Bali and beyond

[LadyC]

To make up for some of the excesses of the trip, we had a brief visit to the gym which had a broad range of equipment (in good condition).

 

[LadyC]

We also made a pitstop at the pool which is located on Level 6. We visited later in the day and found it a bit windy. The pool is not heated (or didn't seem to be) so although KL is hot, the wind made the pool water feel a bit cool for my liking.

To our surprise there were actually two pools. One is supposed to be for the hotel and the other for the St. Regis Residence guests but there wasn't any separation or policing of the areas when I was there.

 

[LadyC]

Breakfast was in their main restaurant, the Brasserie. There was a solid buffet offering of both Asian (congee, various curries) and Western (salads, cold meats, yoghurt and fruits) options and you could also order off a menu the usual suspects of egg, pancakes, waffles etc. I note that as Malaysia is predominantly Muslim, there were no pork offerings. They did have something called beef bacon but we didn't try it.

Waffles


Eggs cocotte


The quality of the food was high and the service was efficient and helpful. The coffee was pretty good too!

 

[LadyC]

Sunday brunches at hotels seem to be a thing in KL. St Regis offer a jazz lunch on a Sunday and this worked well for us so we decided to attend (note they call it brunch but it doesn't start until lunch time). With a European flavour, they serve lots of delicious seafood, terrines, cooked meats and vegetables as well as a large selection of cheeses. Lots of miniature desserts as well as a popcorn machine and an ice cream stand. They also had a short made to order menu.

Fresh oysters await....

The seafood bar


Various cured salmons and terrines


Hot dishes


Roast meats

 

[LadyC]

Fruits



Cheese heaven


Dessert




The menu


Although not cheap (at approximately $100AUD per head although MasterC was free), we really enjoyed our lunch and had a good crack at getting value for money. Again, the quality of the food was high and there was a diverse enough food offering that we felt it was a fair price.

 

[LadyC]

The time had come for us to start our journey home. After breakfast and trying to pack everything into the suitcase, we checked out of the hotel. St Regis have a shuttle bus that runs across to KL Sentral. We hopped on this to catch the KL Ekspres to the airport. Very helpfully, there is the ability to check in at the train station (similar to in HKG) if you are flying with either Malaysian Airlines or Malindo. Even more helpful was the fact that they were able to check us in for our QF flight later that day. I bought our train tickets on line a few weeks earlier. They are slightly cheaper if you buy on line and you just have to nominate the day you wish to travel.


We arrived at the airport and could head straight through to immigration having already checked in. We happily clutched our premium/express pass vouchers as we entered the immigration hall and looked from the general slow moving queue with over 100 people in it, then across to the express queue with 2 people in it. The paid J flight with MH definitely felt like value at that point. A few minutes later and we were on the other side and heading towards the MH regional lounge.


The MH regional lounge is quite large and spacious and was fairly quiet when we were there. There is a coffee bar, drinks fridge as well as some simple hot and cold food offerings. Although I didn’t partake in any food, the Gentleman did and it seemed of an average quality. The bathroom was also large and clean and it is worth noting there are showers available in the lounge.


Curries

Salads and fruit

Sandwiches
Drinks

The Lounge - dining area


The Lounge

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Once the seat belt signs were switched off, the crew came around to take drinks and dinner orders. I found the meal service very slow in comparison to SQ. it took about 30 minutes for drinks to be served and another 30 for the entree. It was about another 45 minutes for mains and we were being served early (some passengers in J were being served their main meal about 30 minutes after us).

Pfft!! That's positively supersonic compared to service in First!!

 

[LadyC]

MH605 KUL - SIN J

MH605 departs at 3.30pm abd we travelled in a 737 again. The flight across to SIN was quick and painless. Bad weather in SIN created a small delay on reaching the airbridge and disembarking. The plane was quite full and they served beverages and a small snack in the short 50 minute flight.

The seat


Obligatory foot room photo


Fruit salad snack

 

[LadyC]

Qantas Singapore Lounge

After disembarking, we made our way across to Terminal 1 to visit the newly refurbished Qantas lounge. It was our first visit to the lounge in many years, so much so I cannot recall what the old one was like. Arriving not long after 5pm, the lounge had a solid number of visitors already but we managed to find a space for the 3 of us to sit. The lounge got busier as more passengers arrived to spend some time before their AU departures.

There was a reasonable offering of food at the lounge, whether snacks, hot food or the all day dining bar. They also have a 'kids menu' with old favourites such as chips and nuggets on offer.

Salads


Fruits


Anyone for a drink?


One of the items on the all day dining menu was a lemongrass broth with chicken meatballs - both the Gentleman and I gave it a try and thought it was tasty.

 

[LadyC]

QF36 SIN - MEL J

MasterC was quite excited that we were traveling on the A380 and that we were going to be sitting upstairs. We were late in departing due to the plane being late incoming due to bad weather in SIN. There is a supper offering on this flight as many passengers don't want a big meal and just want to go to sleep quickly.

The J cabin


My seat for the flight



The menu


Pyjamas


Toiletry bags were also offfered and the same as those on our flight to DPS.

Both MasterC and I decided to have the cheese plate. The Gentleman decided to go straight to sleep, although that eluded me for a while.

