Review: China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel Guangzhou 2014

So as I was trying to pick a hotel for the two nights during which I will be alone in Guangzhou, it came to my attention that China Hotel is offering an SGD 99 per night rate.Tax inclusive, that bill would come to about SGD 115 per night. While that is certainly not a cheap rate for hotels in China, it is a good deal considering it being a 5 star hotel in a Tier 1 city.

Dec 24 2014 to Dec 26 2014 [2 nights]

Location wise, the hotel is right on top of the YueXiu Park station of the Guangzhou Metro and is reasonably near to some of the major attractions in the city (usually no more than 5 metro stations), though if travelling for business a hotel in the CBD of Tianhe would have been far more convenient.

As the flight was slightly delayed and there was a long queue at the immigration, it was pitch black by the time I arrive at the hotel, and I must say the facade doesn't look too attractive, though to be fair it was well maintained considering the hotel opened in the 80s and was one of China's first joint ventures with foreign investors.

Stepping into the lobby, I was greeted by the bellman, and was directed to the check-in counter. There was a small queue at check-in, though the staff at the counter was quick to signal that they have noted my presence and apologised for the wait. Less than 5 minutes later I was directed to one of associates, Chris, who processed my check-in. Judging from the accent, he could be from Hong Kong. Chris again apologised for the wait and asked for my room preferences.

It's worth noting that Chris greeted me in English despite me having an Asian face. In addition, as I requested a room as high as possible, with a view of the city, Chris confirmed with me whether a room on level 13 is ok with me. While I am perfectly conversant in Mandarin Chinese and wouldn't have taken the slightest offense if greeted in Chinese, nor do I have any superstition pertaining to number 13, the unassuming attitude is worth commending, since many Asian does not necessarily speak Mandarin Chinese, and those who do (eg. my fellow Singaporeans) might find it more comfortable to converse in English.

And yes, my mood cheered up significantly at the sight of the Christmas tree!

In less than 10 minutes I was checked-in and Chris offered to have someone help me with my luggage, which, although I declined.

The room
My room was on level 13, facing the city, though I quickly realised that it doesn't matter since the smog in Guangzhou made any city view irrelevant.

The room is fairly compact, though perfectly comfortable for a single traveller. However, I would have appreciated a bit more space between the bead and other furniture.

The bed is large and comfortable, but the pillows are even better. When I leaned on them while sitting on the bed watching TV, I can feel the support on my back, and yet the pillows are soft and fluffy when I rest my neck on them.

The bathroom features a rainforest shower, as well as an adjacent bathtub. It is also stocked with Thann amenities, the scent of which I rather liked. Although I usually don't like the idea of using bathtubs in a hotel, I couldn't help noticing that one can sit in the bathtub and get a full view of the TV screen through the glass. Furthermore, the sound system is configured with hidden speakers in the bathroom. Useful if you catching up with the latest happenings, but the view can get obstructed by the condensation on the glass panel. 

The internet connection was pretty fast, and I could get some work done on my laptop. Unfortunately due to internet censorship in China, Youtube and Facebook would be out of bounds for my stay here.

Location wise, the hotel is located in the heart of Guangzhou, conveniently located a few metro stations from the CBD, close to major attractions (not that there are many in Guangzhou to begin with) and shopping districts.

Conclusion
While there are indeed a wide range of hotels available in Guangzhou and generally China for a much lower price and China Hotel is certainly not as modern as Westin or Hyatt, given the significant discounts that it offers and its proximity to the centre of the old city, it still offers a good value proposition to leisure visitors.

Flying: China Southern A320 Economy Class Singapore to Guangzhou

I arrived at Terminal 1 at 12:20PM, where there is almost no queue at the check-in counter since I presumed most of the passengers would have already checked-in. The boarding pass was printed in less than a minute and within five minutes I was airside.

China Southern 354
Singapore (SIN) – Guangzhou (CAN)
Wednesday, Dec 24 2014
Depart: 1:30PM
Arrive: 5:25PM
Flight time: 3hr55min
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Seat: R40A 

China Southern's new A320s have a three class configuration, with 2 rows of 8 business class seats in a 2-2 configuration, followed by premium economy and economy. It's worth noting that while the premium economy seats are separated from the economy ones by curtains, there is no hard partition separating them into different cabins like the ones separating business and economy cabins, so I wouldn't use the term "premium economy cabin" here.

I was sending some last minute emails at the boarding gate, so was among the last few to board, and the cabin door was closed a few minutes after I got to my seat.

The seat is comfortable, the pitch is comparable with Malaysia Airlines B737-800 but slightly tighter than Garuda's B737-800, though given it being a narrow body it's actually not too bad.

