Uber, Gitane and SQ1 SFO-SIN in New Economy Class (77WN)

[yflyer]

I had planned to write up this TR yesterday, on a cloudy Saturday morning in Singapore. But the shocking terrorist attacks in Paris yesterday cast a dark shadow on everything, and left me in no mood to put pen to paper (Or fingers to keyboard…). This is not the way to solve humanity’s problems. My thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible tragedy, and just hope that senseless events like this are not repeated.

It is now Sunday, and this is a continuation and final part of a three part TR, which covers dinner in San Francisco, a run through the city, and my flight SQ1 SFO-SIN, San Francisco to Singapore, via Hong Kong, with SQ’s latest economy product, on the 77WN.

(Here are the previous parts of the TR, Part 1 and Part 2. To skip straight to SQ1, click here…)

[yflyer]

Continuing where we left off, after arriving in San Francisco, I stayed at the Aloft San Francisco Airport Hotel, which is my preferred hotel if I really need to stay close to SFO, rather than in the city. This hotel is located a short distance from the SFO terminals. A courtesy shuttle bus runs at regular intervals between the airport and the hotel. A TR on that hotel from last year can be found here. The Aloft SF Airport Hotel is a USD30 and 30-minute Uber ride from Union Square.

The first time I tried Uber was in Los Angeles, the previous stop on my trip. In San Francisco, the benefits, and seamless user experience, of using Uber meant that I was a frequent user of the service here as well. As in LA, I found Uber in San Francisco to be a prompt, and efficient, way to get around.

Another interesting aspect of my Uber experience: almost every Uber driver I had in San Francisco was of a different nationality. Apart from USA-born locals (One of whom had visited Singapore when he served in the Navy many years back), my other drivers were immigrants and new citizens from China, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

One Uber driver was an enterprising young man from Afghanistan who made it from Afghanistan to a new life in the USA via Pakistan as a young boy. If he had not told me he was originally from Afghanistan, I would not have guessed it, as his accent was 100% American. He had been living in the USA since elementary school and was totally assimilated. While working part time as an Uber driver, he was also working on his own internet startup, and was deeply familiar with the IT / software industry. I’ve still got his namecard, and told him that I would look out for him in the news one day when his startup makes it big.

Uber passengers give their drivers ratings, and the drivers that picked me up typically had very high ratings (between 4.6 and 4.8 out of 5). I never had a driver I was uncomfortable with. In one week of using Uber in the US, practically daily, all the drivers I encountered were unfailingly polite and professional.

Uber drivers rate their passengers too, on a similar scale (1-5 stars). I wonder what my rating is…

At peak periods, if catching an Uber car from central SF in the evening, surge pricing comes into force, and the fare could have been 1.3x or 1.4x the regular fare, but even with this surcharge, the fare from downtown SF to the airport came to about USD40-45, which was still cheaper than the USD50 fare if I took a taxi.

My experience with Uber in San Francisco reinforced my view that Uber is one of the true disruptive e-services that will likely change the face of public transportation all over the world. If I were a taxi company, in any country, I would be very worried that I was now as obsolete, and soon to be as extinct, as a dinosaur.

[yflyer]

I was in San Francisco for work, so I didn’t have a lot of time to look around, but SF is a very compact city, great for walking, and in between business meetings, I did manage to spend a little time around Union Square, and the Embarcadero, where I visited Macy’s, the Apple Store, as well as the the Disney Store next door.

With the new Star Wars coming up, the quantity of Star Wars merchandise at the Disney Store was mindboggling…some of which verged on the ridiculous…Mickey Mouse ears is one thing, but Leia hair???



Google Street View Car along the streets of San Francisco…looks like the street view is periodically refreshed.

[yflyer]

On the last evening of my stay, I had dinner with several colleagues at Gitane. This is a fairly well established restaurant and bar in the San Francisco food scene. Gitane is very centrally located, just a short distance from Union Square, but tucked some ways down a drab side alley, Claude Lane. My advice is to use your smartphone’s GPS to locate this restaurant. You’ll never be able to find it otherwise.

It is not a Spanish “theme” restaurant that looks as if it has been transported from Madrid or Barcelona, with cookie-cutter menu to match.

My impression is that it is very much its own thing, with southern Spanish-inspired cuisine presented in sophisticated, refined fashion.

Gitane occupies several floors of a narrow multi-storey building.



The restaurant had dark toned, luxurious décor in a decadent, old-world style, with several intimate dining spaces.

The opulently decorated bar was very impressive…



One of the dining areas…



You had a selection of small plates to choose from, as well as a short but well planned list of main courses. I found the menu more suited for individual multi-course dining, than tapas-style sharing, although as a group we did share several starters.

The plates themselves were beautifully presented, and tasted wonderful as well: fresh, intense and natural flavours in the vegetables and dairy, the way you often get in California, not elsewhere, matched with the spices and aromas of Southern Spain.

