A visit to Singapore, Malaysia and a Quickie in the Philippines!

[Alanslegal]

Having very short legs ...

Where's the feet?

You see part of my feet / shoes but my short legs don't reveal much.

 

[drron]

When you look down and cant see anything it is time to diet.

 

[Alanslegal]

Makati City, Manila

Post check-in and now the time slightly past 3pm. I had a quick shower & change of clothes before heading out to explore a bit of Makati. Makati is a CBD, densely built around office buildings, large hotels and an archipelago of shopping malls. Mall after mall, shop after shop, there was just too much walking around to be done to fill the latter stages of the afternoon. I read lots about the interconnecting malls, the trendy Greenbelt precinct, and not to mention those 'picking up others for a fee' type bars. I walked around quite a fair bit and was occasionally asked by suspicious men who solicited if i wanted to "hire a girl for the night?" Their common word was hire. I declined all requests and continued wandering around.

Some locality shots of Makati City:-

Greenbelt - trendy area with many bars, cafes, restaurants & more shops:-

 

[Alanslegal]

It was now dinner time and I had a look at different types of filipino foods on offer. There were quite a few interesting choices but I felt I wasn't prepared to take a leap and try food which I haven't eaten before. I usually jump into the deep end but today was different.

The moment I saw Bubba Gumps in my view - I knew I just had to go there! I know it isn't filipino but it was a safe choice, a reputable chain of family restaurants from the USA and I've eaten at a few different Bubba Gumps restos. I was warmly welcomed and chose my table, then asked if I knew how their Bubba Gump calling the waiter works. There is two number plates which says Run Forrest Run or iirc the other says Stop Forrest. The Run Forrest Run means the waiter can just continue and ignore you, however if you need table service, you flip it to Stop Forrest and thats the calling sign. Simple but it works.

After a while, I ordered the peanut butter smoothie was my drink, Bubba's Special entree for 2 which had fresh prawns, deep fried prawns, chips, calamari & more - and had the open Bubbas Hamburger as my main. It was really too much food for just me, but by the time I realised, it was too late.

 

[Alanslegal]

After dinner I enjoyed the leisurely stroll around Greenbelt and did some last minute shopping to work off those Bubba Gump calories. It is still very busy at 9pm with lots of people still out shopping and enjoying the night life. I purchase a few packets of dried mangoes to take back to Oz and few bottles of vitamin water. I chose a few bottles which are laced with carnitine - which is a powder which theoretically aids fat reduction and weight loss. Carnitine in my (limited medical) knowledge helps breaks down fatty acids / cells within the body such as the liver and as they are broken down are transported within the blood to be used as energy.

As I finish my shopping I head back to the hotel. There is a lady singer performing in the lobby lounge with her three member band. A small crowd enjoys her popsi-classical singing. I enjoy a refreshing mojito whilst watching her perform. Nice, relaxing, smooth, attentive was her singing. Finishing my drink, I decide to call it a night.


Hotel lobby entrance:-

Elevator lobby:-

 

[Alanslegal]

Leaving Makati

A quick 20hrs later and I'm preparing to leave Makati and the Philippines. I've finished packing and its a quick trip to the Lobby restaurant to enjoy my complimentary buffet breakfast. The place is relatively busy with about half the tables filled. The waitresses are dressed in red tops and black skirts - and are very efficient at work and pleasant to talk to. I order my morning green tea - and make my way to grab some food.

Knowing I have a full day of travel today, I need to eat lightly. I had some cereal, eggs on toasts, fresh fruit and my green tea to cleanse it all down. I was in and out of the restaurant within 20 minutes

I went to my room, retrieved my luggage and checked out. The bellboy signals for a taxi and places my luggage into the shotgun seat whilst I jump into the rear. Off to the airport I am with not too much traffic to contend with on a Sunday morning. I make it to the airport in 20minutes flat and am faced with a huge ruckus out the front. It appears every single person is at the airport this morning - travellers, family, distant relatives, friends, friends of friends, long lost friends. Security staff are trying to disperse non-travellers and set up some form of control. A travellers only line soon forms and I'm about 40th person in line from entering just the airport terminal door. Notices are stuck up near the door that requires passengers to show security staff their passport, plane ticket or e-ticket receipt. As all my tickets are e-tickets I never ever print them out. As the line moves along closer I start to get worried they may not let me into the terminal. I reach the door and kindly tell them that I forgot to print my e-ticket out but here is my passport and I'm flying back home to Oz. The security dragon looks at my passport and lets me inside - phew!

