Nickbots visit SE Asia on SK, LH, EK, TG and (last but not least!) SQ

[Kyo]

Ow,Finally after 2 months of waiting.
Do they separate F and J pax in the BKK SKL?

Interjecting for nickbot: No, they don't separate F and J nor *G



The best bit is just around the corner!

[Nick C]

Been waiting for weeks for nickbot to post the SQ F portions The best comes last. Hope they are stunners

Both of the PCs were occupied when I sat down to check my email and so I ventured over to the dark side for the first time in about ten years (I was an early Mac advocate, but saw the light ) -let's just say, I won't be repeating that in a hurry unless I'm absolutely desperate,...style over substance IMHO!

I thought it was the "Blue" side

[SQ LPP]

..., the first part of evil CGK's plan (remember him folks?!) was about to be put into place, the nickbots were soon to be flying SQ F and facing financial ruin due to Y and C never being good enough for future travel!

You got it wrong, I believe. What the devil meant was that you should not redeem your miles to fly in Y class. At least accumulate more miles, and wait a little bit longer, so that you can get the award in F or in C. And yes, now you know which program is good for that! Hope with the move of Savage25, the program will not disappear soon until I am ungrounded... In the mean time, you can built your miles back, and start to look for an award for next year trip!

You should be able to ask them to tag them through only to SIN and it's then your responsibility of course to collect and check them in again. You could have many reasons for doing this, e.g. you have a bottle of wine in your luggage which you want to take out to give a friend in Singapore.

Sorry, I am still in a dreamy mode. I thought nickbot wanted to have the bags check-through?

I've never encountered a fast track (when departing BKK on OW) but I do remember seeing a piece of paper which shows such an area. I think it's for TG pax only ?

I have not been there for a while, but I remember when taking SQ, there is no fast track. Got fast track when flying on TG which the counters are in the left hand side of the hall.

[jhm]

Sorry, I am still in a dreamy mode. I thought nickbot wanted to have the bags check-through?

Still sleepy and dreamy after ... ?

Nickbot did want the bags checked through but he thought that he had no choice anyway:

I think in this instance (i.e. a "non-stopover" of less than 24 hours) we wouldn't have had the option to collect our bags in Singapore anyhow

[SQ LPP]

I see... he should sms me at that time to give him advice.

[nickbot]

The next instalment , the SKL but ... not yet the plane journey ? Another wait!

A wait no longer jhm, posts #322 to #328 populated now!

The best bit is just around the corner!

It is indeed mate, it is indeed!

Been waiting for weeks for nickbot to post the SQ F portions The best comes last. Hope they are stunners

I certainly hope to do the SQ F experience justice!

I thought it was the "Blue" side...

Hehe good point,..although thankfully I've not had the blue screen of death for over three years now

You got it wrong, I believe. What the devil meant was that you should not redeem your miles to fly in Y class. At least accumulate more miles, and wait a little bit longer, so that you can get the award in F or in C. And yes, now you know which program is good for that! Hope with the move of Savage25, the program will not disappear soon until I am ungrounded... In the mean time, you can built your miles back, and start to look for an award for next year trip!

I bow to your advice Sir SQ LPP I know that mrs nickbot and I owe you a debt of gratitude!

Nickbot did want the bags checked through but he thought that he had no choice anyway:

Correct jhm, I thought I had no option but to check the bags through. We managed fine with just hand luggage, but it's good to know that we could have collected our bags in SIN and recheckeed them for our onward journey to LHR

[jhm]

Excellent, thanks, Nickbot! You and Mrs Nickbot are one up on me - I don't think I've tried SQ regional F so far.

From the way you describe yourself becoming increasingly off colour, I can imagine how the longhaul SQ F may have turned out but I hope you did manage to enjoy some of it.

[UK flyer]

Slightly disappointing dessert

That's lame! As a fruit lover I'd say that's very disappointing, not slightly, given what I enjoyed on my SIN-BKK flight earlier this year;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1697459...7605179615754/


Look forward to the rest of your trip report.