The taxiing, however, took more than 15 minutes and we only took off at 1:40PM, despite pushing off from the gate at about 1:20PM.

There's one thing I prefer the A320 as compared to the B737 is that the takeoff and subsequent climb is generally gentle, in the sense that you barely feel the thrust pushing your back to the seat. On red-eyes, I do appreciate to be able to doze off after buckling up and not waking up until the plane has landed. Nevertheless, my friend has expressed his alternative preference for a stronger thrust.

Service began shortly after takeoff with the crew distributing the blankets and earphones. One thing to note is that it is blankets and earphones are given on demand (instead of a standard issue item) and they may (especially blankets) run out towards the end of the aircraft (or middle, if the crew start distributing from both ends).

Personally I am fine with this practice since I am pretty used to carrying warm clothing and was never a big fan of their thin blankets and movie screening. The airline does not have on demand audio-visual entertainment (AVOD) on short-haul flights but instead screens movie(s) from overhead LCD screens. I was aware that AVOD are available on long-haul flights though have yet to try them.

Food
About 40 minutes into the flight drinks were served. One bonus is that China Southern has a reasonable selection of beverages, including red and white wines, in economy class. While I gave alcohol a miss, I really appreciate the little niceties that are getting rarer and rarer as airlines struggle to cut costs.

The food is perfectly edible, though not worth any special mention. One thing I have noted on Chinese carriers is that the appetizers are rather salty, so it's best to skip it if you have a light palate.

Service
Drinks were served before the meal, and two and a half rounds of refills were offered subsequently, once during the meal, another after the plates were collected. The half round was a limited selected of water and hot tea being offered on a tray about two and a half hours into the flight. Thereafter it would be on request, though my request for water before landing was promptly taken care of.

An hour before landing immigration and custom declaration forms were handed out to passengers. Subsequently, blankets and earphones were collected. Despite the slightly late take-off, we landed ahead of schedule at 5:17PM, though it was another long taxi to one of the remote parking stands. From there we took a shuttle bus which went by a long detour to the terminal building.

Conclusion
While indeed China Southern's service has improved in comparison to a decade ago, it still pales in comparison to most the full service airlines in the Asia Pacific region.

Canton in 2014: Introduction

It all started with a debate competition to be held in Shenzhen, southern China that lead me to explore travelling options there.

Booking the flight

And one day a pretty good deal was brought to my attention, courtesy of my schoolmate and friend. China Southern is offering round trip travel between Singapore and Guangzhou for a mere a mere SGD 246.70 (USD 190). I mean, I must have flown this route about 30 times in the past decade and I seldom come across such a cheap fare, even on budget carriers, especially during the popular travel season in Dec.

While it's a class "X" fare, meaning there are no mileage accruals; at this price, it's a real bargain. In fact, those of you who have a habit of reading fine prints will realise that taxes and fuel surcharges will add up close to that sum. Furthermore, I have not flown with them since 2005 and was interested to find out if the service has improved in the decade. So it appeared a no-brainer to book the ticket asap.

Well subsequently, the event was cancelled (that is a long story for another time though) and I was kinda in a dilemma of whether I should go ahead with the trip. 

The situation is, my grandparents stay in Guangzhou. The trouble is, I thought I would be busy at the event until 27 Dec and happily made arrangements for them to visit Southeast Asia during the period. So that means I will be alone in Guangzhou on Christmas Eve, and Home Alone 2 doesn't sound too exciting.

Moreover, proceeding with the trip implies I will have to stay in Guangzhou at my own expense. So it really looks like throwing good money after bad, bearing in mind the airfare is a sunk cost.

Booking the hotel
While I travel to Guangzhou twice or more every year, I have never tried staying at a hotel in this city since I had the fortune of my grandparents' hospitality every time I visited. I usually do not like to spend on hotels, since I think of them simply as a base for me to leave the bulky luggage and explore the city lightweight.  

However, considering I am spending Christmas Eve alone I was hoping that some creature comforts might alleviate the emoness...

So I was looking up some of the hotels, and then it occurred to me that the problem is not with too little choices, it's with too many.

On one hand I wanted to be as comfortable as possible without blowing the budget, yet I was hoping to stay close to the city and the near to the city's taste buds in Xiguan, and the problem was exacerbated since it's the first time I am staying at a hotel in a city I knew so well, yet so little.

To be fair, hotels in China are not expensive, in fact they can be really cheap if you know the city well. It really was my own fault to wait till the eleventh hour before booking the hotel. Fortunately there were some great last minute discounts.

I contemplated booking Westin Guangzhou, which is running a promotion with each night going for SGD110.

