Star Wars in Changi Airport: The Plushies!

So everyone knows by now how Singapore's Changi Airport has gone Star Wars bonkers. From the arrival of the ANA R2D2, to the Tie Fighter in Terminal 2 and the X Wing in Terminal 3.

But if you ask me, the big takeaway is the limited edition plushies that you can purchase for SGD$6. But it comes with conditions though. You either have to spend SGD$70 land side, SGD$150 air side, or SGD$140 at the supermarket.

Time to get creative to score one! Maybe purchase SGD$140 in supermarket vouchers that you can use some other time? Hmmmmmm.

Emirates #HelloJetman

JAW DROPPING

Cathay Pacific New Livery: Launch

It's always exciting when an airline redesigns its livery. In this case though, CX made a blunder and uploaded the video prematurely.

Early responses have been positive. I like it. I think its contemporary without losing its heritage. It is kind of a joke though to hear a Brit say in the video how 'we are Asian' etc. That's the thing about Hong Kong, it never seems to be able to shake its colonial past and Pinkerton Syndrome.

Singapore Airlines A350

OMG SHE IS BEAUTIFUL.

SQ's New A350 leaving the paint hangar.

MH17: Investigation Outcome (VIDEO)

If you remove the politics of what happened, the fundamental truth is that close to 300 people lost their lives.

Following this report, anyone with a vivid imagination can visualize what it might have been like on board.

At cruising altitude, the pilots might have been addressing the cabin, giving them details of the flight. Crew members would have been fully activated to do the first rounds of service. For the business class section, this could be the post take off drinks and nuts. Passengers would have taken off their seat belts, some would have been in the lavatories. Some watching the inflight entertainment.

The impact was sudden. The pilots must have, for a split second, noticed a streak go past the nose of the aircraft followed by a blinding flash of light. They must have experienced a force that jolted them to the right side of the cockpit. Then the fragments that sliced through the fuselage would go through their bodies and kill them.

In the seconds after, the force of the impact would also tear the cockpit right off. The report said at one point that the cockpit and business class sections separated from the rest of the plane. At another point it only mentioned the cockpit.

Either way, the crew members would have been sucked out as they were not belted down. The frigid cold and thin air would have shut their breathing down fast. Passengers in the lavatories would have had the same fate. Passengers in their lie flat seats would have witnessed the separation of the front of the plane. Many would have been tossed about like crumpled paper, causing critical injuries. But they would have been able to register in their heads that they were about to die. But death was not as immediate for them as it was for the technical crew.

The people at the back of the bus would have had slightly more time to react, although the report does not mention this. The report does not take into account a previous news story about the body of a passenger that was found strapped to his seat with an oxygen mask around his face. Some passengers had time to put the mask on them. They knew they were in trouble. There would have been screams. People desperately grabbing each other before being pulled apart. People unbelted violently falling into each other. For them though, the free fall, the smashing of the trolleys and other things within, fire, all would have made it impossible for them to survive.

All the safety videos they have watched through years of flying would have done no good.

There is no dignity or sense in dying like this. And worse yet there is no accountability. The report hints to the fact that the Ukrainians did not warn of the safe flight levels within the conflict zone. The carrier also may not have taken extra precaution over an area that had in the previous week, seen planes downed. 

I really feel for MH because I have always found their staff to be outstanding. And I have family that works for the airline. They knew some of those that died in the tragedy. They witnessed how some coffins were so small because they only had a single body part of what used to be someone they ate, laughed and had conversations with.

This should not have happened.

#MH17 #malaysiaairlines #boeing #777

Hotel Review: Hotel Vagabond Singapore

Hotel Vagabond Singapore

There was a BBC documentary shown in the United Kingdom last year about British Airways. It tracked the people and business of the airline with reality style behind the scenes footage. In one episode, a country manager addressed his staff saying: “It takes the right kind of person with the confidence to guide one of those (premium) customers around. They guide a company with 20,000 employees and then one of our team (members) has to guide them around in an area they are not familiar with.”

In service oriented industries, this rhetoric is not uncommon.

