RTW in F/J - Hand Carry Only - Iceland, Finland, Washington and a few other places

[PrezRegan]

Despite going to bed close to midnight local time, I still woke up at 0430. Ughhh jetlag. With not much else to do I checked out of the hotel and made my way towards the JAL Flounge. Immigration and security was very quick, no need to take anything out of my bags, and the e-gates worked like a charm. I think leaving my hotel (which was attached to Terminal 3) and getting to the Flounge probably took no more than 15 minutes!

I went straight to the dining room for breakfast. The lounge offers a la carte through a QR code reader on your table and everything is made quick and fresh. I think it was less than 5 minutes from me placing my initial order for a beef curry and a sushi platter before it arrived. The food was fresh and delicious and I gorged myself a bit! The sake here is very good, highly recommended.


I'm now in the Salon section of the lounge where it is much quieter, and still has a great view of the apron. It's a balmy 20-something degrees and sunny here - I wish I had more time to explore Japan but I am also keen to get home (and stop living out of a suitcase!)

 

[PrezRegan]

JL37
HND-SIN
11:29-17:42 dur 7h 13m
B787-9, Seat 2K

My last Oneworld flight as part of this mammoth RTW was as pleasurable as all the others that preceded it. Whilst the JL Sky Suites III are better than the denser Aria configuration that you can also find on JAL's 787, I did find the seat a bit narrow. Despite this, the service onboard was excellent, and the food top notch - I think of all the flights I've taken, JL takes the cake (pun intended) in terms of overall catering. Also, I love their boarding music...

Again, I thankfully had no issue with fitting all my carryon luggage in the overhead bins! A basic amenity kit and slippers is provided, but no PJs which makes sense as it is a daytime flight.

Because I can't edit the post on my last flight in F to add the menu, PFA that and this flight's menu attached at the end of the attachment list of this post.

Because I had eaten a lot in the lounge I asked to be served last, which the FA (Toma) was perfectly happy to oblige. I opted for the Japanese set menu and it was fresh and flavourful, tasting as good as anything I've had in a restaurant. In terms of drinks, I started with the champagne then when I couldn't decide which sake to have Toma suggested I try both! It wasn't a taster but a proper pour of each and both were excellent, very refreshing and smooth.

Meal complete, I had a nap.

Landing into Singapore was smooth and I got a nice picture of clouds as we descended.

Immigration and customs was quick as always. I was tempted to see if I could use the QF lounge on arrival as a Platinum but I figured I'd eaten enough for the day... I'm sure someday I'll fly O* out of Singapore and then I'll be able to check out the lounge.

Getting a rideshare from Changi is very straightforward and clearly signposted. There are lots of options to choose from - interestingly, GoJek (an Indonesian rideshare) worked out to be the cheapest, coming in at about 10 SGD cheaper than Grab. There was a slight delay in finding a driver but after about 5 mins I was on my way to my final hotel on this trip, the PARKROYAL Collection Pickering, located right next to Chinatown and famous for its green vegetation facade.

As a Titanium GHA member I was upgraded from the basic room to a Club room, with club access. The room is very nice, and the club access is definitely appreciated as it comes with free breakfast, afternoon tea, and coughtails in the evening.

I've missed the coughtail window but tomorrow I might get a chance to check it out for my day in Singapore before I fly home on SQ (traitor).

 

[drron]

JL is my favorite airline and whether in J or F the Japanese meal is excellent and lways my choice.
The best ever F flight I have had was JL JFK - NRT. Exceptional crew. Even tucked me into bed.

 

[PrezRegan]

I write this penultimate update in the SQ SilverKris Lounge in Changi airport.

Yesterday was a very lazy day, I did nothing! And it was quite nice for a change to just chill in the hotel, go to the gym and have a late breakfast. Breakfast was in the Club Lounge on the 16th floor and had similar views to my room. It was buffet style with eggs cooked to order - the food was decent, and it was very quiet upstairs in comparison to the downstairs buffet.


Dinner was at Les Amis - the only 3 Michelin star restaurant in Singapore that's open on a Sunday. The food was very nice, and the service was exemplary. There were some novel wine pairings, including a Pinot Noir with the fish, but it worked very well. I caught the bus there and back (felt just like a local lol) - Singapore has a very efficient and easy to use public transport system.

Woke up early this morning and got a GoJek to the airport. Super fast driver (definitely going above the speed limit!), and an equally fast journey through check-in (all self-service via kiosk) and then immigration. Interestingly, I had to print a bag tag, I couldn't say I had 0 checked bags.

The SilverKris lounge is decent, I didn't realise there was a second area off to the right with more food options. The downside is that it's packed, even at this early hour. I got a congee from the quieter buffet area on the right (as you enter) before turning around and checking out the other side where they have a noodle bar. I had to get the laksa for research purposes, and it wasn't bad - I liked the noodles which were not the traditional egg/vermicelli combo.


I'm also trying this tea that everyone on the KrisFlyer facebook group keeps banging on about - apparently people keep stealing them?? I mean the tea is fancy (it comes in a a fabric bag) but it's not worth stealing. And if you're here in this lounge you can probably afford tea...


Shortly I'll have to make my way to the gate because I forgot that security is there, and I also have to do a document check - I think it's just showing someone my passport.

I've BTC ages in advance for the flight, from memory it's a soup noodle dish. I tried the lobster thermidor the last time I did this trip earlier this year and it wasn't bad but I wouldn't go out of my way to order it again. Hopefully it'll be a short and smooth flight, then a quick drive home courtesy of my better half where I can finally unpack. And then go to the gym

 

[Stewey]

Excellent TR @PrezRegan and I have thoroughly enjoyed following your trip. Super Informative

 

[ellen10]

Thanks for our great trip report.
I really enjoyed following along

 

[Flyfrequently]

Thanks for a great TR @PrezRegan and good on The First Lady in picking you up from the airport!

