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'Single Standard': from Europe to Asia on BT/SK C, QR & SQ J

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  • 'Single Standard': from Europe to Asia on BT/SK C, QR & SQ J

    Inspired by all the things I see, hear, feel while still on the road and also by influences and experiences of the last few months...


  • #2
    Looking forward to your epic TRs again. And post #1,000 as well!

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    • #3
      Couldn't agree more, very much looking forward to seeing more of your photos N Architect, also I'll join 9V-JKL in congratulating you on your Solitaire membership

      Comment


      • #4
        Looks like Shanghai but can't figure out what hotel!
        blog

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        • #5
          Looking forward to this TR!

          Congrats on reaching this milestone

          Now you get access to the hidden sections...


          Oops...

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          • #6
            Thank you guys.

            FYI (if) any spicy details, these will be posted in my website. Link to be therefore provided accordingly.

            So far in Shanghai I've really restricted myself and been pretty quiet; however there are strong indications that from tomorrow in S'pore things will be slightly different...

            Comment


            • #7
              Preamble

              Ok, here we go.

              Nine months since my last long-haul flight, I had a scheduled trip to Asia coming up this June. Trip was part of my executive study program, with two stops: one in Shanghai and one in Singapore, each for a week. Property in Shanghai was to be the JW Marriott, and in Singapore the Shangri-La. Originally the trip was for Shanghai and Bangkok (instead of Singapore), but ever since the troubles started in Thailand few months back, the organizers evaluated the risk and after debating on alternative locations, Singapore was chosen to complement Shanghai.

              Original departure point was Riga, Latvia. Intermediate stop was Athens, Greece to see family, friends, my ex, and catch up with a part of life that I had come to miss a lot in the last few months. Being ‘long-haul grounded’ for long time and also not having the ability to visit home on a frequent basis made this trip even more important.

              Flights were to be as follows:

              RIX-ATH on BT C
              ATH-PVG on QR J (via DOH)
              PVG-SIN on SQ J
              SIN-ATH on QR J
              ATH-RIX on SK C (ATH-CPH leg) and BT C (CPH-RIX leg)

              This is not intended by any means to be a trip report on the individual cities visited, nor on the local cultures. In between meetings, work (i.e. study) and professional networking this would be hard to do. For Shanghai it was my second visit. For Singapore, my very first (excluding of course the approximately eight hour stopover last summer, when I had the opportunity to meet with fellow SQTalkers).

              I am writing these lines as I am about to leave Shanghai and fly off to Singapore. For me, a walk around Singapore with a camera in hand, weather permitting, will be a very first attempt to capture a tiny glimpse of this beautiful and vibrant place. Therefore what you will read, feel or even imagine after viewing these pages should be considered with all the above taken into account.

              Apart from the usuals that you will get from me in this TR, the S’pore meeting of SQTalkers will be covered here as well. In addition to our kyo+’s ‘mystery guest’ (whose handle I suspect may start with an “M”, like mystery?), I may also bring a guest (cannot confirm anything as yet though - let’s see how this will go, seems however that as days go by the potential surprises can get more and more). In addition, and as I discovered here in Shanghai, my stay in Singapore is to possibly include a blind date (yes, exactly this). Well, we never know in life, next step may well be to move down here for quite some time… Anyway, we’ll see.

              Please note that as I am away from ‘home’, pictures cannot be processed (rotation, sharpening, levels, exposure/brightness, etc.) and therefore their quality is ‘as shot’. Camera in use this time is the Canon EOS 5D II coupled by the Canon EF 28/1.8 USM and EF 50/1.8 II lens.


              RIX - departure of our journey.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by N_Architect View Post
                Thank you guys.

                FYI (if) any spicy details, these will be posted in my website. Link to be therefore provided accordingly.

                So far in Shanghai I've really restricted myself and been pretty quiet; however there are strong indications that from tomorrow in S'pore things will be slightly different...

                post deleted
                Last edited by SQtraveller; 20 August 2017, 04:31 AM.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by SQtraveller View Post
                  Looking forward to another excellent TR

                  Spicy?!? I like spicy - add extra chilli!
                  I agree.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by SQtraveller View Post
                    Looking forward to another excellent TR

                    Spicy?!? I like spicy - add extra chilli!
                    +2.

                    But please add a little sweet for me. I like sweet and spicy.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I now have to say that the title of this TR was originally inspired by an obituary I read recently for Dennis Hopper, who left this world after a long on/off battle with cancer. Amongst other things, he was also a photographer and has had gallery exhibits in the United States and France. I happened to come across this very short but enjoyable to read obituary while flicking through WSJ.com – there I found out a link for a picture Dennis Hopper had taken back in the early ‘60s. The picture is called ‘Double Standard’.

                      In tribute to this, and as the obituary author brilliantly described that Dennis Hopper “…was a serious artist who first worked as a painter, then as a fine-art photographer, but also a gleefully unserious entertainer who could shock you, creep you out and scare you half to death. In everything he did, though, he pursued the single standard of making something memorable out of the world that raged around him, and the life that raged within him…”, I decided to name this TR as such.