The prosperity of a company, whether it is food and beverage, airline, hospitality, retail etc, rely heavily on its customers loyalty. While it is easy to identify demographics, it is less obvious in practical terms to spot by sight who they are, what they look like and how they behave.

If Alibaba’s Jack Ma was not such a photographed industry leader, you may not know he has a net worth of $25 billion.

You never make assumptions about who is coming through your door.

Unfortunately, for a new hotel in Singapore’s Syed Alwi Road, their policies seem to be about assumptions.

The Hotel Vagabond is the latest offering by Satinder Garcha, an Indian born dot com entrepreneur turned luxury real estate developer and hotelier who is also the 48th richest man in Singapore, with a net worth of $440 million according to Forbes.

His three level boutique hotel set in a conserved shophouse has retained its old world charm, keeping the original facade similar to other boutique hotels in the Chinatown district.

But the charm of the brand ends there.

On a visit last weekend, at the invitation of a visiting colleague, I discovered that the well earned reputation for less than stellar service in Singapore was being perpetuated by the staff of this newly opened hotel.

I went there suitably dressed for a proper dinner. I was met by a suited man at what seemed to be the sole entrance to the property, and initially welcomed cordially while still standing outside. He did not identify himself, yet he asked me what my purpose was for the night.

I said I was there for dinner, and I was asked if I had a reservation. I replied yes I believe so but I was going to my colleague’s room first, as requested by him, to confirm. Then I was asked for my colleague’s name, which I gave. Then I was asked for his room number. I was puzzled about the line of questioning. And even more perturbed that he was clearly not going to let me in. I looked around to see if there was an alternative entry point. I asked him where the lobby and reception was. The man in the suit pointed to the one single doorway to my right without any offer to let me go inside. He then said that I had to wait while the staff called my colleague.

I was being questioned while being kept outside close to the street.

I thought this to be incredibly rude. I have never been disallowed entry at any fine establishment anywhere in the world, much less a newly opened boutique hotel. I let myself in, and was followed closely by this man in the suit. He told me that every house guest would need to give front desk a invited guest list, presumably as a means to authorize entry to the upper floors. This was a curious practice, not entirely unusual, but a little unreasonable and high handed, especially since the house guest was not informed at check in of this policy.

Later, my colleague and I got intercepted on our way to the restaurant by this man and an unknown Caucasian lady.

My colleague, who was previously told by a member of the senior management that he was the first paying guest to check into the hotel, was immediately recognized and warmly greeted by this man in the suit. We took the opportunity to relay our grievances.

As frequent travelers who fly premium, and stay in and work with premium hospitality brands, we are not entirely clueless to how they operate and what happened afterwards was a textbook account of service failure.

I recounted from my point of view about what had happened and how it made me feel. How I felt was disregarded. This was followed by the man again speaking about the policy that he had to carry out. 

I understand security protocols and the need to protect the safety of hotel guests and staff. I also know in hospitality, a high level of discretion is required to forge ties rather than offend your target demographic. Clearly this hotel has set in place procedures to prevent undesirables with questionable intentions from entering its premises. But I had made my intentions clear, and I was puzzled what I had done to project the impression of being an undesirable.

The Caucasian lady did not identify herself to either of us. When we inquired, she said she was a ‘Salonaire’. There was indeed a restaurant on the premises called The Salon, and we wondered if she was a wait staff, a manager or something else. Only when we asked further did she say she was in charge of the entire ground floor. Still, we were not sure if she was a Front Office manager or a Duty Manager or something else. Apparently this hotel created titles for certain roles that frequent hotel customers could not possibly understand without the benefit of being taught what these titles meant in real world and industry terms.  We were not guided.

Still, one would assume if someone was ‘in charge’, that this person would have the training, experience and authority to manage crisis and disputes. This was not evident.

Not only did she spout policy again, she had the audacity to say that this policy of vetting people was a hotel industry ‘practice’ (and I quote her here). She did not defuse the situation, she did not manage guests’ expectations, she did not offer any solution. Just policy.

We were at an impasse.

We later spoke to a gentleman who was part of the hotel’s holding company, presumably from Garcha’s Singapore registered Elevation Developments that built the hotel, who said he would ‘speak to them’. But afterwards there was no follow up. No service recovery. Nothing.

