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

[KeithMEL]

I think the rumour that SQ LPP is alluding to in this case is *another* SIN based rumour,...not St. RegisGate

Who?
What?
Why?
When?
How?

[nickbot]

Who?
What?
Why?
When?
How?

Check post #64

[KeithMEL]

Check post #64

Ahhh...
Can't wait for the seismic finale then.

[nickbot]

FCL to FCT

Okay, I'm sorry this latest update has taken a while to arrive - pressure of work has meant my TR writing time is limited to a degree at the moment Anyhow, enough with the excuses, on with the show!

With the aid of directions from the lady on reception at the FCL (once again, refraining from using the "Dragon" title as she was most helpful!), we made our way through security and outside the terminal. Technically, we could've got a chauffeur to take us to the FCT I believe, but we both fancied a breath of fresh air before the next few hours of FCT indulgence (and of course our FRA-HKG leg).

In order to get to the FCT, one heads for the taxi ranks and turns left...



Apron view to the left, after exiting the taxi rank tunnel (FCT to the RHS of this photo)



First view of the FCT



At this point, I almost had to be physically restrained,...I'd decided that the 2 minutes it took us to walk this far from the terminal was *more* than enough fresh air, and was desperate to get into the FCT. mrs nickbot persuaded me that we should spend 15 minutes or so in the sunshine, appreciating the fresh air -reluctantly I agreed

Self portrait - note nickbot's mind is 100% on the building behind him!



After around 10 minutes of compulsory fresh air, I persuaded mrs nickbot that we should go into the FCT. We'd been briefed that one should go to the ground level door and ring the buzzer to be let in, but before this there was always time for another photo

FCT ground floor entrance (note reflection of your intrepid reporter!)



I dutifully rang the buzzer and spoke to a lady on the other end, somewhat lost for words, I think I just said "erm, we'd like to come into the lounge please", to which she replied "certainly sir, I'll be right down" We waited perhaps 90 seconds before she appeared, opened the door for us and performed a quick BP check. She then escorted us towards the lift and we were soon to be transported to what many would argue is the best airline lounge in the world,...we couldn't wait!

[nickbot]

FCT Part I - Check-in experience and dining

As we stepped into the lift, the lounge assistant mentioned that it was about the slowest lift in the world (hence her 90 second journey to come down to the door to let us in). We chatted a little, she asked where we were headed, and noted that we had quite a long time in the FCT (we entered the lounge at circa 12:50 and our flight to HKG was due to depart at 17:45, so we had a clear four hours ahead of us). As we reached the first floor, she asked if we'd visited the FCT before, to which we said no -she said she'd guide us through everything.

As one exits the lift, to the right hand side is the upper level road entrance. One can see, in post #80, third photograph down, the elevated road sweeps past the FCT. Unfortunately no photographs, but one could see the parking area in front of the terminal, which had some rather smart looking Porsches, Mercs etc. outside. We were then ushered to the left in order to pass through security -once again, no photographs, but from memory there were two metal detector archways and two baggage x-ray machines, exactly as per a conventional baggage check, but in this case there were perhaps four security staff and two pax,...no-one else in line, so everything was dedicated to us Standard procedure here, liquids and gels seperate, laptop out (IIRC), but completely unrushed and at our own pace.

After security, one is led towards frosted glass doors into the lounge itself, but not before walking past the duty free shop on the left hand side:

Duty free selection at FCT



The assistant mentioned that if there was anything in particular that we wanted, it could be brought over from the main terminal, or indeed if we wanted to visit the terminal for shopping then this could be arranged. There was nothing we particularly needed nor wanted to cart around with us during the following few days, so no purchases were made. We were once again offered a tour of facilities, but we declined. The assistant retained our passports and BPs and encouraged us to relax and enjoy the lounge.

The first thing that we noticed upon entering the main part of the lounge was how similar it was in decor to the FCL we had only just left half an hour previously; whilst we already knew we'd enjoy our time at the FCL, this common identity confirmed to us the quality of service we could expect. Also, if one is pushed for time and are unable/unwilling to visit the FCT, the FCL is by no means a poor substitute, only really lacking the personal security and chauffeur service.

One of the many TV viewing areas, with B&O televisions



The lounge was, again akin to the FCL, light and spacious. We selected similar seats to those we had occupied previously in the main terminal (leading to SQ LPP's comment on my Facebook profile), however in this case the view out of the window was not as good as that at the FCL. In this respect, FCL one, FCT zero, but who's keeping score?!

As she had refrained from eating much in the previous lounge, and the fact that it was now lunchtime, mrs nickbot was feeling rather peckish, so we visited the dining area. Once again, we decided against having a sit down meal, but opted to graze the excellent buffet selection.

