Singapore, Bangkok, a blowout RTW

First Class was invited to board just after a couple dozen "passengers with children under two and those needing a little extra time".   We all boarded thru 2L and as soon as the greeting flight attendant saw my boarding pass, she escorted me to my 2A.    Nice cabin although the ANA square is not my favorite seat. Excellent privacy but who needs and wants a wall of storage in front of the window.

As I settled in, our two wonderful First Class flight attendants and the Purser stopped by to welcome me.   And so began nearly 11 hours of exceptional service.

IFE was just OK, although the selection of western movies and music was pretty weak.  I wound up watching the best of a bad lot... The Devil Wears Prada and The Accountant both for what has to be close the 20th time.

With the late push and taxi, we were wheels up at exactly 2am.  Despite the late hour, I decided to sample the menu and then sleep.

Not sure where the champagne glasses were after take-off, but this glass holds more anyway.  LOL.

Tonight's menu with a variety of light dishes, which seemed appropriate given the time of day.

And a respectable wine and beverage menu...

The amuse bouche starters were excellent.

My first dish was the IPPUDO rich-tasting miso "DAICHI" ramen.  Wow, this was spectacular and far more filling than I had assumed.   And more Krug.

Like I really needed another dish but took one for the team with the ANA curry and steamed rice.  WIth more Krug.  Delicious!

One of the First Class flight attendants persuaded me to try some sake before bed. 

Since there were only two other passnegers in First, we each had our own separate beds across from our seats.  My 2D...

I got five hours of airplane sleep, maybe 3 hours of solid sleep and then 2 hours of meh sleep.   I worked for a few hours and watched The Accountant, again.  At around T-90, breakfast.  The Cheese scrambled egg crepe roll with supreme sauce was really good.

Despite the late departure from LAX, we arrived at the gate a few minutes early.   All in all, an excellent flight.  Great service, food and drink.  And our flight attendant even lowered the cabin temp to 20C/68F when I asked.

Our arrival gate was very close to customs...

... where at 5am there wasn't much of a line.

My Blacklane driver was waiting for me as I exited customs and we were on the road to Narita by 5:25am.

Although Gate 65 looks close numerically, it's at the far end of the concourse and nice healthy trek.

Boarding began promptly and efficiently at 9:20am, just 20 minutes before departure.

Massive Business Class cabin on the 789 that extends into two cabins.  I chose 3K in what turned out to be a sparsely selected front cabin.  

Color me spoiled by First Class cabins, but this seat seemed really tiny...

... and not that comfortable.  I can't imagine 12 hours sitting in this one.

IFE technical quality was excellent.  Unfortunately, more dismal movie selections.

After take-off, our wonderful cabin crew jumped into action.  Today's menu.

Wow, the Japanese menu looks outstanding. 

 The Western Menu, not so much.

My usual G&T to start.

And my Japanese meal.  Gorgeous presentation.

Wow.  This meal was sensational.   Certainly one of the best Business Class meals I can recall... and on a short 2.5 hour regional flight.

We landed at PVG on time.

And pulled into our gate at Terminal 1 right on schedule.

All in all, a very impressive flight with great service and food.  And a bargain at only 15,000 Avios.

At around T-50, we left the lounge and headed for our nearby Gate D75.

Our SQ A380.

The original idea for this year's RTW was to fly the new Singapore A380 suites and Thai First, which I hadn't flown in years.  We'd both done the regular 12 seat SQ A380 First Suites cabin multiple times, but not the new 6 suite cabin.  The cheapest and easiest SQ new First flight is PVG-SIN.  It's only a 5 hour flight but timing worked perfectly.  It was a reasonable deal at the Standard award price of 98,000 KrisFlyer miles.  It go much better as my 53,000 miles Saver seat waitlist cleared and I got a 45,000 mile refund.  

Prior to any boarding call, the gate doc checker saw our First Class boarding passes and directed us to the left lane and told us we can go ahead and board at our leisure, which we did.

The new Suites First Class cabin is on the upper deck and is just six very spacious and elegant suites.  

1A/2A and 1K/2K are perfect for a couple as the suite divider drops down and transforms the two into the ultimate commercial travel experience.  Simply amazing.

Lots of cool storage space.

Our wonderful stewardess Evelyn with the first round of champagne.

SQ Suites have two lavs at the front of the cabin.  One small lav and this larger one.  No shower but attractive and very spacious.

Today's menu...

And wine list...

And we're off...

After take-off, the closed door make the suite very private.

My huge flat screen, adjustable at the touch of a button.

We both switched to Krug to begin today's taste test.   Dom or Krug? Dom or Krug?

Both the seat and tray table swivel for optional sitting and dining positions.

The heavenly SQ satay starter, chicken and lamb with onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce.

And more bubbles for both of us.

Today's route...

Showtime, SQ style...

I passed on soup and salad, opting to try both starters.  The Smoked Goose Liver Paté with apple celery salad and mango fig chutney didn't do anything for me. 

But the Warm Scallop and Mushroom Ragout in puff pastry was excellent. 

OMG, the lavosh was divine.

For my main, I went with the Chinese menu and Shi Quan Shi Mei, from SQ celebrity chef Zhu Jun.  Scallops and Yunnan Melon, Braised Pork Belly with Bamboo Shoots, Stir Fried Lily Bulb and Broad Beans, Braised Baby Abalone on Egg Noodle.  Everything was delicious with my favorite the abalone and egg noodles.

And dessert...

Mont Blanc Cake with vanilla ice cream.

After dinner, we asked for our beds to be made, mostly for the photo op.  Unfortunately, one of the beds did not go fully flat... even with four cabin crew member working on the problem.

Close enough.  For a couple, this is spectacular.

We pulled into the gate a few minutes ahead of schedule at roughly 10:15pm.   What an amazing experience.  The SQ First Suites hard and soft products are simply out of this world.   And for a couple, this is now the finest commercial travel experience in the skies.  Bravo to SQ and our wonderful crew for a spectaclar flight. 

Talk about luck.  We the only passengers entering Singapore at the time we were there.  Out in no time and at our downtown hotel 20 minutes later. 

We arrived at Changi just after 11am or about 1h45m until departure.  We were planning on going to The Private Room but didn't do our homework and wound up going to Terminal 2 where our SIN-BKK flight was to depart instead fo Terminal 3 and First Class terminal entrance.

So we took the train to T3 to explore.

And got to see The Jewel.  OK, now that was prettty cool.

By the time we got to T3 and walked towards check in and departures, we agreed that this was now too much hassle and too little time.  We'd both been to The Private Room numerous times, and find it somewhat over-rated any way.  So we took the train back to T2, passing thru The Jewel again.

... and the SilverKris First Class Lounge.

Pleasant bar...

... and comfy seating areas.

Dining room...

... with a nice selection of serve yourself food options. 

The biggest surprise shock of the day was the champagne.   OMG.  OMG.  Piper-Heidsieck Rare Millésime 2006.  Are you serious?  This amazing champagne retails for $500 a bottle, and it was just sitting out on the serve yourself liquor contour.  The funniest thing was that I had just poured myself a draft Tiger beer when batmandds pointed it out.  Needless to day, I didn't drink a drop of the Tiger.  We wondered who screwed up and mistakenly put out this champagne, which is better than anything served in The Private Room.  We each enjoyed three glasses and killed the bottle and then watched as a staffer brought our another bottle.  Wow.

Sadly, it was time to head to our gate for our flight to Bangkok.