However, I do have some reservations about staying so close to the East Railway Station in Guangzhou, especially considering the crowd in the year end. Furthermore, I realised the discount at Westin is only valid for stays of 3 nights or more and I will only be staying for 2 nights.

So I chanced upon Marriott, which is going at SGD99 per night. Tax inclusive, that would have set me back SGD229 for 2 nights. 

This is certainly not cheap, considering 3 star properties (which are fairly good in terms of room and location) in Guangzhou can go as low as SGD50 per night, but it is a reasonable rate for a 5 star property. So I paid a price for staying safe and for the material comforts.

Review: Avista Hideaway Resort and Spa, Phuket 2014

Since this trip to Phuket was meant to be a relaxing one, choosing a hotel with the appropriate theme was really important.

Sep 23 2014 to Sep 26 2014 [3 nights]

Like the name suggests, the hotel is indeed a hideaway (though our cab driver had no issues locating it lol), located at the end of a winding road leading away from Patong beach which is popular among tourists with many restaurants, bars and night clubs.

Upon entering the lobby we were ushered to the sofa. Welcome drinks and fruits were served together with cold towels, which were jasmine scented. As the case in many resorts in South East Asia, the lobby was an open design.

There were also rings of cushions, as well as a viewing deck overlooking the Andaman Sea. 

While checking in, we were asked to indicate, among others, our preference for bedding, quilts and pillows. I had always presumed Westin's heavenly bed as the standard for hotel bedding, though it seems that they have a serious contender here.

The room
The room is massive. On the website it says the Club Vista room is 65 sq. m, but with an open concept and light colours, it certainly look a lot larger.

After settling down in the room and doing some unpacking, we headed to the bar for cocktail. The drinks are served together with prawn crackers, which I quite liked. 

As the sun begins to set the view from the bar was beautiful. In fact, this picture doesn't do it justice. For the record, Club Vista guests are entitled to complimentary cocktail every evening. So, while I would visit for the view even if staying in a cheaper room, I certainly would not recommend patronising the bar every day since the price are significantly higher than what you would expect to pay in Patong.

After the cocktail we went to Patong beach for dinner. The hotel had regular shuttle bus services (using a converted lorry) to Jungceylon shopping centre and back, which is a great convenience to guests sine it is beyond walking distance from the beach or town.

The breakfast spread is impressive, with a whole range of juice, fruits and cheese available, a wide variety from the breadbasket, as well as a generous selection of hot dishes. The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating, and we always chose to sit outdoors on the patio, which boasts a great view of the pool one level down and the Andaman Sea.

When the sun has risen, the clouds start to disperse and I happen to catch this piece drifting by.

On the second day we selected a 60 minutes massage, which was upgraded to 90 minutes since we are staying at a Club Vista room, which is like a deluxe room/junior suite equivalent. The massage/spa is one of the highlights of this hotel, and we are keen to experience it. 

Again, the massage was priced on the high end, at THB1,800 a person, but the experience was indeed relaxing.

When we returned the room after the massage, to my pleasant surprise I found this on the table!

Yeah, I know they actually asked us to indicate during check-in whether we are celebrating any event during the stay, like birthdays, anniversaries, etc., and yes I did see the restaurant staff presenting a lady with a birthday cake during breakfast but I assumed her husband ordered it, since he was standing together with the waiter and was fairly calm, in sharp contrast to the exclamation on the lady's face.

Now, the thing is, I did not indicate that I would be celebrating my birthday during check-in. While I am sure given that they scanned our passports as a standard procedure and finding out my birthday is a real no-brainer, I really appreciate the initiative to extend such a goodwill. 

On the 25th, we requested for airport transfer since it was rather inconvenient to hail a cab from the hotel. While the price of THB1,500 (USD 46) is almost twice than the THB800 we paid for on the way there, the minivan was comfortable and could have seated 6, as compared to the usual 4 on taxis. So if travelling in a larger group, it could actually be cheaper to request for the airport transfer.

En route to the airport, the driver made a stop a fairly scenic spot overlooking the beach and told us that it's a good spot for taking pictures. 

Conclusion
The stay has been an excellent experience, and I think this property had lived up to its name. While the Avista certainly wasn't cheap, they certainly delivered what is expected of them at this price, perhaps even more.

Review: Malaysia Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Kuala Lumpur to Singapore 2014

So after the futile attempt to switch to an earlier flight, I resigned to stick to the original flight.

Malaysia Airlines 609
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Singapore (SIN) 
Saturday, 28 Jul 2014
Depart: 11:05PM
Arrive: 12:05AM (+1)
Flight time: 1hr
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 16E

It was a fairly full flight, with almost all the seats taken up. 