In spite of better judgement, my colleague decided to still have dinner at the restaurant, 5th Quarter. While I will reserve a separate review of the outlet, I found what happened at the end of the meal noteworthy and consistent with this discussion regarding service.

Executive Chef Drew Nocente

The Executive Chef, an Australian named Drew Nocente, came by to offer some complimentary cookies. 

There was the obligatory light banter, mostly between my British colleague and the Australian chef. I, a local Singaporean, tried to engage him in some conversation. I do that in every restaurant I visit worldwide primarily with the intention of showing appreciation for someone’s work. He was polite. But he hardly looked at me. His attention was squarely on my colleague.

I felt invisible.

I am not fragile and self entitled that way. But my travels have taught me what is acceptable conduct in the service industry. This was just unacceptable.

It bordered mildly on racism.

Later I saw him bypass a table of local Chinese men. He went over to a Caucasian couple with the same cookies and again engaged in conversation with them.

This is not to say that he did not eventually speak to everyone in the room, which was at best at 50% capacity. I did not have the benefit of seeing that while we were there. However, if perception is reality, the impression given was not a pretty or healthy one.

The last and only other time I encountered a similar incident was at a hotel in Bangkok. It was a fairly large Thai hospitality brand and we were corporate clients. We learned that our Thai contact was not allowed to go up to our rooms as requested because he was, well, Thai. He was not given the option to call the rooms. They assumed he was up to ‘no good’. Caucasian colleagues could walk right to the elevators. We were not informed at check in of any policy requiring prior submission of guest lists. Regardless of our protests later, there was no apology or service recovery. We felt there was an odd sense of reverse racism, mandated by a policy that was executed to a level it even disrespected the hotel’s paying customers: Us.

Needless to say, we never gave that hotel our business after that. We pulled our account.

The disappointment with Hotel Vagabond transcends beyond what happened during the initial point of contact. There seems to be a lack of customer service training, even with the ‘Salonaire’ / manager who seems to have assumed the people she was talking to did not understand or work with the industry or the very least, know how a hotel operates. As for the Executive Chef, if one was to give him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps it was not by intention that he hardly looked at an Asian that was addressing him. However, it would be beneficial for him to understand the current climate within this country regarding how home proud Singaporeans are. Being guests in a hotel or restaurant does not mean we are guests in our own country. There are many things to say about 5th Quarter but again this will be reserved for a separate review.

I am not one that believes the customer is always right.  However, you do not feed an angry customer policy right at the beginning when they feel that they have been disrespected or unfairly treated. The point is not about who is right or wrong, but about finding solutions that would hopefully generate positive after thoughts and business.

So, what could have the staff and management done?

• Defuse the situation
• Separate warring parties even if it requires moving to a neutral location
• Manager should assume ownership of the problem henceforth
• Listen and Empathize with no presumptions or assumptions 

• Offer solutions and / or gestures to regain and potentially retain brand / product confidence
• Provide acts of kindness 
• Be sincere
• Speak of the values and aspirations of the property

• (If necessary and only after the customer has calmed down) provide knowledge about company practices and procedures
• Give insight into the rationale of procedures
• Continue to validate the experience of the guest
• Use the situation as a learning point and assure the guest of such

Customers will always have choices. So with this service experience, what else can be said about this property?

At a starting rate of SGD300 ++ a night for a basic room, this boutique hotel is ranking itself closely to the price points of some of the larger players in the country. 

Cozy, compact, comfortable

Art on sliding divider walls

Room amenities

While the room that I got to visit and inspect was charming, it was small and compact. Read: you can’t stretch your arm out from the right side of the bed without hitting the wall. The windows overlooking the street were not tinted and pedestrians below could look into the room. 

Etro Bath Amenities

A common strategy of boutique hotels to include luxury bath amenities to increase their value proposition was followed here, with Etro branded toiletries in the bathroom. The other inclusions did not immediately scream luxury. For example, one would not expect Philips to be the brand of choice in terms of hotel TVs. Brand affiliations must be consistent with the intentions of the property. Hotels basically either create experiences or try to replicate the lifestyles that their intended customers are used to. In this case, from the tech in the room, to the cutlery in the food outlet, the hotel appears schizophrenic in projecting a throwback to the glamorous days of travel, without actually being one.

