We made it!!
I know that sounds rather melodramatic, but when the flight is 16 hours long, believe me – melodrama is called for! So … here we are in what has so far been a very rainy day.
But to begin at the beginning … up on Tuesday morning and picked up Debby at 9:30 am for our 11:30 flight to San Francisco. It’s a lovely albeit HOT day in Tucson, but Robert keeps saying words to the effect of: “better get used to this…” considering the normal average temperature in Singapore! Our flight to SFO (there aren’t many non-stops from Tucson these days, and we wanted to make sure we got there – as many of you know, San Francisco can be something of a crap-shoot even on its best day!) was full but fine. It’s a smaller aircraft – an Embraer, I think, but as I was going carry-on with the 20” suitcase, no problems at all! So, we took the 11:30 flight, getting into San Francisco around 1:59 pm. We collected Deb’s suitcase and then took the San Francisco Sky Train around the airport to International Terminal G.
Our difficulty now was that it was about 2:30 pm, and our flight to Singapore didn’t leave until 10:30 pm … UGH! Lots of hours of waiting, but at least we were “there” and ready to go. As Singapore Airlines weren’t supposed to be open for check-in until 7:55 pm, we used their kiosk to scan our passports and get our boarding passes which was all we needed to get to our gate, G9. Security no problem, and in just a couple of minutes we were “on the other side” as it were.
As it was now about 2:30 pm, we decided to have lunch. Headed to Mustard’s Grill where I had an excellent cheeseburger with fries and Debby had an “adult” grilled cheese with fries. Sorry for no photos, but the camera was safely packed away in the suitcase at this point.
Fortunately, SFO – at least Terminal G – is incredibly well supplied with power outlets seemingly everywhere, as well as some fairly comfortable chairs! We were able to find a nice quiet spot to kick back and read books. Time passed fairly quickly, and it was nice to see our aircraft pull up at the gate, and then to see our flight crew all gathering together. I have to say that Singapore Airlines flight attendants are uniformly really lovely people – and before we knew it, we were heading on to our aircraft!
We had splurged for Premium Economy tickets, and Singapore Airlines has an excellent reputation – and all I can say is – WOW! Incredibly well deserved! The seats were very comfortable; no squeezing in anywhere, which is not something we’re used to these days! There is a foot rest attached to the seat in front which comes down and adjusts, and then there is an adjustment where support comes out under your knees as well. In addition to the standard light per seat, there was also an individual adjustable reading light over your shoulder available for use. But the best thing about the seat is that it reclines in an interesting fashion – so that you’re not in anybody’s lap, and nobody is in your lap either! I’ve made it a practice in late years not to move my seatback at all, because I HATE having someone in my lap, and don’t want to be in someone else’s … but with this particular seat, when you push back, you actually rock forward slightly, as you’re going backwards, which is an incredibly good use of the space without really bothering anybody! And, the result is amazingly comfortable!!
So … we settled in for our 16 hour L-O-N-G haul … which it certainly was! BUT – we were served two complete meals: dinner and then breakfast. Singapore has something called “book the cook” and there were about 20 selections to choose from! Deb and I both chose the beef short ribs with mashed potatoes and carrots and green beans. There was a shrimp salad to start, a roll and butter, a lovely hunk of Tillamook cheddar cheese with water crackers, as well as an individually wrapped square of Ghiradelli chocolate to finish. Incredible!
Our breakfast – served hours later – was an egg and tomato omelette, turkey sausage and roast potatoes with fresh fruit and yogurt. Again, very tastiful!
Oh! Additionally, throughout the flight, a supply of snacks – chips, Doritos, cookies, etc. was available at all times in the galley, along with plenty of fresh water!
The other thing that truly made a difference – considering the length of the flight – were the flight attendants and the care they took of the plane! The bathrooms on airplanes are oftentimes yucky at best, but these bathrooms were monitored constantly, so that they were always clean and well supplied! Truly, Singapore Airlines could give our American carriers some lessons on service, that’s for sure!
The movie selection – in multiple languages – wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen, but it was adequate, and somewhere heading into Singapore, I was able to get Live TV coverage from Europe of the U.S. Open, which was FABULOUS! All in all, I’d rate Singapore Airlines as the finest airline I have ever flown!! Now gotta find more places to use them, although I definitely draw the line at NYC – Singapore – 19 hours! That’s insane!!
Eventually the hours passed and we arrived at Changi Airport in Singapore. Took a while to disembark, (doesn’t it always??) and it was a bit of a walk to immigration, but I had filed our Sgac’s a couple of days ago (Singapore Health Certificates), so we were able to basically scan our passports, have our photos taken and given our right thumb print, and we were in! Walked right through Customs, and into Singapore! Nice, also, as at 5:30 a.m. Changi Airport was practically deserted!
Found Door 5 on Basement Level 1 where GRAB picks up – that’s what Uber’s equivalent is called here! – and in just a few minutes, our driver was there to pick us up. About 25 minutes to get us into the city – and it was still dark! As Robert pointed out later, at the equator, it’s basically 12 hours of day and 12 hours of darkness 12 months of the year, so yes, it was still dark at 6 am! Arrived at the lovely Hilton Orchard Road, and in at the 1st floor … then take an elevator to the 5th floor, which is where registration is … confused yes? And we were jet-lagged?
The lovely gal in Reception, Mae (pronounced ME) was able to get us into our room early (Room 3125) for which I am SOOOOO thankful! (Debby was able to sleep for some hours during the flight, but I’m not nearly that lucky!)
Really nice twin room with a view over Orchard Road. Great bathroom – both lovely shower compartment AND huge bathtub! That will definitely come in handy! We both unpacked all our things and got organized. We settled down for naps for about an hour – but didn’t want to sleep too long so that we’ll sleep tonight. Of course, you have to remember that we got to the hotel about 6:30 am, so even with a short nap, we were up and ready to head out around 9:30! I took a quick shower, which felt SO good, and we checked in at the Executive Lounge on the 6th floor and had another quick breakfast before heading out.
Woke up from our naps, though, to a very overcast sky, with rain forecast. Be that as it may, we decided that rather than go to the Botanic and Orchid gardens today, we would head to the National Singapore Museum – an indoor activity, and do the gardens tomorrow.
So, Grabbed (sounds really weird!) from the Hotel to the Museum which is in the old Raffles Library and Museum, built in 1887. Lovely old place – beautiful neoclassical rotunda, complete with stained glass, and spent the next three hours learning about the history of Singapore from its’ earliest days. Very enjoyable experience, as a recent 3-year remodel has updated everything, and the museum incorporates the latest computer technology to tell Singapore’s store in a very compelling way.
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| Rotunda dome of Museum |
For obvious reasons, Singapore is all about the Sea! 
Restored paintings on the back of the main stairway
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| Sir Stamford Raffles - Founder of Singapore |
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| Gold painted wooden decoration |
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| Revere bell cast for St. Andrews Church |
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| Debby stepping into an Opium Den! |
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| Interesting Poster from the 70's... |
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| Another interesting poster from the 70's! |
Have to admit, though, that towards the end of our touring, we were both beginning to drag … it has definitely been a l-o-n-g day! So, Grabbed back to the hotel, and am blogging now. Our plan is to have a fairly early dinner tonight, and that hopefully (knock wood!) we’ll both be able to sleep tonight!
So, that’s it for the moment! I’m going to see if I can get this posted now, and then worry about dinner and photos of that later!
Much love,
m
xxx
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