Sri Lanka 2023-Back in Lucky's Country

[RB]

SQ 469 CMB-SIN in J.
Part of a LifeMiles redemption. A pretty coughpy time-slot with a 0.50am departure & arrival at 7.20am, but it helped use up some of our LifeMiles stash. Check-in was very quick with 3 agents catering to business passengers and then we were given access to the diplomat line at emigration where we actually got a stamp in the passport. From there it was unhindered progress to the Araliya Lounge. A reasonably spacious lounge that was pretty long and narrow and certainly no overcrowding while we were there. There was not a lot of noise proofing to keep out the clatter of the regular passing of service vehicles. The food service area was small & there was a strong emphasis on local style food with a bit more spice than what we had been used to. Our first drinks were served by a staff member but after that it became self-serve as he also carried out general cleaning duties. There were a few newspapers available (a couple in English) one television and the toilets were one each for the sexes. There was a small kids play area but it was unused while we were there. There were boarding calls made in the lounge.

 

[RB]

Our walk to the gate was only a couple of minutes to an uncrowded gate based bag check. Priority boarding was in place & we were soon seated. No alcohol was available for the pre-departure tipple. Pushback was around 10 minutes late. No book the cook available but I really enjoyed the prawn entree & the chicken main on offer. The staff seemed pleased with the spirit of the request when I ordered a Singapore Sling. A couple of scotches & then time for a nap.
We had received emails to verify our online arrival information & health declarations and there was no direct human interaction as we moved though Changi. Our bags were in the first dozen on the carousel & then it was a quick walk to the MRT station. Both trains were uncrowded at that hour.





More generous pours

 

[RB]

Village Hotel Bugis
A 2 night stay this time & we were allocated the same room. We had a morning swim & killed time around the pool until the room was available at noon (so many non-swimmers using the pool. The adults were generally very average and the next generation were worse). Part of the afternoon was spent napping to catch up on the missed sleep. This is no 5 star hotel but seemed good value for Singapore & again we really enjoyed the location.
Around Singapore
The first night was spent wandering the Haji Lane area with a few drinks and some simple Turkish food. We did a bit of shopping around the Bugis Junction area.











Where we ate was unlicenced- no problem, the owner walked to 7-Eleven, got the beers, paid, showed us the receipt & then just added the amount onto our final bill.

 

[RB]

Our other main activity was a visit to the Gardens By the Bay using the very efficient MRT system. Plenty of people around but the massive area easily handles the numbers.
We scored another 3pm check-out that was excellent considering our 9.30pm flight departure. Only the second lot of rain of the holiday occurred as we set out for the MRT station. The rain was all over in 20 minutes and our trip out to Changi was again super efficient, inexpensive, comfortable & quick.

 

[RB]

More of Gardens by the Bay











As we walked through the MRT station

 

[RB]

SQ 235- SIN-BNE 12A & 15A A359

Just an escalator ride up from the MRT & then a well signed walk to the T3 check-in area. SQ have an entirely separate business class check-in area here (noticed economy has been migrated over to self check & bag drop). No one else lined up this early so we were attended to straight away. I asked about the availability of seats in the bassinet rows and we were swapped to 19D & F after checking there we no infants booked on board (I later swapped to 19K when the onboard staff advised it was available). There were only a couple of people in front of us at immigration and we were soon in the lounge.

We found a pair of comfortable seats (turned left after entry) with easy access to charging points and settled in. Certainly not a lot of private space available here and there were the usual passengers with their public phone conversations. A huge number of staff around - many helping physically challenged people, constant cleaning runs, more senior staff wandering in pairs trying to look busy and heaps of food service staff. We were very happy with the variety of food available ( a great sweet & sour pork) and Mrs RB was happy with the Charles Heidsieck after sticking to beer throughout Sri Lanka. The automated beer pourer worked well. There are a huge number of urinals & loos in the super clean mens and the wait for a shower was only around 20 minutes.





