Methuselah On The Move - Update 2

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Here it is day 3 - sitting at Changi Airport waiting for onward flight to Dubai. Flight time is about 2 hours away so I am wiling away the time in the Kris Business Class Lounge.

Arrived in Singapore on Sunday afternoon and proceeded by taxi to my friend Peter's place for a couple of nights. Peter's son Ryan was also staying with him. We went out to a local food place (Chinese) and had a very pleasant dinner. THe food, although from a "fast Food" establishment was tasty. I thought the other guys had ordered too much (seven dishes) but when they came I saw local knowledge helps. The dishes were smallish.

Yesterday (Monday) I did the tourist thing. Went up to Orchard Road and jumped on the Singapore Airlines Hop-on Hop-off bus. Traveled around and went to places that I had not seen in Singapore before (or at least not for a long time). In the afternoon I decided to go for a ride in the Singapore Flyer - a 150m diameter Ferris wheel thing with capsules for passengers. There were magnificent views to be had from the top. However my trip was marred by heavy rain, which started just as I was about to enter the capsule. Made for disappointing photo opportunities. When I finished the ride, and as it was still raining I jumped back on the bus and went up to China Town. This is my favourite part of Singapore. Every time I go there I sit in a bar/restaurant half way along Pagoda Street watching the world go by (and downing a few, some would say too many - Tigers). You do see some amusing (and ridiculous) sites. Didn't buy much as it was just the start of the holiday and anything I buy has to be carried for close to 2 months.

So what are my impressions so far. I guess that q comparison of airlines is in order. To start with Lounges. In Sydney due to renovations taking place in the Singapore Lounge I had to use the Air New Zealand lounge. Sort of like walking into enemy territory really, especially after the previous evening (Saturday). I personally think the Qantas Lounge is superior. The New Zealand lounge does need a overhaul. The coffee was shit, but the breakfast not bad. Mobile phones should be banned, or at least restricted to specific area in the lounges. This bloody woman spoke for nearly two hours on her mobile - she must have rung evrybody in her contact list, and told them the same thing. All about her mothers health etc. Several of us moved twice to get away from her.

On board the aircraft. I thought that the aircraft fittings were getting a bit tatty. Mind you Singapore has been flying te A380 a lot longer than other airlines and this could have been one of the earlier aircraft. Everybody's views on comfort etc are their own, as are their likes and dislikes. The service on the aircraft was superb. It appeared that Singapore had probably 50% more staff on board than Qantas would have. The food was excellent. However, I personally prefer the Qantas Business Class capsules rather than the Singapore.

We've skipped a few days - Day 5 and I'm in Tashkent in Uzbekistan. So what of the intervening time.

Spent a quite Tuesday morning lounging around in Singapore then at lunch time went to the airport. Had lunch in the Singapore Airlines lounge, a brief perusal of the shops then off to Dubai. The aircraft was a Boeing 777-300. A very comfortable flight - similar accommodation to Qantas. Service and food was very good. OK now we're starting to give Qantas a run. I was thinking back during the flight. When I went to Vietnam in 2008 we flew back via Singapore - with Singapore Airlines. Then I felt that the 777 was more comfortable than the A380. OK no more winges .

Dubai - Hmmmmmmm! When you arrive don't expect anything to happen too fast, especially Passport Control. A modern setup, great facilities - so what's the problem. The Immigration guys are more interested in chatting with their friends across the room. A simple process is extended up to three times the length it should. Apart from that the experience in Dubai Airport was great. Once in the city - f*** it was hot (expected). What wasn't expected was the humidity. It felt more humid than Singapore. One problem I encountered was that inside their buildings the Dubai-ans tend to have their aircon set as low as they can.

Only spent one night in Dubai and as a result didn't have much time to look around. The hotel I was staying in was in the Dubai Creek area so I went for a walk to stretch my legs. Along Dubai Creek are near continuous wharfs. Tied up (at times 3 deep) are Dhows which are still used for trading along the coast. Along the wharf were tons, and tons of goods waiting to be loaded (or picked up). The cargoes were an amazing mix: broken office chairs and computer cases, tyres, building materials, cloth, food stuff (including flour and tomato sauce), and wait for it - a product labelled "Camel Lubrication" (the mind boggles). Next morning after breakfast I went for another stroll, this time with camera (sorry didn't get a pick of the boxes of Camel Lubrication).