[SQ LPP]

That's lame! As a fruit lover I'd say that's very disappointing, not slightly, given what I enjoyed on my SIN-BKK flight earlier this year;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1697459...7605179615754/

I am very surprised with nickbot's picture of the fruits. I recalled flying BKK-SIN many times, and the fruits were abandon. Seasonal fruits, as well as the regular fruits. Served or presented in a basket. Could it be possible that the crew was aware that nickbot has the stomach upset and the crew took initiative not to show what not good for his stomach? Just thinking out loud here.

[SQ LPP]

I'm afraid that the photographs aren't wonderful, but from memory I don't think I was overly impressed with the subject matter - I'm pretty sure one can order more elaborate food (the seating area seemingly dedicated to dining suggests this) but I'm afraid I didn't see any menus for this. I think you can perhaps tell by my deviation from in-depth reporting on such matters that I wasn't really feeling myself at this point.

Buffet selection I

Just a tiny comment here.
No, there is no menu available in TG F lounge at BKK as far as I remember.
The display above are the menu, i.e. the sample of what the choices are, such as pad thai, fried rice, wonton soup, noodle soup.

[nickbot]

That's lame! As a fruit lover I'd say that's very disappointing, not slightly, given what I enjoyed on my SIN-BKK flight earlier this year;

I thought our resident fruit lover would be disappointed to see that photograph

I am very surprised with nickbot's picture of the fruits. I recalled flying BKK-SIN many times, and the fruits were abandon. Seasonal fruits, as well as the regular fruits. Served or presented in a basket. Could it be possible that the crew was aware that nickbot has the stomach upset and the crew took initiative not to show what not good for his stomach? Just thinking out loud here.

Hmm, possibly, we honestly only remember there being pineapple, grapes and melon in the basket

Just a tiny comment here.
No, there is no menu available in TG F lounge at BKK as far as I remember.
The display above are the menu, i.e. the sample of what the choices are, such as pad thai, fried rice, wonton soup, noodle soup.

Ahh now that makes sense! Perhaps if I'd have been feeling A1 (and not being followed by an entourage of TG staff whilst trying to take photographs hehe) then I'd have realised that and tried some of the options!

[nickbot]

SIN non-stopover Part I - The Intercontinental hotel

Whilst in the taxi to the hotel, as the euphoria of SQ F died down, the feeling of being unwell intensified and I began to seriously doubt that I'd be able to get on the plane the following day. mrs nickbot was also not feeling tip top (partly because I'd kept her awake all through the previous night in BKK), so the nickbot contingency certainly wasn't firing on all cylinders!

Our flight had arrived on time (circa 14:40), but after shopping for champagne, SIM card etc. it was now just after 4 pm and we were supposed to be meeting other SQTalkers at the East Coast Hawker Centre at 6:30 pm - I just couldn't see how we could manage this whilst feeling so rough, so I sent upright man a text message to say that we just needed to get to the hotel and have some rest before even thinking about heading out for the evening. Sincere thanks to upright man, who got in touch with others to let them know that plans were a little up in the air at the moment - we owe you one mate (one VIP didn't get the message unfortunately, but more about that later hehe).

We arrived at the Intercontinental and approached the front desk; I can't recall whether there was a separate Ambassador section, but when I said my name the lady on reception checked her system and then asked me to wait a moment whilst a manager came to assist us. Within a minute at most, another lady arrived, handed mrs nickbot a gift of a green silk scarf/shawl and asked us to follow her up to our room for check-in. we had booked a King Deluxe room (without club access) and I think we got a one category upgrade by virtue of my RA status, but as long as the room had a bed I simply couldn't care less at that point. Check-in was quick and we were soon able to get changed for a few hours sleep,...not before a quick photo tour for my loyal readers of course!

View from entrance hall into the main room area (bathroom to the LHS, wardrobes to the RHS)



Main lounge area



Dining table with mineral water and Sharon fruit/Persimmon



Work desk, with Bose stereo (and non-working iPod dock) and mrs nickbot's Ambassador gift



View down towards the pool from the window



Toilet and shower (sorry it's a little blurry)



Bath (no ducks this time I'm afraid, they were spending the night in our bags at Changi!)



l'occitane toiletries selection



The bed, oh the bed, the wonderful comfortable bed!