 

[Flyfrequently]

Thanks for a great TR @PrezRegan and good on The First Lady in picking you up from the airport!

 

[NoName]

Thanks for the TR @PrezRegan . Loved it!

 

[NM]

And you are returning just in time to head to Brisbane for the Gathering #17 event!

 

[PrezRegan]

And you are returning just in time to head to Brisbane for the Gathering #17 event!

Yes, I'll be able to bore everyone to tears with a blow by blow recount - or I'll just tell people to read the TR

 

[NM]

Yes, I'll be able to bore everyone to tears with a blow by blow recount - or I'll just tell people to read the TR

or you'll just fall asleep part way through the conversation due to jet-lag

 

[RooFlyer]

Great TR. I travel vicariously in TRs and, in your case, also manage to go to the gym. Win!

 

[VPS]

Great TR and I agree the fact you get in late and have an early start and still go to the gym

 

[drron]

Loved the TR. But with all these HCO TRs at present we have bitten the bullet and going HCO for a month in Thailand ove Christmas and then a week in NZ in March.
We have done one previous HCO trip to Sigapore but it doesn't count as we were going for mrsdrron to attend the Great Singapore Sale and one of the aims was to get new travel luggage. We came home with 3 checked bags.

 

[PrezRegan]

or you'll just fall asleep part way through the conversation due to jet-lag

Hopefully I'll be recovered by then!

manage to go to the gym

still go to the gym

To set expectations when we all meet this Friday, I'm by no means an Adonis - more that if I didn't go the gym, after this trip I'd have to be rolled off the plane! I've eaten soooo much amazing food that I shudder to think how much weight I've put on...

 

[PrezRegan]

SQ251
SIN-DRW
08:43-15:06. dur 4h 53min
B737MAX8, Seat 2A

My final flight of the trip, and final formal entry for my TR.

Security at the gate was quick, but for some reason SQ didn't implement priority boarding so when I arrived at the stated boarding time, there was a line of pax out the aerobridge. Not the end of the world - I suspect I missed the priority boarding window because when I got onboard, the J cabin was already full. In my defence, I left earlier than the stated boarding time, and as soon as the board in the lounge said boarding had opened, so maybe everyone else left earlier and milled around the gate?

The flight was delayed due to heavy storms overhead. The onboard experience was excellent, the main J FA, Anne, was very welcoming and cheerful. As much as it pains me to say, I think the service was better on this flight than a comparative QF flight of similar distance e.g. SYD-AKL. Also SQ's 737MAX8 with proper lie-flat seats is definitely superior in all respects to QF's 737, and SQ also has unlimited wifi on international flights - something which QF is very slowly working to implement. When you add on the fact that SQ also offers BTC (even on a comparatively short flight), the only reason I think I haven't swapped over to Star Alliance is because the alliance as a whole (IMO) is comparatively weaker when it comes to alliance-wide benefits that come from top tier status e.g. lounge access. Also not a massive fan of Virgin's non premium product and lounges - however happy to collect enough VA points to book flights such as this!

Anyway, back to the flight itself - it was a little turbulent but the service onboard as mentioned was superlative. Anne had no issue whatsoever with my request to have my meal later in the flight, and she even offered to give me an initial snack whilst everyone was being served their meal but I was still super full from the lounge.

I ended up having a nap and when I awoke we were about an hour from Darwin. I was proactively and promptly asked if I wanted a drink and my meal. I wasn't terribly hungry still but thought I'd have it anyway, and it was delicious - a soto ayam (Indonesian chicken and noodle soup) style dish that was just as good as any I'd had on the ground.


I didn't take a picture of the menu, but the in-flight options also looked good, including an option of laksa, scrambled eggs and sausages, or blueberry waffles. Again, much better than QF's more Western-centric or generic Asian options - just putting Asian in front of a dish e.g. 'Asian-style pork and rice' or even for the more adventurous 'Spicy Asian-style pork and rice', an Asian meal does not make.

As a data point, orders seemed to be taken by status and it's probably good that I'd done BTC as I think they'd have run out of my preferred option of laksa by the time they got to a no-status pleb like me.

All up, an excellent final flight!

Deplaning and immigration was quick. There was one person in front of me from the flight who was HCO only and interestingly he got checked at customs whereas I was waved through. I'm not sure if the customs pers just wanted additional training or if he was unlucky because it didn't look like he had anything to declare. I guess the lesson here is don't be first off!

This essentially concludes the formal part of my TR. Over the next few days I'll just add a few posts re. tips and tricks and observations of my overall trip. I'll probably look to cover:
- My assessment of pros and cons of doing an HCO trip (a definite YES, in case it hasn't been clear enough so far )
- Favourite flight/lounge/hotel/meal, best value for money etc.

Please feel free to let me know if there is anything you'd like me to cover in more detail - whether an experience or attraction or question about how public transport or rideshare works in country x, or how much I can bench and I'll try and answer your q!

I hope you have enjoyed reading my experience half as much as I have living it. Now, time to start planning for my next one - which I think will probably 'just' be in J (how will I survive), mainly because it'll give me heaps more flexibility for flights.

For those who have followed along, commenting, reacting, and providing feedback and tips along the way, thank you so much - you know who you are and I am grateful for your support on my first TR . I hope to see a few of you this weekend!

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks very much for an excellent first TR.