Flying: Shenzhen Airlines A320 Economy Class Guangzhou to Singapore 2016

My plan was to fly Singapore Airlines on the return leg as well, though I realised I could save about SGD 150 by trying my luck on Shenzhen Airlines.

The counter staff was proactive in tagging the monitor rack I checked-in as an fragile item, which was a nice touch.

Shenzhen Airlines 9025
Guangzhou (CAN) - Singapore (SIN)

Wednesday, 29 Dec 2016

Depart: 10:50AM

Arrive: 1:35PM

Flight time: 4hr

Aircraft: Airbus A320

Seat: 26D

Boarding was called at 10:15AM, and I was among the first few to board.

The  seat is fairly plain, lacking the neck rest that has become common even in economy class.

The legroom is fairly generous by economy standards, since I could slouch and yet keep a distance between my knees and the seat in front of me.

A point to note is that use of electronic devices are subjected to more stringent restrictions than elsewhere.

We pushed off on time at 10:45AM. The taxi however took about 20 minutes before we finally took off at 11:03AM. We experienced some turbulence soon after takeoff

The juice tasted more like concentrate.

Lunch was served an hour into the flight. There was a choice between a beef set meal and a fish set meal. I opted for fish, which turned out to be fishballs instead. Apart from the vegetables which was way overcooked, the food was actually edible and tasty, despite the presentation indicating otherwise.

Throughout the meal services multiple rounds of drinks were offered, though the selection is fairly limited, with only non-alcoholic juice available.

About an hour before landing, bottles of mineral water were distributed to passengers and mints were offered, both of which I appreciated. 

Flying: Singapore Airlines A330-300 Economy Class Singapore to Guangzhou 2016

I knew I had made silly mistakes in the past and paid a bit more than I should have by booking tickets at the eleventh hour. While I had originally intended to flying on a SGD 88 deal from Tigerair, circumstances arose and I had to delay my departure essentially voiding that ticket.

As such, given the last minute booking and the December travel season, almost all airlines only offer full fare tickets. Therefore, the lesser of the evils was at least ensuring the cash is well spent.

Check-in was uneventful since there was no queue at the counters. I got my boarding pass from the self check-in machines and dropped off the bags in the adjacent counters.

Singapore Airlines 850

Singapore (SIN) – Guangzhou (CAN)

Tuesday, 13 Dec 2016

Depart: 9:35AM

Arrive: 1:35PM

Flight time: 4hr

Aircraft: Airbus A330

Seat: 30G

This flight departs from one of the centralised holding areas in Terminal 3, which is just a few steps after clearing immigration.

Apart from occasionally subjecting myself to redeye flights on Scoot, I had become rather used to narrow bodies on the Singapore-Guangzhou segment. Hence, boarding took quite a while longer than I had expected, given the A330 seats 285 as compared to the 


This flight was exceptionally full, which probably explained the fare I paid. Fortunately SQ had a 2-4-2 configuration on its fleet of A330s which is much more comfortable than some of the 3-3-3 configurations. Though the Christmas decorations were a nice touch.

Perhaps due to the full load, we only pushed off at 8:25AM, though take off was fairly quick due to the light morning traffic.

Shortly after takeoff hot towels were offered along with the menus. Even the menu featured a Christmas themed cover.

Soon after drinks were also served. While the beverage selection was fairly extensive, I avoided alcohol this time round and settled for orange juice.

Breakfast was served on the outgoing flight from Singapore, whereas lunch would be catered for the incoming.

Breakfast was served together with a second round of beverages. The omelette was decent even by ground standards, though the hash brown was slightly soggy.

During breakfast the crew made several rounds offering refills of coffee, tea and juice. I had wanted a cup of green tea instead of black, and the steward immediately returned to the galley to get it, which I thought was exceptional.

After breakfast the cabin was dimmed to allow passengers to catch up on lost sleep. While I did lose some sleep trying to catch the morning flight, I figured that I might as well stay awake so as not to disrupt the sleep cycle. So I turned to the IFE and caught up with some movies that I missed during the semester.

Your Name was a good start, though I clearly overestimated my stamina by proceeding onto a second clip of War Dogs. I quickly dozed off halfway through the movie, even missing out on a visit to the galley.

We landed on time at 12:08PM. While Guangzhou is not really a place to catch aircraft traffic, we taxied past an Aeroflot A330, which is a beautiful bird.

Arrival at Guangzhou is a disaster, however, given the landing time. It appeared that there were at least 3 international flights landing at or about the same time. 

Review: Hyatt Place Phuket Patong 2016

Finding the place was quite a challenge, though that was due to a combination of factors including misleading (or misunderstood) directions from the bus, as well as the property being a newly opened one and hence not well-known to locals. Finally, we managed to get a tuk-tuk driver to send us to the hotel.

