A Japanese Christmas and a Thai New year.

[drron]

Back to the hotel and about 1330 crossed the road to another branch of the Nara restaurant. Very convenient to the IC. the complementary starter.


And this place has a robot for help as they did in Hong Kong whilst on our last cruise.


We both had coconut slushies. Very refreshing.


And once again the pomelo salad plus deep fried pork larb balls.

 

[drron]

That night in the lounge I tried their Northern Thai curry. Delicious and only slightly spicy.




We were able to have an early breakfast in the club so I had their Pad Thai with fried egg. It was delicious.


And off to BKK as the sun rose.




Got there just as check in opened so no wait. I got the trifecta. Row 2, seat 2G and boarding group 2.


The JAL lounge.




A small buffet and order by numbers dishes.


And my number 4.

 

[drron]

So JL 032 BKK - HND. A 789. really didn't like the seat. Uncomfortable when lying down and my feet couldn't move in the cubby. but it was a day time flight so not a major problem. first the seat.


Then the Beverages.










And the menu.

 

[drron]

This flight did not have an F cabin so it is a J meal. As you would expect I went with the Japanese menu. Not as good as the F selection but still very nice.






I didn't think I would like the dessert being tea flavoured but in fact it was nice.


The flight was uneventful until we were near HND when there was a great view of the sun setting behind Mt. Fuji. However we were in the middle seats and unfortunately just as i focussed the camera a FA came and started talking to the fellow in the window seat so that view was lost. fortunately a bit later the plane turned to the left and Mt. Fuji came into view again. not as good but I could take the pictures.

 

[drron]

We were quickly through immigration and customs. i had all our QR codes but no one wanted to look at them. We have several trips to Japan so i already had the paperwork done for our April and late June. Naturally they have shifted the goal posts. All QR codes done before January 24th will be void and you have to do it all again. And I just love doing extra paper work.

We stay at the Royal Park Haneda just for the convenience. The rooms are very small and to have a view you need to be level 4 or higher. We may try something different the next time.
The other irritation is they don't allow check in before 3pm. and it has to be done on one of the 4 machines they have in the lobby. Checkout is also done on the machines which is a total waste of time and effort as you pay on arrival and all that is needed is a box to drop your keys into.

But on the plus side their are quite a rew restaurants land side on the departures level. Which is where we went. salmon and salmon eggs set for Mrsdrron and fried oyster set for me.




It was quite nice though the dessert was very bland so neither of us finished that.
Walking back to the hotel i spied the VA check in.




The last time we stayed it was the QF checkin we saw after dinner.

The other advantage is you don't have to get out of bed earlier and just a short walk to check in. That next.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

OK my 2 cents worth, the room is small, there is a double bed, and my side is the window side and there is 6 inches between the wall and the bed, so you have to crab walk sideways in and out of the bed, but you do get a nice view of the car park ! .the bathroom is compact but functional !
It is only one night after all ✈✈

 

[drron]

So walked out of the Royal Park and walked up to the JAL checkin as it was opening. Two J agents and 2 couples in front of us. no matter there was no one in the F line so we were called over and soon on our way to the Sakura lounge. First time for many years we don't have access to the F lounge. Oh well it wasn't too bad at all. Good for plane spotting.




The QF plane explains the number of Aussies in the place. most obviously had been skiing. Two quite young fellows looked like they were on their first OS trip. It had only just turned 9am yet they had beers with their scrambled eggs bacon and tomato sauce. One of them returning from his third trip to the buffet came back excited and tells his mate to get back there quick as they had Japanese whisky and you can pour as much as you want. They came back with 2 full glasses each. I was half expecting a News.com article on their antics on QF 26 which was obviously running late that day.
But here is the food and drink available. I started off with their breakfast Bento and then had a bowl of their braised beef without the suggested rice.




Now pictures of the buffet.

 

[drron]

You could also have the classic Japanese curry in the first of these containers. The others had an onion soup and miso soup.




Again a champagne unknown to me.


The beer dispensers along with sake dispensers.




Some taiyaki.


And the western stuff.

 

[drron]

Today it was a JAL 789 with the E71 seat layout. 2-2-2. The A and K seats you have to squeeze in front of the aisle seat to get in. It does in a way feel like a coffin. so Mrsdrron who would normally take the A seat graciously asked me if I would like it. An instaneous yes.


You can see the little opening to get out into the aisle. But time for pushback.


Then a rather long taxi so passed plenty of aircraft.


Including an LH 747.




Saw the new JAL A350-1000.


We had to cross one of the runways. Luckily the Captain obeyed the Stop sign as an Ita bird landed.

 

[drron]

So to the drinks and menu.

 

[drron]

Soon after take off we were in the clouds. My window seat flight wasn't looking exciting.




Fortunately lunch was served so I stopped looking out the window. Again it was the Japanese meal for me. Not as good as the F meal to BKK but still pretty good.






The FA serving me was excellent and we had a few conversations. After I had finished she asked if I would like a cheese plate as well. indeed I would.


I was going to have a port with the cheese but decided instead to have Shochu. I picked the one made from sweet potatos grown on JAL's own farm. The FA was impressed that I had read all about it. Only 25% alcohol but I decided I had better only have one.

 

[drron]

Some time later the clouds started to disappear. and down below was the Philipines.



















.

 

[drron]

Beautiful colours.

 

[drron]

We will be cruising through these waters in March.

 

[drron]

Didn't bother with the snack before arrival. A different approach to SIN that I haven't had before. From the South west. lots of deveopement on small islands which seem to be about to be joined up. It appears a lot will be tied up with the new Jurong port.

 

[drron]

An awful lot of developement going on and lots of evidence of the increasing size of Singapore.








It appears that the barges used bringing in the results of the dredging eventually end up as part of the new land.




Looks like fish traps.




This intrigued me so I researched it. i found this article which I found Interesting.

The Lost Islands of Singapore

When I was reading One For The Road by local writer Julian Davison, an island called “Pulau (Malay for island) Damar” was mentioned. Davison used to visit this island with his family. He recalled w…

chuashuyi.wordpress.com

And a map of the new land added.

 

[drron]

Dry docks.




A Malay fishing village.


And a resort.






And Singapore appears through the smog.

 

[drron]

And up the East Coast Past the Singapore parking lot for ships.


Some were unloading into barges.
















And a golf course.

 

[drron]

A lot of construction.




And an MRT park.




A solar farm.


And close to touchdown. Notice the Virgin bird.

 

[drron]

The military side of SIN.




SQ's patch.


A sad A380.




Then an EK big bird.


And then QF's turn.


And we park in the middle of those 2.