Back in the departures hall and found the Qatar desks with long line ups for both J and Y.
It was a 15 minute wait till it was my turn for check in and the process itself took around 10 minutes. There was an unfortunate glitch in the system where it showed I was booked on a Y ticket even though I paid full J fare with Avios points. Due to this glitch, the system said I had no access to the lounge. It did not click in my brain until I was talking to a fellow FT friend and he said to fight it next time it happens and ask the agent to call QR HQ to get it fixed (lesson for next time).
Immigration was quick as there was a separate F and J line (the Y line was ridiculously long). While I was initially waiting in the Y line, I was complaining to fellow FT friend about the lounge kerfuffle and then mentioned the Y line. He responded with “There’s a separate J line, go find it”. I ducked under the rope and walked to the other end of the hall and breezed through LOL. Thanks to my saviour. I did try to get into the MH golden lounge but because the BP said “No Lounge”, I was not allowed in. I have been in the lounge before so I did not miss anything. I did have Priority Pass access and went over to the Travel Club Lounge.
Overall, a very nice lounge with comfortable seating and delicious food. Even though it was early morning, it felt like lunch items were put out but I was in no way complaining as it was all very delicious.
Lovely view while lounging
After having my fill (of food) in the lounge, I made the semi long walk to the C gates where the bird was parked. Security was underway and after I was through, boarding began.
Love sitting in the mini cabin
One of the FAs came by to introduce herself and was super sweet. She offered a PDB which was freshly poured when I asked for champagne.
Cold towel and amenity kit – hot take but I prefer a cold towel over a hot one
The menus
Boarding was done and we eventually pushed back.
Lining up
Yeeting out of KUL
The first meal service started within an hour.
Cream of parsnip soup to start.
Chicken Ouzi
Pear and Almond pudding
An hour prior to landing, I went with the Prawn wonton and noodle soup
Doha in the distance
Arriving at our gate
There is a separate immigration for arriving F and J passengers that is inside the QR arrivals lounge. You can freshen up at the lounge before going to immigration and was quick.
Decided to take the metro to the hotel. The walk to the metro from the terminal was a bit longer than normal but easy to follow directions. Once at my destination, the hotel was right next door and was a 5 minute walk.
I chose Aloft because it was at the KL Sentral station and it had a fairly cheap (sub $100 CAD) cash rate. Unfortunately there were no signs pointing to the Aloft as I got to ground level. A kind lady at one of the booths pointed me in the right direction and then I saw a sign indicating where it was. There are two ways to enter the hotel – the first if you cross the street when exiting the station at ground level and the second being a second floor connecting walkway from the station to the second floor of the hotel. I took the latter and after 10 minutes of walking up an escalator, walking across the walkway and taking an elevator down to the ground floor, I arrived at the reception area.
Fun Fact – this door locks at night and I couldnt get out when I checked out to catch the train back to KUL. /cry
Line up for check in – guess it’s a very popular hotel.
I booked a base room and used a SNA to upgrade to a suite and it cleared 4 days before arrival. Very spacious room and would definitely book it again.
I had this whole plan to go out for dinner, but I caught a stomach bug after breakfast on my last day in Manila and I just went to bed. Was the right choice since I had an early wake up call and caught the first train back to KUL.
After checking out, I walked out the front door and crossed the street to the station.
Followed the signs to the platform level and made it just in time before the doors closed.
Back at Changi for my early evening flight to KL. Check in was at T2 and the J class line up was atrocious. Waited in line for 20 minutes and when it was my turn, had my bag tagged with BP in hand within 90 seconds and barely a word to the agent. After scanning my passport and thumbs at immigration, I was off to the lounge for an hour of chill time.
Lounge
More laksa – DIY
Gate was on the opposite end of the terminal, so I had to do a brisk walk to get to it. Had a bit of a heart attack when I saw “gate closed” for my flight on one of the FIDS but when I got to the gate, security was still underway. Not sure what the intent was behind this but there was still 40 minutes before departure.
Intense angle of ascent and descent – LOL.
The seat
Everything was on time from pushback to take off
Meal cart was rolled out and it was a choice of cold noodles or a sandwich. Went with the noodles and it was very tasty.
