Singapore to New York

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It was another foggy, drizzly day in Singapore. We took one last look at the skyline and harbor from our bird’s eye view balcony, and then headed down to the lobby for check-out. The check-out process was a breeze, our luggage was waiting for us dutifully at the curbside and our pre-arranged taxi van was right on time.

It was a quick 20 minute traffic free trip to Changi International Airport with plenty of free luggage carts available in the Cathay Pacific drop off area at Terminal 2. We proceeded inside and followed the well marked signage, advising check-in counter numbers for each flight. This keeps lines to a minimum, however, if you are more than 2 hours early for your flight, you may need to check-in at another counter, since they do not staff them until then.

Normally, Cathay Pacific only allows 2 bags of 44 lbs. each per person, but because our flight was a codeshare with American Airlines, the baggage allowance was upped to 70 lbs. per bag before any excess baggae fees were applied. This was good for me since one of my bags weighed in at 55 lbs. thanks to my shopping stop at Mustafa Center yesterday.

We flew a new airbus for the 3 hr. 15 min flight to Hong Kong. The seats were very comfortable and came equipped with a personal inflight entertainment center featuring a choice of movies, TV shows, music videos and in-flight video games. The only problem was that the game controls were on the armrest and were not the hand held removable type provided on some other airlines. This meant annoying the person sitting next to you anytime you wanted to change channels, adjust volume or play games. Cathay’s in-flight service was quite good, offering open bar with California wines, top shelf liquor and soft drinks, a 3 couse meal with a choice of hot entrees and a choice of coffee, English or Chinese tea.

Our arrival into Hong Kong airport was on time and well marked signage led us through the in-transit area to our connecting gate area. There were plenty of duty free shops and eateries along the way. All North America bound flights were in a secure area, requiring a hand search of all carry-on items. Luckily, the only item confiscated was my bottled water from Pan Pacific.

Our 10 ½ hour flight across the Pacific to Vancouver was fairly painless. It was on a retro-fitted 747 with a decent amount of legroom, foot rests and seats with adjustable headrests. While not as ergonomically well-designed as the seats on the Airbus, a few strategically placed pillows, helped up the comfort level. These seats also had the entertainment centers. We lucked out in getting the 2 seat side at the rear of the aircraft with a window and aisle seat in row 66. All economy seats forward of this point are in the 3 - 5 - 3 configuration.

During the flight, we were able to see the lights of Japan, due to the clear night sky. After some turbulence, the snow covered mountains of British Columbia came into view. Thanks to the beautiful, sunny day, we could make out the trails of many ski resorts and the outline of Vancouver Island and Victoria. We could even spot the ferries plying the waters between the island and the mainland. The skyscrapers of Vancouver city came into view and we breathed a sigh of relief at touch down, knowing we’d be able to walk around and stretch our legs.

After deplaning, we were placed in a glassed-in box area with seating and restrooms, complimentary coffee and bottled water. We were teased with the smell of fresh baked Tim Horton’s cinnamon rolls on the other side of the glass, but we were denied the right to venture outside and get some. Cathay should consider a concession with Tim Horton inside the glass box. They’d probably make a fortune.

We were on the ground about 90 minutes and then re-boarded for our 4 hr. 15 min flight to JFK. The time passed rather quickly. We were surprised that it only took 15 minutes to pass through immigration at JFK. The process usually takes about an hour. However, we weren’t surprised that we had to wait over 30 minutes before bags began to appear on the luggage carousel. Ahhhh….the JFK we all know and love. We also had to cough up $3.00 USD for a luggage cart. The only place on our trip where carts aren’t free.

Our taxi pickup was a nice surprise. They actually sent us a stretch limo at no extra charge. And there was no traffic on the Belt Parkway, so we were whisked home in half an hour. Our house was still standing and all in order thanks to our family and friends who kept an eye on things while we were gone.

A stress free ending to an amazing trip !! What a terrific way to finish out 2006. I look forward to planning our South Africa trip for June 2008 and Ecuador and Galapagos trip for 2008/2009. Read about them at www.tonitours.net

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