We began with beet and goat cheese salad. The cold beetroot went perfectly with the soft cream cheese. The vegetarian in our party loved this dish…



The cheese platter, with a well chosen selection of soft and hard cheeses, was marvellous as well…



Flat bread of the day, with a more substantial topping than I expected…



My main course was a duo of lamb, described as “Grilled lamb, merguez-spiced sausage, ratatouille, panisse cake, romesco sauce”…with the lamb still pink, and very tender…



The wine and cocktail list was well curated, and included a long list of different sherries. You could build your own flight of sherries for tasting.

Wine could be ordered by the glass, carafe or bottle. I opted for a glass of red with my lamb.



For dessert, one of my colleagues opted for Pumpkin Goat Cheese Cheesecake…a refreshing change from the usual cheese cake recipes…



I was intrigued by an option on dessert list called a Chocolate Budino.

“What’s a Budino?” I asked.

“It’s like mousse, but much thicker.” The waiter replied.

Sounded great, and it tasted exactly as described. Rich, decadent chocolate, almost like eating a soft chocolate bar, and approaching the texture of mousse, but much more substantial. A memorable dessert, and one which could become an addiction for those prone to substance abuse of the chocolate variety…



And after a calorie-laden dinner like that, I felt compelled go for a run the next day, along one of my favourite running routes in any city.

[yflyer]

The next day, on the day I was scheduled to depart San Francisco, I went for yet another run along the Golden Gate Bridge. For me, this has become a mandatory activity every time I visit this beautiful city.

My meetings on the last day of my trip ended after lunch in the city, and I returned to the hotel to check out. It was now approaching 2pm, and as an SPG Gold member, I requested, and received a 4pm late checkout.

Ideally, I would have gone for a run, returned to the hotel to shower, then head to the airport, but after a quick time-and-space calculation, I reached the conclusion that there was just no way for me to catch an Uber car to the Golden Gate bridge, have my run, then make it back to the hotel in time to meet the 4pm cut-off. I was not willing to pay for a full night’s stay just to delay checkout to 5 or 6pm.

There were perfectly good jogging routes right by the Aloft hotel – another one of my favourite routes is along the waterfront close by. But that route just didn’t have the same wow factor as making my way across the Golden Gate Bridge. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t head to the Golden Gate Bridge that day.

I decided to check out right away, leave my luggage in my hotel. After my run, I would return to the hotel, change-up, then head to the airport for a shower there, either in the paid showers at SFO, or the showers in the Silver Kris Lounge.

I caught an Uber car to my start point, the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center, on the SF side of the bridge. One of the benefits of Uber is that no cash changes hands – everything is automated and billed direct to your credit card. I had my phone with me, with some cash, ID and credit cards in a ziploc bag tightly wrapped around my phone, but didn’t have to open it up. I just got out of my Uber car, and was ready to begin my run.

The weather was mild, that afternoon, so I wore regular PT kit – just shorts and T-shirt.



The Golden Gate Bridge is popular with cyclists and pedestrians. Unlike the Oakland Bay Bridge, which is for vehicular traffic only, the Golden Gate Bridge is very pedestrian and cyclist-friendly, not to mention spectacularly scenic. I was not the only jogger along the bridge, not by a long shot. There were cyclists as well, and many taking a leisurely stroll across the 2.5km span.



A number of military aircraft, including a pair of F-18s, flew over the bridge and bay that day.



After heading across the bridge to the Marin County end, and then heading back across to the SF side, I headed down the hill along the path to Marine Drive. There is some construction along the paths at the Visitor Center, but if you just follow the signs down towards Crissy Field, there is a clear path down to the waterfront.

Along the waterfront, I passed the Warming Hut, before heading past Crissy Field and the Yacht Harbor at Marina Boulevard, which has a row of beautiful houses facing the waterfront. After that, I headed up the gentle slope on the hill at Fort Mason, where you had great views of Alcatraz…



...and further along you would reach the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, with art deco building, and swimming beach…



Further up the road, the path passed by Ghirardelli Square, where there is a popular outlet of the famous chocolate company, as well as the nearby Cable Car station.



Further on, the run took me past Fisherman’s Wharf…



And the beautiful waterfront along the Embarcadero. This stretch of pedestrian walkways along the waterfront, all the way from Fisherman’s Wharf to the San Francisco Ferry Building, and the Oakland Bay Bridge, is an incredibly beautiful place to walk and cycle on.



Further along the Embarcadero, I could see the TransAmerica Pyramid…



I continued towards the Oakland Bay Bridge…



...past the San Francisco Ferry Building.



I was amazed to learn on this trip (From a conversation with an Uber driver), that until the 1989 earthquake, the entire stretch along the Embarcadero in front of the San Francisco Ferry Building was actually a double decker freeway. While as early as the mid-80’s there were calls to tear down the freeway, a vote to do so was soundly defeated, and it took the earthquake, which damaged the freeway beyond repair, to trigger the demolition of the freeway and redevelop the entire area into the beautiful mixed use, leisure and residential area it is today. You can read more about this transformation on this slate.com article here.

Under the Oakland Bay Bridge…



At that point, under the bridge, I made a u-turn and doubled back to the San Francisco Ferry Building.

