A Japanese Christmas and a Thai New year.

[drron]

Once more about the longest walk from our gate to Immigration. Despite that and the EK 389 still having passengers get off when we reached the end of the airbridge there were no lines at the Automatic gates so straight through but just missed one Skytrain. Easy checkin at the CP Changi with a delightful agent and up to our room. I always book a standard king in the Jewel wing but upgraded to a pool view room in the original wing. the view.




And you do get to see some of the action.


And the note for changing bed linen here is more specific. The bed is made every day but linen only changed by request. Not applicable for us as we only stop one night.


The renovations are complete and the walk into the CP from the departures hall certainly has been improved.





And finally our night view.

 

[drron]

On this stay we had lounge access for the first time. The lounge is brand new and we were the only guests for most of the time. A family with a very noisy 2 year old came in later but fortunately didn't stay long.

 

[drron]

Slept well and didn't have to wake early as a night flight home. Had a late checkout of 2pm.
So back to the lounge for breakfast.
















plus hot dishes so I had the eggs Benedict. not the best but not the worst.

 

[drron]

Had a lazy morning and checked outat 1400. Ans Indigo crew arrived and despite a line for check in/ check out they wanted to be served first. another agent came out and told them to sit down and he would bring their keys to them.
We were then allowed into the lounge and left at 1600. Then out to the departures floor and caught the Skytrain to T1.
Some nice decorations on arrival into T1,











And a place we must try one day.


We got to the checkin a bit before 1630 and a sign up saying it would open at 1705. But I did notice a small sign saying early checkin for BA12,15 and 16 in row 8 desk 8. So round we went and there were 2 check in agents and only 1 passenger so we were checked in straight away and then off to the BA lounge.

 

[drron]

No problems with Immigration and to the BA lounge. The woman on the desk insisted on taking us to the "Bar". The F section within the BA lounge. not surprisingly we were the only ones there although the F cabin was full. Neither of us was feeling hungry and they had plenty of wine which was kept topped up by the woman staffing this section. It is dark and dingy. No windows and we virtually always go to the general part of the lounge and will do so in future.








We left a little early for the gate. there is a premium line for the gate security but no attempt to police it and both lines were the same lenth. The one we chose naturally had a family who had no idea what to do and took ages. A little more anxiety when mrsdrron realised she had left her glasses in the tray. I walked back and an agent picked up the glasses saying i guess you are coming back for these..

Although we were in group 1 it was the usual bun rush. I believe group 1 should be for F pax only particularly those paying for the privilege. We were the first pax in F even though about 20th to board.
And to the seat. Personally I like it. A long enough bed and quite comfortable. though a bit short on storage and unlike JAL on both our first and business class flights you can't have anything on the floor for take off.




Plus duct tape on the seat across the aisle.

 

[drron]

So to the menu.






And the wines.








For the PDB I had the Red Snapper and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After take off I had a glass of the English bubbles and again quite liked it.
For the meal my first glass was the Rioja which was very good but I switched to the French red and it was much smoother so stayed with that.

 

[bPeteb]

Love a red snapper or two

 

[Ade]

Yet another excellent TR @drron and @mrs.dr.ron Thoroughly enjoyed reading all your adventures

Contrary to what most tourists do, which is to visit the famous sites, you seem to have explored a lot of places that are truly local to the city you are in. This is a great thing.

 

[drron]

Thank you for your kind words @Ade . That is exactly what I try to do. Capture the real essence of a city. One of my lasting memories is visiting Bangkok in 1999. Se went with a couple that are good friends of ours and a woman who owned the Best Thai restaurant in Ca;oundra. We were staying in the Sheraton on the river and looking out at an abandoned building that eventually became the Millenium Hilton. It was actually started in 1995 and was going to be a Sofitel but the builders went bankrupt in the Asian Financial Crisis in 97/98. There were many "ghost " buildings.

Thai ghost buildings given new life

Thailand's financial crisis is a distant memory as property developers return to the capital, write Beth Jinks and Laurent Malespine.

www.afr.com

One day the two males decided to catch a ferry across the river and explore the other side which was undeveloped. It was a wonderful time. We stopped and had a beer and got talking to a group of Thai merchant seaman. then on the way back my friend who just loves vintage machinery found a fellow with his mini factory on the ground floor of his house. He made plastic bottle tops. so he went in to investigate. His daughter was home and she spoke perfect English. She worked for PWC as our son did at the time so their was a bond between us. A fascinating couple of hours because we dared to go where tourists don't.

But now time to try and finish off this TR.
The food on the BA flight. Starting off with a picture of the Red Snapper and then the canapes.




For an appetiser I had the Tom yum soup and surprisingly it was very good.


However the main dish we both had was the lamb with a side of veggies.




The lamb was as tough as old boots. Mrsdrron did worse. her potatoes were black in the middle. the crew took photos and said they sent them to management and the caterers.
I had the cheese plate as my dessert and it was very good.

 

[drron]

After that actually did get to sleep for a short time. I declined Breakfast. Arrived into Sydney just after 0600. This time we were beaten in by QF1 so Immigration was a little slow. We thought things would be fine but we didn't allow for the Sydney baggage handlers.
Down to the carousel at 0620. At 0645 the first bags appeared. Probably about 60% of the bags came out and the carousel stopped. The air tag was no good as it was still saying it was in T1 SIN. I was about to go to baggage services when my phone pinged and the air tag said it was with us. the carousel restarted and our bag with quite a few more priority tagged bags appeared. Out by 0740.

