India Birthday Trip (May 2025) - SQ A350, Boeing 787-10 & A380 to MAA (via DEL)

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After a year of planning, I've decided to do something different for my birthday. While it wasn't ideal for me to move it up to June because my mom's Summer vacation is around the corner, I thought it had to be done when it was still during off peak travel.

I was initially planning to travel by Emirates but the prices fluctuated appropriately but we got Singapore Airlines for $750 in May to Delhi when Chennai prices were rising, too. Although as I've said a number of times, the planes on Singapore Airlines are cramped, but I guess it's Singapore's way of calling me to celebrate SG 60 during my layover. I'm typing this as I'm about to board my flight SQ31. My dad's a seasoned traveler on SQ31. And to be quite fitting, the flight numbers to/from SFO represent my age.

More posts to come.

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Flight: Singapore Airlines flight SQ33
Route: San Francisco - Singapore
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900 (9V-SJA, 5.5 years at the time of departure.)
Livery: Normal
Date of Departure: May 19 (11:30AM), Arrival May 20 (7:10PM)
Seat: 58A (Economy Class)
Configuration: 3-class (Business, Premium Economy, Economy)

We got to SFO around 9:15AM and checked in.





There was a queue at check-in and one thing I couldn't help notice was they removed 'Internet Check In'. The queue wasn't a problem, it was with how long it took especially with many that had more bags on board. It took close to 40 minutes.













To compensate for this, TSA Pre took no more than 1 minute, that's off peak in May for you I guess.



The G concourse with many shops like back in February when I went to Hawaii.













9V-SJA would be flying us to Singapore as SQ31 that day. Fun fact: This was my dad's second time on SJA (he was on SQ31 on SJA back in December 2022).



Lot of plane spotting mostly with United 777-300ER's and 1 777-200ER.









The notorious G gate garden scene at SFO.











More shops in the terminal.







We'd go down to gate G8 soon.







Boarding started around 10:55AM. My dad was feeling a little dizzy due to his sugar going down, and not enough sleep, so the staff was generous to allow him to board early so he can rest.

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Crew greeted us with a warm Good Morning onboard the flight.



SQ's 2013 Business Class cabin. It still looks quite sleek after 12 years.



Premium Economy - ah, a familiar sight for my dad but not this time (or even the last time either).



Economy in 3-3-3.










My seat would be 58A. Waiting was a blanket and pillow







Exploring the KrisWorld entertainment system















Voyager 3D maps.















The cabin before departure. Our captain came with an announcement & it would be 15 hours and 45 minutes to Singapore with some light to moderate turbulence at different points.



Pushback began around 11:25AM with the safety video playing but no IFE music.

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Took off from SFO close to Noon.









Not a typical May pattern (more reminiscent of late September and October) - A fog free Coast.





Singapore Airlines has one perk that even Emirates and many others do not have (yet!) - Free Wifi if you're a KrisWorld member. Not only saved me money, but I'll tell you unlike the last time for the most part it worked, but it had the tendency to be spotty over the Pacific often. This was not a problem on my sector to Delhi.











One could also have the ability to transfer the Wifi from one device to the next.





Lunch was served less than an hour after take off. This time I opted the Veg lacto-ovo meals because I preferred to cut my rice intake.





It was a pasta with mushrooms (not a fan of mushrooms) as well as roasted tomatoes and cheese. It was piping hot but excellent. Along with that garbanzo beans and some kheer. They gave crackers and also a roll with butter. The quality was excellent overall.



Tracking FR24.







Took a walk multiple times around the cabin. Premium Economy class section (they still kept open).



Economy Class (Forward Zone)



Lavatory with plenty of toothbrushes to take. I took 2 of them and this helped especially in Singapore since we didn't take any of our's. In fact, the hotels in India do offer it something that's missing in the US hotels.





As I said, toothbrushes and toothpaste.



