Destination Wedding! SQ to Bali, Conrad Nusa Dua, Room4Dessert, Babi Guling Pak Dobil

[yflyer]

Destination Wedding! SQ to Bali/Denpasar in Boeing 787-10 Y, Conrad Bali Nusa Dua, Room4Dessert, Warung Babi Guling Pak Dobil

Index

1. Introduction
2. Changi AIrport T2
3. SQ Krisflyer Gold Lounge
4. SQ936 SIN-DPS in Boeing 787-10 Economy
5. Conrad Bali Nusa Dua
6. Room4Dessert
7. A Wedding at the Conrad
8. Balinese Roast Pig at Warung Babi Guling Pak Dobil
9. Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar
10. Tujuwan Lounge
11. SQ947 DPS-SIN in Boeing 787-10 Economy
12. Final Reflections

[yflyer]

Introduction

Earlier this month, I flew to Bali on Singapore Airlines to attend my nephew's wedding. While destination weddings are far from uncommon, this was the first time that Mrs yflyer and I had travelled to Bali for such an occasion. We had Miss yflyer no.2 in tow, and many of our relatives were also headed there, travelling mainly from Singapore, but several from as far off as the UK.

It was a lovely wedding, held at a picturesque resort, the Conrad Bali in Nusa Dua, which was also where we stayed. While in Bali, we took the opportunity to travel from Nusa Dua to Ubud, just for half a day, to see a few of the sights as well as dine at Room4Dessert, the Balinese outpost of American celebrity Chef Will Goldfarb. We also took the opportunity to sample Babi Guling, or Balinese Roast Pig, at one of the most famous places in Nusa Dua for this local delicacy, Warung Babi Guling Pak Dobil.

We flew there and back on Singapore Airlines. This was a great opportunity to check out their current short haul cabin product and catering. Both flights were operated by Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners, and were 100% full both ways (And this was supposedly low season!).

Interested? Read on!

[yflyer]

SQ936 SIN-DPS was an 8.20am departure, which meant we had a very early start to the day. We arrived at Changi T2 at 6.35am.



As far as passenger areas are concerned, T2 looks to have been fully reopened, and the terminal looks really good.



There is now a large video screen waterfall in the main departure hall.



The SQ check-in area, with check-in kiosks for Y pax...



As Krisflyer Gold, I headed to the Premium / Gold check-in counters, which were not busy...



Passport checks are now automated...simply scan your passport at the kiosk and look at the cameras for facial recognition. A fairly quick process (When Singaporeans re-enter the country, there isn't even a need to scan the passport, just a look at the camera is enough. Impressive!).

The airside area...



The robot bartender at the duty free shop was taking a break...

[yflyer]

I headed straight for the Krisflyer Gold Lounge...



The lounge was not busy at 7am...



Ample seating was available...



A/C and USB charging at each seat...

[yflyer]

Two wines on offer, a French Red and an Australian White...



I wish SQ would include a sparkling wine in ther Krisflyer Gold lounges.

The liquor selection...



Cass Beer from South Korea on tap...



Sandwiches and yogurt...



Bread pudding...



Really appetising looking sausages and scrambled eggs...



Dim sum in a steamer...



Char siew pau...



Chwee kueh...



Self service SilverKris Lounge signature laksa!

[yflyer]

There were also vegetarian stir fried mee tai bak...



Pea upmarket and sambar...



Chicken meatballs in lemon sauce, and cabbage...



I had a bowl of shredded duck congee, washed down with Cass Beer...



There was also a work zone and restroom/shower facilities in this lounge.

On the whole, this was a decent enough lounge prior to a regional flight, although it is probably due for refresh sooner rather than later.

I thought the catering selection was pretty good, with lots of hot food, and many really tasty dishes.

The drink selection was ok, but is it too much to ask for sparkling wine to be added to the drink line-up? It doesn't have to be Champagne, a Prosecco, Cava or any Australian or NZ sparkling wine would work too!

[yflyer]

Our gate was F59, at the far end of the terminal, so we left the lounge fairly early for the longish trek to the gate.

There were many airside F&B options at T2.



Even without lounge access, I think I would have been able to eat and drink very well in the T2 airside area.