Picked up our rental car and drove to Centennial Park where I had breakfast at the Spruce Goose.




I had arranged for early check in at the IC Double Bay at 1300. So a bit of a nap in the car before going to the hotel. nice flower arrangement in the arrival level.


A very efficient checkin and soon up to our room.










It is showing it's age.
Our view on to Cross street.

 

[drron]

We went early to the Club lounge and that is in a new position and very nice.




We didn't have much as we were having dinner with our family both nights. They do have 2 hot dishes each night you can order. this was for the first night.


And some of the buffet.




And a selection of the breakfast dishes.








And egg dishes which we did not bother with.
The sevice. The staff member who looked after us on the 2 nights was on her first 2 shifts working for IHG. She had been trying to get a job for a while as her best friend works here. she has already decided she doesn't want to leave.
All the staff were excellent and just like the IC Bangkok they were all happy and all loved the GM. A great sign of a well managed business.

 

[drron]

All that was left to do was to fly home on QF. As this was one of the BKK return special fares we had to fly to BNE instead of MCY but we were in J.
No problems with security just the usual pat down because of my Knee replacement.
I no longer worry about eating in the J lounges as the offerings are unchanging and not particularly inviting. So just a couple of coffees.
And for our last flight QF was in their usual form but only an hour and a half late.

Service though was very good. Not much time to do anything else but have lunch. Because of the delay wine was available.
Mrsdrron had a chicken dish which was described as coming with a rice salad. Didn't look great but she said it was tasty.


I had a tomato and basil soup on Risoni. Nice taste.


And at BNE our bag was one of the first out so quickly into the limo for our ride home.


Next extravaganza begins in March with 3 days in Bali and then a cruise to Japan wit a second cruise around Japan. A few days in Kawaguchigo to once again try to get a good view of Fuji. Then a week in Bangkok before returning home.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for putting in all the effort to prepare this TR. Very interesting as usual.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Thanks @drron look forward to your next journey 🛳

 

[bPeteb]

Thanks as ever for another amazing tr @drron and @mrsdrron

 

[I love to travel]

@drron thanks for the comments regarding Bangkok hotels that are under Marriott. It sound like Sheraton is better than Westin for club rooms especially if you are a light sleeper? Any other Marriott recommendations? Also do you recall what time BA check in opened in Sydney? Thanks

 

[drron]

The Sheraton definitely was the best but we had a stay 2 years ago now and the long serving GM had retired during Covid. his ideas were not appreciated by us. It was our 101st stay. Check on Flyertalk as still regulars posting there. It did not have an executive lounge. It did have a private breakfast in the Italian restaurant that was great but on our last visit the new GM had put several tables outside and extended the buffet. Not nearly as good.
The Westin has dark corridors and you do have a problem of Saturday nights as they have a pool party for guests and non guests. It does have an executive lounge which is often crowded so get there early but a decent food and wine selection and the kitchen staff do a great job replenishing the buffet. Also the GM, Robert. is out and around and easy to talk to. He visits the lounge every day he is on duty. if you decide to stay there PM me and will give you some details.
The Royal Orchid Sheraton is good with upgrades but a large hotel and even though a large lounge it is virtually always packed. However not a bad place for tourists by the river.
Marquis Queens park Marriott. We stayed there once on a Luxury escapes and they honoured my platinum status. Had a bit of a problem at check in and the GM overheard. Gave us a suite upgrade. There are 2 towers with a lounge in each. Was pretty good. Don't bother with the breakfast restaurant huge selection but truly one of the most crowded ones I have visited. The GM was an Australian and as well as the suite upgrade gave us a complimentary limo to the airport.

Then there is the Athenee, Le Meridean and the St. Regis that all have their fans but usually more expensive as is the SGS. The Royal Orchid is often a fair bit cheaper, Their are quite a few others of the slightly more down market brands. We have only stayed in the 4 I have detailed.

 

[I love to travel]

The Sheraton definitely was the best but we had a stay 2 years ago now and the long serving GM had retired during Covid. his ideas were not appreciated by us. It was our 101st stay. Check on Flyertalk as still regulars posting there. It did not have an executive lounge. It did have a private breakfast in the Italian restaurant that was great but on our last visit the new GM had put several tables outside and extended the buffet. Not nearly as good.
The Westin has dark corridors and you do have a problem of Saturday nights as they have a pool party for guests and non guests. It does have an executive lounge which is often crowded so get there early but a decent food and wine selection and the kitchen staff do a great job replenishing the buffet. Also the GM, Robert. is out and around and easy to talk to. He visits the lounge every day he is on duty. if you decide to stay there PM me and will give you some details.
The Royal Orchid Sheraton is good with upgrades but a large hotel and even though a large lounge it is virtually always packed. However not a bad place for tourists by the river.
Marquis Queens park Marriott. We stayed there once on a Luxury escapes and they honoured my platinum status. Had a bit of a problem at check in and the GM overheard. Gave us a suite upgrade. There are 2 towers with a lounge in each. Was pretty good. Don't bother with the breakfast restaurant huge selection but truly one of the most crowded ones I have visited. The GM was an Australian and as well as the suite upgrade gave us a complimentary limo to the airport.

Then there is the Athenee, Le Meridean and the St. Regis that all have their fans but usually more expensive as is the SGS. The Royal Orchid is often a fair bit cheaper, Their are quite a few others of the slightly more down market brands. We have only stayed in the 4 I have detailed.

Thanks that has been really helpful.