Yangon and beyond

[LadyC]

SQ334 SIN-CDG J

This flight is on an A380 and we were both excited about trying out the SQ product. All of upstairs in business class and it feels very spacious and quiet.

Cabin view


The seats are very wide - you can easily sit cross legged in them - 34 inches width and apparently the Suites seats are only 1 inch wider.




We were one of the first passengers to settle in so it was interesting to watch all the others board. The cabin filled up quickly and unfortunately appeared to include a group of six or so middle aged French men who seemed like they had been emulating the Hang Over and were very drunk. And the noisiest one came and sat across the aisle from me!

The problem started when the FA came around asking passengers for their post take off drinks order. The FA, who was female, was asked by one of the group if they could take a photo with her. She obliged but this started all the other guys asking, putting their arms around her for posing and getting a bit loud and pushy. She ended up having to tell them no more photos and walk away.

Not long after, it was time for seat belts on and get ready for take off. The IFE wouldn't start so FAs needed to do a safety procedure demonstration rather than just watch the video. This started the guy sitting across from me off again, he was trying to take photos of the FA, standing up and kneeling in his seat, being rather boorish in general. At this point, I was getting a bit worried this passenger was going to be a real problem! One of the FAs then came over and started giving him a polite telling off in that understated SQ manner. He settled down for take off and fell fast asleep and was snoring up a storm within 5 minutes!

 

[LadyC]

per was served before lights went out and there was a Christmas theme being so close to Christmas.

Entree was a lovely salmon salad - very delicious
View attachment 11826

There were three options for main ( as we hadn't organised Book the Cook). I had the oxtail with pasta
View attachment 11827

The gentleman had the Christmas themed dinner with turkey


Dessert and cheese was on offer but we both declined in favour of settling down for the night.

 

[LadyC]

SQ menu

 

[LadyC]

So after dinner, it was time to grab some shut eye. The beds on SQ are a little unusual. You have to place the seat in it's upright position, then pull a lever on the back of the top of the seat to release, then pull the seat back down. The bed is folded up, so you need to unfold it to lay it out. It is quite an unusual way of doing it and we needed the FA to show us. Another aspect of the seat that was interesting is that it struggles to extended with bigger people sitting in it. The gentleman is 6"4 and just under 100kg. He couldn't get the seat to recline very far and at first we thought the seat was broken. He ended up calling an FA, who came over to assist. In short, he needed to get out of the seat so it could recline fully, as the FA politely told him!

I took a sleeping tablet to help me through and I managed to get about 7 hours sleep. I have some back problems, so find sleeping comfortably difficult at times. I found the bed, although flat, it was not horizontal, and I struggle to sleep when on a slope (albeit a small one). So I used another pillow to prop up my feet and that made it a lot better. The gentleman was happy with the bed, his only complaint being he couldn't stretch out completely due to his height.

 

[NDiddy]

How did I miss this TR Really well written LadyC. Are you in Paris or have you moved on?

 

[LadyC]

How did I miss this TR Really well written LadyC. Are you in Paris or have you moved on?

Thanks Still in Paris, heading back to Singapore then home in a few days. I need to get busy updating this report!

 

[NDiddy]

Thanks Still in Paris, heading back to Singapore then home in a few days. I need to get busy updating this report!

Looks like we're roughly on the same schedule then - We leave on the 3rd straight for home. Glorious day today!

 

[LadyC]

Cracking day here in Paris! Spent much of it wandering around the city and taking in all the beautiful buildings and gardens

 

[QF WP]

Ah, a ripper of a TR thus far LadyC. One develops a writing style and there is nothing better than photos to finish telling the story

Now you've tasted F, you'll never go back to the middle of the plane

 

[LadyC]

SQ334 SIN-CDG

Last instalment on this flight. Woke up after 7 hours sleep and 4 hours to go before landing in CDG. Feeling a bit hungry, I ordered a snack, the noodles with chicken and chinese greens. This was a noodle soup, delicious and salty without much chicken or greens but I enjoyed it all the same. After another hour, lights came on and the FAs started moving about the cabin to serve breakfast.

I went for the full breakfast, starting with fruit salad, bread and pastries.


I had the omelette next, it was tasty but I forgot to take a photo! Standard coffee and tea served as well as juices.

After breakfast, the usual hustle and bustle for toilets occurred, to get changed and freshen up. Then the waiting game commences for descent and disembarking. The gentleman and I were just sitting there having a chat in our seats, when we noticed the crazy drunk French guy across from us was playing with his lighter. We both look across and the guy is igniting his lighter, burning threads off his jeans! Thankfully, he stopped almost immediately because we didn't want to make a scene by calling over the FAs. Not long after, we started descending and soon enough we had hit the tarmac and we were able to get away from this crazy guy!

 

[LadyC]

Ah, a ripper of a TR thus far LadyC. One develops a writing style and there is nothing better than photos to finish telling the story

Now you've tasted F, you'll never go back to the middle of the plane

Thank you kindly Luckily the gentleman agrees and we have a FASA booked to HK in April!