                      In life many times we indeed have or use ‘double standards’. We move from double to single as a situation permits, but the hard part really is to stick to something and pursue it mercilessly, dive into it no matter what the cost or what we are about to endure on the way that lies ahead. Life and the competitive forces it usually brings in front of on us are major influences in having to become flexible. Flexibility and adaptability has become the price for survival (as also mentioned in one of Gary Players’ ‘ten commandments of life’ – check his website, they should still be there, an interesting read...)

                      Anyway, coming back to the start of our journey.

                      I leave the office fast, taxi to airport, arrival at one hour before the flight departs. Check-in is a breeze, excluding two or three 'tourists' who come in front of me to the C class check-in desk in order to avoid the admittedly very long Y class check-in queue. The lady who checks me in inexcusably omits (as I would find out later) to put the C class 'priority' baggage tag so that I pick-up and leave quickly upon arrival. As a result, combined with a mistake of the baggage handlers in ATH, I manage to finally collect my luggage after 40 minutes following our arrival and disembarkation...


                      A view of our departure gate at RIX. Direct flight BT611 to ATH is ready to board in a few moments.

                      I am at RIX. The winter has been long and rough, 3 ½ months on -20 deg. C and about a third of a meter snow. Winter is nice, but this prolonged snowfall made us somewhat lose track of time, usual way of doing things and restricted us in many respects. Work was not much. The Baltic Sea was of course frozen after the first three weeks of -20 deg. C and therefore ships coming to local ports was a venue hard to see thereafter. Winters here (or there I should say) are low loaded work-wise, while summers are much more busy. This year however, and in combination with the global recession, things are much worse. So while overcapacity had started to make its presence, spring made its way forward early June and the time came for me to leave for a three week ‘excursion’.



                      A number of thoughts were on my mind is winter. The difference in cultures and, more specifically, the hypocrisy that exists in each country. In South Korea they had this, here (or again there I should say) they have something else and back at home we have something equally different. But what is it? That’s the question. I begin to find this fascinating, i.e. discovering what is the hypocrisy in each country I live in. What is the thing that people think they have but actually don’t, what is the taboo? (I particularly for some strange reason do not like the word taboo but believe it is appropriate here).


                      Alone in C class that day in 1F (but most days the BT planes fly empty at the front).

                      I also spoke about the differences in culture. Well, another important topic. The misunderstandings, the mentality of people that have - for example - been through a suppressive regime (communism in our case) for over 50 years. The bureaucracy, inefficiency and inflexibility, the small village type of gossip, but also the openness of the same people once you really manage to ‘break the barrier’ as I am apparently told (have yet to see that).



                      A fellow Greek who also lives back in Riga tells me on the flat above him lives a BT pilot. He is not happy but stays on the job for the flight hours. When you fly with BT you will usually notice the unfriendliness of the cabin crew (generally speaking). This is an airline that tries hard to strengthen its position, but the economic downturn in the Baltics has certainly affected the mood and spirit of the people. How can you expect the service to remain at same levels when you cut salaries? And these people here are by nature not some of the most outspoken and easygoing characters anyway.


                      A view of BT C class cabin, two rows on this flight, B737-500.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The direct flight from Riga, Latvia to Athens, Greece lasts approximately 03:05 hrs. Seat 1F was great, forward stbd side is now increasingly becoming my favorite spot. I took no meal, had my usual b’fast at home early am and took an apple with me. I planned to work, and did manage to achieve this (I have never ever worked on a plane before). A whole INSEAD case study with questions on the strategy of Unilever in India was completed. If you have the energy and stamina to work during those times, i.e. during a flight, etc. you are really taking advantage of your valuable but sometimes slack time.


                        Up in the air with BT on the way home, enjoying a nice cup of green tea with honey.

                        Our flight took off at 11:00, we would soon land in Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport a bit after 14:00 hrs. Cabin crew were attentive and polite; it is nice that we have a corporate agreement with BT, this way we get much better prices in C class fares. LH was quoting me Eur 1,200 for a return fare RIX-ATH, and the lowest option in C I had got via a connecting flight was Eur 900 (with Aerosvit, the Ukrainian carrier). Having the option to quickly browse through the feedback/comments ref Aerosvit on Skytrax convinced me easily not to fly them even if I really had to…


                        Half an hour or so prior commencing our descent to ATH, a view of the magnificent Aegean Sea with its unique islands.














                        Here we are less than 15 minutes from landing. The 'nose' as we used to call it, in the area of Marathon and the beach of Schinias is shown in the following photo. A classic spot for windsurfers for decades:

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                        • #13

                          The little fella decided to fly C as well, on the widow though. Will he make it to immigration or will the crew send him back to the Baltics later in the afternoon?


                          Schinias. This is where I come for swimming during the summer, when in the Athens area.


                          Lowering our altitude for final.


                          Final approach.


                          Landed.


                          Taxiing to position.

                          Next: Departure for PVG through DOH, on QR (A320 regional J and B777-300ER new J).
                          Last edited by N_Architect; 15 June 2010, 11:35 AM.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by N_Architect View Post
                            we would soon land in Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport
                            I love that name Eleftherios. That and its female equivalent, Eleftheria (which happens to be the name of one of my fav Greek singers, Eleftheria Arvanitaki)
                            Le jour de Saint Eugène, en traversant la Calle Mayor...

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                            • #15
                              'Eleftheria' means 'freedom' in Greek, by the way.

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