Dining area, with buffet at far end



Again, similar to the FCL (sorry, I'm constantly comparing), they had a fantastic mechanical ham slicing contraption, which I really wish now I'd had a go on, but probably for the best as it does look rather vicious! I think mrs nickbot banned me from tinkering with it (my engineering mind!) because she could probably forsee blood spillage, and that would have been frowned upon in the FCT

German vicious automatic wrist cutting contraption



Buffet selection I



Buffet selection II - olive bar



Buffet selection III - hot food; mrs nickbot helping herself to prawn spaghetti



Buffet selection IV - plenty to interest resident fruitbats!



After loading up our plates, we returned to the seating area, passing by the bar to order a couple of glasses of Bollinger champagne. One can see from the photograph below how similar the seating arrangement is to the FCL:

Here's the food,...but where's the champagne?!?



From the photograph, one can see the delicious prawn spaghetti (gorgeous large prawns), seared tuna skewer, scallops wrapped in bacon and (to the far right hand side) what I thought was fried pieces of chicken - this turned out to be fried mushrooms and was a little strange tasting,...certainly not the last odd taste sensation on offer at the FCT that day

Needless to say, we made a few return trips to the buffet (ok, I probably made the majority of trips, but all in the interests of checking food quality for SQTalkers who might choose to visit the lounge in future of course, 'cos I'm that kind of guy!) Finally, a trip to the dessert section was called for, but for that I shall have to make you wait for the next post...

[nickbot]

FCT Part II - the story of the ceramic pot!

Okay, I've mentioned this a few times, so might as well end the suspense Back in the FCL I'd noticed some delicious looking ceramic pots of white chocolate mousse, but had decided against having any as it felt too early in the day to indulge. As I was sitting back in my chair, relaxing with a glass of champagne, mrs nickbot asked if I'd like any dessert -I answered in the affirmative, but asked her to surprise me. Dutifully, she came back with a few tidbits from the dessert buffet, amongst which was one of the small ceramic pots.

Ceramic pots in their natural habitat



I forget exactly what I ate, possibly a small piece of carrot cake and a couple of chocolates, but I intentionally left the white chocolate mousse for last, as I thought it would be nice and light to accompany my glass of champagne. I peeled off the cover (as you'll note from the photograph above, this has the inscription "Have a nice day - DO&CO) and loaded up my teaspoon with a large mouthful (actually, pretty much the whole contents of the pot, as they were only circa 1.5" square). The spoonful was then dutifully deposited in my mouth, then half a second later the realisation hit me - this wasn't chocolate mousse, it was horseradish Now, I love horseradish, but the assault on my tastebuds (who, after all, were expecting deliciously sweet chocolate) was rather overpowering! Queue plenty of laughter from my travelling companion, and a fair bit of coughing from me! In case you're wondering, the answer is "yes", I did finish the pot of horseradish and once my tastebuds had reprogrammed it was rather nice! I now realise that the brown chocolate mousse must have been french mustard,...but why locate the little pots alongside the dessert section?

After that little bit of excitement, we decided to check out the bathroom facilities, which are located at the far end of the lounge. Whilst I had a snoop around the bathroom and showers, mrs nickbot booked us in for a bath. As there is only one bathroom with a bath in it, we were allocated timeslots at 2pm and 3pm for our respective bathing periods. Time to snap a few more photographs of the facilities...

Entrances to the business cubicles



Interior of business cubicle, again with internet terminal, laser printer and telephone



Close-up of internet terminal - actually pretty fiddly to use IMO



One of the two slumberettes - identical to those at the FCL



Following my little exploration session, I returned to the seating area and mentioned to mrs nickbot that one of us should probably go to the bathrooms; then, having a far better idea, I suggested that we could probably share a bathroom session. mrs nickbot was convinced that this would be frowned upon, but I thought we could easily wing it,...after all, being sweet and innocent, what shenanigans could I possibly get up to in an FCT bathroom ?!

[nickbot]

FCT Part III - Bathtime!

I made my way to the bathroom attendent's desk and checked in for my 2 o'clock session; first impressions were excellent - again, identical to the bathroom in the FLC. The room was pristinely clean and luxurious, and the extra large bath was most inviting.

Bath, featuring mr. Quak -there you go, SQflyergirl, I promised he wasn't going to be left out of the TR!



The reason that there are now two ducks on the side of the bath isn't due to them reproducing (well, not in the normal fashion), but that I'd asked the bathroom attendent if they had any spare football-themed ducks, as our second goal at FRA was to procure one for SQFG. Mission accomplished, plus of course the normal (i.e. non football) duck that was already residing in the bathroom. And then there were three...

Hold on, I thought there were only three, where did that one come from?!?,...ok,...and then there were four!



