A pretty suite trip (SYD-SIN Suites class review; +KH side trip)

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pythonisman

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So, I was lucky enough to land an upgrade to SQ Suites class, and thought that justified taking some photos of the food/service, and the seat, to document what is definitely a special occasion for me.

I was headed to Singapore for a day for work, with a side trip tacked on at the tail end to check out the temples of Angkor Wat, Siem Reap and Cambodia over Easter.

A few days before my trip to Singapore I was contacted about a special offer to upgrade to Suites class on the Singapore A380. I hesitated for about 5 minutes before jumping at the chance, and am definitely glad I did!

Below is a recount of my trip. (edit: PS, images are clickable for full size)

SYD-SIN SQ232 (9V-SKL)

The big bird (at Changi on arrival):


Priority boarding working no problems at SIN (though F pax were called pretty late in the game, I got to the gate when the last of Y was boarding), I didn’t experience any of the “greeted by name” service that I have read other Suites passengers reported. Not that I think that’s a problem, just a data point.

I received a very warm greeting on board and was shown to my Suite (3A). Suites had 7/12 seats taken, I was the last seat to be ticketed (having checked earlier) so it seems that perhaps only 1 of the special upgrades were afforded. Lucky me!

On boarding I was happy to see the dark leather seats, which according to Lucky indicates this was a recently refreshed bird. Score!

SQ A380 Suite 3A


The suite itself is very large, definitely roomy, spacious, and elegant. Not at all over the top.
I was immediately offered a welcome drink (2006 Dom or Krug); I hadn’t tried Krug before, so I started with that.

SQ A380 Suite 3A


Amenity kits, slippers, blanket and PJs were brought around promptly, as was a selection of magazines and newspapers. Unfortunately I had some work I needed to tackle, so I was going to have to use all my reading time doing work (boo). But oh well.

Krug in hand (delicious by the way), I checked out the menu while the final phases of boarding completed. There were two couples in 2C/D and 3C/D. Pax in 3C/D seemed to be friends of ground/technical crew, who spent about 5 minutes on board chatting with them.




Menu & wine list


Justine (green dress) and Cheryl (red dress) were my go-to flight attendants during the trip, and both of them were excellent. It’s clear from the service I received that Singapore Airlines treat their F passengers with all possible due attention and care to make their trip pleasant and special. No sooner had I gotten to the lower third of my champagne before I was offered more. And who was going to say no to that?
 
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Onto the Long, Luxurious Lunch service (yum)

After take off I was offered more Krug, but decided that a taste-off was in order, so I ordered a sparkling water, a top up of Krug and a glass of Dom to compare. (Justine amusingly - to my childish mind - referred to Dom as “D.P.”, completely innocently).

I’ve had Dom before and while it certainly isn’t bad, it’s not the be-all and end-all for me. After two glasses (just to make sure) I switched back to Krug which I stuck with as a refreshing bubbly the whole way through my meal.

Table is set!


I started with the Chilled Malossol Caviar (with iced vodka) and Krug - an excellent combination. The serving was generous, and this Caviar definitely had a very pronounced flavour. The condiments it came with worked well, especially the chopped onion and shallots (?) which helped balance the caviar. While I’m sure plenty would disagree with me, I thought the vodka was unnecessary and stuck with the Krug which was more to my liking.

Caviar, condiments. Incredibly buttery garlic bread


On Justine’s recommendation, I had the Oriental clear chicken broth, which was light and refreshing.

Clear chicken broth


As the salad of mesculin, dried cranberry, shaved fennel and parmesan (with balsamic) was being prepared, I struggled with the choice of which Red to have with my main course.

Mesculin salad


I was torn between the Canberra Shiraz (I love a good Shiraz and was heartbroken when there was no Penfolds RWT on this flight) and the French red blend. As any well reasoned human being would do, I had to have an objective comparison, so had two half glasses with the salad course. (PS, France won this battle!)

Wine taste off


Main was the Seared Angus beef fillet (I was worried about it being dry and overcooked, but Justine assured me that it’d be OK, and I’m happy to say it was pretty good!). The shallot tarte tartin and the jus definitely brought this meal up from being “alright” to being “very good” (still no comparison for a steak cooked on the ground though). The English mustard was slightly spicy but very flavourful.