Amenity kits were available on request, only socks. Not extensive as you'd get on Emirates (i.e. socks, paste, brush, etc). There were often times a language barrier in English even between myself and the crew and sometimes the crew misinterpreted things (not expected). I respect everybody, but often times, even with my dad he was disappointed by the service. While I'll give credit to the food, the crew on this leg were often come across a cold.



Menu for reference. My dad got paneer both times, not masala dosa as advertised.













Coffee. And in terms of the snack selection, all they had were chips and fruits, missing a lot more than advertised. Frankly for an ultra long haul flight, I was disappointed. No chocolates, bun, etc.



Explored the Voyager 3D map in detail:



























Flight Preview mode:







Total Route









Mid-Flight & Overhead mode







Window Seat mode



Exploring more of KrisWorld. Plenty of movies, music, games, etc, sadly not as extensive as Emirates.





Live TV onboard. Watched some CNN and BBC news.

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Second meal service began around 9PM Pacific time which was 8 hours. That was 6 hours before landing. Normally they'll serve as second meal last 2-3 hours, that was unexpected.



Over the Pacific.



Cabin before meal service



Veg Lacto ovo meal - Cheese ravioli with steamed veggies. The steamed veggies were okay at best and didn't eat much. Roll and butter as well as fruit and some other vegetables were served. The main was really good overall.



Second seat was empty, which made for some good sleep (4 hours in 1 round and another 2 later on).



After sometime the captain came with an announcement mentioning we'd be landing around 6:35PM. However, we later learned a lot of traffic into Changi meant another 20 minutes, but we were still on schedule. It made for a beautiful sunset with ominous looking clouds.

























3-4 rounds before landing due to ATC.





The sun set and it was mostly clouds.





























Landed around 6:55PM with a bit of a long taxi to Terminal 2.





















Parked at gate F50.



Deplaning the A350-900









Premium Economy





Business Class









Our next flight was at 2:35AM (7 hour layover) and we even went to the Jewel and it was spectacular at night. Such a rare treat to be in Changi even after 8PM. Usually at 8PM all flights to India depart.

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Overall thoughts of this sector?

Honestly, credit was given to the food. The seat as I've said many times is cramped, but I didn't feel it as much as the last time (Maybe I lost some weight?). It wasn't spacious either. The gap between the A350 seat and window does make it for being cramped, something I have not seen on Boeing planes as much.

However, the service was not as friendly as I expected. The crew don't have to be chatty, but they were far more reserved than usual (I get it, I really do), but often more language barriers, misinterpreting things, and it looked like they didn't want to be there. They did get you what you wanted, but I felt something was missing in their tone and interest. For an ultra long haul flight, I can tell you this is unacceptable especially for a carrier I've flown for 30+ years. I don't expect fancy, but I expect respect and willingness to help passengers.

Snack service needs to be improved.

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Our layover was 7.5 hours between SQ31 and SQ402. Delhi was not our final stop, because while we could have easily flown to Chennai on SQ528, prices were more expensive than going to DEL when we booked this back in February.

We landed at Terminal 2, Gate F50 around 7:15PM (On Time) and we proceeded to Terminal 3 for some coffee







What's a 7 hour or more layover mean if you don't go to the Jewel even at night? Well, a rare treat this time because that's exactly what we did. And this never happens, because all India flights we've ever taken depart at the 8-9pm bank.

If you are a transit passenger, you have to clear immigration before proceeding to the Jewel. It took filling out the forms on the iPad but it did take time because some things didn't get processed for my dad because he entered it manually. This wasn't a problem if you scanned your passport. Something we should all learn.

By problem, I didn't mean the form itself, it's while entering Singapore that you scan your passport, gate opens, and you show your face. It worked fine for me, my dad had to do it again.

Jewel is also a major shopping mall inside the airport.









The treat of going into Jewel at night is that the waterfall changes colors, and this was really cool.

















