Author: JP

Sheraton Jakarta Airport

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Despite being an F passenger, my bag came out in the middle of the pack and after submitting the customs form, was on my way to the Grab checkpoint.

An agent was kind enough to help me order a car via the app as I was having credit card issues and eventually got sorted.

Since I only had 8 hours before coming back to the airport to catch the return flight, I wanted to book a hotel that was either in the airport or close to it. Spooled up the Bonvoy app again and found the Sheraton and a Fairfield. While the FF was cheaper, I just went with Sheraton since its a brand I know well and thought it was just a regular hotel.

The ride to the hotel was convoluted because of how the roadways were designed – we basically did a full loop of the perimeter of the airport before turning off on a side road leading up to the hotel but it was fun nonetheless.

Imagine my utter surprise when I pull up and find out its a resort – LOL.

The staff were welcoming and the person checking me in was confused as to why I arrived so early but had to remind him again that the booking was from the previous night and I had requested to hold the room due to my ridiculously late (or super early?) arrival. Once that was sorted, I was directed to my room.

Lobby with check in desks to the right

Entrance

Lounge area

Garden View room

Walked through a courtyard and there are pools with lots of fish (koi?) in them. Funny enough that as you walked up close to the pool, the fish would swim towards you quickly, possibly in an attempt for food being given to them.

After dumping my things in the room, I freshened up and went for breakfast. Apparently breakfast was included in the room rate – so yay.

Lots of dishes featuring Asian and Western cuisines, plus a bakery section, fresh pressed cold juices and a noodle station.

After breakfast, took a walk out the pool area.

The heat was terrifically scorching at 9am and the pool looked really inviting.

Wanted to get back to the cold clutches of the room AC and walked down the path towards my room.

Checked out at 4pm to head back to the airport and found out the hotel had a shuttle service that ran hourly.

View of the resort from the highway.

Next up – SQ F – CGK to SIN

Singapore Airlines First Class – Singapore to Jakarta

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Was bored on TPR/FCL, so went for a walk over to T2. Hopped on the skytrain and eventually made my way to the SQ FCL.

Lounge is long over due for a make over and the renovation is expected to complete by end of 2025.

Dining area

Some new items available for purchase on the KrisShop.

Made my way to the boarding gate around 5:30, passed through security, boarding was announced and I was the first onboard.

1A again 😀

The LSS came over to introduce herself and she commented on how I looked fresh so early in the morning. 😀

Started with a coffee.

Menu

By the time I was done round 2 of coffee, the doors were closed and push back started. The safety video came on as the taxi started.

Sunrise

See you soon, Changi.

Cabin crew were in action quickly to serve breakfast. Fruits and OJ to start.

Followed by BTC Lobster Thermidor

We made it safely to CGK.

Last look at the bird.

The Private Room

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Back in my favourite airport in the world and made my way to TPR.

I wanted to maximize as much time in TPR as possible since it would be my first (and possibly last) time that I would see the new version. The last time I was in TPR, it was circa 2017. I decided to camp out there until my 7am departure next day to CGK.

Up the stairs to heaven.

I was welcomed and escorted into TPR, given a quick tour and left to my own devices.

Took a seat and the staff inquired if I wanted anything to drink. Started off with water.

Dining area

Looking down on the main T3 concourse area

Asked for a shower room and got one after a 10 minute wait.

Had dinner afterwards and took a seat in the dining area.

Menu

Stir Fry Beef Hor Fun – yum

Poached Lobster with Caviar

After dinner, I inquired about getting a nap room and got one with a two hour time limit. Reading the FT forums indicated that the staff were not strict on the time limit so decided to risk it all and stay until I got kicked out. Had a solid 6 hours in the nap room and was eventually kicked out around midnight for other passengers. The only irritating thing was that the lights would auto come on every 2 hours, so had to get up to shut it off as the switch was near the door and no switches near the bed – #firstworldproblems.

After freshening up, I grab an empty couch and worked my way through a bottle to kill the time.