Angus beef
 
That beef looks delicious. I would have picked the Clonakilla to go with the steak
 
That beef looks delicious. I would have picked the Clonakilla to go with the steak

It was tasty, a little over what I'd normally cook beef so a touch dry, but the sauce/mustard/creme fraiche made up for the dryness.

Re: wines it was a hard call but clearly a choice between two good options!

Enroute to Changi now; will post again from the SKL :)
 
With main out of the way (and plenty of work done in between courses) it was time for something sweet. The Flourless orange cake with almond ice cream was next. The cake was light and fairly dry, the candied (?) orange slice was a nice touch, and the ice cream flavoursome. The port was very nice (apparently it’s got a nutty flavour with hints of sweet mature fruits and orange peel - so it definitely goes with the dessert course) and I had a second glass while I pondered cheese, and more work.

Flourless orange cake


Unfortunately (for my productivity) by this point the quality of my output was starting to suffer, requiring far too much concentration, so I had to cut my losses and make sure I had at least a well formed to-do list for later. Clearly I was over-indulging by this point. Good thing I don’t have access to unlimited funding, else this kind of thing could get addictive and dangerous!

Cheese time! This was definitely the greatest cheese plate I’ve had on a plane. The goats cheese was out of this world, and with a blue brie as well as a blue, I was definitely in a happy place. (Alcohol had nothing to do with it guys, for reals. Well maybe a little).

Outstanding cheese plate


By this point we were somewhere over mid-Queensland (Australia is pretty!) and I watched a movie while I hydrated (alternating sparkling water and Krug).

Somewhere over central Australia


Justine offered kindly to make up 2A as a bed for me to take a nap after I finished the movie, and I didn’t hesitate to agree to being woken up for the “light refreshment” before we landed.

One of the best beds in the sky


As it happened I didn’t sleep for a long time (I think maybe 90 minutes? - my internal body clock needed to make sure I didn’t waste time sleeping in the suite!). I have no doubt that this bed would be immensely comfortable for a long haul flight, this is definitely one of the best ways to fly. In terms of bed quality, it was hard to find much of a detectable hint of this being on a plane, the width, length, and comfort was the best I’ve had (though my comparison so far is really only between QF F and this so far.

The “Light Refreshment” service began with more sparkling, and a gin & tonic this time. I didn’t take a photo of this page of the menu, but the choice was between a Chinese style chicken, mushroom & noodle soup, and smoked salmon and smashed avocado on toasted slice.

I ended up having both because I'm a weak human being :-$

Chicken & mushroom noodle soup & Salmon & Avocado


Writing that now I’m amazed I ate all of it (horrified might be a better word :-o), but it went over the span of several hours (clearly this is why it felt like the flight went so fast), and I’d only had a very small breakfast about 5am Sydney time, so I feel slightly less bad. Or at least it was a once off, special occasion, and just meant I didn’t have to have dinner in Singapore!

I finished off my “snack” with two coffees, and got a bunch more work done (sleep + caffiene - gin = productive!) the second being served in a SQ branded takeaway cup as we were close to landing into Changi. Landing was smooth and uneventful, and with that it was all over.

Coffee time on descent into Changi


As I deplaned I realised: I desperately want to do this again. Everyone needs suites in their life. I desperately want to send my parents somewhere special in suites class, I just need to stockpile about a billion points so that I can use them for redemptions. Until then, I’ll just daydream about the next time I’m lucky enough to experience anything near as to complete and absolute luxury, attentive service and feeling like a rockstar. One can dream, right..?

I will continue posting a few photos of my trip, though it’s not that exciting — MI J to Cambodia + SQ ‘380 J home, with some time in Cambodia sightseeing and generally relaxing after an intense time at work.

And now I’ve got a nice set of SQ R PJs which will serve me well for my redeye in J home :)

Posting now from the Changi T2 SKL; getting ready to get on board MI633
 
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The condiments it came with worked well, especially the chopped onion and shallots (?) which helped balance the caviar. While I’m sure plenty would disagree with me, I thought the vodka was unnecessary and stuck with the Krug which was more to my liking.