Now, minors or those of a nervous disposition may wish to look away at this point and blindly scroll past the next few photographs, for I discovered a so-far undocumented feature of FCT service. Perhaps I was judged to be an extra-special (non-PITA of course) pax, to my joy, I had discovered that the good folk at Lufthansa had provided me with my very own bathing partner...

Who's that in the bath, and what are those ducks doing?!



None other than mrs nickbot of course!



Yes, I've been kidding you, whilst we were fully prepared to have seperate bathing sessions, we were most pleased when the assistant said it was perfectly fine for us to share the bathroom. He grabbed another set of towels, a robe/slippers and toiletries and took them through to the solitary bathroom. From memory, there are perhaps six rooms in total, but only one with a bath (the others have showers only) at busy times (if such things happen at the FCT) one might have a looong wait for a bath!

Now, I'm all about equality, and understand that SQTalkers represent a wide variety of tastes, so I thought it only fair that I model for the camera too...(control your excitement boys and girls!)

There we go,...only one duck required in this case



Time flew and it was soon coming to the end of our allocated hour - I don't think anyone else was waiting for the bath, but seeing as we'd block booked two hours between us, we thought it a little rude to overshoot when they'd been kind enough to let us share. I had a quick shave, got changed into my LH F clothes and was ready to go. Not before, of course, a few more photographs (safe for all viewers now!)

View of basin, with shower area round the corner. Note Tumi porn for taipeiflyer



Shower - always find it difficult to take shower shots!



Having the facility to take a relaxing bath is a wonderful treat -I'm 100% a bath person, so for me this marks the FCL and FCT as going that extra mile to please passengers. To be able to spend time together in the ample-sized room was excellent, shame we'd neglected to take a couple of glasses of champagne in with us! A definite 10/10 for Lufthansa there folks

Footnote: The Author would like to reassure readers that no ducks were harmed during the production of this trip report. One duck did however require psychological counselling, but is well on the road to recovery now

[nickbot]

FCT Part IV - The waiting game

After our refreshing bath, we opted to sit in the comfortable sofa-style chairs near the windows to the far left of the lounge (i.e. at the extreme opposite end to the bathrooms). Again, we ordered a few drinks from the bar

Champagne and Diet Coke - surely the drinks of the Gods



Despite promising myself I wouldn't eat anything else until we boarded the aircraft, I managed to eat a fair few of the nibbles from the photograph above. The green objects in the left hand glass were wasabi coated peanuts, which were particularly delicious.

I'm conscious that I haven't fully described the beverages on offer to pax in the FCT -whilst I have a copy of the drinks menu, it would take me about an hour to copy it out here on the thread, so I shall summarise in bullet points (are you ready?!):

• Mineral Water [9 varieties]
• Fruit Juice [10 varieties]
• Fresh Fruit Juice [4 varieties]
• Smoothies [2 varieties]
• Carbonated Soft Drinks [11 varieties]
• Wellness drinks [6 varieties]
• Homemade Lemonade
• Ice Tea
• Coffee [13 varieties]
• Hot Chocolate
• Tea [18 varieties]
• Champagne and Prosecco [5 varieties]
• White Wines [9 varieties]
• Red Wines [7 varieties]
• Rose [1 variety]
• Dessert Wine [1 variety]
• Draft Beer [3 varieties]
• Bottled Beer [11 varieties]
• Wheat Beer [3 varieties]
• Non Alcoholic Beer [1 variety]
• Cider [2 varieties]
• Aperitif [6 varieties]
• Digestif [7 varieties]
• Calvados [2 varieties]
• Cognac [6 varieties]
• Armagnac [1 variety]
• Brandy [4 varieties]
• Grappa [6 varieties]
• Fruit Schnapps [10 varieties]
• Rum [13 varieties]
• Vodka [9 varieties]
• Gin [7 varieties]
• Tequila [5 varieties]
• Liqueur [16 varieties]
• Sherry [4 varieties]
• Vermouth [5 varieties]
• Port [3 varieties]
• Blended Scotch [17 varieties]
• Speyside Single Malts [17 varieties]
• Central Highlands Single Malts [1 variety]
• Northern Highlands Single Malts [6 varieties]
• Eastern Highlands Single Malts [1 variety]
• Western Highlands Single Malts [1 variety]
• Lowlands Single Malts [2 varieties]
• Isle of Islay Single Malts [6 varieties]
• Isle of Mull Single Malts [1 variety]
• Isle of Orkney Single Malts [1 variety]
• Isle of Skye Single Malts [1 variety]
• Scotch Blended Malt Whisky [2 varieties]
• Irish Blended Whiskey [4 varieties]
• Irish Malt Whiskey [4 varieties]
• Bourbon Whiskey [6 varieties]
• Tennessee Whiskey [3 varieties]
• Canadian Whisky [3 varieties]
• Exotic Whisky [4 varieties]
• Champagne Cocktails [5 varieties]
• Martini Cocktails [7 varieties]
• Classic Cocktails [6 varieties]
• Anytime Cocktails [11 varieties]
• And, last but not least, Virgin Cocktails [4 varieties, none suitable for KeithMEL ]