TPR closes between 2.30am to 5.30am for cleaning. As such, we were requested to move over to the FCL.

Grabbed a seat near the back of the lounge

The buffet was open and decided to see what was there. TBH, the food selection was really good.

Made to order items.

Roti Prata with chicken curry and Fried Hokkien Mee – these two dishes really hit the spot at 3am.

Around 5.00am, I hopped on the skytrain from T3 to T2 to try out the SQ FCL there.

Next up – SQ F – SIN to CGK

Singapore Airlines Suites Class – Frankfurt to Singapore

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At 6pm, checked out and took the train back to the airport.

Wandered over to the C check in desks to spy on the SQ activity.

Security was as convoluted as it gets at FRA but eventually got through as well as immigration. Had a lot of time to kill before boarding, so wandered around. I did want to visit the AC MLL but it was closed.

Nice plane spotting.

The Condor livery is growing on me.

Only lounge choice left was the Senator lounge.

No complaints about the lounge as it was my first time experiencing it – felt big enough and separated into different sections. Not a lot of people were in the lounge during the time I was there and therefore felt roomier and peaceful.

Dining area

Was super hungry since I skipped lunch and was happy with the selections

The spa seems enticing …

T-60 and I made my way to the gate and found the gate lice.

There was an agent manning the Suites area and in typical Canadian fashion, I apologetically yet politely inquired if the line up was here. She responded with “you are welcome to board now!”. She undid the rope and let me know, scanned my BP and I was off towards the boarding tube.

I was welcomed onboard by the purser and handed off to the LSS who escorted me to my seat.

1A – the holiest … you know what I mean 😀

Staircase to heaven if you are boarding from the bottom level

Libis came by to introduce himself and asked if I wanted a PDB. Went with the Tattinger to start.

After downing the first glass, I snuck into the washroom to change into PJs.

When I got back to my seat, Libis poured round 2.

Perusing the menu while boarding was wrapping up.

The SIN to FRA menu which I honestly thought was way better than the FRA to SIN menu.

FRA to SIN section

Fast forward past take off and cabin crew got into action once the sign came from the captain. Served with some more Tattinger.

Show time

Round 3 but this time back to Cristal

Bit of a funny moment here when the LSS attempted to pour during a bumpy part of the flight and some of the delicious liquid spilled over to the floor.

Caviar to start

Caviar from China – I guess SQ doesnt purchase Russian anymore? Or never did?

Saw the trend, didnt understand it but YOLO

Should it be caviar on the top or bottom

Double boiled pork shank soup – Love a good broth

BTC Lobster Ballotine – meh but you know, lobster. Also, they didnt have Lobster Thermidor in the BTC selection which itself was quite poor ex FRA.

Finale – Buchette Cerise

After dinner, I requested the cabin crew to make the bed while I went to the washroom.

I set my alarm to wake me up in 3 hours but I was still groggy and went back down for another 3 hours LOL. After freshening up, I ordered a mid flight snack.

Egg noodles with Prawn

Massaman Moo

Raw dogging it until the next meal service.

With 2 hours to go, breakfast service started.

Fruits to start.

Cornflakes

Blueberry pancakes

Landing was butter and sadly did not get the iconic landing view over the strait.

Once last look before disembarking from the plane.

Next up – The Private Room

Moxy Frankfurt Hotel and a few hours of exploring

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Fairly busy on the S8/S9 train to the Moxy hotel which was one stop away.

The hotel was an easy 5 minute walk when exiting the Garden Gateway station and quite easy to follow Google Map instructions. I was not keen on sleeping or lounging airside in FRA and was not keen on dragging my backpack and roller around in the city. Spooled up the Dayuse app, found a bunch of hotels available and ultimately chose the Moxy since close to the airport and there was a 10am-6pm timeslot available. This was perfect as I landed shortly after 10am and my outbound flight was after 9pm. I debated making an actual reservation through the Marriot app but I decided against it as I was not sure if they would allow an early check in.