I'm afraid I've let HUGE AL down by not taking a photograph of the minibar, suffice to say it was reasonably well stocked with soft drinks, two cans each of Tiger and Chang beer, and a small selection of spirits miniatures (gin, vodka, whiskey). A fair quantity of the contents were consumed later in the evening (more in the next post) and the vodka/gin miniatures somehow made their way into my LAGs bag the following morning A well stocked minibar, but not a patch on the one we had the previous night at the IC BKK of course.

After a quick tour around the room, we both went to bed - I can scarcely remember a time when I've been more glad of a warm and comfortable bed! I called upright man before going to sleep and said that we really didn't feel up to heading out to the Hawker Centre in the evening, but that we were more than happy to host the SQTalk DO in our hotel room. We arranged for everyone to come over to the IC at 8 pm (IIRC), and I once again left upright man to sort out the details (thanks again, deep debt of gratitude mate!)

I felt a little better after two good hours of sleep and we showered before heading over to a small convenience store across the street to buy some Diet Coke and nibbles for our evening guests. As we pottered around the room tidying up, we could hear military aircraft flying outside the window - we think they were practicing for Singapore National Day (or perhaps they were just laid on for our enjoyment!) I managed to take a photograph of the aftermath of two planes drawing a heart in the sky - not the best photograph, but I'm sure you can make it out!

Singapore loves the nickbots hehe



As the sky got darker, we could hear that the Singaporean Government had not only laid on the earlier aerobatic team for our state visit, but was also celebrating this rare and auspicious occasion with fireworks!

Firework display - Singapore you really are too kind!

[nickbot]

SIN non-stopover Part II - Evening DO

[WARNING: This thread is heavy on the bold type, as it features many SQTalkers!]

What was initially planned to be a fabulous night out with friends old and new whilst sampling Singapore's excellent food and drinks offerings, turned into a rather more subdued affair - no less wonderful to see everyone of course, but in the normal course of events (i.e. both feeling pretty awful) we'd have probably gone to bed when we got to the hotel and not woken up until the next morning. Both mrs nickbot and I felt guilty for calling the shots in order to change the evening's activities into having a quiet night in our room, but I know our friends understood how ill we were feeling - we truly appreciate the efforts that each and every person went to in order to meet up with us in Singapore and hope that we'll be on much better form next time

My memory regarding the specific timeline of the evening is a little hazy (unfortunately not due to alcohol consumption, as I barely touched a drop ), but I'll try to recount it as best as I can remember! I believe upright man was the first to arrive, bearing gifts for us in the form of a couple of Singapore T-shirts (because he knew we'd been too ill to do any shopping) and some more medication for me - once again, my vote of thanks hardly seems enough for your help mate, the meal is on us when we next pass through SIN We'd not seen him since the previous year on our SQ321 escapade, so it was lovely to meet up once again.

Next, I believe SuperJonJon and 9V-JKL arrived, this was a first meet for all of us, despite having been in touch via PM and text messaging. If I remember correctly, the message about not going to the East Coast Hawker Centre hadn't got to them and they'd had a mega feast of satay between the two of them! Sorry we couldn't be there with you guys, next time we'll help you consume that mountain of satay! I can't remember whether KeithMEL or Kyo arrived next,...I think Kyo arrived first, but I suppose the order of attendees is academic! It was great to meet you Kyo, especially after our slight communication difficulties the preceding week! It was also, of course, excellent to meet up with KeithMEL once again, having first met him in my adopted hometown of Nottingham back in January when he was on his DONE4 RTW trip.

For the time being, that was the DO line up, and thus we had a group photograph (mrs nickbot being the photographer). Sadly, this was the only photo that I have from the evening, so this particular update of my trip report will be less image intensive as a result!