We headed to Terminal 1 then back to Terminal 3. At T3, we were thinking to get a Transit Hotel to freshen up for 3 hours, but sadly that only seemed to work up to 6PM, and the prices were outrageously expensive. So we decided to hang out, and I also got to see the crowd and heavy bank of heavy European departures at that time. This is rare.











We had food at Singapore Street Food at Changi Terminal 3

Tofu with basil, steamed rice and some soup. The soup was quite spicy, so I didn't have much of that. The spring rolls and tofu/basil/vegetables were excellent.







The butterfly garden in Changi which opens to the humidity.











Some fishes at Terminal 3.





9V-SMO, which would later head as SQ328 to MUC late at night.



A nice walk up to the very end of T3, given I'm an active person, I did a round up to there and also towards the end of B and C gates.

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Our next flight to DEL would be SQ402, operated by a Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner. This would be the only time on the trip I'd fly the 787, as my return is going to be on SQ403.

Flight Details

Flight: Singapore Airlines flight SQ402
Route: Singapore - Delhi
Aircraft: Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner (9V-SCI, 6.2 years at the time of departure.)
Livery: Normal
Date of Departure: May 21 (2:35AM), Arrival May 21 (5:40AM)
Seat: 55K (Economy Class)
Configuration: 2-class (Business, Economy)

Our gate would be A2, part of the A1-A5 lounge for this leg. The last time I was at this side for any flight was back in 2008 when SQ had their 744's and I was on flight SQ2 on a B744 to SFO via HKG and our flight was delayed to Typhoon Nuri (12 hours initially then 9PM).









9V-SCI would be taking us to DEL tonight. At gate A3, our flight 9V-SJA would be flying to MAN as SQ302, which at that point, lots of final calls were being made.













Headphones were available. I used them on my last leg and it was not too bad but having Airpods, much better.



Love the tones SQ does for their Boeing planes. The aisles are a little more cramped but the seat while the same felt a little bit more comfortable than the A359.







Seat 55K, seat would be empty for my dad and me.



Pillow and blanket were offered.



























Voyager 3D map.















Hot towel service for a short flight. I'm pretty disappointed I didn't get hot towels for the first leg and for an ultra long haul flight, unacceptable. The second flight much warmer and better crew.



Captain came with an announcement we would have a 4.5 hour flight time to New Delhi.



Taxi started close to 2:30AM and if anything, very quick to the end of T3 and turning right to take off.





















Seat was empty next to me and my dad. We won again. Off peak benefits in May I guess.



Cabin meal service began right away.



I went for the vegetarian oriental meal. Tofu along with egg noodles, roll and butter and raspberry cake. Overall enjoyed it.

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Lavatory visit on the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner



At least for a short flight if not an amenity kit, they will give toothbrushes.







The cabin. Aisles are somewhat cramped, but the seat is still slightly better maybe due to the lesser gap.





Dreamliner window dimmers. I guess you can see these look worn out but they still functionally work.



Voyager 3D maps:







































Flight Preview Mode:









Mid flight:









Overhead/Window Seat Mode:


Masala chai on this leg. It did not disappoint.

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IFE on the 787-10 Dreamliner

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A lot of movies still though not vast as Emirates's flights and yet EK has different IFE products on ICE (1st to 4th generation)

















TV shows



We were greeted with a sunrise over India. Eventually 45 minutes before arrival captain would announce the descent into Delhi ahead of time subject to ATC. There weren't any delays on arrival though.



Beautiful sunrise - First time seeing it on a Dreamliner.



We eventually began our descent for landing











Flaps retracted



























We parked next to a Turkish Airlines 777-300ER (I remember it was TC-LKA). This is some information on how to connect to SQ's Inflight Wifi on KrisWorld.



Deplaning





Delhi Airport in the AM hours





It did not take more than 5 minutes to clear immigration and 10 minutes to get baggages, we learned connecting to the domestic side of T3 was a little bit of a hurdle as people were confused whether one was a transfer or an actual departure. We learned that now.