 

[Alanslegal]

The Travel Home : MNL - HKG - BKK - SYD

The ruckus on the outside was almost replicated inside the terminal. There were just so many passengers inside lining up one after the other, strolling large suitcases, carting boxes, chatting, it was really really busy.

With my first flight being on CX I headed straight to their check-in desks and saw at least 50 people lining up in the Y queues. Thankfully, and rarely, I had a J ticket which allowed me to avoid this long wait and enter the empty business line. Well IMO it was really empty because the guy who was in front of me was really was in the wrong line. He presented his ticket to the roving CX staffer and was asked to join the back of the Y queue.

Not having to wait to check-in priceless IMO. It makes travelling so much more relaxing compared to the other alternative of waiting behind xx amount of passengers.

A friendly CX agent greeted me and asked me where I was flying to today. I handed my passport as ID and told her I am going back home to Sydney via Hong Kong then Bangkok. I also asked her to tag my one bag all the way home. After a couple of minutes my bag was tagged through to SYD with business class priority tags. I was given three boarding passes and two CX lounge passes for MNL and HKG.

I proceeded through to Customs and Immigration where there was a departure tax of 750PHP payable! I had only 200PHP cash left as I spent most of it the night before and they did not accept credit cards! Strategically though C&I had foreign exchange counters are the back and a quick exchange of $20AUD did the trick. I paid my dues then did a quick security scan including the taking off the shoes and belt before heading straight for the MNL CX J lounge.

MNL CX J lounge is a small lounge with just as a small range of finger food and beverages. Seating for probably for 40 with little view of the airport tarmac, there were three computers with slow internet connection and likely free WiFi. The lounge does not even have its own toilet facilities and one must go to down the terminal corridor and use the public ones. Although satisfactory it is definitely a much nicer place to be waiting rather than at the boarding gate - then again its probably better to wait in any lounge than at a gate.

The food and drinks display within the lounge:

An announcement is made in the lounge that the flight has been delayed by about 50 minutes due to late arrival of the plane. I start getting a bit anxious because I have a 75minute connection time in HKG and with this delay it is going to be a squeeze to make my connecting CX flight.

I take a stroll to the gate a bit too early because I'm getting anxious and wanted to see if and when boarding is likely to commence. Nothing happens for ten minutes when finally the gatekeeper makes a warm announcement apologising for the delay and that boarding will now start - for OWE, OWS, Marco Polo Diamonds & Golds, and F & J passengers.

Two distinct passenger lines form out of nowhere and I can only see the occasional passenger being let through onto the aerobridge. It seems everyone in the line is as anxious as me to get onboard. As there is no movement I jump the Q and present my boarding pass and am immediately let through by the gatekeepers - better late than never.

The CX 747-400 bird:-

 

[kpc]

Great report Alanslegal!

 

[Alanslegal]

MNL - HKG
CX 906 (747-400)
Business Class - Seat 84K

This is the first leg and start of my OW DCIR22 fare ex-MNL which is basically a simple MNL-xHKG-xBKK-SYD-LAX-NRT-HKG-MNL itinerary. It was ticketed through the very helpful and efficient AA MNL.

Although a regional flight the CX 906 was fitted with the NGBC Herringbone product. I had gone for the more private upper deck J cabin and it was a good choice given only six other passengers were upstairs. On boarding I was directed to go up the stairs where a friendly CX hostess was waiting at the top. I handed my BP and was escorted to my seat and offered a pre-departure drink of either champagne, juice or water. A selection of newspapers were then being offered.

The Herringbone J seats are angled at 45 degrees towards the centre aisle and every passenger has access to the aisle. The high dividing partitions made the seat feel a bit too narrow but practically I thought it was fine even though I feel quite wide myself.

Seat 84K:-

Upper deck J cabin:-

After what seemed like a very quick boarding our plane pushed back and started its taxi towards the runway. I was looking at the IFE clock at all times and we were 51 minutes behind schedule - still having 24 minutes left to connect to my next flight HKG-BKK.