Vodka is traditionally served with caviar because (when close to frozen) it doesn't interfere with the taste of the caviar. Champagne on the other hand is more likely to do so because it has sugars and lingering flavours.

Likewise traditionalists will eat caviar by itself - none of the garnishes to get in the way of the flavour. But that depends on the quality of the caviar to some degree. As always, this is about personal taste/preference! YMMV.

Looks like you enjoyed your flight! How did you feel about the menu? Would you have preferred to book the cook?
 
Vodka is traditionally served with caviar because (when close to frozen) it doesn't interfere with the taste of the caviar. Champagne on the other hand is more likely to do so because it has sugars and lingering flavours.

Likewise traditionalists will eat caviar by itself - none of the garnishes to get in the way of the flavour. But that depends on the quality of the caviar to some degree. As always, this is about personal taste/preference! YMMV.

Looks like you enjoyed your flight! How did you feel about the menu? Would you have preferred to book the cook?

Fair enough. I tried it on its own first- it was good- a bit 'fishy' more so than other caviar I've had, but this was a much bigger amount.

And I rarely have a need to drink alcohol without flavor being part of the equation. But thank you for the info, useful for a rookie like me!!

Re book the cook- hard to say. I was lingering on the Thermidor but decided to just see what was onboard. I wasn't disappointed- I just wish I got to fly this product maybe once a month so I could compare more objectively!!

Safely in Siem Reap here. Fires everywhere, smoky sky. 38 degrees. Sweltering. Hotel is incredible though!
 
Enjoying the TR so far. Looking forward to reading about your time in Siem Reap.
 
With main out of the way (and plenty of work done in between courses) it was time for something sweet. The Flourless orange cake with almond ice cream was next. The cake was light and fairly dry, the candied (?) orange slice was a nice touch, and the ice cream flavoursome. The port was very nice (apparently it’s got a nutty flavour with hints of sweet mature fruits and orange peel - so it definitely goes with the dessert course) and I had a second glass while I pondered cheese, and more work.

Flourless orange cake


Unfortunately (for my productivity) by this point the quality of my output was starting to suffer, requiring far too much concentration, so I had to cut my losses and make sure I had at least a well formed to-do list for later. Clearly I was over-indulging by this point. Good thing I don’t have access to unlimited funding, else this kind of thing could get addictive and dangerous!

Cheese time! This was definitely the greatest cheese plate I’ve had on a plane. The goats cheese was out of this world, and with a blue brie as well as a blue, I was definitely in a happy place. (Alcohol had nothing to do with it guys, for reals. Well maybe a little).

Outstanding cheese plate


By this point we were somewhere over mid-Queensland (Australia is pretty!) and I watched a movie while I hydrated (alternating sparkling water and Krug).

Somewhere over central Australia


Justine offered kindly to make up 2A as a bed for me to take a nap after I finished the movie, and I didn’t hesitate to agree to being woken up for the “light refreshment” before we landed.

One of the best beds in the sky


As it happened I didn’t sleep for a long time (I think maybe 90 minutes? - my internal body clock needed to make sure I didn’t waste time sleeping in the suite!). I have no doubt that this bed would be immensely comfortable for a long haul flight, this is definitely one of the best ways to fly. In terms of bed quality, it was hard to find much of a detectable hint of this being on a plane, the width, length, and comfort was the best I’ve had (though my comparison so far is really only between QF F and this so far.

The “Light Refreshment” service began with more sparkling, and a gin & tonic this time. I didn’t take a photo of this page of the menu, but the choice was between a Chinese style chicken, mushroom & noodle soup, and smoked salmon and smashed avocado on toasted slice.

I ended up having both because I'm a weak human being :-$

Chicken & mushroom noodle soup & Salmon & Avocado


Writing that now I’m amazed I ate all of it (horrified might be a better word :-o), but it went over the span of several hours (clearly this is why it felt like the flight went so fast), and I’d only had a very small breakfast about 5am Sydney time, so I feel slightly less bad. Or at least it was a once off, special occasion, and just meant I didn’t have to have dinner in Singapore!

I finished off my “snack” with two coffees, and got a bunch more work done (sleep + caffiene - gin = productive!) the second being served in a SQ branded takeaway cup as we were close to landing into Changi. Landing was smooth and uneventful, and with that it was all over.

