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Links to the actual TR

Part 1: Planning
Part 2: LAX-NRT
Part 3: Transiting NRT
Part 4: NRT-SIN
Part 5: Day 1 in Singapore
Part 6: Day 2 in SIN, Shabbos
Part 7: Day 3 in SIN
Part 8: Day 4 in SIN
Part 9: Day 1 in PEK
Part 10: Day 2 in PEK
Part 11: Day 1 in HKG
Part 12: Day 2 in HKG
Part 13: Day 3 in HKG, Shabbos
Part 14: Day 4 in HKG, flight to HND
Part 15: Tokyo; flight home

Author Topic: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo  (Read 65663 times)

Offline Hershelsdeals

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #120 on: January 29, 2016, 01:03:56 AM »
Personally, I disagree. I think the A380, for all its creature comforts, is a pretty fugly plane.



Totally disagree.

The A380 is a Super beauty.

Definitely my favorite.

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #121 on: January 29, 2016, 01:42:10 AM »
Now that you did the walk on Shabbos quite a few times, do you recommend that?

Schmoozing with other guys at the meals, did you gather where they were staying?
I love walking, so the walk didn't bother me too much, although I did try to avoid doing it in the rain. I also walked through the malls to take advantage of the air con, so that helped also. I would definitely recommend the hotel, although there are other hotels you could use your points for that are closer like the Intercontinental.

The people I was meeting with over Shabbos were all staying at different hotels within a five to ten minute walk. None of them more points hotels, but they also didn't seem to be too expensive. One couple I spoke with said they paid around $175/night for a boutique hotel that was quite nice (I don't recall the name).

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #122 on: January 29, 2016, 01:42:46 AM »
Nice nice can't believe I missed this TR till now! Thanks for all the info
Thanks and you're welcome.

Offline Denverite

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #123 on: January 29, 2016, 02:19:37 AM »
All great!  Thanks for the awesome TR!

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #124 on: January 29, 2016, 02:34:19 AM »
All great!  Thanks for the awesome TR!
YW

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #125 on: January 29, 2016, 02:52:25 AM »
Monday, January 25, 2016: Day 4 in SIN
I started the day early with the zoo. I was originally going to take Uber there, but the surge pricing kept me from doing that. Instead I opted to take the shuttle bus from in front of the hotel to the zoo. The bus comes hourly (at 10 past the hour) and costs SGD6. It stopped at a few hotels to pick people up along the way and got to the zoo in about 40 minutes.


Zoo Entrance

While at the zoo we had some more rain, quite heavy at times. The interesting thing about heavy rain at the zoo is that all the animals take shelter, which not only makes them easy to find, but it’s often right in front of you, too! There are plenty of covered walkways at the zoo and a few indoor areas to hang out in during a downpour, but all in all it was a pleasant experience. The sun even made an appearance after a few hours.


I feel bad for this guy living in SIN outdoors in the heat. Probably why he's so thin


Baby male giraffe


Lion family hiding from the rain


He kept ringing that darn bell


Baboons


In case you were wondering like I was why their rear ends are were all red and swollen

After 3.5 hours at the zoo I headed via Uber to Coffee Bean for lunch. By this point I’d seen most of what I wanted to see and needed to get a lot of work done, so I headed back to the hotel to work (in the lounge after I needed to check out of my room at 4pm). I worked for a few hours before heading back to Coffee Bean for dinner and to pick up some sandwiches for breakfast and lunch the next day in Beijing. I got back to the hotel, collected by bags from the concierge and headed to the airport via Uber (this time after the surge pricing ended) around 8:15pm for a 12:15am flight to Beijing.


Lunch at CBTL: Salmon and mushroom pasta in a cream sauce; California style salad (again)

I checked in with using the Premier Check in area in Terminal 1. Air China only opens their check in counters 3 hours before departure, but the premier-early check in area is a lot nicer. Afer checking in, I went from the “lounge” straight to customs via a private walkway.






Premier check-in

I was able to use the SATS lounge in T1 to shower and relax in their massage chairs. After working some more from the lounge, it was time to head to the gate for my flight.




Massage chairs in the lounge

Security at the gate had a bit of a line, but after clearing that I was still the first person on the plane. The business class cabin was maybe one third full, but I didn’t really care. I slept most of the short 6.5 hour flight to Beijing. While it was no SQ F, the beds were lie flat and the cabin was dark and cool.