Check in process was fairly straightforward. Initially, the agent said “Sir, there is no room available at this time for early check in” but then I said I booked through Dayuse and voila!, a room became instantly available.

I asked the agent if its possible to add my Bonvoy number to the stay to get the EQN and she indicated that she can but didnt know if it would count. Well, happy to say that it did add the EQN when I checked my account the next day! 🙂

Solid room for a short 8 hour stay, dumped my stuff, quick shower and back out again.

Back on the S8/S9.

Got off at Konstablerwache and followed directions towards the old town. Was lucky that the sun was out as the weather forecast showing rainy days before and after I arrived but to be honest, does anyone really trust the weather people?

As I walked towards old town, I passed by Frankfurt Cathedral and decided to quickly pop in. There was a service happening, so just sat in a pew to enjoy the calm before heading off again.

I came, I saw, I conquered? … and kept walking. Came to the river, crossed the bridge, took some photos. I had a restaurant in mind to have lunch but then found out if was closed on Tuesdays (all of the bad luck) and then said “F it, I’m going back to the room to sleep”. 😀


More bad luck followed and the trains were delayed due to a fire at one of the stations but I eventually made it back to the room and had a few hours of nappy nap time.

Singapore Airlines First Class – New York to Frankfurt

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Even with rush hour traffic on the Van Wyck, the ride to JFK took 30 minutes. I was 4 hours early but still able to check in.

An agent was able to help me at a different counter and checked my bag all the way to CGK.

The TSA pre check line took 15 minutes to get through but it was still much better compared to the regular TSA line. Once past, I had to kill time before entering any lounge as I could only enter 3 hours before departure.

First lounge – AMEX Centurion

Found the speak easy at the back and got a drink. After killing an hour or so, headed down to the VA lounge.

Yup, definitely not heading to the Air India lounge. 😀

Access to the VA lounge granted for SQ F passengers only and it was definitely better than the AMEX lounge.

Didnt take pics of the lounge itself but feel free to check the IG story link for a video walkthrough.

https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3ODUxNDIzNzA3NDQwODg2?story_media_id=3612187795156072115&igsh=MW1wdDZlOGUya2sxcw==

It was empty in the lounge and one of the staff members came by and said I could have my pick of where I wanted to sit. She was very friendly and was nice having conversations with her about food and other things.

Nice view from where I was sitting.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54548052682_f7801894ed_c.jpg
Food menu

Lychee martini and jerk chicken wings. I did also try Roast Atlantic Salmon but it was overcooked and picked at it.

Bread and butter pudding as a sweet finale

An hour before departure, an announcement was made that boarding would begin soon and I headed down to the gate. As I arrived, boarding for F passengers just started.

Down the hatch

As I stepped on board, I was welcome by the ISM: “Mr JP, welcome back, you know the way” and pointed me towards my seat.

As I walked to my seat, I heard him call out to the LSS and indicate I was onboard: “Mr. JP from 1A is here”. The LSS and another male cabin crew came by to welcome me and introduce themselves.

The holiest of all seats – 1A

Since alcohol could not be served on the ground, I just went with water for PDB.

Menu

The flight continues from FRA to SIN after a 1.5 hour layover. The menu also includes selections for the FRA-SIN leg.

Shortly after, the LSS came by with PJs, an amenity kit and slippers.

Boarding was completed on time and pushback shortly thereafter. SQ’s boarding has always been consistent with starting on time and completing quickly.

The safety demo as we taxi-ed out.

Peace out NYC.

Shortly afterwards, the seatbelt sign went off and the crew sprang into action.

Cristal to start.

Show time – SQ style

Round 2 – went with the Tattinger

Verdict – I prefer the Cristal over the Tat as its more lighter.

Garlic bread – yum

Balik salmon with caviar

For the main course, I chose the BTC option of Maine Lobster with potatoes. The dish was wonderful and the potatoes were deliciously spicy.

Dessert was meh.

After dinner, I requested the bed to be made. Wanted to get as much sleep as I could due to the short TATL flight.

I skipped breakfast, although after looking back at the menu I wish I had tried something from it but c’est la vie.

