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  • Guangzhou Getaway on Scoot and SQ

    This would be a quick report on my recent trip to Guangzhou for a short getaway, covering the flights and of course lots of great Cantonese cuisine. Flight up was via Scoot, and after the recent flights on SQ Business and Suites, it was a humbling experience to be back on a LCC-dense A320.

    Self-Checked-in and boarding pass issued.




    Visit to the SATS Premier Lounge in T2. It was rather busy, with travellers mainly from the European airlines heading to Europe. There was even a section cordoned off for one of the airlines. However most of the guests headed off for their flights soon.






    F&B offerings were fairly average.














    The aircraft operating tonight's flight had arrived from Taipei and being turned around.




    Just a short walk to the boarding gate. It was nearing departure time but boarding had not started due to the short turnaround time allocated.




    Aircraft still being prepped.

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  • #2
    17 January 2019
    Scoot
    TR 106
    Singapore (SIN) - Guangzhou (CAN)
    A320
    9V-TRI
    Economy Class
    Flight Time: 3H34M


    Boarding commenced and judging by the queue in the airbridge, it was gonna be a very full flight.






    Seated at Row 5, and yes the cabin was nearly full. SQ had cancelled it evening departure, and Scoot had downgraded some of the flights to the A320, and hence I believe everyone on the evening flight was packed on this tiny A320.




    Scoot reading materials long with the expected tight legroom.




    View out the window.




    Boarding was completed only slightly after STD, by then I believed we missed our departure slot, and waited for more than half hour till pushback.




    Finally departed from Rwy02C almost an hour behind schedule.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFiMimvdOvQ


    IT was an uneventful flight, skipped the BOB, and was stuck at the window seat on this full and cramped 3.5hrs flight. After a very long 3.5hr, we descended into Guangzhou.








    Landing 30min behind schedule, and it was followed by an eternity of taxiing to the terminal.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbFPi8fvEww




    Parked at Terminal 1.




    View of my seat during disembarkation.

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    • #3
      Disembarking. Seated towards the front of the aircraft, we managed to rush ahead of the rest of the passengers (and ahead of the AirAsia flight which arrived just behind us at the adjacent gate) to immigration, and managed to clear immigration without a wait.




      Other than the 30min arrival delay into Guangzhou, the flight was uneventful and as expected of a LCC.


      As it was an ungodly arrival time into Guangzhou, we decided to spend the night at the Pullman Guangzhou Airport hotel, which is just across from Terminal One which we landed at. If arrival is at the new Terminal Two, it would require a shuttle transfer to the hotel. We were upgraded to a brand new Executive Room which was very spacious and comfortable.






      After a good rest, woke up to a view of the airport terminal.




      Had brunch at an eatery within the airport terminal. Prices seemed slightly higher than in the city but food quality was still reasonably good.










      Took the metro to the city, where we checked into Langham Place.






      The hotel is considered one of the most luxurious in Guangzhou, and with prices being rather reasonable, we booked into a Junior Suite. The Junior Suite had a living room and a separate bedroom, and was well-sized.



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      • #4
        Huge and luxurious bathroom. There is another smaller and more basic toilet at the living room.






        A pillow menu. Though I did not try any of the special pillows.




        View from the room.





        Proceeded to Shangxiajiu pedestrian street after check-in.






        Had the famous shuangpinai (double-skinned milk), which is basically a milk curd, at Ren Xin old store. It was superb! Much better than the version I had at a different dessert shop on an earlier trip.






        For those into crystals, stones and silver, there is an entire building of shops selling them at wholesale prices in Liwan Center.






        Ending the day with a nice dinner at Guangzhou Restaurant.



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        • #5
          The room rate included a daily buffet breakfast. A huge spread was on offer and it was satisfying.














          Visited the Chinese Herbs, Medicinal and Dried food market. All sorts of dried stuff on offer, ranging from gigantic lingzhis, cordyceps, to dried insects....








          Live turtles...






          Live baby scorpions....

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          • #6
            The more 'normal' dried food and herbs.






            More backstreets selling other stuff, such as gourds and pets.










            Had a dimsum lunch at Lian Xiang Lou restaurant, a popular old-brand restaurant and teahouse.










            Crowded shopping street.




            Chanced upon a back alley specializing in jade.

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            • #7
              More alleyway shops selling craft wares.




              Interesting exhibit at a shopping mall.




              China is pretty open nowadays.




              Dinner at one of the highest rated and luxurious restaurants in Guangzhou, Bing Sheng restaurant. Even though the restaurant is pretty high-end, the prices are surprisingly quite reasonable for the setting and quality.






              Some of its recommended dishes included the roast goose and soups. The soups are excellent and authentically Cantonese. Roast goose was very good too.




              3-flavoured tofu, which simply dissolves in the mouth.




              Goose innards, a delicacy which is chewy and tasty, and fried dumplings.




              Headed to the Canton tower after dinner. The famous landmark was lit up every night.








