Destination Wedding! SQ to Bali, Conrad Nusa Dua, Room4Dessert, Babi Guling Pak Dobil

[yflyer]

I took a walk around the cabin...



Despite this flight being 100% full in Y, the cabin felt bright and airy...



While I have a soft spot for JAL's 787's, which are configured 8-abreast 2-4-2 in Y, I think SQ's 3-3-3 layout on their regional 787-10's is perfectly fine for short sectors like this one.

[yflyer]

This was a 2+ hour sector, so there wasn't a lot of time for meal service.


I thought the cabin crew on this flight did an excellent job of doing meal service for a 100% full flight without appearing at all rushed...



For today's breakfast service, we had a choice of Singapore carrot cake ("Chye Tow Kway") or sausage and egg. I chose the carrot cake.

The tray as served...



While the eco-friendly cardboard packaging has been dropped from long flights, it is still in use for short sectors like SIN-DPS.



First impressions: the cardboard box kept the food really hot, which was a plus, and presentation for Asian dishes like this carrot cake looked very attractive too.



The carrot cake was quite delicious. The box actually had a lot more volume that it looked, and the portion size was very generous.

The wooden (bamboo?) cutlery used was very strong, and looked very presentable. While I still prefer metal cutlery, this wasn't a bad alternative.



Todey's red wine was Kilikanoon Shiraz...



Mrs yflyer asked for a glass of white wine with her carrot cake...



The white wine selection that day was the familar Frontera Chardonnay...



Miss yflyer no.2 opted for the sausage with egg. She found it tasty, but when I looked at the box, I found that the shape of the box was less suited to the presentation of Western dishes, which look better in a more horizontal format, compared to Asian dishes.



That said it tasted pretty good.

So overall, pretty satisfactory cateirng on this short sector, and good for the environment, too!

[yflyer]

45 minutes to run....so far the flight had been fairly smooth, with the seatbelt sign off most of the time...



While Mrs yflyer and Miss yflyer no.2 spent practically the entire flight glued to their movie / TV, I preferred to check out the music selections while peering out the window.

Sound quality was really very good when through my own Shure earbud headphones...



Great views of Indonesian islands as we approached the island of Bali...



I monitored progress on the Airshow display. The 3D map was great, but why the colossal 787 plane on the screen, obscuring the map below?



In the distance ahead, a large volcano breaking through the clouds...

[yflyer]

Final approach into DPS...



Full flaps for landing...



Crossing the threshold...



On the ground...



A sprawling terminal with many jets parked...



At the gate...



...and into the terminal.

This was a very new and modern terminal building.



There were huge crowrds, and multiples lines, with many pax either on their phones trying to complete the required electronic forms, or queuing manually in different lines to meet various requirements.



This was a slightly chaotic scene. Thankfully, everyone in my party had the required forms pre-filled, with the QR codes all ready, so we breezed through all the checks. As an added bonus, we were able to use the autogates and so managed to bypass the manual passport checks as well.

Luggage took some time to appear at the carousal. Our bags took over 30 minutes (We heard that some other folks coming to the wedding waited an hour for their bags).

We had arranged a hotel car transfer from the airport to the Conrad, and we somehow quickly managed to spot the Conrad logo amid a sea of signage and placards at the arrival area...



From there it was a pleasant drive out of the airport complex...





...to a new bridge and expressway...



...that made it dramatically quicker to get from the airport to Nusa Dua, where the Conrad was.

[yflyer]

Impressions of this sector:

A near flawless flight on SIA, from the new and spotlessly clean aircraft, to the wonderful cabin crew and seat product as wel as state-of-the-art Krisworld IFE, with along complimentary internet.

Catering was very good, considering the short sector length.

The cabin crew were top notch: friendly, spontaneous, and very efficient.

We departed on time, and landed a few minutes early.

Baggage took a while to appear, but that wasn't really SQ's fault was it? Interestingly, for luggage, we had 3 pieces checked in. The piece associated with my name (i.e Krisflyer Gold with priority luggage) emerged very quickly, but the other 2 pieces, without "priority" were the bags that took a long time to appear (Almost everyone on the plane seemed to have to wait a long time for their luggage).