Our next flight was at 9:30AM to Chennai on Indigo.

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Thoughts on the second sector? For a late night flight, most rows were empty, but service was far more attentive than the first sector of SQ31. The vegetarian oriental meal was also very nice here. I was trying to reduce my intake of rice and paneer due to health reasons and these meals actually helped a TON.

The hot towels and very often whether or not people slept, the crew kept coming in the cabin to ensure people were hydrated with water and/or orange juice. This was notably absent on my SQ31 flight. When I asked the crew for an amenity kit, they checked, but also apologized with more grace than on my first leg. It sounds to me on Indian based flights, you have super friendly crew, but for ULH flights, it can be a hit or miss (back when SFO used to have a stop in HKG or ICN, crew were always extremely friendly). And I understand the hard work the crew put in, but respect doesn't cost a thing especially for paying customers.

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I didn't take pictures of my Indigo flight because it was a local sector. As I said earlier, I could have easily flown straight to Chennai on SQ528, come back on SQ529, but it was the drastic price difference that we chose this route. We got to Terminal 3, took not more than 5 minutes to clear customs (as expected, you need to have not just your passport and OCI card, but your boarding pass from your last sector. I made that mistake of leaving my EK boarding pass on the plane last time, and it took an hour and a half.

Getting the bags also didn't take long either. The only thing that happened after that was quite some confusion on where to go to check in for the next flight (either transfer or going upstairs to T3 to check in).

We learned we had to go upstairs, then the Indigo staff often confused where to go for Chennai flights, and obviously it's not an international counter, just a domestic counter. Check-in took maybe 15 minutes at most, security also not more than 5-10 minutes.

Our gate was at the far end of the terminal, gate 50.











We landed at Chennai that day at 12:15PM, got our bags within 10 minutes, and headed to our first hotel for the next 4 nights (including my birthday, May 24th) - Grand by GRT Hotels Chennai.



Lunchtime traffic in Chennai.





We got to the hotel around 1:15PM. Staff checked us in and got our passports. We got room 605. The room is a pretty decent size, though not as big as Hyatt Regency in Chennai, which I will be staying at for my last 2 days here.



They gave the Tulsi Mala



Lots of snacks. Water was complimentary.





More pictures of the room.

Chocolates were given one of the days after our outing.







For a Business Class room, 2 robes were offered if there were 2 people.



Walk-in shower with a rain shower. It was very decently sized, but not as big as Hyatt Regency in Chennai.









It's really starting to change like the way US has changed. No bar soaps, unless requested. Shampoo and conditioner are not take home items sadly. It's by Dove. I would have expected GRT to put their own brands.



They give cookies every day.



Near the bed side, automation. You can turn on some lights or have the ability to turn on and off certain things.







A dehumidifier perhaps?



Tea kettle and coffee too



Refrigerator to store any food and personal medications.



Water was free, but the rest if you took out you'd be charged.



Robe in a closet just like the other in a bathroom.



Bath slippers. Not the greatest.





The atrium at GRT Grand. As cool as the Hyatt but you have glass elevators. One gripe was that on every floor it felt like a sauna, and the vents looked like they were turned off. Not excusable. Lobby was A/C.





Glass elevators. I've heard San Francisco's Hyatt Regency has this style, too.



We had a late lunch around 3:15PM at the Bazaar All Day Dining at the hotel. Had the dosa along with chutney and sambar, which was out of the world.



The ambiance is colorful and inviting here. However, space is not as big as Hyatt but it's not small either.







Later in the evening closer to 6PM, we went to Mylapore (Kapaleeshwarar Temple) which was also completed both on Friday & Saturday morning for abishekam for both Ambal and Shiva (which was Saani Pradosham for my birthday - blessed).



A lot of colorful changes done at Kapaleeshwarar










The Giri bookstore. I also learned there's one back home in the Bay Area in Sunnyvale.



Kapaleeshwarar Temple from outside.





Mylapore at night.