Great pork OK chicken-saving ourselves for lobster


One very impressive store in Chnagi

 

[RB]

By the time our 9.30pm departure rolled around we were happy to stretch our legs out to the A17 gate. A good gate with plenty of room for the gate check of carry on luggage. No waiting to board via priority boarding and met enthusiastically by a great crew.
No problem with a pre-departure beverage with them insisting I should have a second glass of bubbles (and a third on offer). Push back was a little delayed & a long taxi meant that quite a few passengers opted for sleep rather than wait for a late dinner. We had both ordered the lobster via Book The Cook & we were very happy with the dish offered. Also enjoyed the garlic bread, satay sticks and the salmon entree. I tried the Singapore Sling and single malt scotch before a short nap. The continental breakfast was a quick serve prior to landing and there was nothing memorable about it.
I doubt I would opt for Row 19 over the 12A, 15A style of seats again in the future. I really enjoy having the space away from the aisle that the A seats provide in the alternate rows. 19D & F don't particularly make for easy eye to eye contact/conversation and on this flight (medium haul version) you are seated right where Y class stream onto the plane. I thought 19K certainly had handy storage forward & to the right of the seat but for the way I sleep I didn't notice a big advantage with the straight on foot well.
Arrival was on time & all looked good for us to beat the Emirates passengers through the terminal. Unfortunately Mrs RB encountered problems with the passport reader (tried several times before being rejected outright) & we had to join a massive line for her to eventually reach a service desk (no apparent reason for the failure and has never failed before). Our bags were already circling by the time we reached the carousel. Things didn’t improve with long lines marching back & forward through the terminal to reach the customs check. We declared some wooden items that had been gifted to us but customs simply waved us through.
We are not regulars through Brisbane & despite sighting the signage we missed the travelator that headed off to the left and down to the public pick-up area. The pick-up area is certainly a bit more orderly than Sydney & we were soon on our way out of the airport & looking forward to a nap to catch up on missed sleep.

Will be back later with a bit of a summary post













The nips are getting bigger


Back to distinctly Aust colours

 

[RB]

We thoroughly enjoyed Sri Lanka. Lucky was a great resource and awesome company (no way we would self drive in a tuk tuk like some were), the people are extremely friendly and resilient despite seeming to face incessant challenges. We enjoyed a wide variety of super fresh food that was presented with a lot of care. It is possible to visit Sri Lanka as a backpacker or all the way through to 5 star. The safaris provided excellent value and we were fortunate to score 2 sightings of a leopard on just the 2 safaris. The north was an interesting contrast with still very few non-local tourists visiting. The east coast was great to see although the temperatures were pretty high. It was not until we got to Ella that we encountered the mainstream Cultural Triangle tourists in bigger numbers. This was our 3rd overseas trip since August 2022 & again the French dominated the numbers of tourists we encountered. All our international flights have been on Singapore & to us it seems that they are now back in full swing and the crews on this trip were all excellent.

Happy to answer any questions people may have. Cheers, thanks for reading

 

[Major]

Great TR. I enjoyed your detail and photos. Many thanks

 

[OZDUCK]

Really enjoyable TR and thanks for answering my queries. It as really made us think about a trip there in a year or two.

 

[Stewey]

Amazing TR @RB Well done

 

[SuePa]

A bit late to the party, but thanks for your terrific trip report. I read it in preparation for my trip next month. I'll be on organised tours ( Intrepid ), but your trip has certainly increased my anticipation.

 

[RB]

A bit late to the party, but thanks for your terrific trip report. I read it in preparation for my trip next month. I'll be on organised tours ( Intrepid ), but your trip has certainly increased my anticipation.

Hope you have a terrific time and I am sure the group will have great experiences. We are still in constant contact with Lucky and he has been posting some fantastic photos. I think a lot of people are still struggling but this recent article was a bit promising Bombs to buzzing beaches: Sri Lanka sees tourism surge after long crisis | Tourism | Al Jazeera

 

[SuePa]

Hope you have a terrific time and I am sure the group will have great experiences. We are still in constant contact with Lucky and he has been posting some fantastic photos. I think a lot of people are still struggling but this recent article was a bit promising Bombs to buzzing beaches: Sri Lanka sees tourism surge after long crisis | Tourism | Al Jazeera

Thanks.
Intrepid are doing their best to help. They have quite a few different trips that each depart from Negombo a few times a month.