We flew to Auckland without incident. After we arrived, we retrieved our luggage (wondering why we had brought so much), loaded it on a trolley and set out to walk to the international terminal and the Novotel hotel. Of course, everything has changed! The transport hub has moved, and access to the hotel is now better. We were able to check into our room, which is larger than our previous stays, and has a couch (and a view of a carpark).
The flight had left Wellington at 12:15 pm, so we were quite hungry, and had lunch at the Novotel’s restaurant. It took ages to get served, but we ordered wisely: two small plates (mine being smoked salmon, JD’s fried chicken), and a cheeseboard to share with brie and Gouda cheeses, along with crackers, fruit chutney, grapes and dried fruit. We followed that with long black coffees. JD had had a glass of Neudorf chardonnay; me, some mineral water.
It was too late to go to the Art gallery. We had a further snack at a cafe in the international terminal: we shared yoghurt with granola and fruit (very tart yoghurt), a pain au chocolat, and JD had a blueberry muffin. We used wooden cutlery, truly awful! JD wanted to buy NZ souvenirs to give people where we were to stay, but I managed to persuade him not to buy this tat. How mean of me! This is 2024; chances are we will be served by Kiwis! This is not the 1970’s.
The next morning we checked out at 9 am to roll across to the international terminal and get boarding passes printed and drop some bags for our flight to Singapore.
We made our way to Premium check in, where, to our surprise there is another line of kiosks, but there were several Air NZ staff members on hand to assist.
Then we made our way to the Air NZ lounge. It was pretty full, but JD got me some toast with butter, peanut butter and strawberry jam, and a black coffee, just what I needed. There was orange juice too.
Shortly afterwards we made our way to Gate 5, a five minute walk, feeling sorry for those flying to Narita airport in Japan, who had a sixteen minute walk to their departure gate! I pick they use faraway gates for the Boeing 797’s, because when we flew to Taipei we had to walk a long way. I was later to discover that this is nothing: in Singapore it was almost a half-hour walk to our departure gate, and then you had to go through security.
And then we were boarding our Boeing 777 to Singapore. How come there are so many Business Premier customers?
It’s nice when the staff know your name. The configuration is like the Boeing 797, and there is a welcome humpty to put your feet on, although there weren’t the lovely scuffs.
The woman next to me was flying to Amsterdam via Singapore, but I picked she hadn’t flown business class with Air NZ before. Having done this previously myself, I knew the drill, getting my Kindle and magazines out of my red bag before JD loaded it in the locker, and stowing my bag under the humpty.
Soon someone came to take my lunch order, before I’d barely had time to read the menu. I ordered crayfish bisque for a starter, followed by spicy pork belly with rice, and a delicious salad. There was a small dish of salted nuts to start, and I had a bread roll with the soup. It’s amazing how you’re almost always hungry when travelling, and you work up an appetite no matter what. There was delicious ice cream for dessert too.
Then almost everyone slept or rested. The staff turned our seats into beds, complete with mattress, blanket and two pillows! I’m reminded again that lying flat is one of the privileges that one has paid richly for.
At first I enjoy lying flat, playing hymns and classical music in my head, and then I find my Kindle in the bottom of the seat pocket, and I reread the first 100 pages of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. I also listen to some Schubert piano music, but the headphones are rather uncomfortable.
Eventually dinner was served, although the Air NZ staff seemed a trifle disorganized. My order was taken for a kahawai rillette starter, followed by salmon and a salad, but in the event I was given the salmon with beans, and no starter and no salad. The salmon was delicious and came with noodles which proved rather hard to eat. No matter, I was very well fed anyway, having had some garlic bread first. There was an amuse-bouche in a dainty wee dish with a small fork, but this proved impossible to cut with the fork, and I popped it whole into my mouth hoping that no one saw me. I had a rhubarb and frangipane tart for dessert, which was probably the most disappointing thing I ate all day.
The woman next to me complimented the staff effusively; I didn’t think they were that wonderful!
I often looked at the flight map during our flight. I found that if I expanded it, I could see Taiwan and even the lovely Da’an district where we had stayed twice while in Taipei. One of the hostesses had stayed there too!
Landing at Changi airport in Singapore had its own challenges too. I didn’t feel very well, but there was no wheelchair. We went through to a raft of electronic entry machines, but the staff were very helpful. You scanned your passport, and then your photo was taken and the right thumb print. The gate did not open for me, but a guard opened it. But for JD the system would not take his photo, and it had to be taken manually. So he went off back the way we’d come, and I was not allowed to join him. There was nowhere to sit down, either. Several minutes later he appeared, and we walked a long way to the luggage carousel, where I tried to grab a suitcase, with difficulty, off the fast-moving carousel. Fortunately it was the first, and the other suitcases followed soon after.
Then we tried to find our way to where the free shuttle for our hotel would pick us up. It was quite a long way away, and we had to wait about half an hour. It didn’t look right, and it was very hot outside; I found a place to sit down but was joined by a coughing, hoicking Singaporean, so I kept my mask on and kept my distance.
Eventually the shuttle arrived, marked “Village”, and we clambered on board, with our luggage. The hotel was actually about 25-30 minutes’ drive away.