Coming in hot into FRA.

One last look at the bird.

After passing quickly through customs, I hopped on the train to head to the hotel.

Air Canada Business Class – Toronto to New York and the Renaissance NY Flushing Hotel

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After a solid half day of “working hard”, I hopped in the Lyft and headed over to YYZ. Check in at the AC desk was done in 30 seconds, security took a tad longer and US immigration was a breeze (despite unwarranted fears of US border security randomly pulling people aside for additional searches).

Todays long list of flights

As usual, the AC MLL Transborder lounge was a zoo with a long line for lunch.

Sad pickings as usual but a free lunch is a free lunch.

An hour before boarding, I get an email indicating the flight was cancelled and to wait for further instructions. Despite my initial panic, I did get another email 5 minutes later indicating I was rebooked on another flight 4 hours later but this did not sit well with me. I ran down to the customer service desk and managed to grab the last J seat on an earlier flight. After sorting all the mess out, I went over the absurdly small PP lounge which did have comfy sofas and camped out for another 2 hours before heading down to the gate.

Gate lice hanging around waiting for the boarding announcement.

Boarding group 1 was eventually called. Group 2 decided to hold everyone up and not let group 1 pass which was super annoying but hey, we were all headed to the same place right?

4A – I initially had 1A on the original flight but cant complain, at least I made it on.

Boarding completed on time, pushback was quick and we were off towards runway 23.

Whoosh

Onboard service was as ok as it gets on AC. The cabin crew member working J was really nice and I hope AC hires more people like her.

Hot (ish) towels after take off.

Chicken salad meal served shortly after – tasty

30 minutes after take off, the Captain came on the horn and announced our descent towards LGA.

After a short taxi ride where the driver tried to scam me out of $95 for a 15 minute ride, I arrived at the hotel.

Check in was quick and I was given a room on the club lounge floor.

Went to the lounge for a small dinner before retiring for the night.

Chicken and rice – good enough for me. 🙂

Also had breakfast in the lounge and saved stomach space till I go to the airport in the evening. At 4pm, checked out and grabbed a Lyft to JFK Terminal 4.

Up next – SQ F – JFK to FRA

A tale of Lobster tails and 1A’s

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Introduction

Hello from Toronto! – the city with the most diverse ethnicities in the world and the NHL’s most frustrating hockey team. 😀

The Mrs was kind enough for the 2nd year in a row to grant me permission and fly off to lands unknown (well not really unknown but you know what I mean) to celebrate my birthday. The trip this year was based on getting award seats on two of my two most coveted bucket list airlines – SQ and QR in F. As luck would have it, a seat opened up on both airlines on the exact dates I needed to travel on.

The initial plan was to fly to Indonesia and spend a week on a local island for scuba diving. I then happened to see a friend post a story on instagram about a dive group heading to the Maldives on the exact dates I was travelling and it instantly sealed my decision to divert from Indonesia to the Maldives.

After the Maldives, I would have 2 days each in SIN and BKK before making the long trip back home.

The final itinerary:

Air Canada J – YYZ to LGA
Renaissance Hotel – 1 night
Singapore Airlines F – JFK to FRA
Out and about in FRA
Singapore Airlines Suite – FRA to SIN
The Private Room
Singapore Airlines F – SIN to CGK
Sheraton CGK
Singapore Airlines F – CGK to SIN
Yotel SIN
Singapore Y – SIN to MLE
Maldives – fun in the sun … and underwater too
Singapore Airlines J – MLE to SIN
Serangoon House – 2 nights
Singapore Airlines J – SIN to BKK
Waldorf Astoria BKK – 2 nights
Qatar Airways F – BKK to DOH
Zombie mode in DOH
Qatar Airways J – DOH to IAD
United “F” – IAD to YYZ + continued zombie mode

Qatar Airways Business Class – Doha to Chicago

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With no traffic at 5:30am, the cabbie made it to the airport in 15 minutes-ish.

Someday I will walk towards the right for the F check in.