Back on terra firma after a quick 40 minute flight.
The train to the main terminal was out of service and had to take a bus instead. There was no bus for J class passengers and while I was the first on board, I had to wait 15 minutes for other passengers to fill up the bus.
Immigration was a gong show and there were no automated e-gates for Canadians (this was rolled out a month later). Resigned to being in line for a long time, I walked to the extreme left side of the hall and chose the shortest line. An airport staff member came by later and told us there were other stations open further to the left but the immigration officers were on their phone and just not waving at us to come through. Went from the back of the line to 3rd in time and was through after 5 minutes. Picked up my bag and took the KLIA Express train to KL Sentral station.
Booked one night at the Serangoon House in Little India as it was the cheapest Marriott I could find (hotel rates for Marriott in SG are absolutely terri-bad). I booked a base room and used a SNA certificate to upgrade to the Royal Maharaja suite (confirmed 4 days prior to arrival). Check in was swift and I was assigned a room on the 5th floor.
Hotel exterior
I truly question how they can fit 6 people in a room
Lobby area
Entrance of the room
The room – I am still trying to figure out how 6 people can comfortably sleep in this room. The decision to have a king sized bunk bed is questionable but can clearly fit 4 people. Where are the other 2 supposed to sleep? Or is the expectation that 3 people can sleep on each bed?
I went to bed after showering and woke up early the next morning – was out the door at 7am to grab breakfast at the Tekka centre.
One of my favourite noodle joints
$5 breakfast hit the spot
Back on the subway to the hotel
After lazing in bed for the next few hours, I walked down the road to try out a laksa joint that was always on my list of things to try but never got around to it.
Gorgeous day for a walk
Sungei Road Laksa – while the broth was not as creamy as I have had at other laksa joints, this was definitely good.
Best thing about this dish is that the noodles are cut so that it can be eaten with a spoon.
Instead of taking a $4 cab ride and risking being stuck in traffic for 20 minutes, I decided to use the Runway Manila bridge to cross from the hotel into the airport terminal (was definitely a fun experience).
This is the route I took from behind the hotel versus the front – reason being it was easier to roll the suitcase on smooth and wide sidewalks versus the front which was non conducive for rolling luggage.
If I chose to take a taxi, it would have taken me 20 minutes which the last part being an absolute pain. Google maps says 11 minutes but in reality, its longer because Manila traffic is legendary.
The entrance elevator.
Nicely air conditioned
Thank goodness I chose to walk – traffic on the ramp leading to the departures zone was horrendous.
Found the SQ counters with Y being long.
No line up at the J counters and I was swiftly processed with check in.
Thankfully there were no line ups at immigration and I was processed quickly with security being just as quick. T3 immigration is legendary for long line ups and my friends were telling me to go 4 hours early but I have been lucky both times going through without line ups. Killed at the extra time at the SQ lounge which is in desperate need of a renovation but still not nearly as bad as the other international lounge at T1.
Would have liked to camp here but sadly not today.
SQ lounge
Was wondering what I wanted to eat but then saw this and ate all of it. Dont judge. 😀
The other hot food items looked ok.
Found a corner seat to camp in and happy I came early as the lounge was full closer to boarding time.
Boarding was called and made my way down to the gate where the BP was scanned and made my way onboard.
Intra Asia J seat (same as the one used on the Turkish A350)
Menu – catering out of MNL is solid.
Bubbles to start
Meals were served at hour after take off and was very efficient
Famous garlic bread and appetizer to start – delicious!
Braised beef noodles as my main – very tasty.
After napping for the rest of the flight, we landed in Singapore. Made my way to immigration which was super easy with the automated kiosks. Don’t understand why other international airports cant use this system.
Luggage came out quickly and I hopped into a cab to get to the hotel.
After a relaxing and fun filled stay at the resort, it was time to head back to Manila to hang out with friends. Had a mid morning departure from the resort to get to the airport for an early afternoon flight.
After 90 minutes, made it back to the airport.
ID and ticket check before entering the terminal.
Bit of a queue at check in but was through in 25 minutes.
Security was a breeze, boarding was called on time, departure was on time and after 65 minutes was back in Manila.