Flying to Bali on SQ was a wonderful way to start a vacation. The superb flight really lifted my spirits and got me into the right vacation mood. I was ready for Bali, the Conrad, and the wedding!

Next up, the Conrad Bali...

To be continued!

[SQ218]

Great read as usual yflyer. Thanks for sharing.

[yflyer]

Great read as usual yflyer. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, SQ218! Nice to have you reading along as I write this up!

[yflyer]

The Conrad Bali was located along a stretch of Nusa Dua Beach where there were many resort hotels.



The hotel was just off a busy road, lined with shops, including convenience stores, which were fairly accessible if one wanted to head out to buy drinks and snacks to avoid hotel minibar prices.



After the usual car security check at the entrance, our car headed the driveway to the main lobby...



The lobby was large and airy...



The lobby opened up onto a large balcony...



...which had commanding views of the pool and coastline...



What a beautiful resort!



I was offered a refreshing welcome drink as I sat at in a comfortable chair at the check-in desk, as check-in formalities were completed.

[yflyer]

We could not wait to explore this beautiful resort...



There were several very inviting swimming pools in front of the main resort building...



Water was a dominant design theme...



Our room was in one of several residential wings in the resort complex...

[yflyer]

For our party of 4, I booked a "Family Room", which was actually 2 adjoining rooms. While there were Suites available that could sleep 4, we decided on 2 adjoining rooms for better privacy as well as 2 full size bathrooms.



The two adjoining rooms had a similar decor theme, but quite different layouts. The first room had a King Bed...



At check-in, I was pleasantly surprised that we had been upgraded to a room with direct pool access (typical "family rooms" on upper levels had balconies).



While these direct pool access rooms were also available for booking on the Conrad Bali website at higher rates, I had never really considered these rooms. However, having experienced the convenience of having the pool steps away from the room, I am now completely sold on this concept.


Throughout the stay, I found myself taking dips into pool on so many occasions...after breakfast, before lunch, before and after dinner...


It was just so wonderfully convenient...



And this wasn't a tiny private pool, it was part of the large pool that ran throughout the resort. It was separate from the main resort pool, so was not busy.



Although the waterway was shared with the rooms around us and ran all the way across the resort, felt very private, and very exclusive.



If I were to stay at the Conrad again, I would definitely opt for this type of room again, even if the rate was higher...



It just made so much difference to our stay...

[yflyer]

Back to the rooms themselves...they were very nicely styled in relaxing pastel tones, perfect for a beach resort...



Coffee/tea making facilities, and signature Conrad plushie...



Very nice rustic coffee mugs...



Minibar (On chargeable basis)...



Large spacious bathrooms, with separate tub...



...and shower stall...

[yflyer]

Semi-open partitioned area near the entrance of the room, with wardrobe....



...which also led to the adjoining room. This was a nice layout, because it meant we could leave the adjoining room doors open, yet still have privacy within each room, as the room interiors were not visible from this linking passageway.



The 2nd room had a different layout. This was actually 2 beds, but they were pushed together and turned into a single extra-wide bed...



Writing desk in an alcove...



Bathrooms were similar, with separate shower stall and large bathtub...



This room, too, opened out directly to the pool...

[yflyer]

We explored the sprawling resort...



Refreshing coconut water... very inviting...



The main pool area...



...flanked by several residental blocks, all interconnected by a swimming pool which wound its away around the resort...



Beachside loungers facing the water...



Separate kids club, complete with sandy beach pool....



Beachside Balinese bale's, similar to cabana's, used for various purposes, including dining, lounging...



...or beachfront massages...



Spa and massages were at typical resort prices, i.e. expensive, although there were many off premise establishments offering similar services at very different prices...

[yflyer]

There were loungers on the beach for anyone looking to work on their tan...



This was actually a public beach, popular with locals and tourists alike.



There was a common walking/cycling path running between the resort boundary and the beach. The path was great for morning or evening walks, and a very convenient way to get from one resort to the next.



Lots of watersport options in the waters off Nusa Dua beach.



There was a bale on one of the breakwaters just outside the resort which was a popular spot for photos. You could also see aircraft taking off from DPS from here.

[yflyer]

On a more somber note, we could see signs pointing the way to evacuation and assembly locations in case of a Tsunami...



These led inland, and to high ground, up staircases to the upper floors of the resort...