mrs nickbot lounging,...perhaps overcome by the extensive drinks list



At this point, one of the bathroom attendents came over to us with a surprise - two more ducks for our growing collection! I think she thought we (ok, more specifically I) were a bit mad, but I was so grateful that she'd made the effort to hunt down different ducks for us -keep your eyes peeled later in the report for guest appearances from the LH F duck crew!

From our seating position, we could look out of the end window and down over the chauffeur's car park -we were pretty desperate to ride in a Porsche Cayenne, but each time we looked out of the window the selection of vehicles seemed to change between all Porsches and all Mercedes (couldn't tell you the Merc model I'm afraid). I snapped this photo of one of the chauffeurs cleaning two Cayennes:

Put some elbow grease into it,...I need that Porsche to be spotless young man



Now, those of you that know us will know that we're usually at the gate with plenty of time to spare -in this respect, the FCT did not suit us As one leaves all responsibilities over getting to the plane on time to a personal assistant, we were left looking at our watches thinking we really ought to be heading over to the plane about now. I suppose this might take a little getting used to (well, for us it would), but we were itching for the PA to come over and collect us.

mrs nickbot passing the time with a pre-departure glass of Bollinger



One last BP shot in case all we were left with was a stub,...did I mention we were flying F that day?



As time went on, we decided to grab our luggage and wait by the lifts/departures board,...soon enough, a PA came over and said she'd escort us downstairs. As she ushered us into the lift I mentioned that we would really like to ride in a Cayenne -she said she'd see what she could do.

As one exits the lift on the ground floor, there are glass doors ahead which lead to a parking bay, where the chauffeur cars are lined up; before this, however, is a passport control desk manned by two agents. Our passports and BPs were checked, and we were then ushered through and introduced to our chauffeur, who beckoned us towards our ride for the afternoon...

[nickbot]

FCT Part V - The ride to the aircraft

As per our request, we were delighted to see that the vehicle in question was indeed a Porsche Cayenne, all sparkly and waiting to take us to the plane. The chauffeur motioned to lift my bag into the boot, but I assured him that it was no problem for me to do this! I then stepped back to take a photograph for posterity.

Our chariot awaits!



I then got in, and we left the FCT area and headed onto the tarmac

Approaching FCT security gates



Grinning mrs nickbot, looking forward to our first ever F flight



Similarly grinning nickbot (if a little blurred - I blame the camerawoman!)



A little bright outside, but just about showing aircraft on the tarmac



As we drove past the gates, I was busy taking photographs of every LH 744 we saw, just in case it was ours! I think in the following shot, our aircraft is the second one along.

LH 744 waiting to whisk the nickbots away in style



Seconds after this photograph was taken, the driver turned left between the two aircraft and parked up at the base of the aerobridge. He had noticed that I was taking quite a few photos, so offered to take a shot of us in front of the car/plane. Note the German flag,...something to do with that Eurosomethingorotherboring competition!

Excited, but unfortunately being blinded by the sun!



He then ushered us into the lift, which took us up to the aerobridge level, then walked ahead of us towards the aircraft door. My final photograph of this installment shows mrs nickbot following our chauffeur towards our date with destiny -sorry the image is a little blurred, I was walking fast and managing a slightly unweildy bag!

So close I can almost smell it (I mean the F experience, not mrs nickbot )



All in all, I think you can tell from these most recent updates to my report that we were suitably impressed by Lufthansa's First Class offerings at FRA. They certainly know how to do it,...perhaps other airlines should take a leaf out of the LH book

[HUGE AL]

nickbot, you're such a tease! I'm sitting here reading Post #80, only to be greeted by a bunch of Placeholders.

[nickbot]

nickbot, you're such a tease! I'm sitting here reading Post #80, only to be greeted by a bunch of Placeholders.

Have no fear HUGE AL, slowly being populated as we speak

[jjpb3]

Very enjoyable TR, nickbot. The extended descriptions and pictures of the eating (the square ceramic pot incident was priceless ) and the bathing are phenomenal.

[nickbot]

Posts #80 to #85 now finished - I'm off to bed!

[yvrcnx]

Posts #80 to #85 now finished - I'm off to bed!

And well deserved. Thanks for a great trip report. Looking forward to more.
You should be getting a wage for doing this.

[phaleesy]

Rubber duckies quacking in strategic locations. How apt!