Back at the Sheraton and this time checked in at the lounge on the 10th floor.
Met up with a fellow AV enthusiast for dinner at Manam which serves upscale Filipino cuisine.
Yum
After dinner, walked over to Blackbird which was almost next door to Manam. The restaurant used to be Manila’s first commercial airport.
If you manage to get a reservation, ask for a table in the tower. Very private and a cool experience looking out over the building.
Fast forward to the next morning where I had a light breakfast as the plan was to tour Chinatown and do a walking food tour.
Best view to wake up to …
Had a small breakfast at the lounge
Left the hotel around 11am and it took us 90 minutes in “normal traffic conditions” to get to Chinatown.
Passing by the National Museum
Yay, we finally reached.
Starting the tour with a quick coffee at 1919 Grand Cafe. This heritage building was built in 1922 and used to be a HSBC bank branch before being renovated into a coffee shop.
Started our walk along the main artery leading deeper into Chinatown.
Our first stop was down an alleyway
Something similar to a Singapore popiah roll. Filled with hot veggies.
Continuing down the alleyway to our next stop.
Ahma’s Kitchen
It was pretty full and we had a 10 minute wait before a table opened up.
Lots of frozen food.
Two types of deep fried savoury pastries
Continued walking
Final stop
The siopao’s were hot and fresh
We did have another final place to visit but it was closed and we decided to call it for the day. We passed by the Binondo Church (formally known as the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and also as Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish).
For dinner, I went out for dinner with friends. Since I was craving more Filipino food, we went to Crisostomo at the Newport Mall which is connected to the Sheraton. Got a few dishes to share family style – in no particular order: crispy and deep fried pork belly, inasal, pancit noodles and sisig.
Passed by a whiskey bar on the way to the restaurant – this is what I want my basement bar to look like (one can only dream).
When I booked this hotel, it was by sheer luck that I found it on the map within the Marriott app. I didn’t want to go back to Boracay or Cebu but if I did not have any other choice, I would have gone back to either of those two places. Interesting enough, another Four Points also opened up in Boracay but it was not directly on the beach which cemented my decision to fly to Palawan. Some of you might say “Well why didnt you go to El Nido?” or not, I dont know, I can’t read your minds. Well, the short answer is that I did not know there were direct flights to El Nido at the time and secondly, no Marriott. After a 90 minute drive through the countryside, we reached the resort which is north(ish) of the town of Puerto Princesa and located on Sabang beach.
Past the security and it was a short distance to the main entrance.
The lobby
I was welcomed by the staff and proceeded with the check in formalities. Upon looking at my passport, the staff member said “Ah Mr. Jason, we have been expecting you” – you all fully know its going to be one of those memorable stays. I was provided with a cold towel and cold drink.
I dont know what this was but it was damn refreshing.
Another agent came out to welcome me and then the assistant GM came out to say hello. Once the formalities were done, I was escorted to my room by the assistant GM who gave me an overview of the facilities. I was upgraded to a one bedroom suite which is the highest category at the resort and there are only 3 categories in total. My room was right next to the main restaurant and beach, so it was a short walk every day.
Entrance
Bathroom to the left as you enter the room
A welcome note and sweet treats on the bar near the closet
Vary spacious
Got some dinner and then turned in for the evening
The next morning, I walked around the resort to explore. FP Sheraton took over a local resort and opened up in 2023.
Corridor in the west block of rooms
When walking past the lobby into the main pool area
View towards the beach
The beach
Looking back towards the resort from the beach
6am-ish sunrise
When walking out my room, the path led to the beach and the restaurant (left)
The restaurant was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is an Italian restaurant on the other side but was closed for renovations. The room service menu is exactly the same as the restaurant menu but on some nights, there were specials offered for sit down dinner. The breakfast spread was ok – nothing compared to Westin or JWM’s but still more than enough for me. The only complaint from me is that the hot dishes were not hot enough – for that matter, it was not even luke warm. I stuck to the eggs station for fresh made dishes for my stay.