After reaching a safe climbing altitude the seat belt lights dinged off and my car seatbelt style belts quickly came off and lunch was immediately served. With three hostess' in the upper deck serving only seven passengers the food and drinks came out efficiently. The hostesses had a names chart and called everyone by Mr. or Ms. insert surname here at all times which is much more personal than just being called sir or madam.


Starter - Seasonal Fruit;
Main course - Sauteed prawns with tomato and fish sauce, jasmine rice with steamed vegetables;
Dessert - Opera cake with rasberry compote

 

[Alanslegal]

Quick swap of seat from 86K to 4A:

After lunch was complete and 50minutes into the slightly over 2hr flight I had a conversation with one of the flight attendants that I was getting a bit anxious due to the delayed flight and the possibility of missing my next connection in HKG, being CX 751. I advised her that I was already checked in and have my BP, in which she assured me that since I was checked in, CX ground crew would be notified to escort me to the connecting flight and in the worse scenario I would be checked onto their next flight.

Having checked the schedule CX 701 was the next available flight should I miss the original connection however this would arrive into BKK at 5:50pm and give me an impossible 15 minutes period to connect to my BA 9 flight to SYD. I suggested to the lovely CX hostess that if I caught the next flight to BKK I would have difficulty making my last flight home. So with her thinking cap on, she kindly asked if I wanted to go to the empty First Class cabins so that when we land, I could be the first off the plane. This was above and beyond what I was expecting but in the midst of excitement of being sent to the FC cabin I didn't get to capture her name so I could put in a good word to CX customer feedback.

I grabbed my hand carry, walked down the stairs, walked past the half empty main J cabin and into the curtained off section of the FC cabin. I was offered to take any suite that I liked Foolishly I took the first available being 4A but with that chosen I was up on my feet in an instant taking snaps and videos of the cabin.

The new CX First Class Suites were very impressive!! I can't remember the suites in exact details because I was just too excited - being my first time in First Class.

Photos of FC and seat 4A with mood lighting:-

 

[Alanslegal]

Photos just before landing with all window shades raised:-

And I was mightily impressed with the bathroom in First Class. The moment I walked in I noticed the brightness, there are three windows!!!! My photo doesn't do much justice:-

I had a nice chat with another CX hostess who was based in the Philippines. I told her it was my first time in FC and she was really nice and said not many people get to travel FC ever. She said it really over the top and really expensive and suggested $15K USD return HKG-JFK. However if she could afford it she would love to travel in FC with her family and for leisure. She said the only time she has actually experienced FC is when she was allowed to sleep in an empty FC cabin for a few hours during her work break.

She then offered to show me the features of the FC suites from the seats, through to the dining table, and the personal closet space for my jacket. She then went to say if I wanted to sleep a full turn down service is prepared, and a mattress overlay is layed over the flat seat, pillows are brought out and blanket. I did not get to try this but I'd believe it would be one of the best sleeps one could have on a commercial plane.

The cabin had to be prepare for landing so I was left for my own devices, seat up, seat down, looking through one of my four windows, watching the flight map and times carefully. The captain announces that he is in a holding pattern above HKG because of traffic congestion - which adds extra minutes to the not much connection time I have.

We eventually are given clearance to land - land fast - however the taxiing to the gate is slow - it appears any chance of getting on my connecting flight is fading away.

 

[Alanslegal]

the TR continued....

After a slow taxi we arrive at our HKG gate and the time is now just past 2pm local time. Once the cabin doors open a CX ground staff quickly jumps onto the plane & tells the a cabin staff to make an announcement for passengers connecting to BKK or BOM to see ground staff @ the end of the aerobridge. I am one of them. I am first to exit the plane - another first experience to get off the plane first - and quickly tell the ground staff that I'm needing to connect to BKK. I show my BP, am given a green sticker and told to wait around so all the connecting passengers can be escorted for immediate boarding. There is about 15 other passengers connecting to BKK and another handful connecting straight through to BOM via BKK.

It's now 2:10pm and the schedule is for a 2:15pm departure. Time is of the essence and as a group we briskly walk to our awaiting flight. Its quickly through final security inspection / scanning prior to the gate and then down onto the aerobridge before hopping onboard and greeted by the ever so welcoming CX flight hostesses.