              On the last day, had a simple breakfast before heading to the airport.

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              • #8
                Took a hired car back to Baiyun airport. With the heavy traffic on the highways, the car journey was about the same as the subway ride. Reached Terminal 2, which is the brand new terminal opened last year, and SQ had moved to the new terminal shortly after the opening.




                The check-in hall was huge and bright, though kind of sterile, similar to other Chinese airports.




                Check-in was quick as there are no queues at the Business line, and boarding pass and lounge invite were issued.








                Passed immigration and security into the departure hall. There was premium access for security, but none for immigration.




                Headed to the Premium Lounge, which was managed by the Plaza Premium group. The lounge ambience felt like many of the Plaza Premium lounges, and was decent for an airport lounge.











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                • #9
                  Pretty decent buffet offering in the lounge.










                  Nearing boarding time, a SQ rep came around the lounge with a signage requesting SQ passengers to head to the gate, which was still a walk away.






                  China Southern whale.




                  A long boarding queue for our flight.





                  20 January 2019
                  Singapore Airlines
                  SQ 851
                  Guangzhou (CAN) - Singapore (SIN)
                  A330-300
                  9V-STY
                  Business Class
                  Flight Time: 3H53M



                  The flight would be operated by the A330 regional workhorse.




                  Boarding the aircraft.






                  Regional Business Class seat. A pillow and blanket were placed on each seat.

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                  • #10
                    My seat at 16A.




                    View out the window.




                    A champagne as always to start the flight.




                    Departure preparations in progress. The crew were rather busy, with the cabin being 29/30 in Business this afternoon, and a few special requests (saw requests for wines and hot beverages) for pre-departure drinks.




                    The inflight magazines and menu.




                    Noise-cancelling headphones.




                    Doors were closed ahead of schedule, safety video played and we pushed back.






                    Flight map and taxied to Rwy01.







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                    • #11
                      Departure from Rwy01.

                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rJLORBBBNc








                      Generous legroom of the old regional business seats, which are in the process of being phased out.




                      Visit to the lavatory, stocked with the usual amenities and Penhaligon's products.






                      View of the cabin from the rear.




                      After takeoff, packets of almond/cashew mix and beverages were served. I requested for the cocktail Skyhigh from the menu, and it was pretty refreshing!






                      Cruising




                      For the IFE, I watched a Chinese comedy.




                      Lunch service commenced shortly after.

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                      • #12
                        With the very full cabin, there were 4 crew conducting the service in Business Class.




                        The menu selection for this flight.




                        For those interested, the selection for the SIN-CAN leg.




                        Beverage selection
















                        I had pre-ordered the Shi Quan Wei Mei menu and was served the starter of Golden melon and Pepper chilli pork with kelp. Requested for a piece of garlic bread as well.



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                        • #13
                          The starter was unmemorable.




                          The main of Pan-fried sea bass in orange lime sauce and egg fried rice was plated beautifully. However, the quality of the sea bass was definitely not premium. The meat was soft and mushy, compared to the flaky meat of the Chilean sea bass catered out of Singapore. The fried rice was very good though.






                          My friend had pre-ordered the Oriental Vegetarian meal, and was served some braised tofu as starter.




                          Main was some sort of stir-fried mock meat with vegetables and rice.




                          Desserts and fruits offered after the meal. As there were leftovers of the desserts, we were offered both. The Chinese dessert of purple rice porridge was similar to the Singaporean dessert of Pulot Hitam. There was no cheese course offered on this flight.






                          Ending with a coffee and pralines. Again, my preferred choice of Maofeng tea was unavailable, along with all other Chinese loose teas. Must be some catering lapses as all the loose Chinese teas were all unavailable on all my recent 3 flights to/from China in Business and Suites.




                          After lunch and movie, we were only 1.5hrs out of Singapore.




                          Remainder of the flight was spent resting, will we started out descent into Singapore.





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                          • #14
                            Overflying the Indonesian island of Batam.






                            Approach and landing into Rwy02L.

                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBVyFpQIqT8
















                            Taxied to Terminal 2.






                            Disembarked.




                            Overall, a standard regional SQ business class flight with the usual efficient, pleasant and professional service.
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                            • #15
                              Thanks ycp81 for a great TR of a Chinese city that seems underrated compared to its flashier neighbors (Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau).

                              I used to fly through CAN frequently given its great connections to provincial capitals. I used to fly in the evening, spend the night in the excellent Pullman (your review is spot on), and catch a morning flight out on CZ (usually) to my final destination. But since SQ transferred its evening flight over to TR, and to a lesser extent since CZ and SQ moved to T2 (meaning a shuttle transfer to/from the Pullman), I'm not planning on doing this anymore. But the low loads on the evening flight every time I took it made me think that its days were numbered.

                              The opening of T2 in CAN appears to have alleviated the overcrowding we saw at international departures in the evening. Which is good news.

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