Seat detail outside elevators

Darkened hallways

While the hotel has only been opened for less than a week, the wood veneer panelling within the room was already showing visible wear and tear, and lighting fixtures in the hallways had misaligned nuts and bolts.

Animated collage in the elevator: Yes all those elements move

The hotel was designed by Jacques Garcia and it appears Garcha gave him carte blanche.  As expected from boutique hotels that aspire to be categorized favorably for clever design, ‘art’ was everywhere. From the animated collage on a flat screen TV in the elevator to the framed photos of old world travel that was anywhere from the rooms to the public spaces. I understand and appreciate the theatricality of it all but was not sure if this was meant to give you a sense of a safari styled lodge or an uber chic design hotel. They were pretty certainly, but good design for a hotel is not just about the pretty. 

So did the design communicate the brand message of the hotel?

No.

I did not understand the correlation between the name of the hotel and the design, the choice of amenities and the collective story they were supposed to tell me.  The symbiosis between the different aspects of the hotel was lost on me.

OTT elements like a giant gold elephant in the room, how can you not notice? Referencing a colonial past?

I will offer however that the hotel is comfortable. However, one needs to balance the price to value ratio, especially in a marketplace that may offer better amenities for a similar price point. Depending on your travel budget, corporate or otherwise, I am not sure this hotel offers proper value to business and leisure travelers, especially when one considers its location and inclusions.

Hard product aside, no one gives their business or loyalty if their expectations of good service are not met.

And unfortunately, for now this hotel did not meet ours.

We may not be in the same caliber of Jack Ma at $25 billion or Satinder Garcha at $440 million but this is all relative, and everyone deserves to be treated compassionately as human beings regardless.  

If Garcha’s intention is to turn his hotels into ‘social and intellectual hubs’ as reported in the media, it will be a challenge if the policies don’t reflect this honorable goal.  To be social requires a congregation of people. And you cannot, nor can you appear to, discriminate against anyone if you want them to gather at your premises.

In the end, this may just be a storm in a teacup. Perhaps by the time they officially launch, many of these issues would have been sorted out. I hope to one day return and review the entire property and F&B outlets when they are operational although I suspect I would not be welcomed back. But to borrow a line from the BBC documentary, Hotel Vagabond currently just does not have the right kind of person with the confidence to guide their customer around areas they aren’t familiar with.

Just A Thought: The Final Trip

I had a dinner gathering the other night with some beautiful people I had not seen in twenty years.

It was only natural that we would, within the first few minutes, try to catch up and clear up as much as possible. It was then that I learned the reason why an ex-colleague had passed away a few years back. She had succumbed to cancer. She was so young. As the saying goes, she went too soon.

They say Death is a great leveler. It happens to everyone regardless of creed or color, status or wealth, or whether you are young or old (er). You never really know when your time will come. But even before it does, perhaps a question to ask is:

"When it is your time, can you cross over without regrets?"

I have always thought about that. Avoiding regret seems to be the key motivator to make the 'right' choices in life. Even then, there really isn't a guarantee that those choices would ever be enough to say you've lived a life free of regret. Still, as a traveler, you are sometimes forced to have that thought at the back of your head. You always have to be prepared for the worst.

Sure, air travel is supposed to be safer than even driving. Yet there are families who consciously choose to travel on separate carriers during family vacays to have a greater chance of lineage survival should one airplane go down. When you read the human stories of disasters like MH370 and AF447, that preparedness suddenly becomes almost all too necessary.

I never get on a plane thinking that someday the NTSB will find my body still strapped to my fully flat seat, in a field somewhere in the middle of Eastern Europe. For those on that ill fated flight, I am sure they didn't think that either. I have had some scares inflight before but they have never been enough to deter me from packing my bags. I take the view that if it is my time, then I might as well go doing what I love:

Travel.

