LAX to TPE: 15.5 hours over Kamchatka Peninsula, Okhotsk Sea.
I was sandwiched between a Chinese man and his daughter. They barely exchanged two words, the daughter content to play Nintendo games on the screen in front of her, while her father was watching Pirates of the Caribbean with Chinese subtitles. Only when the food came, was there communication between them. The father took his daughter's chicken with his fork. It was surprising, because the daughter had a strong American accent, and it didn't seem that the father could read English. In fact when my Indian Vegetarian meal arrived, he pointed at the Chinese menu asking what I was eating. It took fifteen hours for the daughter to talk to her father. A shrill "Papppaaa" shattered my belief that she was mute. When we finally got to Taipei and they were about to leave, I found out that they were from Virginia.
I was fairly content with my "Indian Vegetarian" meal. Singapore Airlines, I must say is the best airline I've ever flown, in terms of inflight entertainment and food. The order of hierarchy would be Singapore Airlines > British Airways > Air France > Thai Airways > American Airlines.
I watched four episodes of Two and a Half Men, I've become addicted to it. Also watched Million Dollar Baby and Omkara, snatching some sleep in-between. Singapore Airlines also has this new interactive language learning service. They attempt to teach you a new language by showing you pictures and giving the word in that language. I tried Hindi and Tamil. Karandi means spoon in Tamil. That was the extent of my learning.
TPE to SIN: 4.25 hours
At Taipei, I found myself sandwiched between two large Chinese women in Burkhas going to Mecca for Haj. I felt like an Oreo cookie (credit: Lisa Lampanelli). Dreading the situation, I luckily was able to convince them to switch so that I could get an aisle seat. During the flight, they refused headphones and had their purses with them all the time. When the lady at the window had to use the bathroom, it was a big pain. I went out followed by the lady in the middle seat and finally the lady at the window. The lady in the middle wanted to go too, but she stayed behind casting a watchful glance at their purses and at me (potential purloiner of women's hand-baggage). I took in "You, Me and Dupree" on the flight. The lady was constantly watching my monitor. Luckily heavy turbulence forced her to re-occupy her seat and I had to get up again to make way. A few minutes later, window lady comes along and we have to do the whole thing again! I decided not to watch any more movies or shows because I was constantly interrupted. Turned on some music in the new 80G iPod, which unfortunately I have to give away.
SIN airport : 8 hour layover
Took the free Singapore tour offered at the airport. Officially, I never entered Singapore. My passport was not endorsed. In fact it was impounded for the time I was in Singapore. Free boat ride from the quay ensued, taking in Mer-Lion statues and the skyline of Singapore's central business district. The four of us were quite tired at this point, happy to return to the airport for Singapore's most famous cocktail - the Singapore Sling and some Indian food at Kaveri. Browsed the shops for a while, toyed with the idea of getting a massage (S$10) or having a shower (S$8) or watching a free movie but did neither.
SIN to BLR: 4.25 hours
It's good to be home.
I was sandwiched between a Chinese man and his daughter. They barely exchanged two words, the daughter content to play Nintendo games on the screen in front of her, while her father was watching Pirates of the Caribbean with Chinese subtitles. Only when the food came, was there communication between them. The father took his daughter's chicken with his fork. It was surprising, because the daughter had a strong American accent, and it didn't seem that the father could read English. In fact when my Indian Vegetarian meal arrived, he pointed at the Chinese menu asking what I was eating. It took fifteen hours for the daughter to talk to her father. A shrill "Papppaaa" shattered my belief that she was mute. When we finally got to Taipei and they were about to leave, I found out that they were from Virginia.
I was fairly content with my "Indian Vegetarian" meal. Singapore Airlines, I must say is the best airline I've ever flown, in terms of inflight entertainment and food. The order of hierarchy would be Singapore Airlines > British Airways > Air France > Thai Airways > American Airlines.
I watched four episodes of Two and a Half Men, I've become addicted to it. Also watched Million Dollar Baby and Omkara, snatching some sleep in-between. Singapore Airlines also has this new interactive language learning service. They attempt to teach you a new language by showing you pictures and giving the word in that language. I tried Hindi and Tamil. Karandi means spoon in Tamil. That was the extent of my learning.
TPE to SIN: 4.25 hours
At Taipei, I found myself sandwiched between two large Chinese women in Burkhas going to Mecca for Haj. I felt like an Oreo cookie (credit: Lisa Lampanelli). Dreading the situation, I luckily was able to convince them to switch so that I could get an aisle seat. During the flight, they refused headphones and had their purses with them all the time. When the lady at the window had to use the bathroom, it was a big pain. I went out followed by the lady in the middle seat and finally the lady at the window. The lady in the middle wanted to go too, but she stayed behind casting a watchful glance at their purses and at me (potential purloiner of women's hand-baggage). I took in "You, Me and Dupree" on the flight. The lady was constantly watching my monitor. Luckily heavy turbulence forced her to re-occupy her seat and I had to get up again to make way. A few minutes later, window lady comes along and we have to do the whole thing again! I decided not to watch any more movies or shows because I was constantly interrupted. Turned on some music in the new 80G iPod, which unfortunately I have to give away.
SIN airport : 8 hour layover
Took the free Singapore tour offered at the airport. Officially, I never entered Singapore. My passport was not endorsed. In fact it was impounded for the time I was in Singapore. Free boat ride from the quay ensued, taking in Mer-Lion statues and the skyline of Singapore's central business district. The four of us were quite tired at this point, happy to return to the airport for Singapore's most famous cocktail - the Singapore Sling and some Indian food at Kaveri. Browsed the shops for a while, toyed with the idea of getting a massage (S$10) or having a shower (S$8) or watching a free movie but did neither.
SIN to BLR: 4.25 hours
It's good to be home.
3 comments:
great, so i started off with the best airline, eh? good, considering i will pro'lly never fly again. yup, s'pore sling is a good drink. n' i found out the language option only an hr before landing. was watchin movies most of the time otherwise but i'll do this on my way back pro'lly. enjoy urself.
@aslan: if you have a layover in singapore greater than 5 hours i suggest you take the free shuttle into town. they confiscate your passport, but it's totally safe and a really good thing to do..
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