Cereal and Juice station
Breads and Pastries
Hot dishes – a mix of Western and Local cuisines
For obvious reasons, I chose to come down to Puerto Princesa for scuba diving. Maybe it was not obvious but I hope it would be based on my previous trip reports. The only dive shops located closest to the resort were back in town which was 90 minutes or the alternatives were 2 hours north halfway to El Nido. After some researching and chatting back and forth with some shops via Whatsapp, I chose to go with Lets Dive as they were the most informative in answering my questions and had a lot of good reviews on Google (yes, I trust the internets). I arranged a transfer service via the hotel which cost CAD $80 round trip.
Pickup was at 6.30am which gave me enough time to have a light breakfast and made it to the shop around 8am. It was great that I chose this shop as it turned out to be a 5 minute walk from the city lounge where the van was waiting to take me back.
No other pictures of diving as I was mostly taking videos and there was the usual macro life like nemo / dori fish (yes I call them nemo and dori fish), stonefish, scorpion fish, trigger fish etc.
After getting my log book signed, I wished the team well and made my way to the lounge to wait for the pick up. As mentioned before, this lounge is used for resort guests to wait until the pre determined shuttle time. Usually, it was every 3 hours starting at 8am and ending at 8pm. The lounge itself was decent with light snacks and juices available for consumption.
The upstairs level of the lounge which was rarely used as they kept the lights off. I happened to go upstairs to use the shower to clean off after the dives. Biggest regret using the shower facilities as it was not clean (in case anyone on FT decides to use the facilities and need a shower).
I got back to the resort around 3.30pm and headed to the restaurant for a cold one. My reward after a long day out in the water.
Came back to the room to see this – but ofcourse you missed me. LOL
The next day, I booked a tour via the front desk of the underground river. I met the tour guide along with other guests by the restaurant and we walked to the nearby town which was barely 5 minutes walking distance. I am glad I did the morning tour as it started at 9am and we were back by 11am. By the time we got back to the port, the volume of tourists doubled waiting to get onto boats.
Groups were being called in sequence to board their designated boat.
Our group was called after a 10 minute wait and it took us around 15 minutes to get to the beach where the underground river was located.
Honestly, it was a much better beach compared to where the resort was located and the water was much calmer/clear.
We walked up the beach to a central meeting area – used the washroom before heading down the path to another boat launch area.
Strange but ok.
Tour guide giving us a history lesson – the underground river is part of Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park which is a UNESCO heritage site and one of the new 7 wonders of the world.
Into the dark depths
The caves are home to lots of bats and was fun to see them hanging on top and flying through.
The river itself is 8km long and we could only go 1.5km in. Sad that it was not open to scuba diving as it would have been an amazing adventure doing a dive in there.
After 30 minutes, finally made our way back.
After we got back to the town, I walked back to the beach and plopped down on a lounger to enjoy the rest of the morning.
Was peckish around noon and I made my way to the pool bar for a light refreshment.
Not today Satan #IYKYK
Was a little peckish.
Back to the room and another friend was waiting for me.
The finer touches from the cleaning staff
View of pool at night
For dinner, I ate at the restaurant the rest of the nights.
Pork Adobo
Lamb Shank
Banana milkshake
Closing thoughts on the resort – well rounded staff who showed amazing Filipino hospitality and finer touches, the food was good but not great (breakfast to be specific), and it did not feel crowded at all. Also, who would have thought of Four Points Sheraton brand as a beach resort! Night and day difference to a FP in North America.
Had a late morning flight out of MNL T2 which would have got me into Palawan for early afternoon. PAL had other plans though …
Took a Grab taxi from the hotel to T2 and reached curbside in 20 minutes with light traffic.
The check in line for Y was deep but there were many agents manning the desks and had my BP after 20 minutes. Security was also quick and I had time to kill airside – T2 is woefully inadequate for the amount of passengers passing through in terms of space, amenities, facilities, HVAC etc. The only lounge there is the PAL lounge if you are flying J.
The incoming aircraft was late, communication was less than stellar and the flight was delayed an hour. Boarding was eventually called in an orderly fashion and quickly completed. There was a line up for take off given that MNL uses one runway for the most part and it was another 20 minute wait.
One of the crew moved me one row back and I had it to myself which was great.
Love it when you walk from the plane to the terminal. Staff on the ground were handing out umbrellas but I was in full vacation mode and wanted to absorb all that wonderful UV radiation.
