Out was doing good business...



Now that Shake Shack is well established in Singapore, the burger I crave most when visiting the USA is In-N-Out...

Inside, there was a long but fast moving queue...



My colleague and I ordered burgers and fries, both animal style...



There were also complimentary pickled peppers you could nibble on while you wanted. These were incredibly fiery...



The burgers were just excellent...simple, yet supremely satisfying...

[yflyer]

I arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge on the SF end...



...and began my run along it's 2.7km length...



The weather that day was beautiful: cool, with blue skies and a moderate amount of wind.



Pedestrian traffic on the bridge that afternoon was a little lighter than pre-COVID days, with fewer tourists at each end than before, but there were still many folks walking, running or cycling across the bridge (Cyclists crossed on the other side of the roadway, separate from the pedestrians).



I reached the Marin end and headed back the way I came...



There were wonderful views to be had all along the bridge.

Boat tours of the bay were still operating...a must do for first time visitors to the city...



I spied thick low-level clouds moving over the city as I picked up the pace and returned to the SF end...



An Emirates A380 flew high over the bridge...it must just have taken off from SFO...what great views pax on board must have had...



Back on the SF end, I continued along the coastline...



...towards Crissy Field...



...and then the Marina...



...and up the hill at Great Meadow Park at Fort Mason.



From there it was downhill towards Ghirardelli and Fisherman's Wharf, with great views of Alcatraz Island along the way...



I headed past the Maritime Museum...



...to my end point at Ghirardelli Square...



...which was not far from the Cable Car station, whose cable cars ran all the way back to Union Square.

It was nice to see a line of tourists (and maybe a smattering of locals) waiting to ride the cable car.



I would have done the same, but I had a dinner appointment to catch, so caught an Uber back to the Marriott Union Square instead.

Overall, this was a great 10+ km route, with great scenery and wonderful weather.

[yflyer]

After all my business meetings were done for the week, I finally had the opportunity to head out for a run.

No surprises as to where I went. It had been a while since I had done my favourite running route in San Francisco, which was heading across the Golden Gate Bridge and back, before continuing along the coastline towards Fisherman's Wharf.

I used the Uber app on my phone to take a car to my start point, the Golden Gate Visitor's Center. Uber cars are plentiful in San Francisco. One pulled up shortly after.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the car assigned to me was at Tesla. While these have been around in SF for some time, and are now increasingly common in Singapore as well, I had never been in one.



I hopped into the front passenger seat, so that I could have a better look at the dashboard, or more accurately the massive flat panel display centred in the middle of the front console....



The display showed not just a 2D map, but a visual representation of the traffic ahead as well...



Looking at the left side of the display, I could see that the Tesla software did a great job of identifying the traffic ahead, down to the types of vehicle, and colour of the traffic lights. Incredible...



While this car was being driven by a person, it was abundantly clear that Tesla's ultimate goal was to create a self driving car, and by the looks of it, they were making good progress, at least on the sensing front. How easy it would be achieve totally autonomous driving would be a different question though, as real world situations, whether roads or other drivers and pedestrians are so unpredictable. But still, what impressive, though still imperfect technology, I thought to myself.

[yflyer]

So rather than spend the evening in the Marriott Concierge Lounge, my colleague and I headed out for drinks and dinner. We took a short walk to The Cheesecake Factory at Macy's, just a short distance away, across from Union Square.

While the Union Square area, and Macy's looked fairly quiet, The Cheesecake Factory was packed, with a 40 minute wait for a table for walk-ins...



Thankfully, the seats by the bar were first come first served, and we snagged a table must as the previous patrons were leaving...

We began with a couple of cocktails...



My dirty martini was very satisfying, after a busy work day...



We shared an egg roll sampler, with avocado, tex-max, cheeseburger and chicken fillings...



...and then their fried macaroni and cheese...



...which had crisp shells which burst open to reveal soft, creamy macaroni...



The spicy buffalo wings were tear-inducing...



...and finally we shared one of an amazingly long list of their signature cheesecakes...



This was my first time dining at The Cheesecake Factory, and I could see why they were so popular. While this was not a place that would win a Michelin star, the food was delicious in an OTT, American way, and came in jumbo portions to match. And of course, one would have to end the meal properly with their signature cheesecakes.

Quite an experience, and a lot of fun, but all those calories! I would definitely need to head for a run later in the week to burn at least a few of them off...

[yflyer]

Beer and wine were also available in the lounge in the evening...





Unfortunately the beer and wine were all chargeable...



This seemed to be the case for Marriott lounge in the USA: No complimentary liquor in the lounge in the evenings.

What a far cry from the Marriott Exec Lounges in Asia, where most lounges there offered a huge selection of wine, beer and liquor, not to mention a full buffet spread for breakfast and dinner. For an example, check out the spread at the JW Marriott Executive Lounge in Hanoi.