Wednesday (after the morning walk) back to the airport (remember nothing happens too quickly in Passport control). Once in the terminal, browsed the shops and headed for the boarding lounge.

Uzbekistan Airways - some would say now your living dangerously - now these guys have bureaucracy down pat. Everything gets weighed including hand baggage and if over the limit - there's the man that collects the money. For some reason I got waved straight through by the boss man. Mind you I stood out as not being Uzbek or Russian. Whilst in the departure lounge I met a Kiwi woman who it turned out is on the same tour as me (the Uzbekistan leg), and after will be going to Istanbul then Iran. Once on board every rule that we are used to when flying got left in the terminal: mobile phones used throughout the flight, luggage piled up on empty seats (sorry I said no more whinges about airlines - this isn't a whinge just an observation). The flight was about 15 minutes late getting away and then had a 30 min taxi time to the end of the runway. During this time we had the safety brief. Now I know cabin crews get bored with the routine, but these guys took boredom to a totally different level. What added to the humour of the situation was that they had to do each demo three times - in Uzbek, in Russian and finally English. After that it was definitely service with a smile (not). Apart from that the flight was comfortable (Boeing 767) and the food? Very tasty and a reasonable quantity.

Arrival in Tashkent was chaotic. Tashkent International Terminal (and the whole airport) seems to work on the level of Canberra or Adelaide airports in the 1970s (and that's being kind). Unload onto the tarmac and were bussed to the terminal building. When the bus doors opened the local passengers bolted (it was like the Running of the Bulls). Inside things didn't improve. The Uzbeks seem not to like lining up, so - if this line is too long - form your own. I just held back and let the crowd do it's thing. Once most of the passengers had been cleared it was easy. Now the fun part began. Baggage collection and customs. Chaos reigned. Handling was not gentle - bags burst open on the antiquated carousel (no staff to clear the jam so passengers did it), a lot of people were bringing in flat screen TV - one box was busted open. Once you had your bag safely with you back to a new line (or what constituted a line). Customs! A whole new level of officialdom.

Every bag no matter how small was sent through the X-ray machine. Oh I forgot - we had to fill out a form (in duplicate) itemizing all valuables (including money) we had with us. These were checked, stamped initialed, written on and stamped, initialed and written on again. Because I was bring USDs into the country I had to take my forms to another desk to get either a permit or notification that I was allowed to bring it in. During the time i was going through the process there was only one aircraft (ours) at the terminal. The flight was not full but it took one and a half hours for me to get through the complete process and there were still people waiting to be cleared through customs. Now I know why we had the Running of the Bulls.

We were met by a driver from Explore and taken to our hotel - the Hotel Uzbekistan. This is an old Soviet era hotel that has been done up for tourism. Explore classify it as "Intermediate" - about 3 Stars. However it is clean, comfortable, and the staff relatively friendly (depends whether you get a Uzbek of a Russian). Whilst at reception I decided to change some USD - I had been warned - great wads of notes were piled up in front of me - packets of 500 CYM (Som) notes. My USD200 became a stack of 450,000 Cym.

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Photos

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Singapore Airlines A380 Airbus at Sydney Airport. This is the aircraft I flew out on.

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Dubai Creek looking upstream. The photo was taken from the roof of the Hilton Dubai Creek (14th Floor Swimming Pool)

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Dubai Creek Dhow Wharf. Cargo waiting for loading.

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Dhows at wharf in Dubai Creek. The craft are used to move all manner of goods.

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Fully loaded Dhow Dubai Creek.

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What USD200 looks like in local Uzbek currency. The wads of notes in the two top rows are 50,000 Cyms (appears to be pronounced Sooms).

Comments

[Colin]

Journey under way!
Pleased to hear your adventure has commenced in earnest. Loved the blog, looking forward to the next one.