However, there is a flip side to such a great activity. Frequent flyers can lose their sense of foundation since they tend to be everywhere yet nowhere. Relationship building becomes a challenge and everything goes on a punctuated speed mode. So sometimes, people get an approximation of 'you'. But do they really get 'you'?

So I asked myself: Do people really know me, what I stand for, who I love and loved, what I hoped for myself and for others? Will there be nothing of me afterwards that would be a memorial to a life once lived? Do I have a legacy, even if not in living form like children, that can show that I have done enough?

Over lunch today, deep in thought, I had an epiphany.

I looked around my home. And it spoke back to me. From every corner, floor to ceiling, there was a story to be told.

The beautiful gold leaf artwork on the wall that I got from Jatujak market in Bangkok. The little hand carved doll of a traditional pottery maker in Budapest. The Iznik plates that I got from a boy in Istanbul. The 1:400 scale model airplanes of the various airlines I flew over the years. And of course the entire wall of city magnets from virtually every place I have visited on the side of my refrigerator.

Oprah used to say your home should rise up to meet you. And almost subconsciously, that was how I set mine up. Through many years of exploring this globe, I have been able to place a nugget, a gem of  a memory in every open corner.

Each memory is a chapter. Every chapter is set in some wonderful place in the world. The chapters are part of a book. The book tells the story of my life and features characters from around the globe.

The artwork was by a female artist, the only one in the market that day. I believe in female empowerment so supporting her was important to me. I learned a lot about her creative process though talking with her. I was enriched beyond just appreciating a beautiful painting.

I bought the doll when the young shop assistant told me that there were only two design stores in Budapest, and that they were the only point of sales for young up and coming artists (read: struggling art graduates). I always buy from young talent to help give them a chance, especially in non developed economies. I never forget the generosity I received from strangers when I started out, so wherever I can I pay it forward.

I got the plates after I had my life threatened in Istanbul by thugs in the dead of winter. The boy listened to my story, and told me his own story of coming in from the surrounding rural mountainous areas to find a better life in the capital city, only to discover first hand the dangers of living there. We found safety in our human connection. And now I see him in my home every time I see the plates.

I now have more planes than I have space to display them. But when I look at my collection, I realize how lucky I am to have been able to fly these carriers, in some aircrafts that are not even flying anymore today.

These are just some of the stories that reveal facets of my life. But my story involves many many other lives. Altogether though, I realize my home is my living memorial. And when my time comes, one would just need to come by, look around, and see how blessed my life had been.

They may not be able to hear the details of why each of these items found a spot in my apartment, but if they listen real close, they might be able to hear the whispers of different voices and languages, and perhaps even imagine what it might have been like to have been there when these items were still in their home countries.

So they would not need to mourn me with tears. They should celebrate the fact that for the short while I walked this planet, I had the good fortune, through my travels, to walk with many others on their own journeys.

The life of a traveler is a never ending journey full of gratitude not regret.

Crossing over? It is just another journey.

Just a Thought: Musings from a Singapore Girl newbie

HUNGER:

Spoke with an SQ new recruit. She just wanted a job that let her travel, not one behind a desk, and no other job in Singapore would let her do that. But the job wasn't what she thought it was and after the 18 months bond she planned to leave the company. When asked what was difficult about it, she replied she had to bend down and stand many times, especially when helping passengers with their luggage. And she had to do homework to familiarize herself with the plane and the service. She said the training was like female National Service. She said she was from Gen Y, and the Strawberry Generation. But she felt that she was not as bad as her peers who were more self entitled. She wondered why, if she was nice to people, people would not speak to her politely.

I didn't have the heart to slap her twice and tell her the wake up because she is very sweet. But I also mourn the death of resilience and fortitude among our youth who grew up in a time when eating SGD10 slices of cakes and SGD7 coffee is normal.

My friends who own businesses complain a lot about the kind of people entering the workforce. My expat contacts complain about the lack of creative problem solving among the locals.

Singapore may be prosperous. But could it be on the backs of other nationalities who come here to build better lives for themselves?

When did the citizens of this country stop being hungry?