 

[LadyC]

CDG - FCO LX multi turns into AF1504

So after escaping from the bowels of CDG (it feels a little like Groundhog Day in that airport), we headed towards the LX counter to check in for our flight to Rome.

To give a little background, I had booked some cheap J flights to get us around Europe and ended up buying a LX/LH combo that, whilst cheap, was certainly not direct. Whilst our destinations were FCO-ZUR-CDG, the reality was ZUR-FCO-FRA-DUS-ZUR-CDG. Crazy routing, I agree, only chosen because it was cheap J and then expedia made some changes that prolonged the journey even more.

So we were expecting, when we checked in for our flight to FCO to be going via ZUR. It was a very pleasant surprise to be told then that our flight was overbooked and we had been placed on a direct flight to FCO. We were sent to another LX counter to get our tickets issued. This took some time as there were other passengers who appeared rather disgruntled about changes to their travel plans. We needed to reschedule our airport transfer and the desk kindly let us use their phone to do so.

From there, we had to dash over to AF check in to get our boarding passes and clear security in time for our 9.45am flight. It was one of many times that our decision to only travel with carry on paid dividends. We got to the gate with a few minutes to spare, pleased that we were gaining a few hours by arriving at lunchtime in Rome rather than the afternoon.

The plane was an A320, business class seating being the same as economy except for the blocked middle seat. We did get a snack of sorts but I, again, forgot to take a photo! The flight was uneventful until near landing. We were descending and close to landing, when it was suddenly aborted and we quickly flew back up and turned rather abruptly. Nothing too dramatic, too close to another plane I understand. Take two was fine and we landed without incident.

 

[LadyC]

Rome

We arrived in Rome, unsure of whether our driver would be there due to our late flight change. I had organised a private transfer as I knew after 24+ hours travelling, the last thing I wanted to do would be haggle with a taxi driver to make sure we weren't being stooged.

After a little wandering around, we found our driver, Alberto, and we quickly in the car and on our way to our hotel. We stayed on Via naz_onale at Hotel Artemide. We were there four nights and were happy with the location and price. Breakfast was included and had good variety for a mid sized hotel. My only complaint was that you could not control the thermostat in the room and the temperature was pumped up high, making sleep hot and and a little uncomfortable.

The gentleman and I had never been to Italy before and had a lovely time exploring. The weather was very mild with no rain. A few photo highlights

A dress rehearsal for Christmas Day mass at St Peters

View attachment 12006

 

[NDiddy]

The flight was uneventful until near landing. We were descending and close to landing, when it was suddenly aborted and we quickly flew back up and turned rather abruptly. Nothing too dramatic, too close to another plane I understand. Take two was fine and we landed without incident.

I would not have been so calm about it. Glad it wasn't anything major.

 

[LadyC]

Pasta .... I love it!


Trevi Fountain


Spanish steps (on Christmas morning)


Roman ruins

 

[jetlagger]

Lovely TR LadyC. Keep up the entertaining talent & safe travels.

 

[Major]

Great TR...looking forward to reading about the rest of the trip.

 

[LadyC]

All in all Rome was fun. We had 3.5 days there (including Christmas Day) and managed to see a lot of places. We walked around Rome a number of times, including heading up to the Vatican. We saw many Roman ruins, the Colloseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican museum and specifically the Sistine Chapel as well as other national monuments whose names escape me at this point in time.

I was a little worried that on Christmas Day we wouldn't be able to find anywhere to eat but there are enough tourists and locals about this wasn't a problem. A lot of the food was basic pizza and pasta - this was fine for us - as the saying goes .... when in Rome....

 

[Sprucegoose]

So after my nap, I decided it was time for a little snack. The gentleman was in agreement, so after asking the FA for his recommendation, the Moroccan chicken pie was decided upon. 20 minutes to heat up - not a problem. 15 mins later, another FA comes up and says, we put the wrong thing in the oven - do you eat Mac and cheese? Hmmmm...okay, I say yes, as I really just wanted something to eat but I'm getting a little unimpressed with the food service at this point. The gentleman says no, don't eat Mac and cheese, so in the end 2 beef stroganoff pies come down from J for us to eat - topped with mash, a little spicy and very tasty as well.After finishing my snack, it's time to get changed out of my pyjamas and get ready for landing. In the blink of an eye, it's almost time to land and my QF F experience is over I had a good time - except for the food service issues. Nothing too dramatic but I just thought they would be a little more polished. We've applied for an upgrade for our return flight, so if we get it, I will be interested to see if the experience is the same or different.

Great TR LadyC.

I've never experienced the food issues you described. I do know they load an abundance of food though. Reading QF32 recently te author SAS qantas don't even load full meals for every pax. Something I just can't get my head around. Safe travels home

 

[amaroo]

Roman holiday - is there anything better:?:

Lovely TR - thanks.