HKG - BKK
CX 751
Business Class - Seat 86K

Very similar to my previous flight I am again seated in the upper deck J cabin and in seat 86K, in the NGBC layout. A much needed glass of water is offered and I quickly gulp it down to cool myself down a little after my rush-rush-rush to this flight. As the cabin crew prepares the plane for departure and the remaining connecting passengrs settle in, the captain announces that the flight is further delayed flight due to the bad weather and congested traffic and that we are expecting some interesting turbulence. I don't like turbulence and I really don't like flying through clouds. Some people compare clouds like soft cotton wool or white fairy floss and would make an excellent place for sleep - but for me it may mean lots of bumps & sweaty palms!

The plane eventually pushes back before making its way to its runway - I'm not good with runway names / codes such as 35R or 23L or east-west - a runway is a runway to me but I guess I might spend sometime one day learning some of these terms just for referencing next time.

After lift off and reaching a nice cruising altitude the cabin crew jumps into action. The upper deck is about half full and with three staff on service, meals and drinks are in a flash!

I can't remember what I ate exactly but it must have been apple something for the starter, curried lamb & lentils on rice, ice cream for dessert. I usually don't take notes for TR's as I like to prepare them impromptu'ly and type as I go on AFF - posting them immediately as I complete each segment.

A quick 120minutes of flying time later we make our descent into BKK. A trademark of Bangkok is the city skyline in the distance which is hidden under the thick blankets of smog, the old shack houses and paddies lining up by the side of huge highways - appearing to grow constantly. I feel a bit sad because it is only a transit stop and I much regret not making BKK as a stopover. I would have liked to visit the trendy BarSu @ the Sheraton Grande Hotel Sukhumvit and enjoy a few complimentary drinks with the super fun bartenders. Next time I'd say!

I disembark promptly and make my way to the BKK QP for a 90 minute wait before my final flight. Despite the BKK QP being relatively busy, with BA9 and QF2 departing both within the hour, there is still enough empty seat to plant myself. Standard finger food, sandwiches, rolls, fruit and beverages on offer. QP internet is really slow and I'm having trouble logging onto nrl.com.au to find out who has won the NRL grand final.

BKK QP's offerings:-

 

[Alanslegal]

As departure time nears announcements are made advising passengers to now go to the gate for boarding. In addition, announcements specifically advising about the liquid bans and how a final inspection would be undertaken just prior to boarding - so I extrapolate that its best practice to hand over any recently bought duty free alcohol to the QP dragons as gifts or risk them being confiscated at the gate.

I make my way leisurely to the gate where British Airways flight number 9 is awaiting to take me and many passengers to SYD. I am quickly passed through security / liquids inspection, then present my BP I obtained in MNL to the CX staff and am directed to stroll up the empty aerobridge as most passengers are already are onboard. There's a few others behind me now but they must've followed me from the QP.


BKK - SYD
BA9
Club World - Seat 63K

I'm again in the upper deck cabin but this time with the new BA Club World layout where some seats are rear-facing. I am actually in one and I believe all the rear facing seats on the UD occupy the window and side storage positions. Lots of nooks and crannies to to stow my gear; my dSlr and p&s camera, wallet, passport, books, magazines, coins, amenities kit, etc.

I much like the privacy of this seat where I can pretty much not see another passenger (if I chose) for the entire flight. I find the seat wide enough for me and feel very much enclosed yet not as enclosed such as the CX herringbone seats. The seat turns into a perfectly lie flat position but as a really poor sleeper on any flight I only make use of this position for about three hours. I much prefer the sideways Z configuration where I recline back 45 degrees, feet on the lowered footrest, and I can cosily watch IFE all flight long. (Too bad BA IFE is of much lesser quality compared to QF and CX).

We taxi to the runway on schedule before the jets are levered to full thrust and I'm trying to keep myself planted in my rear facing seat. My feet is my support and stopping me from falling out; definitely a different perspective of a take off.

 

[drron]

Nice toe shot.

 

[Alanslegal]

Reaching a cruising altitude the two female flight attendants on the upper deck commence their routine. Flight attendant number 1 (FA1) is probably in her 30's, friendly, always smiling and definitely shows a willingness to provide good service. Flight attendant number 2 (FA2) on the other hand is probably in her mid 20's, non friendly, non smiling and definitely showing a willingness to be anywhere but this flight.