‪#‎SQ‬ ‪#‎SG50‬ ‪#‎Singaporegirl‬ ‪#‎SingaporeAirlines‬ ‪#‎crew‬ ‪#‎Cabincrew‬ ‪#‎service‬‪#‎GenY‬

Trip Report VLog: Mexico City - Culture

There is a richness in Mexican culture that is palpable. You can almost taste it. It is diverse, varied, colorful, and at times alarming to the uninitiated. The appreciation for creativity and aesthetics can be seen in elaborate works of art, as well as the most humble of handicrafts.

Visitors who go beyond their Mayan past will benefit from the understanding that culture in the country isn't made up of a single influence.

There is no one take on anything. Not their national dress, not their pottery and handicraft, not their music. I liken it to a really good curry. It takes a whole lot of ingredients that can be conflicting and unusual, but they all form one great dish.

I was visiting a weekend market with my host. I told her I watched The Book of Life on the plane into Mexico. We had an interesting conversation about the icon of the Day of the Dead, La Calavera Catrina. She said that Mexicans find her beautiful and elegant. I told her all I saw was a skeleton in a gorgeous dress and a big floppy hat. It took me a while to see her from another point of view.

Like in most cultures, death isn't the end. In Mexican pagan belief, the departed carry on in a different world. But they can disappear if those left behind don't keep their memories alive. It is a beautiful thought, personified by a skeleton of a beautiful lady. She is as vital in the nether world as she must have been in this one.

Metaphysical concepts here belie the nature of the people. I learned that prior to Christianity's entry into the country, there was no concept of the devil or evil incarnations. The devil depicted in scenes from the Tree of Life was usually just a playful demon, a character that if anything is like a naughty kid who played pranks. Does it not tell you something about the indigenous population?

Unlike some societies today that rape their own land, Mexicans use and replenish their resources. I was amazed to see how the cactus could be a source of water, drink, food, shelter, handicraft and even clothes. I was given a needle that was made from its root. And believe me is IS sharp.

Each territory within Mexico is famous for a certain product. Whether silver production or intricate embroideries, they are all of very high standards. A shop keeper in a market commented how sharp my eye was in noticing which of her embroidered blouses were the best of the lot. I had no clue that the ones I was appreciating costed hundreds of dollars and took months to make. It was very hard to leave her store with nothing in my hand. It is worth noting that purchasing a locally made product (I did end up buying a hand crafted leather bag), means giving a sustainable livelihood to very talented artisans living in some of the poorest regions in the country.

I was surprised to hear that the richest man in the world is Mexican. Even more surprised that, perhaps either as an act of love and/or ego, he gifted a magnificent museum to his wife. She is a well known lover of art, and she just needed a place to store them. So they figured, why not share it with the people. And while they were at it, they decided to design the museum like something out of a sci-fi movie. Gorgeous modern architecture.

Like many museums, the Museo Soumaya is free for Mexicans. And fortunately for everyone else too. I noticed that unlike many prestigious museums around the world, there weren't so many security guards or glass cases to protect the work. And just from my observations, they didn't need them. Mexican visitors were so respectful of the work that there was no fooling around or brash behavior.

I started to understand how art and culture was in their blood.

It is easy to get inspired in this city. There is so much originality and depth, founded on centuries of evolution, that it carries its own voice. Yet, if the Kpop craze in Mexico is anything to go by, the people are still evolving and accepting of global influences.

I think that is my takeaway about Mexican culture.

It has a vibrant energy that at once is deeply rooted in its past, yet open enough to welcome the future.

Trip Report VLog: Mexico City 2015

It was an unexpected trip.

But one I will cherish for as long as I live.

I never prepped for it. Wanted to let the place reveal itself to me. So I didn't know the baggage that Mexico carried in the eyes of some Americans.

Donald Trump's recent rants about Mexicans is very telling. There is a perception about Mexico generally being a crime infested backward country.  Much later I got a lot of "whyyyyy" and "wasn't it dangerous???"

Why? Duty. Wasn't it dangerous? No.

At least not in the city itself. All I knew was Mexico City was not on a Singaporean's travel radar. So I was quite happy to be an ambassador.

The city constantly surprised me.