Coffee time on descent into Changi


As I deplaned I realised: I desperately want to do this again. Everyone needs suites in their life. I desperately want to send my parents somewhere special in suites class.....

Agree with all those three points

I was fortunate enough to have accomplish them - the best satisfaction is after my mother had completed the trip.

Re steaks, I'd stay away from them as a rule after so many disappointments, SQ included. There's less chan
 
Just as I was thinking I could make do with business... I need to taste the Suite life.
 
The leg to Cambodia is off to a start.
Check in saw only one J class attendant/lane serving a family of 5 + nanny, who turn out to be on the same flight as me. Which is OK, I’m just quietly hoping the kids aren’t in the seat behind me kicking my seat for the next couple of hours, based on how crazy they are at check-in that should be a riot.

Ah well, it’s a short flight!

The SKL in T2 is pretty basic (I guess as reported), but it’s OK to spend ~45 minutes to have a bite to eat and a couple of pre-flight beverages.

There was no queue at the gate lounge when I got there, and they boarded about 3 minutes after I sat down in the gate. Priority boarding worked well - I was right behind that family again!! As it turns out, on boarding, someone up above was watching out for me, Instead of occupying the rest of the J cabin, they move behind the barrier to economy.
J is full, full of middle-retirement aged folks who mostly seem to be from Australia. The flight is off on-time, has a pretty short taxi and then we’re off.

I was offered a menu briefly to pick between a chicken or a fish dish. The rest of the options don’t change, and include a small noodle salad (also chicken), breads and ice cream.

The meal & IFE; the view outside


Lenovo tablets are offered in-flight for IFE; the content is pretty minimal though. Unless I browsed wrong I could only pick about 3 or 4 B/C grade western flicks. More content with an asian base, which I guess makes sense given the region the flights are in.

The meal is standard airplane fare, nothing to write home about, but not terrible. White / red wine are offered with lunch, just small bottles of each. I chose the red and it was OK.

After lunch I asked for a gin and tonic, and the attendant obliged, bringing a couple more as I watched a movie and we descended into Siem Reap.

One thing I noticed in the later stages of flight (once we got under the high cloud) was just how hazy / smoke filled the air was. I don’t know if it’s just a particularly hot/dry time of year (I know it’s toward the end of dry season) and I know in Cambodia they burn a lot of stuff, but this seems bad. There are fires everywhere, and a clear layer of hazy smoke all over the ground pretty much everywhere, which is sad.

Hazy descent; REP International


Immigration into Cambodia is smooth (first off the plane, e-Visa already obtained) and my bag is about 4th out on the carousel. My driver to the hotel is waiting for me outside, which is a positive sign! The phone store at the airport I want to use (“Smart”) is closed for 2 days, so I’ll have to wait until town to pick up a sim card.

The hotel I’m staying at is pretty new, and I think built onto a bigger hotel. It’s called the Somadevi residence (and is on the back of the Somadevi hotel?), and I tell you what, it’s awesome. Not only is everything clean and well maintained (not just in an “it’s new” way, but also in an actually clean and maintained way), it has a really impressive pool, nice spacious and comfortable room, and plenty of amenities.

Somadevi Residence, Siem Reap


Maybe my last experience in Cambodia was just so opposingly bad, but this is definitely a step up from expectations, so much so that I extended my stay in this city / at this hotel as a result.
 
Thanks for the comments :)

Poolside coughtail price list; Downtown Siem Reap



The next few days are filled with the standard things people do in Siem Reap. The sunrise at Angkor wat, the day long tours in 38 degrees drinking 5 litres of water a day and losing it all again as sweat. The temples are definitely worth seeing, I think I should have some decent photos after I sort through them (on my real camera, below is just my phone), and it’s something I’m glad I did. Lots of culture and history. And so many tourists! (I guess I’m one of them...)

Tuk tuk before dawn; Sunrise over Angkor Wat



Health & Safety at Angkor Wat? No worries mate


Another tour: A push start; 100% Genuine SONNY; Aboveground outhouse; Cambodian Safari


I’ve spent the last day just relaxing around the pool, reading, having a few coughtails (that kindof thing). Enjoying life and not thinking about work. I’ve booked a domestic flight for later today on Cambodia Angkor Air (but where do I credit the miles to!!?). A very short hop but wanted to spend the time more effectively than on a bus. Hopefully they’re OK!
 