Some of the T2 public lounging/rest zones can rival lounge facilities in other airports.

[yflyer]

Changi Airport is world famous for it's many water features and fish ponds, however they've gone one better and even installed video ceiling above the actual fishponds in T2...



Everyone was stopping at this installation to take selfies and wefies...



A very eye-catching installation...

[yflyer]

Part of the long walk to gate F59. I still haven't gotten over the airport's choice of T2 carpeting...

[yflyer]

Taking us to Denpasar today was SIA's Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner rego 9V-SCV. This was a very new plane, only delivered in November 2023.



At the gate, signs informing pax to fill up an electronic customs declaration form.



In fact, to enter Bali, not one but four different web forms had to be completed, yielding 4 different QR codes. In addition to the electronic customers declaration form, you would also need the electronic visa/visa waiver application form, an electronic health declaration form, as well as a "Love Bali" tourist tax, which had to be paid online. It took a lot of time on my part to fill them all up, but we would discover later that it was well worth the time and effort: if you had all 4 QR codes/forms with you (ideally in hardcopy form), then arrival formalities were a breeze.

We pre-boarded when they called for Krisflyer/Star Gold...



Headphones by the aerobridge (Forget them and bring your own).



Inside, a bright, new economy class cabin, in 3-3-3 layout.



Regulars on SQTalk will know I am not really a fan of 9-abreast on a 787...



...but somehow, SQ has done a very nice job with the 787-10 cabin, and the seats felt reasonably comfortable, especially for a 2+ hour sector...



Seat pitch was ok, with no underseat obstructions.



There were no legrests fitted.



Recline was generous by Y standards.



A very comfortable seat for a sector of this length.

[yflyer]

Emex row seats had lots of legroom...



Passageway for pax to cross between the 2 aisles...



Note that row 57 has the dreaded windowless window seats...



Bathrooms were located just behind row 57...



These were stocked with amenities, such as toothbrushes...

[yflyer]

My seat was 56A -- a rare occasion to fly in a window seat. I am usually an Aisle person, but since Mrs yflyer and Miss yflyer no.2 were travelling with me, I plonked myself in the window seat. They wouldn't mind me clambering over them to head to the restroom, would they?



Having recently stared at an empty Scoot seatback for hours on end, it was so nice to experience SQ's state of the art IFE again.



2 hours 11 minutes flight time from Singapore to Denpasar today. Apart from the super clear and sharp widescreen, there was USB charging available, as well as physical buttons for light and attendant call.



Cup holder and fold out tray table with vanity mirror.



A/C power at the base of the seat.



In the seat pocket: duty free catalog, safety card, and wifi card. Still no SilverKris magazine. (Sob!)



Complimentary inflight wifi for all Krisflyer members. Fantastic!

[yflyer]

The cabin crew came round with trays of steaming hot towels...



To me, hot towel service is a cherished ritual when flying SQ. I missed this so much during the pandemic, and was ecstatic when they brought it back...

[yflyer]

Pushback and taxi on a cloudy morning. Also parked at T2, all in a row, were a trio of 787's: ANA to Tokyo, United on the long hop to San Francisco, and Air Canada's new nonstop to Vancouver....



Take-off on Runway 27C, with nice views of the T5 construction zone out the left side windows...



Views of Tanah Merah Ferry terminal and beyond...



We overflew Batam as we climbed out. There were nice views of Batam International Airport out the left side windows.



I was not familiar with this airport, but when I looked up Wikipedia and this article, I learned that Batam airport has the longest runway in Indonesia, and the 3rd longest in SEA, at 4025m, long enough to handle 747's and A380's, because of it's original development to handle diversions from Changi Airport. It is now also an operating base facility for Lion Air.

I dimmed my windows to shield my seat from the bright sunlight coming from the East...



We were soon at cruising altitude...

[yflyer]

While awaiting meal service, I checked out the IFE. There was a great selection of movies, TV and music.



As this was F1 season, with the Singapore Grand Prix taking place that month, there were special F1 related shows on Krisworld (In fact the F1 race takes place later this evening, as I write this TR)...



Apart from the latest Hollywood and international movie and TV selections, there was a large section of Singapore features...



...as well as live TV...



...including CNN and other news channels...