From the back alleys that had little gems. To the realization that the world's richest man, Carlos Sim is himself a Mexican and his influence was everywhere. I also learned that Mexico City was bursting with museums. All world class. And that art was everywhere. And so were the weekend markets.  And free wifi.

Mexico City had so much to offer that the problem you would have was deciding what to do in a day. Like New York City where it would not be likely to exhaust all dining options in a lifetime, it would be impossible to not have something to do at any single moment in this city.

Mexico City had activities that not only was seasonal, they were also geographical. Each suburb had its own character and pull. Each had its own flavor and type of people (read: one suburb was known to be full of self entitled uber rich White Jews whose kids literally ran the malls). You could spend a day just doing one thing in one suburb, just because the city was that big.

In one suburb, dog walking was another thing to do. Mexicans love their pets. And that was even represented on street markings! Some of the best clubs, surprise surprise, were apparently in the gay neighborhood. It was like walking down Chelsea. It was that open.

Mexico City is incredibly LGBT friendly. And if memory does not fail me, it is legal there as well. I saw so many gay and lesbian couples walking hand in hand, some kissing in public, and NO ONE batted an eyelid. It was liberating to feel that sense of freedom and equality that does not exist in other places like the GCC countries, parts of the US and even Singapore.

Bike riding was a big deal. Like NYC and other European cities, they had eco bikes for rent. And in the weekend, Sundays I believe, the entire stretch of Avenue Juarez all the way to the Zocalo was closed for cyclists and rollerbladers. The weekend was an opportunity to check out young and uber fit Mexicans do their thing and show off their beauty. And there were lots. It was like going to Central Park in summer.  Hot bods galore!

For history buffs, parts of Mexico City was built on top of an actual ancient Mayan city. You literally could either go into a museum to experience it, or just look down beneath the glass sidewalks in the Zocalo to see pyramid blocks. Amazing.

For anyone who fanned fear into my face, there was no need. Security forces were everywhere at all times. You could not miss them. There was something comforting about it. Mexico City seemed kinda welcoming to foreigners, although it would help a lot to speak Spanish. I even found a street with Korean restaurants. Koreans were setting up shop and home there in a big way.

There will be more to talk about, and I will as accompanying text to other videos. But I will say this.

I always travel to experience a different lifestyle from ground up. I thought since Mexico was SO far from Asia, I could avoid meeting another Singaporean, and hearing Singlish and seeing them expect the level of efficiency that we have taken for granted at home, in the countries they visit.

Can you imagine how I felt when I bumped into 30 of them in the city, complaining about theater tickets?

OMG.

That's another story for later.

Trip Report VLog: Lufthansa 747-8i Business Class Upper Deck Frankfurt to Mexico + Lounge!

So I am getting the hang of making video reports. It is soooo much easier and more fun to put pictures into a video format!

Still, you can't put in all the info unless you do voice overs or something. So I will still have to depend on writing, just a bit.

Imagine arriving around 6 am and having your next flight at past 1 pm. In FRA. OMG. I knew I had to come up with some plan to avoid boredom.  The lounge is nice, but it isn't the most interesting lounge on the planet.

So I decided upon arrival to go through the hassle of immigration and get out to land side. For reasons I still can't understand, I thought it was a good idea to go into the city and maybe do some shopping. Of course I would forget that shops would not open until say 10 am, and that it would be brrr cold outside and  of course I would forget to bring the right clothes. Plan B it was. To get into the arrivals lounge (since I was not air side anymore). Thought I could shower, and have breakfast.

Well.

LH Arrivals lounge, I was soon to learn, was only for people coming off LH flights. Star Alliance Gold status would not get you in. Even if your flight was LH coded but operated by another carrier.

So what else was there to do?

Shop at the Worldshop for LH Rimowa luggage. Always wanted a matching carry on. Met a Singaporean lady there who was raving about how she compared prices in Singapore and how cheap it was in Germany. My shopping experience took a few hours after I learned that my luggage was a little damaged and I had to go back and exchange it.