Fantastic trip! It took you a whole 5 minutes to jump on the upgrade? 4m55s too long! :)

Enjoying riding along, keep it up.
 
Oh and like this hotel couldn't get any better - I found out yesterday that they have some kindof random 25% off coughtail happy hour so my drink was only $2.51 or something like that :)

Checking out now - headed to REP airport to board K6 104. Should be fun!
 
Onto the next chapter!

So; I’m alive! Cambodia Angkor Air are OK in my book. Not that I was expecting there to be any issues, but either way it was a pleasant experience, and despite a pretty rough touchdown everything else was fine.

The A321 XU-350 was very new (3yo) and while the exterior livery was K6, the interior was VN through and through. The flight boarded, pushed back, departed and landed on-time, which was great. Baggage at PNH was slow and came in tranches, but that’s fine, it was only 15-20 mins or so from landing time.

XU-350 interior - VN fitout.


I had arranged for a taxi/driver down to Kampot for the night and next day, the drive was a bit quicker than I’d expected, and despite the driver’s best efforts we made it without running into anyone/thing. (The only thing he seemed afraid of going near were cows.)

Kampot is a pretty, sleepy little river town in Southern Cambodia, and definitely worth a visit. (It reminds me a lot of Hoi An in Vietnam, which is also a place I love). I would have liked more time here in hindsight, to go and explore some of the local area (there’s some national parks with mountains and apparently really pretty countryside/waterfalls/features), but alas I don’t have time for much.

Sunset in Kampot;


Compared to my last hotel I’m not going to photograph/review my “hotel” in Kampot. Needless to say this place prides itself on its pool and outdoor area (which are actually alright) at the cost of the amenities in the rooms. Coming from a very modern and fully featured hotel this one was very basic (at about 2/3 the price). It’s self rated at 3 stars but to me that was a definite stretch. Compared to the Siem Reap hotel, the photos for this place online were definitely... generous. Oh well. It’s clean enough, and even though my safety deposit box (a basic wooden box with a lock on it) under the bed can’t lock because the last guest took the key with them (yeah, that’s reassuring!) I have a good nights’ sleep and everything goes fine.

Despite common sense, I rent a ‘moto’ (scooter) and make my own way down to the next town - Kep (~20km) the following morning, to check out the crab markets, the beach and that was worthwhile. For me Kampot was more accessible/tourist friendly, closer together and flatter. But it has less beach. If you wanted a beach resort for the family I’d say Kep would probably be a better place to stay, but if you were a wandering tourist or backpacker I’d stay in Kampot.

Kep crab selfie (is that a hobo beard?!); Kep coast


There was plenty on offer at the market, just about anything that swims, as well as lots of local fruits, spices, pepper (Kampot is known for its pepper) and local arts/crafts (as well as the obligatory ubiquitous junk you find at all SE Asian markets). It was small and easy to miss if you didn’t know what to look out for. I followed the signs and slowed near it (the first pass) but ended up

Kep crabs at crab market; Kep coast


After Kep, and a delicious Khmer lunch by the river in Kampot, I get a ride back to Phnom Penh in the afternoon with a slightly better driver who ends up getting very frustrated by some roadworks going on. He speaks almost zero english which proves fun when he thinks I’m going to the airport, but in fact I’m going to a hotel in the city. I gave him the phone number of the hotel (I fail to convince him I know the way) and he takes me through the ludicrous gridlock around Phnom Penh central market which adds a good half hour to the trip. Oh well!

I get to my last hotel of the trip - “The Teahouse” in Phnom Penh, which is cheap, cheerful, and I land a free upgrade (to “the big room”) even though I booked 24hrs ago at a deep discount online - score! This place is cheaper than the Kampot hotel, yet delivers on Western comforts (like real showers). I’m literally just here for the night/morning to get to the airport early, but it’s still nice.

Teahouse Hotel Phnom Penh


I check in, settle, pack my things and organise for the trip home tomorrow morning, and then head out to “Friends Restaurant”, on recommendation from my brother & sister in law. And now I would highly recommend it myself.