Check-in was quite straightforward and the front desk staff was friendly and helpful to provide information on shuttle bus timings and taxi fares in the Patong area. The staff also confirmed that we got a pool view room and was happy to comply when we requested for a twin room instead of a double.

Jul 26 2016 - Jul 29 2016 [3 nights]

As the norm in South East Asia, this hotel also has an open-aired lobby, complete with rattan chairs suspended from the ceiling.

One deviation from the norm in South East Asia is that no welcome drinks were offered, though that was probably not incoherent with its positioning.

Another thing that puzzles me is that the front desk staff requested a deposit of THB 1,500 to cover the stay. While it is not uncommon practice, this is the first time I have experienced it in Thailand. Furthermore, I would think it is the convention to place an earmark on the customer's credit card, rather than requesting a cash deposit.

Stepping out from the elevator, it was clear that the minimalist concept was consistently applied through the hotel.

The bathroom was located at the left of the entrance, with an enclosed shower area, complete with slip-proof mat, which is a nice touch.

It was also stocked with several useful amenities, including a hairdryer at the cabinet below the sink, as well as an iron and ironing board at the cabinet on the left of the entrance.

The toiletries provided were supplied by Portico, which is consistent with our experiences in Hyatt Regency properties in Thailand.

Once inside the room there is a small desk with an adjoining cupboard, which housed the minibar. 

While it might appear a little IKEA-ish, I felt really comfortable with the furnishing of this room, especially the sectional sofa at a corner of the room, where I ended up lounging for quite a fair bit of time.

I realised that the open-air closet, or rather simply a rack with matching hangers seems like a trendy thing, since I also saw it at the Sugar Marina in Kata. On one hand I thought it makes sense for a beach destination, since it would be better to keep wet laundry in the open-air, though I suppose you would still want a proper closet for other clothing.

On the cupboard was a coffee pot, as well as complimentary water and beverage mix. There is also an universal plug, among many others, which I have learnt to appreciate when travelling abroad, considering I once paid about ~SGD 12 for an adapter in Krabi.

The room had a nice view of the pool, which is nice. However, I probably would not want to pay the full premium to upgrade to a pool view room.

I did, however, went for a dip on the second day, and was rather unimpressed by the pool. While the design was aesthetically pleasing, the pool was a mere 0.8~1m deep. In addition, the water smells strong of chlorine or some other disinfectant. I choose to give it the benefit of the doubt that the pool be overdosed with disinfectants since it was a new property and probably under-utilised at the moment.

The is also a 24 hr gym available though this time we gave it a miss.

Coming back to the room itself, the mattresses were soft, and the bedding fluffy. 

In fact, I would think Hyatt could have easily given Westin a run for their money.

Similarly to the hotel in Kata, the Hyatt Place in Patong is also located within walking distance from the beach, although the entrance is somewhat secluded in a small alley by the more conspicuous Novotel Phuket Resort.

Breakfast was served at the restaurant beside the lobby. While the restaurant was airy and featured great lighting, the food offered was absolutely underwhelming.

To be fair the food didn't taste bad, in fact the sautéed mushrooms and sausages were actually quite flavourful. However, the choices available were extremely limited, to the extent that apart from the continental breakfast spread (bread, salad, fruit and dairy), the hot options are almost entirely represented by what I have on the plate.

The saving grace was the cappuccino machine, which I thought was a great feature in a contemporary themed property, as well as the omelette. The poached eggs however, was only mediocre, and I was rather disappointed that it was served without hollandaise sauce.

Service was however, a great highlight at this property. Not only did the staff always made it a point to greet guests whenever they return to the hotel or pass by the concierge, it was also done with genuine smiles and sincerity.

Also, I do find that the staff here do make it a point to proactively provide convenience to guests. On the final day, as we checked-out of the hotel, we did not realise that the join-bus we arranged for was actually waiting at the foot of the hill instead of at the lobby. The concierge staff offered to drive us down to meet the bus, a gesture which we really  appreciated, since I was having a rather funny stomach at that point.

Conclusion
The hotel is located within a stone throw from Patong beach, so represents a convenient location at a great value. In fact there are sea-view rooms available at fairly reasonable rates of ~SGD 100. The staff is friendly, though perhaps the property is still new, I could often sense some nervousness in the service rendered. I am nevertheless impressed by the proactive help and genuine hospitality of the staff.

I am still interested to find out how would a select service hotel that caters to a mix of business and leisure travellers fit into such a leisure-heavy destination like Phuket, though I would seriously consider staying at the property again.

