Flo around the world 08

[Nick C]

Have a great summer RTW!

[9V-SIA]

Looking forward to your TR. Safe journey!

Nickbot and you have set new standards in TRs.

Good prose, very creative, nice pics

Could do with more sex and violence though....

[GoldenGoose]

This'll be fun!
I already enjoyed your first post quite a bit.

looking forward to the rest!

Bon Voyage!

[singaporu_kooku]

Sorry for my late reply.. Didn't bother to check the thread yesterday.

singaporu_kooku for being spontaneous

No worries, flo...

[Kyo]

Just saw this thread - I think the nickbots will have a worthy adversary to confront shortly!!

This is gonna be one great, and hopefully hilarious report (if the first post is anything to go by!)

Can't wait for the blow-by-blow reporting.

Hey Florian, mind sending me your arrival / departure flight details, will see if I can squeeze in a lunch or two as well (and liquor you up with some Slings)...

[N_Architect]

Flo, have safe flights and enjoy your adventure!

Looking forward to your TRs.

[JetE]

Hmm we seem to be in the season of mega trip reports. Y trip reports are a rare treat, so I will definitely be following this one (of course not forgetting the other very excellent reports that are currently running).

[flo]

Thanks for all the kind replies I am in the Singapore KrisFlyer Gold lounge right now enjoying a can of coke and recovering from my red-eye flights. I left the cable for my quickcam in my checked baggage so only my dSLR and iPhone photos will be present now. The others will follow once I get access to my baggage

Part 2 - The trip begins!

Let's go!

The days before my journey that was about to start were pretty stressful. I had to meet so many people who wanted to literally wave me goodbye. It's so funny how all my friends envy me because I got to do a round the world trip and the don't even know there's people on SQTalk I envy because they do what I do only in premium classes

So basically I had to stuff one meeting after another and suddenly it was Saturday evening already. I was at a friend's and I cooked her dinner because I lost a bet: I honestly thought that Austria would beat Germany at the EURO and now it was time to pay my debt. Suddenly, when I was done cooking I felt a slight sickness taking control over my body when I nearly fainted. I thought "well, isn't this typical: in 7 hours, I'm going to fly around the world and this sudden sickness comes right now. Great." but I managed to recover and get myself home.

Unpacked baggage and some computer works still to do. When I was finished packing it was 3 am already. My dad said he would take me to the airport at around 5 so I had a shower and got to bed to catch my usual 1-2 hours of sleep. The drive to the airport went smoothly as there was almost no traffic there.

Sunny Sunday morning in Vienna...


Vienna's tower

I showed my father the Austrian SEN check-in lounge where a good-looking lady in red waved me over to her and gave me a warm Austrian welcome: "Schönen guten Morgen!"... I told her to hold on as this could take a while and gave her my ticket. She took the booklet, browsed through it and instantly said to her colleague "Hey, you gotta see this crazy routing!" and they both had a good laugh. She checked my baggage all the way to Kuala Lumpur but because the ticket was kinda strangely set up, I had to get my connecting ticket for my first SQ flight in 5 years at a transfer desk in DME.

So my father waited outside by our car when I waved him goodbye. He said "Well son, you've come a long way ... this Senator stuff, I got to check that out again" and gave me a fatherly nudge on the sholder. He never does that so it was a nice gesture. He drove off and I went to the Austrian Business Lounge, the place to be in VIE. You do not want to check out the other SEN Lounges because this lounge is clearly the best one: a good view of the apron, spaceous and calm plus almost never cramped.

I thought I'd skip brekkies because I couldn't see that Do&Co scrambled eggs any more. They should get some variety in the morning. Anyway, I waited for a guy from FT to show up because we wanted to meet for a little get-together. His flight from Dubai was running lat, so I waited for him. We had about 15 minutes to chit-chat before I left for my boarding gate A6, a finger gate at the international pier east, while he was bound for Hamburg which departed from the Schengen-flights-based pier west.