Bags took 15 minutes to arrive but I got mine quickly and was out the terminal in no time.
Crossed the street to where hotel reps were waiting and I was relieved to see that the rep was still there waiting for me. For context, the hotel picks guests from the airport and take them to a lounge in town before making the long drive to the resort. The pick up / drop off times are slotted and I came out the terminal 15 minutes after the allotted afternoon slot.
We made our way to the city lounge to pick up 2 more guests and were then off on the 90 minute drive to the resort.
Randomly checked my phone and found it auto connected to the mobile wifi – LOL.
At T-60, I made the long trek to the gate as it was a good 15 minutes at a leisurely pace. IST is ridiculously large and the only negative thing about it is that there are no movators.
Really getting my steps in 😀
Got to the gate and boarding was underway. Despite a J line, everything got bottleneck in the long tunnel leading to the tubes.
The chariot.
Spied the J class tube and ducked in.
My seat for the next 10-ish hours. Same one used by SQ for intra Asia flights on their 787’s and 350’s.
Cabin crew came by offering PDB’s and went with OJ this time – very tasty.
Menu’s were provided shortly after.
Aircraft pushed back on time and we eventually whooshed our way into the night sky
Meal service started an hour after take off. Started with the smoked turkey, cheeses and veggies.
Followed by the poached eggs with shakshuka which was ok
We flew into a nice sunrise and it was good just watching the flight via the tail cam.
3 hours before landing, the next meal service started. Started with a small amuse bouche.
Followed by a cart of appetizers to choose from.
Creamy Avocado soup
Grilled lamb chops – delicious!
Finishing off with the eclair and bread/butter pudding – very good.
Landing in MNL
Parked at our assigned gate
Immigration was quick – was 10th in line and after the formalities, made my way to baggage claim. The bag was already on the belt by there. Was picked up by friends for the 5 minute drive round the bend to the Sheraton. Always loved the decor, vibe and hospitality here versus the Marriott next door. The check in agent asked if I wanted to go to the lounge for the formalities but I declined as I just wanted to get to my room – was “upgraded” to the club floor but I didnt care as I just wanted to get in for a shower and sleep.
Comfy for one night.
After a semi decent sleep, I woke up to a wonderful view – the wow factor for me is the airport views.
To wrap up on my TK experience – I have heard good things about it and I will agree to a certain extent. I set my expectations low for anything business class these days and I was not disappointed but I was also not wow-ed compared to SQ and QR. The cabin crew were good, professional and smiling. The food and drinks were delicious and the lounge experience was better than most (I’m looking at your Air Canada). The seat on this leg is just terrible for a long haul flight and felt a little tight when compared to other airlines with better business class seat products.
After going through security which was super painless (I’m looking at you TSA) – I was spit out into the airside portion of the terminal and boy is it gorgeous.
Since I was there on a 14 hour layover, I decided to just camp out at the airside Yotel. I was able to book based on an hourly rate and was cheaper compared to a full nights rate. What I did not know at the time was that the Turkish J lounge had sleep rooms with specific requirements but c’est la vie.
Check in was smooth and I made my way to my assigned room. It was very spacious compared to the Yotel at Changi Airport.
After a comfortable 10 hour stay, checked out around midnight and had 4 hours till take off. Walked back to the central area to find the entrance to the TK J lounge.
After scanning my BP at the automated gate, I was let into the main lobby area
Locker area off to the left of the lobby and sleep rooms / shower further down past the lockers.
The lounge was very busy around midnight when I entered and then cleared out after an hour. It was difficult to find seating initially but as people were leaving, I started to get better seats far away from everyone else.
I went to find food and there were only a couple hot dishes available at this time which was fine. I missed the kebabs which I was told were really good. Chef was serving veggie stew, rice and beans.
Found the pide station!
Five choices for consumption – all were so good.
There were two dessert and drinks stations.
The UEFA attraction
Other areas of the lounge
Went to check out the shower lounge – lack of ventilation if you are having a hot shower.
Overlooking the terminal
Waiting for my gate number to be posted
Had a good lounge experience overall – very open and airy but be warned of how crowded it can get during peak times which is probably all the time except between 12am – 5am.
Hooked On Points 