US check in had a separate area and it was done fairly quickly. I just had to provide hotel info as I would be staying over in ORD for one night. After that formality, bags were quickly tagged and sent off into the void and BP provided. The agent was kind enough to provide directions to the Al Mourjan Garden lounge as it was closer to the boarding gate.

The other side of the check in hall.

Poor bear still has not been freed from its prison.

On the train heading to the C concourse.

Quick walk through in the Garden before heading to the lounge. Absolutely stunning.

After walking through the garden thinking about life, my existence and my place in this lonely universe, I headed to the lounge for breakfast. Followed the signs and then took the elevator up one level. As I got out of the elevator, a friendly agent gave me a small tour and indicated different areas of the lounge. I headed to the sit down area for breakfast first.

The LV lounge that charges an extra fee for entrance.

Eggs Benny

Self Service stations

After breakfast, I headed back to the front and walked over to the other side of the lounge where the quiet area was located.

Lovely view overlooking the garden.

The quiet area – so nice sitting here. Very open and airy.

Decided to leave early and check out the gate area and good thing I did leave as there was a line up for secondary security which was a bit of a mess. I made it through with no issues and waited in the holding pen. After 10 minutes, boarding was called with J passengers invited to board first.

Still havent hit the A350 on my QR bingo card.

Flew on the 777 with the all white Oneworld livery and could not get a good picture – so sad.

Welcome to 1K. The cabin crew member working my side of the plane came by to introduce herself and asked for my choice of PDB. Shortly after, the purser came by and introduced herself and gave flight details. Service overall on this flight was SUPERB and the crew were amazing.

OJ PDB

Menus

Pushback was on time and we made our way to the runway. It was a bit of the wait for our turn due to the heavy volume of birds but we were eventually on our way.

Geez, another new concourse.

Two Finnair birds.

Some more waiting …

Oh look, another Finnair – is QR leasing these birds from Finnair?

Oh yay, our turn finally.

Peace out DOH.

As the plane was climbing, one of the trolleys came loose from its station and a tray full of nuts and ramekins came crashing down onto the floor (made a very loud bang). Felt bad for the person who didn’t lock it up properly and took some time to clean it up after.

The aftermath …

An hour after take off, the first meal service began.

Setting the table. As a famous person once said, “Show time!” Keep forgetting his name though …

Bubbly to start.

Amuse bouche on deck

Cheers!

Soup of the day – I think it was cream of mushroom (can’t remember now) and it was yummy.

Qatari spiced barramundi machboos – insert perfection emoji here.

Warm poached pear in syrup – meh.

After the meal service, I went to change into PJs while the crew working my side turned the seat into a bed.

For the second meal service, I first went with the greek yoghurt and then the Bircher Muesli

Arrival into ORD was fairly smooth and uneventful – unless you count the heavy slam when the tires hit the tarmac.

Long taxi to T5

Stayed one night at the Sheraton Suites ORD as my flight back home was next day at 9am. Nothing much to write about other than the flight was on time and there was no meal service since the caterer at YYZ was on strike and we only got chips and water.

Business class on an A220.

Home after 2 weeks.

Thank you for reading and see you in the next TR!

JW Marriott Marquis Doha

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Chose to stay here because it was the semi cheapest plus also on the metro line with easy access to tourist sites. At least that was my thought process when I had plans to do some touring but the stomach bug forced me to stay in bed until the next morning. Check in at the hotel was smooth – had a pleasant conversation with the lady checking me in about what to do in Doha etc. GM was unavailable at the time for a meet and greet but it didn’t bother me much and I went up to my room. Again, booked a base room and used a SNA to upgrade to a one bedroom suite.

Lobby

Room – exceptionally clean and comfortable for one night with the only complaints being that it felt a little dated and the shower stall was tight.

Welcome chocolate

One of the good things about this hotel is that it is connected to the mall. I did pop out quickly to the local supermarket to buy stuff to bring home. The mall is huge with lots of shops and amenities. Other than that, here are the only pictures I took of Doha on my way to the airport.