Get one of those! I love them!


View from the lounge. A typical morning in VIE.

The check-in agent already told me that there would only be about 18 persons in Economy today and reserved a window seat at 9F for me which is an exit row with increased legroom. Hooray!

[flo]

Flight No: OS 603
Departing: Vienna Schwechat International
Arriving: Moscow Domodedovo Airport
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Registry: OE-LDE
Name: Baku
Seat: 9K

Something cool happened when I boarded. There was a male FA who was very attentive. There were two japanese passengers who greeted him with "Konichiwa" and he instantly replied with perfect intonation "Konichiwa! Ohayou gozaimasou!" ... wow. Then a russian cople with "Sdravsdvuitje! Kak djela?" again with perfect intonation ... anyway .... as we were running a little late, I browsed the internet on my iPhone...

A view from the back


Browsing the web...

We dearted from runway 11 which is the standard runway for Europe-bound flights and were airborne on time. There were some minor turbulences at the beginning of the flight but I did not care: I had a whole row for myself with increased legroom. Now that's what I call value for price

Ignore the tag... I'm loyal

The FA came around for breakfast and guess what I got... the scrambled eggs that were also served at the lounge. Yayz. I ate evrything up and especially the little toastie was delicious. It was filled with three layers of cheese and two layers of ham. Now that's what I call a sandwich! So guys and girls ... OS Y is really great! I prefer it to LX and LH and I probably would not even opt for C intra-european as the service in Y is really outstanding. A shame that OS is in deep financial troubles and once LH will take over the ship it will probably be streamlined to a generic standard product. OS was really a surprise because I've only had not so good experiences on OS before.

I still ate it and it was good!

I plugged in my iPhone and listened to some Snow Patrol. I always get emotional when I listen to "Chasing Cars" because it reminds me of a person i alway have to think about when I am flying. It somehow has become my motto to listen this song on every single flight I take. Time went by and we started our descent into Moscow-Domodedovo where I should be getting to the transfer desk asap!

A view from the wings.

The landing was not exactly what I would call smooth. I remember how smooth my landings on SQ 744s were back in the days but then again, this was an A320 series jet and I have yet to experience a smooth landing on this type of aircraft.

[flo]

Moscow Domodedovo
I instantly followed the signs which were pretty good to follow to the transfer desk that's apparently managed by S7 and Transaero staff. I tried to speak to the lovely Russian ladies in English but my pursuer did not quite get me so I tried with my broken Russian which was apparently limited to just everyday communication but not airport use. So the ladies told me they will have to find my baggage although it has been checked all the way thru Kuala Lumpur.

The transit area...

They told me to take a seat while they would call the local SQ agent on how to proceed with my ticket. I wasn't exactly looking forward to the lounge opportunities in Moscow but at least I wanted to get a sneak peek into one of those rarely documented lounges of which there are apparently plenty here.

My OS flight was about 30 minutes early so I thought I had plenty of time before my cramped flight to Singapore. Unfortunately transit helt me up waiting for about 2 hours or even more... at least it felt like it. So when the lady didn't show up with my documents and the monitors already said "Go to Gate", I panicked but the lady came back about an hour before take-off. I rushed through security (didn't even need to take out my notebook) and saw my SQ bird parked at Gate 10. The terminal hall was crowded like hell. One could barely move there and I sprinted back and forth from lounge to lounge who denied me entry.

First, the LH SEN lounge had a big Star Gold sign beneath their logo but they denied me entry because I wasn't on a LH flight. Then, I rushed to the TransAero Lounge that's officially hosting bmi Gold flyers who apparently never saw a bmi Gold card -- denied. Then I went to some silver airport lounge that also denied me entry before I found my way to the Airport Business lounge who wanted to deny me entry but granted me in after looking some things up on their computer.

Cramped DME on my way to check the lounges.