[yflyer]

My route that day, a leisurely 15km in perfect weather, starting at the SF end of the Golden Gate Bridge, crossing the bridge to Marin County, then back again, then down to the waterfront, past Crissy Field, the Marina, Fishermans Wharf, and the Embarcadero, right down to the pathway underneath the Oakland Bay Bridge, before doubling back and ending my run at the San Francisco Ferry Building.



A wholly satisfying run. I took a stroll inside the Ferry Building to cool down, and bought steaks and lamb loin (Vacuum packed for the long flight home) at the Golden Gate Meat Company outlet there before heading to the food court at Westfield Shopping Center along Market Street for dinner.

[yflyer]

The beauty about the cool weather and low humidity in San Francisco is that you tend to cool off and dry off very quickly after exercise. Unlike Singapore, where I would be soaked in perspiration, by the end of a run of this distance. But here, by the time I returned to the Aloft hotel next to the airport, my PT-attire was completely dried off, and looked and felt reasonably fresh.

I retrieved my luggage, changed into my travelling clothes in the lobby restroom, and caught the complimentary courtesy shuttle from the Aloft to SFO.

At check-in, where I was attended to by an extremely friendly and warm check-in agent, I asked if there were showers in the lounge. “Yes, there are!” she replied.

Great…I would not need to use the paid showers at SFO. I headed in through security, which was fairly light at that hour, then headed to the Silver Kris Lounge, which had the distinction of being the only Star Alliance Lounge in the International Terminal at SFO with showers. The UA Lounge had no showers, despite it being a huge lounge. The EVA Lounge had no showers either.

However, what they didn’t mention at check-in was the fact that there were only two shower rooms in the Silver Kris Lounge, and that the lounge was packed that day.

“Sir, you are number 13 in the queue for the shower.” The lounge receptionist said, with an apologetic look on her face…she had a blank sheet of paper, with seat numbers and names scribbled on it, and she had started her own impromptu queuing system for the showers, to cope with the huge demand.

This was 1 hr 30 minutes to boarding time...given how long folks take to shower, it was doubtful if my turn would ever come…

By the time it came to board SQ1, there were still 2 people in the queue ahead of me to use the showers. There was a boarding announcement made, and passengers began to leave the lounge and head to the gate. They began to close up the lounge.

I headed to the lounge reception. “May I use the showers please? I went for a long run today, and could really use a shower before my flight.” The 2 folks in the shower queue ahead of me had already abandoned plans to take a shower and headed to the gate, and in fact they had just closed the lounge showers. But the nice lady at the reception was very sympathetic, and led me to the shower rooms, handed me a fresh towel, and unlocked one of the shower rooms for me to use.

Great! And just in time too. I luxuriated under the warm shower for a few minutes before changing into a fresh set of comfortable clothing. I thanked the lounge staff once again, and headed straight to the gate for boarding.

[yflyer]

The flight today was operated by 9V-SWW, a very new aircraft, just over one-and-a-half years old, first delivered in March 2014. This Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, designated as a 77WN, had the latest SQ F, J and Y products (No Premium Economy on this aircraft yet, though).



I passed through the Business Class cabin.



The new J seats, laid out 1-2-1 looked great. I’ve not tried these myself, but veteran J travellers on SQ say that these are even more comfortable to sit and sleep on than the previous generation of J seats on the 77W and A380.

[yflyer]

The economy cabin was laid out in a spacious 3-3-3 with SQ’s newest product…



Last row in first Y cabin…



Emex row, 2nd Y cabin…



Bulkhead row, 2nd Y cabin…



Last row, Y cabin…

[yflyer]

The seat had very good seat recline. Subjectively, I felt that the recline on this seat was among the best I have encountered in any economy cabin. The seat base moves slightly forward, and the whole seat pivots slightly backwards to cradle your body when you recline. A very comfortable Y seat. Full marks to SQ there!





Unobstructed legroom, with no IFE box obstructions whatsoever…



Paddle shaped footrest. I find that my feet tend to slide off the oval shaped paddles, but having the footrest definitely helps me find the right sleeping position, so I am glad the footrests have been installed.



Each seat came with large fabric pillow, blanket and earbud headphones.

[yflyer]

Large widescreen full audio-video on demand (AVOD) in-flight entertainment system.



New touchscreen-enabled UI for the IFE.



2 USB ports…

The headphone socket is a 2-pin airline headphone plug which requires an adapter to use with regular headphones.



A/C power in Y, with universal plug that fits US, UK, Australia and European plugs.

[yflyer]

A very long flight across the Pacific Ocean this evening…



…clocking in at 14 hrs 45 minutes. This must be the longest flight I have taken on any 777.

[yflyer]

Amenity kits were distributed…



Time-based in-flight wifi, provided by T-mobile. Very good value, compared to the older data volume based system on the A380 and older 77Ws.





Initial drink service after take-off…they came round with trays of juice, water or beer. I ordered a Gin & Tonic, and this was brought to me a few minutes later.

[yflyer]

Excellent cabin ambience in Y, with a very roomy 3-3-3 layout.





Special meals served first, including a large number of vegetarian meals…



Dinner service…

[yflyer]

Today’s menu…





International selection…



Indian / vegetarian selection…