some unenlightened people may find it incomprehensible that I actually flew overnight from Bangkok to Tokyo, hung around at Narita airport (which is not geared for very early morning arrivals - I was actually shocked at the lack of coordination and assistance given to those of us connecting off the Thai flight) for about 5 hours and then flew all the way back down to Singapore - but believe me it was worth it!
the new Airbus A380 is gorgeous and huge - it does help to fly in one of the elite cabins (I was in Business class and the seat was just about the same as the one I had in First on the flight SFO/HKG) but the people in the back looked pretty comfy too - they put curtains in between sections of economy and business (as well as the 'iron curtains' between different classes - I was allowed to take a look at the Suites section before takeoff but then there was an elegant red velvet rope to keep us out)
service of course was charming and attentive - again those annoyingly slim female flight attendants in their very tight sarongs that show off their 15" (30 cm) hips - the word got around that i'd won the ticket and 1 of the head inflights offered to get a pic of me with the crew, and wouldn't u know that my DAMN camera battery had died again (altho this is a new camera the battery charge doesn't hold and i haven't had a chance to bug canon about it)
i tried a singapore sling so i wouldn't have to bother in singapore itself - for 1 thing i don't like gin (beth will tell you all the joke about hitler and gin) and it was a pre-made mix so i couldn't substitute vodka - it's very red and sweet and i will probably never have another one in my life
this entry is more disjointed than usual because i did the first few paragraphs from the SouthEast Asia Hotel in Singapore (I had stayed there with my friends Isla and Kate and Bruce in 1975 - I think I've become pickier since then but it's still OK - no fridge in the room was a big turnoff when it's so nice to have cold drinks and fruit easily available - plus the breakfast was lukewarm toast with butter and jam with powdered coffee and fresh-squeezed OJ served by 1 of the unhappiest 'waitresses' i've ever seen - i put 'waitress' in quotes because i found out soon that she wants to wait behind a window in the wall and push out the various items rather than walking all the way over to the table - and forget about the table being cleaned off between guests! the other choice for brekkie is a chinese-food buffet but then you don't get the yummy OJ (and the tables are still dirty either way))
will put a photo of the A380 up when i get access to a place to upload from my memory card and i also have to make an entry about my current location of penang but people here in the amazing cheong fatt tze mansion are waiting to use the 1 free computer so i'll sign off for now