We returned to Pondy Bazaar, which is quite a reasonable walking distance from Residency Towers and GRT Grand.









We had dinner that night at Geetham Veg, which I also went for lunch. I went for the Veg manchurian noodles, which were out of the world.

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The next day, Thursday was certainly a dry but hot day. We had some personal things to get done plus some shopping at T-Nagar (like every trip).

Morning walk, Hyatt Regency is not more than 10 minutes of a walk and walking isn't too bad.



The elevators are so cool in GRT Grand.





View from room 605 and you can see Hyatt Regency which I'll be staying last 2 days of the trip.





Breakfast area. I came here twice. Once in the morning for some filter coffee (Superb) and the other for breakfast. I only used 2 of the 4 days stay for breakfast.



The right side is tailored towards pure vegetarian items. Left side, eggs, continental (i.e. pancakes, french toast) and other non veg items



This note about Dosa made me laugh.







Mix of typical South Indian (dosa, chutney, idli, vadai) along with idiyappam, pancakes, and french toast. I also had a cheese omelet to balance my protein intake.



GRT unlike Hyatt has an extensive (and I mean super extensive sweet selection). My dad had the Berliner and I had the donut. Really good.







A juice bar.



Buttermilk and miscellaneous drinks.



Fermented rice and its facts.





I normally don't take pictures of public washrooms, but these at GRT Grand looked super sleek and high end





After breakfast, we ended up going to the bank for some personal work and AirTel to switch our physical prepaid sim to an eSim. It was a hurdle but worked. We ended up at T. Nagar where we would do our usual shopping, but because this was me and my dad, it was controlled from a heat perspective and knowing what to buy without wasting hours. At most, maybe 45 minutes.







Pondy Bazaar. We went to buy silverware at Saravanaa Stores.







The hotel at the front desk has a variety of drinks daily especially detox fruit flavored water, which I deeply enjoyed.



For some refreshments, we went to a bar style/restaurant (Steam and Whistles).



Pool tables



I went for a mocktail. Even in my 30's, I do not drink alcohol. This was the Berry mocktail, and a little on the sweet side but I truly enjoyed it.



One of a few overdue stops on every Chennai trip. Fortunately, no rain to speak of, but we went to Marina Beach.





The Bay of Bengal.





Sun trying to peek through the mid to high level clouds, this is the direction you can see a sunset.



Chennai Marina Beach Lighthouse



Marina Beach has a rich history









Lots of statues and memorials on Marina Beach Drive.







Port of Chennai



Tamil Nadu arch























That night, we had dinner at Annalakshmi. Thankfully this was a Thursday evening, so not much of a crowd to speak of. We attempted to come on Saturday, and it didn't work out at all.



Applam



Puliyogare, some potato fry, paneer makhani, lemon pickle, and naan. To finish, we had fresh lime salted soda. It's very good for hydration.

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Friday & Saturday were our busiest mornings, so we skipped breakfast at the hotel. GRT Grand rate had free breakfast so we can avail it any day when possible.

It was spent doing Ambal Abishekam and Saturday, my birthday, Shiva Abishekam. We bought a ticket for that, but even if you don't buy a ticket, you can still watch it, but it could get more crowded. The benefit is to do archanas and also get a front row view, both days worked out nicely.









We went to Saravana Bhavan and had breakfast since it was 10AM and even if we wanted to, we wouldn't be able to make it for breakfast at the hotel.

Dosa along with idli and vadai.



Filter coffee.



We later had lunch at New Woodlands Hotel. I had the paneer rice and also a bhindi fry, which were both excellent. Generally, while a budget friendly hotel, their service is immaculate and food is out of the world.



Later, we decided to take a trip to Besant Nagar Beach (Bessy Beach) as told by some locals and friends and family.

Next to Bessy Nagar was Asthalakshmi Temple



The architecture





The main Lakshmi shrine was closed for a couple of months but there was an alternate shrine that was kept open.