FA1 was serving out entrees and was courteous and warm. After placing my entree on my table, I started taking photos of the entree as well as other creative compositions using my newly acquired dSLR camera, this is where FA2 comes into place and is definitely not happy that I'm busy taking photos and not paying attention to her. She is impatiently wanting to offer me a bread roll. Offer me a bread roll is an exxageration as there was no offer - all she wanted to do quickly shove it to me and leave.

FA1 and FA2 were complete contrasts. FA2 believed she was a princess - but as far as I'm concerned, she takes the the #1 honour of being a glorified waitress in the sky. Yes, I would expect that good and hard working hostesses will take offense at being called a glorified waitress but FA2 really deserved that title.


Entree; Mozzarella cheese, sun dried tomatoes and grilled artichokes with pesto, served with seasonal salad;

Mains; Seared salmon with linguini pasta tossed in alfredo sauce;

Dessert; Camemburt cheese, crackers, & Port.

After meal service, lights were dimmed and prepared for sleep. I guess its a good time for the hostesses to go and hide in the galley

 

[Alanslegal]

After watching much of nothing IFE other than the flight map, I ended up in the lay flat position and had a few hours of snooze. I woke up about 75minutes before landing into SYD was promptly served breakfast, which consisted of pastry, fresh fruits, yoghurt, a blended fruit smoothie and coffee.

One of the issues I had with the rear facing seats is that you may need to climb over the passenger behind if their seat is in the fully flat position. I later discovered that if I squeeze myself between my seat and the window I could reach the exit row vacant space and bypass any seat climbing act - this worked well.

We landed into SYD in a bit earlier than expected after flying with a 200mph tailwind - well thats what the flight map was saying. Landing backwards was all too easy - all I had to do was just sit there! As the reverse thrust was applied my back gently pushed into my seat back, again this was too easy! Disembarking was a process itself as UD passengers had to merge at the bottom of the stairs with other passengers and there was a bit of a pedestrian jam. Finally into the terminal before the standard formalities take place of Immigration, Baggage and then Customs. I use the computerised immigration lane where I get my face scanned by a camera and then compares this with my digital photo embedded in my PP. I pass with first go.

I head to the baggage claim and await for my one checked luggage - I have a feeling that my luggage has missed my connecting flight in HKG earlier - and this becomes a reality as I'm the last person at the baggage claim and everyone on my flight has long gone. I'm not too worried at a delayed bag given that I'm home sweet home but if this was the start of my trip - then I'd be one upset guy. I lodge a delayed bag report at BA delayed baggage and am advised that it is likely to be delayed in HKG and should arrive into SYD within 24hours.

I go home for a bit of rest and recovery after a solid 24 hours of travelling. I could have taken the easier 8 or so hour MNL to SYD flight on QF but decided to go for a bit of a mini-circle asia via HKG and BKK just to get some extra points, SC's and have a few more flights just for fun.

Six hours after lodging my delayed bag, a courier presents at my front door and hands over my luggage - and with my returned bag brings my trip finally to an end.


--{{thank Q for all the replies,comments,and taking the time to read this TR, hope you found it enjoyable or what not, I certainly enjoyed reminiscing and typing it all up - Till my next quick TR - happy travelling}}--

 

[serfty]

... One of the issues I had with the rear facing seats is that you may need to climb over the passenger behind if their seat is in the fully flat position. I later discovered that if I squeeze myself between my seat and the window I could reach the exit row vacant space and bypass any seat climbing act - this worked well. ...

It's for this reason the rear bulkhead facing window seats are much coveted in Club World. Passenger in these seats have their can enter and exit as they like using a small passage behind the adjacent aisle seats - Upper deck these are 64A/K.

 

[Keith009]

Excellent TR mate, thoroughly enjoyable. Like you I also type my TRs spontaneously though still take far too long as I procrastinate so much.

 

[JohnK]

Very enjoyable trip report.

We must have been in Singapore at the same time. I was transitting on the night of the Grand Prix. Early night so did not get up to any mischief....

 

[Evan]

Very enjoyable trip report.

We must have been in Singapore at the same time. I was transitting on the night of the Grand Prix. Early night so did not get up to any mischief....

John,
Thats only because i was stuck in China, if i had been in Singapore for sure i would have made you go out
E