Sidebar -> Friends restaurant is a training restaurant run by an international charity, and at least if I understand right, takes youths at risk of living on the street, or worse, and helps train them with useful skills, in addition to providing charitable support. It’s international but has a definite South East Asian focus.

The food and service were really good. Very friendly staff, with the construct of “Teachers” who help the trainees. The kids are shy, with huge smiles, but speak decent english and are definitely friendly.

The menu advertises itself as “tapas style” and suggested to order two dishes if you’re hungry, so I ordered a snapper & green mango salad dish (tasty, very spicy, very salty/heavy on the fish sauce), and a Burmese chicken curry with noodles (which was outstanding, really really good). The curry was kindof like a laksa that’d met a massaman curry and made a beautiful curry soup child. It was definitely rich but not too big, and delicious. When it came I thought I’d need some rice to cut through it, but turns out there were more noodles in the curry which balanced it.

The service was friendly, attentive, and the food great, so I also ordered a slice of the “friends favourite” carrot and pineapple cake (though normally I feel that pineapple has no place in cake), and it was delicious, mostly because of the super sweet cream cheese icing. I also tried the special “sweet mango and blueberry margarita” which wasn’t bad, but more like a smoothie with added tequila (I did say that wasn’t bad, right?!)

Friends restaurant - Snapper & Burmese curry; Mango & blueberry margarita, carrot & pineapple cake


I had arrived pretty early (before 6:30) and got a walk-in table no problems, but there was a queue to get in when I left. I also visited the store next door and bought a nice t-shirt and cookbook, before getting a tuk tuk back to my hotel for an early night.
 
With an 0930 international flight, potentially calamitous traffic in/around Phnom Penh city I had an early taxi booked so need to be up at 6am for a quick bite at the hotel (in hindsight, if I’d have known how decent the lounge situation is now, I wouldn’t have eaten at the hotel - more to come on that) before heading out to PNH. Traffic was alright and it barely takes a half hour, but I burn a bunch of that time at check in where the agent is telling me that my ticket has been cancelled (..?!) and spends about 15 minutes re-ticketing me (again - ..?!). Now I have two different ticket numbers for my PNH-SIN and SIN-SYD legs, so I guess I can kiss my free Changi dollars goodbye?

It’s OK, at least I’ve got a boarding pass. No queue at immigration, a reasonable queue at security, never the less I’m through quick enough. I might have failed to see a priority boarding lane which seems to be attached to the crew/diplomat queue (with plenty of patronage by pax by the looks), but that’s OK.

Last time I visited PNH was about a year ago, flying MH J. I was ‘invited’ to the Le Salon lounge, which was very basic. Quiet and comfortable, but basic. This time, my boarding pass has a printed invite to the Le Salon Lounge (which was what I was expecting), but also a written invitation to the Plaza Premium Lounge (PPL).

Knowing what was in store at Le Salon, I head for the PPL, and am pleasantly surprised. It’s got a plaque celebrating its opening only 2 months ago (Jan ’16) so as it’s pretty new, I thought I’d take a bunch of photos and do a mini lounge review. It also looks to be in a new wing/expanded section of the airport which seems to still be under construction, in some respects.


Plaza Premium Lounge - Phnom Penh International (PNH) - March 2016 review

The entry to the lounge is opposite my boarding gate (9) up a set of escalators. The lounge itself is pretty big, airy and spacious, with what I would guess as hundreds of seats (not sure the number), a dining/buffet area, and a few separate quiet rooms/areas with some massage chairs.

Plaza Premium Lounge - entry & working pods


Plaza Premium Lounge - Massage & quiet / recliner area


The food selection looks pretty good - but I’ve already eaten so I didn’t try out much - some fruit, coffee and water, but what I have is nice, and the service excellent. Plates and empty cups were cleared quickly, and more was offered at the same time. As with most of Asia, the coffee isn’t great, but it’s still better than most of the drip coffee you get elsewhere. There’s decent hot and cold breakfast selection, plus a to-order noodle station, soup/congee, and fruit/sweets platter.

Plaza Premium Lounge - Breakfast buffet


Plaza Premium Lounge - Bar; Dining area; Dining area
 
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