Our driver took us to Besant Nagar Beach around 6PM.



Besant Nagar Beach. Like Marina Beach, also a memorial there, too.



Beautiful sunset. Only thing is sunsets can only be seen from the land side, and a sunrise from the ocean side (not a morning person).



More lively there. Although it was 95 degrees (with a dew point in the 70's), the breeze really helps stir the atmosphere and disperses the humidity.





Bessy Nagar Beach has a lot of shops, and it generally looks lively. Our driver recommendede Karupatti Coffee and basically it's



Only one upscalish shop called Puma











Some pictures of Adyar in Chennai.







We had dinner that night at Flowerdrum, a pure veg Chinese restaurant. Very hard to find this in the world.



Went with the Sczechuan noodles and tofu. Great quality but even though I asked them to make it medium spicy, it came more on the extreme side.



Fried ice cream to finish. Not too sweet at all.

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Saturday was my birthday (May 24th) and it was the first time I decided to do a birthday away from the US overseas in India. It made for an opportunity to go to temples and spend time with friends.

A sunrise from the room around 5:40AM to welcome in my birthday the first time turning a year older away from home in the Bay Area



We came to Kapaleeshwarar Temple for Shiva Abishekam that morning. It was an auspicious, once-in-a-lifetime day. Meaning, the chance that Shiva Abishekam (Pradosham) falls on your birthday on a Saturday is rare. I had a feeling my plan for over a year was that Shiva wanted me to be there.

The difference between Friday and Saturday was definitely the crowds. Pradosham days, they do both in the morning and evening. Morning they can do it personalized and people from the public can watch. Personalized means you have an opportunity to get a front row view of the abishekam, which is exactly what happened. And that went on not more than 15-20 minutes.

Now, Pradosham is typically done in the evening past sunset (full moon), but they do not do personalized ones at the time, so it's basically open to the general public, meaning more crowd. Because of that, we chose the morning, and I had the rest of the day free.





We went to Nithya Amritham and bought a malt sweet for my birthday.



Around Noon, I went to Velachery to have lunch with a friend.





Not an often case I go to Velachery. We had lunch at Geetham, pretty much the same thing I had the other day. Chatted and caught up about work, life and so on.



I took my father here after lunch, it was a 10 minute walk but good to cool off. The sun does beat down on you, the humidity is there, but the sun really burns it off the hotter it gets, making it feel oven like more of a drier heat (not bone dry).





Inside the mall, you can expect security checks, but it's as modern as it gets to most US malls.



























When I got back to GRT around 4PM, the room wasn't made, staff recognized that day was my birthday (and probably for a good reason - passports with DOB protocol). They were very gracious to do so even though I did not expect it. They also called out the room wasn't clean as it was in DND mode (I don't know why).

When I went, changed the mode they took 20 minutes, and the staff especially took much longer to prep something special. In the meantime, we had a coffee and cake on the house.



I was in total surprise and awe when we returned to our room that day.



A birthday cake. The staff is too generous, they treat you like a king. Better yet, even the day after my birthday, they even spent time following up, even insisting to give a 5-star review on TripAdvisor. It will happen. I have nothing but praise.



Later that evening, we went to Ayyappa Temple in RA Puram. Auspicious for especially Saturday for Ayyappa. A fun fact is for the 18 steps (not the way general public enters), they only open the gates of that whenever Sabari Mala opens. (i.e. if its on the 15th of every month, therefore the steps get opened on the 15th as well).





Returned to our hotel. Lots of Saturday night traffic.



We decided to eat at J Hind at our hotel. Love the ambiance





It looks like a shot but it's not. I don't know what it is but it's a mocktail and some sort of date.



We went easier than the previous night and had a naan with vegetable kofta. Very soft and excellent quality overall. We were able to use our coupon for 50% off. Service was amazing, they really care for their customers.



My birthday was overall amazing. The trip ends on Tuesday with returning back Wednesday morning and back to work right away the same day (remotely working).