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777 200-ER
Settling into our space in the rear section of our aircraftThursday 13 May
Here we are in Changi Airport in Singapore. It is 10.11 pm New Zealand Time, 6.11 pm Singapore Time, and 9.11 am London time. Yes, it does feel like bed time, but our plane for London doesn't depart for a bit over 5 hours yet, so I guess we will be pulling what the youngsters call an all-nighter. When travelling around the World for 24 hours however, with an 11 hour time difference from start to finish, time is no longer measured by a clock, or, for that matter, by whether it is light or dark outside. Rather, the only natural rhythm that the body has to grasp on to is food.! It matters little if you are served dinner when your body is expecting breakfast, or lunch when it is expecting dinner. What matters is what body response that meal tricks your brain into expecting. Thus, when dinner is served you know that it will soon be time for the lights to be dimmed and for you to try to sleep. And being served breakfast reminds you that you have just missed the sleep that you hoped you would have had. But with any luck you'll sleep
Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner?
Lunch: pasta salad, followed by Kung-po style chicken and rice (or braised lamb and sauteed veges), cheese & crackers, ice cream, roll & butter, tea or coffee. right through lunch, not because it doesn't taste good, but because your eyeballs are red, there's a baby two rows up who is making it known to your jangling brain cells that it is ready for its lunch, and you have been nibbling all 'morning' anyway.
Despite the discomfort of 10 hours of making like sardines, and being deprived of anything resembling exercise (let alone a decent Mall walk!), Singapore Airlines are right when they say that “Singapore is a great way to fly”. The service on this flight was by far the best that we have experienced so far on 4 different airlines. The cabin staff were smiling and very efficient, serving the meals quickly, and bringing around a selection of drinks at least every hour between meals. We had a pair of seats on the side in the very back row, giving us our own space and the chance to swap seats a few times. SA does seem to provide that extra inch or two between seats as well, which makes a lot of difference. The toilets were also the nicest that we have seen on a plane; kept very clean, and providing extra comforts like after
The Outbacxk
The centre of Australia from 35,000 ft. shave lotion, moisturizer, mouth wash, etc. This flight being all in daylight, it seemed very long, but we both watched two movies and snatched the odd power nap. A big bonus was flying diagonally right across Australia from Melbourne in the SE to the far NW corner. The sky was clear even from 35,000 ft and it felt like we were only a third that high. The interior of OZ is an amazing sight. The earth is mostly a bright red colour. Then there are hundreds of half dried up lakes that all water drains into. These are white with salt, contrasting vividly with the red soil. Hilly areas have many unusual rock formations which are probably only obvious from the air. And then there is the vastness of the whole area. It seemed to take us hours (and did) to cross from south to north. One can imagine the surface of Mars looking very similar (except the lakes would be completely dry).
Much of the rest of our flight was in cloud until we descended to Singapore. From -40 degrees at 30,000 ft, it is 29 degrees outside here, but nicely air conditioned in the terminal. Transit passengers
Take Your Pick
One of many pages of information and maps provided on personal screens by the plane's navigation system. here get the run of the entire terminal with its hundreds of shops, free internet facilities, very nice washrooms etc. We will be off soon for a freshen up and a good long walk around the shops. The shopping mall here makes Northlands seem like a stroll to the letter box and back. Then it will be on to the BIG BIRD; the double decker A380 for another 13 hours of flying. The meals will be interesting. No doubt we'll get a dinner soon after take-off (when our bodies will be expecting breakfast!) and breakfast before we land in London just before 6 am. But what we get in between, in the middle of the 'night'; is anybody's guess. Maybe they'll call it supper, or maybe it will be snacks on demand for anyone who is awake. We'll let you know in our next report. See you in London.
P&K
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Tony
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Peter Glad to see you have all the technology working well for you. Nicely presented blog!