The cheese plate


After falling asleep around 10.30pm SIN time (approximately 2 or so hours after take off), i woke up at about 12am SIN time with that feeling. You know it that one in your stomach which tells you it is very unhappy with its contents. I hoped it would pass but it was not to be. After relieving my stomach of its contents, I delicately approached the FAs to dispose of said bag and to locate more in case they were required. Although they are less than pleased to see me (or the bag more specifically), they were helpful in providing me with more bags, water and cold towels.

I managed to get some more sleep before waking up again with the same sensation and issues. I declined any breakfast and MasterC luckily had managed to sleep through most of this. The Gentleman, however, woke up and advised that he too was feeling nauseous. Luckily we were on the final leg of our trip and not at the beginning and would soon be home.

After successfully convincing the cabin crew we were not carrying a new version of avian bird flu and there was no need for Quarantine to take us of the plane, it was not long until we will landed. A quick journey through immigration and customs had us on our way through and heading home.

Thanks for reading. I promise to get a better phone camera for my next trip report and watch out for that pesky chicken!

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for the very interesting TR.

 

[VPS]

Thanks for the TR - sounds like Bali has changed a lot since the 80s but lots of other places I want to go to

 

[amaroo]

Nice report - thanks for posting. Sorry to read about the tummy upset.... it happens.

What's next?

 

[LadyC]

Nice report - thanks for posting. Sorry to read about the tummy upset.... it happens.

What's next?

Yes, haven't had a tummy bug in a while but just glad it was at the end of the trip and not in the middle. Took a few days to recover from.

2019 travel plans currently comprise:
- To Perth over the Easter long weekend to visit the outlaws
- To Freycinet over the Anzac long weekend
- Europe for 4 weeks (Istanbul, Athens, Budapest, Vienna and Paris) ending with a few days in Bali
- Two possibilities for Christmas 2019 - either Europe or Asia - probably Asia as we think MasterC isn't ready for the full snow experience yet. Maybe SGN and BKK before some more Bali R&R.

I will revisit your Istanbul/Athens TR but tips welcome for any of those locations.

What are your 2019 travel plans or still to decide?

 

[Guvner]

Was that Gentleman wearing thongs in the Qantas lounge? quell'horror!

 

[LadyC]

Was that Gentleman wearing thongs in the Qantas lounge? quell'horror!

Yes that Gentleman was....however he is not the Gentleman! Phew

 

[amaroo]

Yes, haven't had a tummy bug in a while but just glad it was at the end of the trip and not in the middle. Took a few days to recover from.

2019 travel plans currently comprise:
- To Perth over the Easter long weekend to visit the outlaws
- To Freycinet over the Anzac long weekend
- Europe for 4 weeks (Istanbul, Athens, Budapest, Vienna and Paris) ending with a few days in Bali
- Two possibilities for Christmas 2019 - either Europe or Asia - probably Asia as we think MasterC isn't ready for the full snow experience yet. Maybe SGN and BKK before some more Bali R&R.

I will revisit your Istanbul/Athens TR but tips welcome for any of those locations.

What are your 2019 travel plans or still to decide?

Nice! You'll love Athens and Istanbul ..... if you have any questions please ask - very happy to contribute my 2c worth.

As for us .... trips already booked:
- Barossa / ADL next week..... hangover from a trip we started back in June. Don't really want to go but it's booked and paid for.
- Wellington and another luxury NZ lodge in March
- 3 weeks driving around Scotland with stopovers in London / Paris in April/May

Discussed, but not booked yet:
- Something for a sweet 16 in June ..... not sure maybe an Asian long weekend
- Something for a 25th Wedding anniversary in October ..... thinking San Fran / Seattle
- Xmas ?? Thinking Patagonia

 

[LadyC]

[QUOTE="amaroo, post: 1895979, member: 33349"
As for us .... trips already booked:
- Barossa / ADL next week..... hangover from a trip we started back in June. Don't really want to go but it's booked and paid for.
- Wellington and another luxury NZ lodge in March
- 3 weeks driving around Scotland with stopovers in London / Paris in April/May

Discussed, but not booked yet:
- Something for a sweet 16 in June ..... not sure maybe an Asian long weekend
- Something for a 25th Wedding anniversary in October ..... thinking San Fran / Seattle
- Xmas ?? Thinking Patagonia[/QUOTE]

Sounds like some interesting places planned. I will watch out for any TRs, particularly on Paris as you will be there about 2 months before us.

 

[kermatu]

Nice! You'll love Athens and Istanbul ..... if you have any questions please ask - very happy to contribute my 2c worth.

As for us .... trips already booked:
- Barossa / ADL next week..... hangover from a trip we started back in June. Don't really want to go but it's booked and paid for.
- Wellington and another luxury NZ lodge in March
- 3 weeks driving around Scotland with stopovers in London / Paris in April/May

Discussed, but not booked yet:
- Something for a sweet 16 in June ..... not sure maybe an Asian long weekend
- Something for a 25th Wedding anniversary in October ..... thinking San Fran / Seattle
- Xmas ?? Thinking Patagonia

That's more than most people will do in a lifetime!

 

[amaroo]

That's more than most people will do in a lifetime!

Maybe, but there are some special occasions this year. Your daughter only turns 16 once (we did the same thing for our son), and 25 years of marriage is something to celebrate (actual going out years is 33) .... I've only just had my 51st birthday All these things are worth celebrating! Otherwise what's the point?