![Marriott Bonvoy Status Match [2020]](https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/app/uploads/2020/08/marriott-bonvoy-phone-150x150.jpg)
Our member yld200 recently returned from a wonderful holiday to Vietnam and Thailand. Not only was it their first time visiting, but they flew there in the luxury of First class Suites on Singapore Airlines – another first for this member.
In spite of a faulty seat, the Singapore Airlines Suites experience did not disappoint! Even before our member had boarded the plane, they were offered a personal escort from the lounge.
After walking out of the lounge one of the staff ran after us and advised that she would escort us onto the flight which was nice. Walking up to the gate, we bypassed everyone including those waiting in the priority boarding lane and straight up to the front door awaited our welcome.
Things only got better from there! Within a few minutes of boarding, our member had already been offered a drink, dinner menu and pyjamas – and the attentive service continued throughout the flight. Once in the air, a particular highlight was the main course…
Main dish was BTC – Boston Lobster Thermidor. Great dish, rice a little dry but who cares – Lobster! On a plane! What?!!?!
Although our member’s seat wasn’t working, there were only five passengers sharing the cabin so they were moved to a functional seat. For the inconvenience, they were offered a $300 duty-free credit to spend on board.
An overnight stop in Singapore and one more flight later, it was time to start exploring the bustling Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
After settling in we hit the streets and the first thing we noticed was how busy the streets were. There’s no footpath so you have to walk along the edge of the streets. Cars and scooters are constantly beeping their horns which took some time to get used to. I worked out that the tooting was more of a way of drivers saying ‘hey I’m here be careful’ and not ‘get out of my way’.
There’s plenty to see in Hanoi, but just a few hours away was the highlight of the trip: beautiful Ha Long Bay. Our member had booked a two-day tour that included an overnight cruise around the bay, as well as visits to caves, a fishing village and a pearl farm.
Of course, no visit to Vietnam would be complete without the opportunity to sample the cuisine! There was plenty of delicious food to be had on this trip.
yld200 is grateful for the AFF community’s assistance in planning this trip. It was only through the help of the AFF forum that they managed to convert their Virgin Velocity points to Singapore Airlines Suites!
Posting this trip report as it would not have been possible without the amazing knowledge, insight and motivation found on this forum. Thank you all! Prior to this trip myself and my partner had only ever travelled in Y so this was truly an amazing opportunity we had that I had been looking forward to a long time! It had always been a dream of mine to fly at the pointy end at least once and now since I found this forum it has become reality and that’s amazing.
After Vietnam the trip continued through Thailand, where many more adventures were in store! Be inspired by the full trip report HERE.