The lounge itself was very crowded and because boarding time drew nearer and nearer, the speakers were already announcing the SQ flight. I just wanted to pop in for a drink anyway because the waiting was so exhausting I literally couldn't feel my tongue anymore. Fluids, quick! Grabbed a Mirinda when the speakers announced that the SQ flight was delayed due to service issues. Did not quite hear it but my new boarding time would be 15.45.

Overview when most people left.


Selection of food:
The sausage buns were nice, the salami not quite so.


Olives and some hot stuff I did not fancy.

The gate agent apparently gave me seat 51G... not a window seat although I requested one when I was speaking to the SQ telephone agent a few weeks ago.

My SQ boarding pass. Old style. Gorgeous design.

Anyway, as it was time to move to the gate I thought it might not be a stupid idea to get a snack to eat and another softdrink. One can never know what fate awaits in an airplane when it comes to food but I have never been let down by Singapore Airlines in the past and although some people argue that the service level has gone a long way from what it has been, many people cherish the "new" SQ.

On my way to the gate. Still many people around.


... I spotted my one true destiny

[flo]

Flight No: SQ 61
Departing: Moscow Domodedovo Airport
Arriving: Singapore Changi Airport - Terminal 3
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Registry: 9V-SWA
Seat: 51G

When I approached the gate again, the crowd still has not lifted but I found a sneaky way to get by the crowd and get in beforehand. Yay. From the aerobridge, I saw that my first flight on an SQ 777-300ER would be on the very first 777-300ER SQ took delivery of: 9V-SWA.

Let's do this! Yay!

I entered the plane and a smart looking SQ Boy in the sharp new uniform greeted me and showed me the way to my seat. I walked past the rear Business Class section and I was awestruck. This plane was a class of its own: pure perfection in every detail to me. It did not only look and smell brand-new, also the seats looked so comfy. I wish I was a bit older with some more money to spend but anyway: a cool thing to note is that the new business class seats look gorgeous on photos but even MORE gorgeous standing next to them. you cannot believe how much you want to just cuddle into these seats. Honestly: to all those who have not seen these seats in real, do check them out because you won't believe your eyes. At least I didn't!

Still looks different...


Economy from a different angle

Anyway, I noticed that the seat pitch was as big as the seat pitch on OS A319's exit rows - in other words - huge. The width of the seat was bigger as well so I asked myself if it was even necessary to try Business Class if Economy already gives me everything I apparently need. The only stupid thing was that I love sitting at a window seat because I can lean my head against the wall when sleeping. Well, now I had to improvise.

The cabin looked spaceous and before takeoff another SQ Boy greeted me. I told him how good the new uniforms look and he instantly laughed and told me that it was the first time someone actually noticed. Hot towels were handed out and I remembered how I missed that! It's the little things that make me happy.

The safety video music brought up some old memories and after the obvious "have a pleasant flight" announcement, we rolled towards the runway. We were airborne earlier than expected and the IFE looked gorgeous. Another low of this flight besides not having a window seat was the fact that there was a Russian lady sitting next to me whose smell of sweat I could not endure. Ew. Made me wish SQ had a shower aboard like EK does ... for the ones who apparently don't find the time to shower at home.

So headphones and the menus were handed out. I decided to go with the beef for dinner and the chinese menu for brekkies. Chicken sausages don't really hit my taste and I wanted to go for the pasta instead of the rice. Then the boys came along with the first round of drinks. I chose a Singapore Sling for starters and the FA laughed. The passenger next to me looked envious and ordered one as well ... I never had a real Sling before because I've never been to Singapore without my parents and it kinda never really suited my timing to go to the Raffles. The Sling I had was actually pretty good; strong, though. But I'll have the chance to make my very own comparison between the "Airsling" and the original very soon. mmmmh Slingapore Airlines. I'm already loving it.

Sling in the air... one of many!