Review: Sugar Marina Resort-Surf-Kata Beach 2016

We were the last passengers to be dropped off by the minivan and immediately find ourselves facing the hotel's façade. I was immediately drawn to the cascading waterfall over the doorway leading to the lobby.

Stepping into the lobby we were promptly greeted by the front desk staff who proceeded to assist with our check-in. In the meantime, we were offered cold drinks, albeit without a cold towel, which is fine with me since the weather was pretty cool around this time in Phuket.

We were escorted to our room by a friendly associate, who introduced in the details the facilities available in the hotel as well as the room features.

Unfortunately the surf-board was only for decorations and not intended for use, though the minibar is, and free-of-charge. While the offerings are far from extensive, considering the price charged and it being free, I think it's a nice touch to be appreciated.

The bedroom itself is actually pretty small, and with the twin beds side by side it leaves little room to manoeuvre. The furnishing was well-done though, as the surfing theme is extensively applied though out the decor.

The lack of space was, however, further exacerbated by the day-bed, not to mention it being rather out of place in the room.

The bathroom, however, was a pleasant surprise, with warm wood and marble surfaces, complete with warm lighting.

The shower area was located across the bathroom, away from the bathtub, and feature a rainforest shower in addition to a handheld one. The water pressure is really good, however the partition is less than ideal since only half of the shower area is shielded, and water tend to spray out into the changing area quite easily.

I am seldom a big fan of house-brand amenities, though this time round I found these shampoos and body soap to be reasonably good. In fact, I quite liked the peppermint scent of the shampoo.

After a quick rest in the room, we headed out towards the beach, passing the gym on the way out. The gym is fairly small, though the treadmill and equipment are all functional, so that's great for some workout.

There is also a pool across the lobby. While it is not Olympic-sized, the water is fairly clean and I had quite a few dips during my stay here. Apparently the ground floor rooms with pool access are fairly popular, since almost everyone of them appears occupied during our stay there.

Breakfast was served at the cafe on the ground floor, which had a fairly good ambience, from 6:30AM to 10:30AM. Based on the room rate we paid for, breakfast was included as part of the package. 

The buffet spread was good, in fact exceptional for a hotel in this price range. There was quite a range of confectionery products (this picture only captures about half of the offerings).

As well as reasonable selection of hot dishes, ranging from bacon and sausages to Asian fried rices and stirred fried dishes.

I had the Asian fried rice on the first day, and it was delicious, with succulent squid and other seafood. While the sausages are just okay, the bacon was actually crispy and tasty.

There is also a fairly good selection of fresh, cut fruits, which was also promptly replenished.

It appears that hot options are being rotated on a daily basis, since I was greeted with a whole new selection on the second day. While the rösti was cold by the time I took it, the pad thai was really good.

Location wise, Kata Beach is just 150m away and takes at most 5 minutes by foot, although one will have to cut through a small footpath beside the walls of Club Med Phuket. 

Check-out was also quite straightforward, although the staff did took a while to check through if the room was in order.

Conclusion
Granted, it was the lull season when we visited Phuket, though ~SGD 62 was still extremely value for money. In fact, I am impressed by the facilities and services offered by this property. Not only is the room well maintained, the facilities are adequate and the service is also warm and non-intrusive.

One potential drawback could be that the hotel does not really feature facilities for guests travelling with kids, although that was not really a concern for me on this trip.

Personally I would definitely want to re-visit this hotel when travelling to Phuket again.

Phuket Revisited in 2016: Introduction

Since August in China was scathing hot and fraught with all sorts of floods and droughts, my mother and I changed our summer holiday plans from Eastern China to South East Asia, again.

Thanks perhaps in part to the slumping oil prices, airfares have been incredibly cheap for the past year or so. Even without a major sale tickets to Phuket were selling at ~SGD 115 return. 

Review: Sugar Marina Resort-Surf-Kata Beach 2016

Review: Hyatt Place Phuket Patong 2016

To be honest when I returned from China on Tigerair I did not quite anticipate that I will be flying on it again in such a short time.

Though as we descend through the clouds and views of the Andaman sea, I quickly forgot about flying on a budget carrier. To be fair, they have shown tremendous improvements recently, in particular the captain's address has gotten a lot warmer and more friendly.

Phuket airport has constructed a new terminal which was supposed to be launched into operations in June, though apparently it remains cordoned off when when landed in HKT. Apparently, passenger service using the new terminal has been postponed till September.

Since we have an extended stay this time round, I thought it makes sense to alternate between the less crowded Kata beach and the more vibrant Patong area.

As chance would have it, Hyatt has opened this new Hyatt Place hotel in Patong, which I thought would be nice to try, since I was curious how would a select-service hotel fit into a largely leisure travel market. 