I did think of doing the airport tour but they had limited slots and I couldn't make it work. So it was back through immigration and security. FRA is just bad with security. They always find something to gripe about. This time it was my Bose mini sound link. They literally hauled me away, put the damn thing in a box before deciding it wasn't a terrorist tool. The only upside to this experience was the officer, who was a stunner, made a pass at me. Er hm.

The rest of the time was spent in the lounge, where I chatted with the friendly bartender from the Philippines and ate average food. Tried to nap, just couldn't do it.

Boarding was easy. If I wanted to I could even use the pass noted in my iPhone. LH is good for such things. Very integrated and seamless, unlike some other airlines.

On board, the service was professional. Of course it would never be like Asian hospitality. But the ladies were pleasant enough, and they fed us all enough to not warrant any call bell.

Note: I had the first row, upper deck. The beauty of the Dash 8 is of course the extended upper deck. So it should be your first choice. And because it is single aisle up there with limited seats, it does tend to be quieter. I know because I have sat in the main deck business class too. Not pleasant.

First row however meant that your IFE monitors would be cramped together. But lucky me, I was alone in that row. Guess most HON members prefer the full seat set up with all the cubby holes etc.

Catering was of course better than pre-new business class days. And because this was the Dash 8 the service was upgraded. I must say the food wasn't bad at all. And in some respects even better than SQ. Except for the welcome nuts. In a packet, not in a bowl, and not warm. Terrible.

There were two meals on this flight. Lunch and pre-landing dinner, which was an abbreviated version. Single tray service whereas the lunch was course by course.

Amenity kit was from Samsonite. Well the bag at least. Nice, considering what LH used to give out.  Anything missing from the kit you can get from the restrooms.

The flight was uneventful, except that someone from two rows back kept eyeing me, and even shamelessly made several trips to the lavs in the front. It wouldn't take a genius to know that I was er hmm being desired.

The immigration process was simple and quick. And everyone was friendly and used whatever English they knew to welcome me into their country. It was a good start to what would be a hectic trip.

Enjoy the video!

Trip Report: Singapore Airlines Business Class SIN-FRA

Flight:  SQ26
Route:  SIN - FRA
Equipment:  A388
Class:  Business

So it was time to go on an exciting trip, one that would be be 23 hours of flight time, more when you consider the layover in FRA.  Even more exciting was the fact that my itinerary would be flown on SQ and LH, with the latter on the 747-8i.  I had flown that aircraft before and in my opinion is sexier than the A388, so I welcomed the opportunity to fly her again.

Anyway:

Got out of the SKL and took the short walk to gate A4 right below it. That's the thing I love about flying SQ to Europe. You can stay in the lounge to just about the last minute before making your way to the plane.  Priority boarding has less value because of it.

Anyway, it was a pretty standard SQ C flight. It wasn't all that full in business class, which was nice. The dude in 11A looked like someone I worked with in television before (read: AG), and he was pretty friendly. Especially since he didn't mind me taking pictures of his 11A for archive purposes. I was interested to know for sure if that seat would be a hassle since  it was so close to the galley.  In the end, I didn't think it was so bad, although it was true that the crew was efficient in making their rounds, and therefore had to exit from the galley through here.  If you are a light sleeper, avoid.

That was why I chose 15A. Not too close to the galley, not too far from the lavs. Although the cubbie hole for the feet was nothing compared to 11A's full ottoman. Ah well, first world problems.

Meals were ok too. Didn't want to be adventurous so stuck to the tried and true: Lobster Thermidor. My BTC from LHR was underwhelming. So even though SQ sized down the lobster, YES WE NOTICED SQ, it was still delicious enough to have again and again.  Still, the BTC menu hasn't changed much for years. And one would think with the competition from the Gulf carriers, SQ would try to up its game. Hmm.

Nasi Lemak was a safe bet for breakfast. Again BTC. But SQ's is nothing compared to MH's. Of course.

Crew was ok. Which means excellent for other airlines. But for us, it means nothing to write home about. I did get some more toys from them. And of course all my regular magazines. Vogue, Business Traveler, Men's Health...so I was happy.

Anyway enjoy the video of the flight. It is my first attempt. Didn't realize that after years of Final Cut Pro how easy iMovie was LOL....