[yflyer]

During my stay, I also had access to the Concierge Lounge.



This was a pleasant lounge with nice views of the surrounding area...



The lounge was not crowded, with most folks visiting in the morning for breakfast.



The breakfast buffet spread was fairly basic...



Fresh cut fruit and pastries...



Bread and whole fruit...



I admired the view as I waited for my bread to toast...



Breakfast cereal...



Delicious sausages (On other days, bacon was offered), scrambled eggs and potatoes...



US style filter coffee...



Grapefruit and orange juice...



While not the fanciest lounge breakfast out there, I did enjoy my morning breakfast there, especially the sausages...

[yflyer]

My hotel in San Francisco was the Marriott at Union Square.



The hotel was ideally located on Sutter Street, just one block away from Union Square -- a great location whether you were here for business or leisure. Facilities-wise, I think this was more of a business hotel, but the location was perfect for sightseeing too.

As Marriott Platinum, I was given a large corner room.



The room was on a high floor and had nice views of the city.



The spacious room had a flatscreen TV...



...and a large work desk...



Comfortable King Bed...



Coffee making facilities and mini fridge...



The bathroom...



Toiletries from thisworks...



Shower stall, but no tub...



Large bottles of shampoo and shower gel mounted in the shower...



There was a lot of space in the bathroom, almost too much space...



Overall, this was a very comfortable room, without being special. The decor was modern and everything was fairly new.

[yflyer]

From the airport, I caught an Uber to San Francisco, and spent the next 3 days in fairly intensive business meetings, however I did have a little time to look around the city. I had been to San Francisco many times over the years, but this was the first time I had visited since the pandemic.



My initial impressions were of mild shock at how quiet downtown San Francisco had become. Whether it was Union Square or the Financial District, there seemed to be very few people around. Many of the shops and business that lined the streets appeared to be shut.



Wandering around in the late morning on Monday, I was struck by how deserted the streets were.

There were a handful of tourists, and as before, there were quite a number of homeless people along the streets, but the bustle of the old San Francisco was nowhere to be found.

There were also numerous new al-fresco dining areas along the streets -- these appeared to have been constructed during the pandemic, when indoor dining in restaurants was not permitted.



There were no longer mask mandates in force, and of course indoor dining was now allowed, but these al-fresco dining structures remained.



Some colleagues of mine were in San Francisco the previous week, and had horror stories of how aggressive some of the homeless people had become, especially when you ignored their requests for loose change etc. One person was spat on by a homeless person. Some neighbourhoods, which were fine for visitors before, had become rougher, and drugs were more prevalent. I was told to be very careful. In the event, I did not encounter any such things, although I did often pass homeless folks sleeping on the pavement.

Most folks believed the worst was over, and the tourists and visitors were now returning to the city.



I hope things continue to improve, and that San Francisco regains more of the buzz and excitement that the city used to have.

[yflyer]

Inevitably, I got hungry again a short while later. With a few hours left to run I headed to the galley in search of snacks.

There was a snack box laid out...



On fellow SQTalker Pinkfloyd's recommendation, I picked out a Sambal Ikan Bilis bun, and paired it with a glass of red wine...



Yum, this was pretty good!



I also couldn't resist a late night snack of cup noodles, which were also available onboard, which I washed down with a G&T...



A passing cabin crew member saw my empty cup... "Would you like another G&T?"

"Why yes! Thank you!"



By then we were approaching the US West Coast...



...it was already bright and cloudy outside...



We eventually made landfall...



Final approach into SFO...



A smooth landing and short taxi to the gate. Unlike many previous occasions, we landed at a time where few other flights were arriving. Immigration queues were really short, and I was outside the terminal, waiting for my Uber, within minutes.



Overall, I thought this was an excellent flight, one of the best I've had in SQ Y in recent years.

The seat and IFE were state of the art, the catering was good, and the cabin crew on this flight were exceptional.

Unlike my previous CPH-SIN sector, where I found the cabin crew average, the cabin crew on SQ32 that day were absolutely top notch. They worked well as a team, and were warm, cheerful and efficient, not to mention very pro-active in taking care of pax, even the guy sitting in the last row of the plane. The fact that the plane was brand new probably didn't hurt either.

It was now time to explore San Francisco...

[yflyer]

I spent the rest of the flight browsing the October movie selection, which included "Those Who Wish Me Dead"...



...and "Tolkien"...



I know I have said this multiple times in other TR's but do bring your own headphones onboard, as the Y earbuds that SQ offers pax have terrible sound quality, and would ruin your movie/TV experience. I'm not even sure dialog would be intelligible through these earbuds.



My advice would be to ignore the earbuds they offer you as you board the plane, and just bring your own headphones/earbuds (along with an airline adapter just in case) so that you can enjoy your movies and music properly.