For the stay at Kata, I selected the Sugar Marina Resort in Kata. They appear to be a boutique hotelier operating a series of themed hotels in Phuket and Krabi.

I made a small mess when booking the accommodations - stays at Hyatt properties are eligible for accruing Krisflyer miles, although you would have to book at the official site to qualify. However, somehow the promotional price of SGD 55 a night ran out on the official page while it was still available on third-party booking sites. So I reluctantly gave up accumulating the 500miles in order to save about SGD 60.

Altogether for my mum and myself, we spent slightly less than SGD 1,000 on this trip, comprising:

1. SGD 270 on air tickets and travel insurance
2. SGD 125 booking Sugar Marina Resort for 2 nights 
3. SGD 195 booking Hyatt Place Patong for 3 nights
4. SGD 380 on food and random spendings

Flying: China Southern B787 Economy Class Guangzhou to Wuhan 2016

Usually I make a conscientious effort to check-in online before heading to the airport, and have until now always been able to skip the queues (if there were one) at the airport. It had not occurred to me that one day this experience will fail me.

Well, I stand corrected that sometimes even an online check-in cannot save you the queue at the airport.

While there are close to a dozen flights operating Guangzhou-Wuhan daily (China Southern alone operates 4~5 flights), it was almost a no brainer to choose CZ659 given the ideal late morning departure, wide-body aircraft, and being tagged to an international destination (which gives it priority when facing traffic control).

China Southern 659
Guangzhou (CAN) – Wuhan (Wuhan)  
Thursday, Jun 16 2016
Depart: 11:25AM
Arrive: 1:25PM
Flight time: 2hr
Aircraft: Boeing 787
Seat: 34K

Thanks to the long queue at the baggage drop and an even longer queue at the security checks, boarding was already half way through by the time I arrived at the gate. Yet I could not miss the opportunity to snap a few shots of this beautiful Dreamliner jet.

I am usually not a big fan of Chinese airline liveries, though China Southern had a special livery for their Dreamliners, and I am quite fond of the sweeping strokes of blue across the fuselage.

It was interesting to note that only one aerobridge was used for boarding, perhaps due to a limited load in first and business class.

The plane was fresh and new, and the load was fairly full, with close to 90% of the economy seats filled, if not more. Though given that the plane actually operates Guangzhou-Wuhan-San Francisco, I am not exactly sure how many of my fellow passengers are getting off at Wuhan.

The doors were shut at 11:20AM, though we only pushed off at 11:33AM. In the meantime, the pilot came on the PA and declared a flight time of 1hr35min, which he expect would bring us into Wuhan at 1PM.

The safety video was quite interesting, as it featured significant elements of Chinese ink painting in the depiction of cabin interior features.

After a short taxi, we took off at 11:47AM. When airborne I turned to the entertainment system and was pleasantly surprised to find that the selection of movies and TV shows were quite extensive. 

One big disappointment was that headsets were not given out for this segment, which I think was to minimise the hassle of collecting the headsets before landing, since this is a really short flight. Nevertheless, I chose to watch The Big Short relying purely on subtitles, while secretly admiring the guy sitting on my left who was smart enough to bring his own earphone jack.

About 15 minutes into the flight the crew began to distribute snacks, and each passenger was given a rice burger and a mineral water. 

Although the flight was blocked for 2 hrs on paper likely due to expectations of air traffic control delays, the real flying time is closer to 1 hr. Hence a simple snack service is not unreasonable on such a short-haul flight.


In addition, I appreciate that the food was heated, which takes additional effort by the crew, especially considering the short flight time.

At 12:35PM the captain announced the descent into Wuhan, as well as advised all passengers continuing the trip to San Francisco to clear customs in Wuhan. We landed in the scotching sun ahead of schedule at 1:05PM and arrived at the gate at 1:09PM after a quick taxi.

Disembarking was again via a single aerobridge, though the curtains were drawn to allow business class passengers to get-off first. 

Conclusion

Domestic/short-haul flying is not always a pleasant affair, especially in China and the US, and sad to say that will probably remain the case except for premium routes such as Beijing-Shanghai or LAX-JFK. However, there are outliers like Guangzhou-Wuhan, which are tagged to international destinations like San Francisco and Moscow.

With new wide-bodies used and more experienced crew, I can indeed feel the difference when comparing between this flight and my previous experience with them on Singapore-Guangzhou. Thus with the cheap fares they offer on selected trans-Pacific routes and European destinations, I would actively consider flying with them long-haul, just to experience the service.

It has been a while since I flew on domestic routes in China, and given the frequent high speed train connections available on the Guangzhou-Wuhan route, it's hard to say if I will prefer flying to trains. Nevertheless, given the cheap fares on the route, and the ability to chalk up FF miles, I would still consider flying as an option.