When we got there, the check-in took rather a while, but Aladdin was friendly and helpful. He too us to a room on the seventh floor, which actually smelt of cigarette smoke, although there was no smoking allowed.
The room was fine, although there was no mini-bar, but there was a tooth brush kit with toothbrush and a wee tube of toothpaste, and a notice saying the tap water was safe to drink. The air conditioning fan was very noisy, but it didn’t come off and on, so that was something to be thankful for. The room looked on to a courtyard which was unattractive and featured some mould and greenery.
I logged into the hotel wifi, and logged in my Kindle so I could buy another book to read on our next flight. But JD wanted to celebrate our arrival by having a drink.
It was only about 7 pm Singapore time! We went to the Tiffin Bar downstairs, which was quite empty; however someone on reception took us up to the Atelier on level 8, which had a sea view. It reminded me of Taiwan, with the atmosphere not being clear, but rather hazy, and very hot.
We retreated inside to the rather fierce air-conditioning, and ordered drinks and a dessert to share. JD had whisky and I had a peach fizz, both delicious and served in beautiful crystal glasses. We shared a delicious cheesecake.
We woke up very early indeed. I had a bath, which was lovely, and long, but very hard to get out of, despite the helpful hand holds and non-slip mat. We decided to get the 8 am shuttle back to the airport, since the next one was at 9:15 am, and cutting things a bit fine for our check in. I could not check in online this time, since our flight is operated by Singapore Airlines.
We had breakfast at the hotel before we left, mainly because I was really hungry and already nervous about how long it might be before we got to the lounge at Changi airport. So we had a delicious breakfast, with toast and jam and peanut butter and scrambled eggs, and coffee and juice. This was rather rushed, since you don’t do anything quickly here! Anyway, I was relieved to have something to eat.
There were lots of us waiting for the shuttle, and it was a bit like a Japanese train: you had to force your way on! I was more forceful than JD, but I did save him a seat. Our bags were loaded on, and we drove to the airport.
When we got to the airport (Terminal 3, not 2), we checked in with Singapore Airlines right away and then tried to find the correct lounge. There was little signage, and we hadn’t been given a gate number; eventually we asked for help, and finally got to the right place. There were two lounges, one for first class and another, further away, for business class. It was three hours until we were to board our flight!
Meanwhile we got comfortable, I had more coffee, and then I explored the roomy, busy lounge. There were all kinds of food on offer there. We found that we could charge our phones, and log into the internet there, so we were very comfortable.
I was worried that we hadn’t been through airline security before entering the lounge. I was assured by a staff member that security would be at the boarding gate, and it would be quick.
And that proved to be the case. Again, I got through security with no problems, JD had some delay. There were heaps of staff there.
We boarded our flight: this Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 is configured very differently from the Air NZ one, with different sections for First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy. Our Business Class here is very similar to the Emirates one, and feels more like what Premium Economy used to be like.
Still, it’s wonderful to be able to lie flat; there are no babies or infants, and the toilets are clean.
The food sounds good, but doesn’t taste so great. It’s quite adventurous, with seared tuna, a quail’s egg, spicy chicken with noodles, a prawn salad, and braised veal. It all sounds great but is very chilled and doesn’t quite work. Never mind, the desserts are delicious – creme brulee, and a yummy fruit and nut cake. Still, it’s a very long flight: 13 hours and 45 minutes our pilot Abdul informs us: 1345. I am so glad I got another Ann Cleeves novel on my Kindle to read. I also get down to the instructions I’ve printed for getting to our hotel at Heathrow when we get there; it sounds to be within walking distance. I hope that’s not too much of a challenge!
So we eventually arrived at Heathrow airport. It was early evening, and was quite dark. I was very grateful to use a wheelchair, having requested this earlier. I was not feeling very well for the last few hours of the trip. They served dinner on the plane, but there were still at least 3 hours of the journey to go.
We went partway in the wheel chair, and then switched to a buggy. There was a delay while the “driver” picked up other passengers. Someone who hadn’t booked tried to take JD’s seat. Then he gathered all our passports to go through Border Control. Eventually we retrieved our checked luggage, and then we were on our own.
Nevermind, there were easy followed directions to our Hilton Garden Inn Hotel through the carpark. I had got out a printed copy of our booking, and the hotel had even sent a message on my phone.
So we made our way, with luggage, to our hotel and turned up in the hotel lobby, eager to settle down for the night. But they did not have a registration for me. It turns out there are two Hilton Garden Inn hotels: this one, HGI T2 and T3, and HGI Heathrow airport. It turned out that I had booked at the latter. It was about 7 minutes away by taxi; we could not walk there. The kind lady on the desk called a cab for us, but it seemed to take ages to arrive. When it did come, the driver came to meet us, but it was a complicated journey to his car. Once there, it seemed to take well over 7 minutes to get to the right Hilton Garden Inn hotel.
Then it took ages to get checked in. But eventually we did, to a room on the first floor with a wet shower and an armchair with footrest. We went down to the bar where JD had a whisky and I had a mocktail. The next morning I confirmed that we were booked into the other Hilton Garden Inn for our last night in the United Kingdom!
We slept fitfully, but the internet connection was good and the room was very quiet and comfortable, despite planes flying overhead. London was grey, as expected. Already this is our third night away, and we are looking forward to being more settled for a few days.
Classic Barbarian 