As I was having a bit of a problem with my stomach, and feared that I might need to run to the lavatory, I asked the stewardess whether she can switch me to an aisle seat. The stewardess was really accommodating and managed to get another passenger to change seats with me despite the full cabin.

Food
Drinks were offered soon after takeoff, again with a selection of water and juice, along with a small packet of salted nuts. I declined both as I was having a bad stomach and preferred to sleep through the flight instead.

Again it was a quite flight, and we landed on time in Singapore.

Review: Malaysia Airlines A330 Economy Class Guangzhou to Kuala Lumpur 2014

It has been a while since I started flying budget airlines (Tigerair and Jetstar in particular) that I am kinda used to midnight departures from Guangzhou. So a daytime flight was like a bonus. It was also great to have 30kg of check in luggage included, implying I could carry a lot more goodies home, courtesy of grandma and grandpa.

Arriving at the check in counter, my boarding passes were issued all the way to Singapore. I tried to change to an earlier connection to Singapore, given more than four hours of layover in Kuala Lumpur and a midnight arrival in Singapore.

Unfortunately, the lady at the check in counter informed me that there was no earlier connection operated by the Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines 377
Guangzhou (CAN) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) 
Saturday, 28 Jul 2014
Depart: 2:40PM
Arrive: 6:35PM
Flight time: 3hr55min
Aircraft: Airbus A330
Seat: 30G

The inbound aircraft from Kuala Lumpur arrived behind schedule and consequently boarding was delayed. Luckily I had my China SIM card with me and could register for wifi at the airport. We boarded the aircraft at 3:00PM, 20 minutes after the scheduled takeoff time. 

Upon boarding, I quickly realised that more seats had been sold on this flight and I would not have the luxury of an entire row of four seats.

Naturally, due to a delayed takeoff, landing was late by more than half an hour at 7:10PM.

I decided to approach Malaysia Airlines' transit counter and try my luck again to switch to an earlier connection to Singapore. I knew the check in staff told me there was no earlier connection operated by the Malaysia Airlines, but I also knew that SIA and Silkair also ply this route and they practically code share with Malaysia Airlines on every single flight.

Turned out that this was a decision I would later regret.

Review: Malaysia Airlines A330 Economy Class Kuala Lumpur to Guangzhou 2014

I took the monorail (or Aerotrain, as it was called) to the Satellite terminal A, and with about 2 hours to spare before the next segment, decided to roam around the terminal before heading to the gate.

Monorail to satellite terminal

View of KUL from the Aerotrain

Malaysia Airlines 376
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Guangzhou (CAN)
Saturday, 19 Jul 2014
Depart: 9:35AM
Arrive: 1:35PM
Flight time: 4hr
Aircraft: Airbus A330
Seat: 30G

There are few people at the board gate, which was hardly surprising given two consecutive tragedies to this airline, so boarding was completing in a matter of minutes and the cabin was barely half filled. In fact, I had an entire row of four seats to myself. It's almost a quasi business class in terms of the seat, though buckling up this way can be a challenge.

The seat is fairly comfortable, with adjustable headrest and a good amount of leg room. There is also on demand audio-visual entertainment (AVOD), which I did not explore on the outbound sector, preferring to catch up on sleep instead. I did remember to plug in my iPhone before I turn in though, as couldn't help appreciating the fact that Malaysia Airlines, together with Singapore Airlines and Emirates, are among the few airlines that offer USB charging points even in economy class. 

I fell sleep almost immediately after takeoff and woke up about two hours into the flight, when lunch is served. Judging from the cups on my fellow passengers' tables, I must have missed a few drinks services. The food was reasonably good, though I was half dreaming through most of it. 

Review: Malaysia Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Singapore to Kuala Lumpur 2014

Given the early morning departure, I had the option of catching the last MRT to the airport the night before and camp there for about 5 hours until check-in time, or waking up at 4am and catching a cab there. It really is a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils, and usually I would have chosen the former given that it really isn't much of a difference between waking up at 4am and the poor quality sleep from a night at the airport, and the former saves me about SGD40 in cab fare. 

However, since I just finished the last day of my internship on 18 Jun, I was rather tired, my luggage was only half packed and I had to clear up the house before leaving, so even a few hours of sleep was previous to me. 

I arrived at Changi at about 4.50AM, and the check-in counter was almost empty, so on hindsight it really wasn't necessary to check-in online. The counter staff checked my luggage all the way to Guangzhou and issued boarding passes for both segments.