Happy SQTalkers posing at the IC SIN



We were in touch with SQflyergirl by text/phonecall and she was running a little late, hoping to join us at about 9:30 pm IIRC; also, taipeiflyer seemed to be completely incommunicado! KeithMEL was particularly concerned, as he had nowhere to stay that night (staying with taipeiflyer at the St. Regis, but no taipeiflyer = no room ) We were also disappointed that no-one seemed to be able to track him down, for a reason that will become apparent in the next update of this report The solution to the mystery became apparent when Jubilee777 telephoned me and mentioned that taipeiflyer had started this thread. We managed to speak to him at the St. Regis and arranged to meet him the following morning for coffee at the IC before we departed for the airport (the rest of the group met him later in the evening.)

We opened one of the bottles of champagne that we'd purchased at Changi earlier in the day and had a celebratory drink (I don't think I actually drank any, rather I was sticking to water/Diet Coke,...and at that only sips). SQFG arrived at the hotel and I went downstairs to reception to meet her (a room card is required to access floors via the lift) - it was excellent to finally meet her, and I gave her the second bottle of champagne and mr. quak the LH F football duck as a small token of thanks for all of her help in planning this trip

Unfortunately mrs nickbot was feeling even worse by this stage and had left the room to throw up on three occasions - let's just say we weren't the life and soul of the party!! By around 10pm it was apparent that neither of us could really manage a great deal more for the day, so we said a disappointed goodnight to everyone and went to bed. Despite feeling truly awful, we both very much enjoyed the evening and truly appreciated everyone's efforts in being there for our visit - THANK YOU ALL!

[nickbot]

SIN non-stopover Part III - VVIPs visit the morning after

Sincere apologies to all for the extended absence, work is tying up almost all of my spare time at the moment Thank you all so much for your patience, I'm going to try to update the thread a little more frequently now than of late! I was intending to delete these placeholders and post new threads, but strangely the delete option seems to have disappeared,...anyhow, on with the show...

After being party poopers the previous night and turning in at around 10:30 pm, we had a reasonably good sleep, but had to be up bright and early in order to greet the two SQTalk VVIPs and a "super-extra-special-VVIP" () who were popping over to the Intercontinental to visit us for morning coffee prior to us heading off to Changi. I was still feeling shockingly bad, and would have really rather not had to fly, but not really an option unfortunately.

At around 08:30, our room phone rang and it was VVIP No. 1 (aka taipeiflyer), who had just arrived in reception; we were very much looking forward to finally meeting taipeiflyer, and were extra excited as he was playing Father Tumi-Christmas, with two new bags carted over from the US for us We headed down to reception and immediately spotted our ever sharply dressed SQTalk friend! We took a seat in the lounge and ordered coffee/tea and started having a great chat -poor taipeiflyer had spent over an hour looking for us at the hawker centre the previous night, and had been carrying our two brand spanking new Tumi bags to save scuffing the wheels on the floor! We're truly grateful to you mate, and hope we can repay the favour in a similar fashion in future. You'll be able to spot our new acquisitions in the posts ahead!

Next to arrive was VVIP No. 2 (aka Jubilee777) (who I had met in London some months previously) who came armed with bountiful aviation gifts for mrs nickbot and I, which was so kind of him and very much appreciated. Time for some photographs!

Jubilee777, taipeiflyer and nickbot (plus goodie bag in the foreground)



Same line-up, but with mrs nickbot making an appearance



Jubilee777 had brought us so much stuff from SQ/Changi that I felt guilty for taipeiflyer going home empty handed, so the generosity was spread a little

Some of the presents from Jubilee777



A full group shot



When I found out that taipeiflyer was flying in SQ Y later that day, there was one photograph I simply had to have (and it's one of my favourite shots from the whole holiday),...I think you can guess what this one is going to be...

There's something wrong here, "Mr. F" (aka taipeiflyer) brandishing a GREEN BP, flanked by two lowly plebeian Y flyers with RED BPs



I popped back up to our room to rearrange our packing into the two new Tumi bags and clear the room, before checking out and rejoining our friends in the lounge area. The four of us had a great time chatting over coffee, and it was not so long before our third and final guest (aka "Mr. super-extra-special-VVIP" ) arrived...

[nickbot]

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