The flight was quite bumpy and the seatbelt sign stayed on. The sweaty woman next to me had her own problems keeping her annoying kids quiet for a second. Gosh, kids + sweaty woman who was actually pretty rude with her elbow ... there's somebody up in the clouds probably laughing her ass off my pity

The power supply from the plug in the armrest works splendid but the one thing I don't get is why they implemented a network interface into the seat when there's actually no network available. I connected my notebook to the net and got no internet :/

1009 km/h ... nice.


The map towards the end of my flight.

So finally the first meal service was about to start and I got my chicken. The meal was very tasteful in terms of intensity but the consistency was somehow weird. I finished it up anyway and dozed off afterwards. I really had a long day so sleep was the thing that came just right in order to be fresh and relaxed when I arrive in Kuala Lumpur. I forgot to take photos of the main meal... sorry.

Meanwhile I also tried to watch some movies but I could not finish either Narnia, nor Ironman because I got too tired in the middle of the movie and dozed dozed off. I also had some chit-chat with the male and female flight attendants who constantly brought me some more Singapore Slings, little snacks and some goodies. I stopped counting but I guess I had about 10 slings because the SQ Boy brought me the slings without me even asking "Sir, I am sure you are up for another sling, aren't you?" ... how could I say no? This was truly a great crew.

Me and one of the girls.

For breakfast I had the noodles which were of similar consistency as the main dish. The noodles were quite good but my neighbor did not finish it up. Apparently the menu wasn't her taste.

Food. Something I needed.

Anyway, I enjoyed breakfast very much and suddenly it was time to buckle up again: arrival in Singapore was prepared. We started our descent and landed smoothly as (almost) always when flying SQ. Our arrival gate was A14 in Terminal 3. Woohoo: first time 77W - check. First time T3 - check.

[flo]

Killing time in Singapore

You can probably guess how tired I was, even though I have been sleeping on the plane. Traveling is exhausting. So I made my way to the Terminal 3 transfer desk and requested a new ticket for my KUL flight because I wanted another seat. The lady in DME gave me a seat I definitely did not want; the lady at the transfer desk was very forthcoming and wanted to give me my KUL-SIN ticket already but I refused because I know myself: having the ticket already would only result in me, not caring at all in the morning and arriving late at the airport.

T3. 6:06. Awwww.

I went to the KrisFlyer Gold lounge to meet up with a friend of mine: Megan worked as a blue kebaya before moving to Vienna in order to study veterinary medicine. I had a video chat on Skype with various people ... the connection was splendid. Megan finally showed up and we talked about all kinds of stuff related to Singapore, being a foreigner in Austria, working for SQ, etc. After a while she had to rush to T2 where her Lufthansa plane was already announcing the last call.

You know when you're in Singapore.


The obvious tower picture and the nearby Crowne Plaza


In front of the KF Gold Lounge


The entry.


Ticket comparison.


resm was not in

The Skytrain took me back to T3 where I had too much time to kill again but having free wi-fi around is always nice so I browsed the web while eating delicious egg salad tramezzini. The choice of food was pretty limited, though compared to the lounges in Zurich and Frankfurt (I don't have that much experience with lounges to judge but I frequent those two on a regular basis). I decided to check for resm to get a chocolate fix but he was not around so I abstained from giving into my urges. I went to the T2 SATS Premiere Lounge where I hooked myself onto the web again and chatted to Jubilee777 and singaporu_kooku. The former suggested that I should try to get on the earlier flight to KL but the lounge host lady said the flight was overbooked and that there were several people on stand-by already. So I had to wait and decided to take a brief nap. My alarms went off and I actually heard them... oh wonder. I instantly went to the departure gate, F34 and boarded the plane.

[SQflyergirl]

I so wish I could be with you today. Not that I don't like the philippines, but a tropical depression has just developed outside the window and it might turn into a typhoon

[9V-JKL]

Great Start Flo. See you shortly!

[9V-SIA]

I so wish I could be with you today. Not that I don't like the philippines, but a tropical depression has just developed outside the window and it might turn into a typhoon

Belated Happy Birthday.

It's good luck to rain at auspicious moments....Water=money

Let's hope you get hit by a typhoon