Malaysia Airlines 602
Singapore (SIN) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
Saturday, 19 Jul 2014
Depart: 6:40AM
Arrive: 7:40AM
Flight time: 1hr
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 21D 

I dozed off at the transit area of Terminal 2 for about 30 minutes, spent sometime replying emails/updating Facebook and was among the last few to clear security and board the plane.

Food
Drinks were offered soon after takeoff, with a selection of water and juice, along with a small packet of salted nuts. It was a short flight of less than an hour, so there isn't much to ask for, though hot tea and juice was offered quite a few times throughout the flight.

The flight was uneventful, and we landed about 10 minutes ahead of schedule, though taxiing to the gate took up the 10 minutes. Given a layover close to 3 hours, I wouldn't have minded if we were delayed slightly anyway.

Our plane after landing in KUL

Conclusion
This is a real short-haul flight, so there really isn't much to expect, or comment on. I am satisfied that they delivered a comfortable seat as well as a smooth and on-time flight.

Review: Air Asia X A330 Premium Kuala Lumpur to Chengdu 2013

We got off the previous flight from Singapore early, but had to walk about 15 minutes to get to the terminal building.

As I had purchased 2 separate tickets, I have to retrieve the check-in luggage and head to the check-in counter at KUL Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), which is essentially a giant warehouse.

The counter staff raised a concern that I do not have a visa into China, nor do I have a return ticket or onward ticket out of China. I explained that China grants visa free stays of up to 14 days for Singapore citizens but she was insistent that I need to purchase a return ticket. Of course I was unwilling as I am not certain of the departure date, and so we haggled over it, and she reluctantly gave in.

Nevertheless, the service was reasonable polite and friendly, and upon my enquiry of dining options available in the airport, the counter staff kindly advised me to grab a meal before clearing immigration, as the options airside are fairly limited.

Air Asia X 326
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Chengdu (CTU)
Thursday, 5 Dec 2013
Depart: 6:15PM
Arrive: 10:40PM
Flight time: 4hr25min
Aircraft: Airbus A330
Seat: 2D

After clearing immigration, I went to join my friends in the transit/departure area, and indeed apart from a stall selling dubious looking dim sum and some hybrid Malay snacks, as well as another cafe, there isn't any other option available.

On hindsight, the LCCT was really a temporary measure so it wouldn't be fair to expect the same standards as Changi or even the main terminal of Kuala Lumpur airport for that matter. The new klia2, which I visited later in 2014, was remarkably better.

Boarding was slightly delayed and it was raining. Although the rain became a drizzle by the time our flight was ready for boarding, it was still a pain to board in the rain, as we had to walk across the tarmac to get to the aircraft. While I did see ground staff handing out umbrellas as we got off the previous flight from Singapore, I could not manage to find them anywhere near out departure gate.

The premium cabin was partitioned from the main cabin, with 12 seats in two rows of 2-2-2 arrangement.

There are no AVOD, or even an in-seat screen for that matter, though tablets were available for rent. Since I had my laptop and there are power points available, I decided to go without one.

An hour into the flight, dinner was served. Premium passengers are entitled to a free meal, which would have otherwise costed MYR13 to MYR15 (USD3.60 to USD5). I had ordered a chicken satay meal. The peanut sauce was reasonably good, though the chicken was more charred than I would have liked it to be.

As the flight was 

After we landed in Chengdu, the curtains were drawn and the premium cabin passengers were invited to disembark before the other passengers.

Since it was late at night and there weren't that many international flights into Chengdu, clearing immigration has been a breeze.

Given that the check-in luggage was priority tagged, it was already waiting for me at the carousel by the time I passed immigration checks.

Conclusion
Air Asia X's flatbed is a fairly good hard product, so given that it can be as cheap as economy class on a full service airline when booked early, it is a fairly good deal for medium to long haul flights.

Furthermore, given that budget airlines typically charge a huge penalty fee for changes to flight timing, or disallow changes outright, it makes sense to get a Premium ticket if you need a flexible itinerary, since it allows changes up to 48hours before departure.

Review: Air Asia A320 Economy Singapore to Kuala Lumpur

As per normal for a daytime flight, I took the MRT to Changi, arriving at 10.50AM in terminal. I was travelling with my friends on a trip to Western and Northwestern China and our first stop was Chengdu.

Air Asia 1808
Singapore(SIN) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
Thursday, 5 Dec 2013
Depart: 12:10PM
Arrive: 1:15PM
Flight time: 1hr5min
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Seat: 3E

The incoming flight was delayed, and boarding did not start until 12.20PM, though I did not mind given the 5 hour transit in KUL. The captain gave a cheerful welcome address, apologising for the late departure.