CA970 SIN-PEK, A330-300

I woke up after 5 hours, refreshed and had the cold parts of both my meals (I didn’t feel like salmon at 4:30am). The food was catered by Hermolis again, and it was a good thing I ate what I did. It was my last “meal” for 16 hours.


Hermolis meal (without the hot entree)

Offline D93

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #126 on: January 29, 2016, 04:16:37 AM »
What's the green on the polar bear?

Offline shwarmabob

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #127 on: January 29, 2016, 09:18:42 AM »
What's the reason?
Minhagei Lita was not to wear the tzitzis outside, but tuck it in. CC being a Musar holdout, it makes complete sense that they tuck in  their tzitzis. In Musar land you don't flaunt your piety.
Nice TR, I don't mean to go OT.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2016, 09:55:56 AM by shwarmabob »

Online Proisrael

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #128 on: January 29, 2016, 09:51:50 AM »
How was the Coffee Bean priced?

Offline Aaaron

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #129 on: January 29, 2016, 09:52:03 AM »
Totally disagree.

The A380 is a Super beauty.

Definitely my favorite.

I think it's looks nice while in the air.  On the ground?  Not so much.  It just lumbers, it's not graceful looking at all.

Great TR so far!

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #130 on: January 30, 2016, 06:32:43 AM »
What's the green on the polar bear?
Algae. It's normal and falls off eventually. (I didn't look anything up, just repeating what they said at the zoo).

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #131 on: January 30, 2016, 06:33:07 AM »
Minhagei Lita was not to wear the tzitzis outside, but tuck it in. CC being a Musar holdout, it makes complete sense that they tuck in  their tzitzis. In Musar land you don't flaunt your piety.
Nice TR, I don't mean to go OT.
+1. Thanks, and no worries.

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #132 on: January 30, 2016, 06:37:54 AM »
How was the Coffee Bean priced?
Decently. Prices in SGD:

Salmon sandwich: 11.90
Egg sandwich: 9.50
Salmon egg scramble breakfast: 10.90
Marinara Pasta: 9.50
Salmon and mushroom pasta: 13.90
Caesar salad: 8.90
California salad: 7.90
Mocha Ice Blended: 6.30

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #133 on: January 30, 2016, 06:38:20 AM »
I think it's looks nice while in the air.  On the ground?  Not so much.  It just lumbers, it's not graceful looking at all.

Great TR so far!
Thanks!

Offline Denverite

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #134 on: January 30, 2016, 11:19:27 PM »
Decently. Prices in SGD:

Salmon sandwich: 11.90
Egg sandwich: 9.50
Salmon egg scramble breakfast: 10.90
Marinara Pasta: 9.50
Salmon and mushroom pasta: 13.90
Caesar salad: 8.90
California salad: 7.90
Mocha Ice Blended: 6.30

Food at Coffee Bean looked really great, with reasonable prices.  It does seem like a great place to grab a bunch of sandwiches for lunches for the next leg of the trip.

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #135 on: January 31, 2016, 01:49:03 AM »
Food at Coffee Bean looked really great, with reasonable prices.  It does seem like a great place to grab a bunch of sandwiches for lunches for the next leg of the trip.
Exactly why I went there.

Offline lfas25

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #136 on: January 31, 2016, 02:31:00 AM »
Finally read this... Nice job, keep it up!
I only paid 15% by switching to dansdeals

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #137 on: January 31, 2016, 03:12:02 AM »
Finally read this... Nice job, keep it up!
Thanks! See, I told you there were lots of pictures.  ;)

Offline Work-for-ur-muny

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #138 on: January 31, 2016, 06:54:08 PM »
Am I the only one who wants to know this? Even if yes, I'll post it anyway.
The USD-SGD exchange rate as of today is $1 = 1.42 SGD or 1 SGD = $0.70

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Yehoshua's Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo TR: Flying Solo
« Reply #139 on: January 31, 2016, 06:55:02 PM »
Am I the only one who wants to know this? Even if yes, I'll post it anyway.
The USD-SGD exchange rate as of today is $1 = 1.42 SGD or 1 SGD = $0.70
Thanks, but it makes more sense to post prices in local currency than to post everything in USD.