Wensleydale Cheese With Mince Pie

Ever since a young age I've been rather partial to some cheese, especially a strong cheddar or perhaps some Wensleydale with cranberries.

Whilst recently browsing the cheese room in an outlet of Jason’s Gourmet Grocer (and trying the free samples) I stumbled across some Wensleydale cheese with mince pie.



Owing to the extortionate pricing of cheese in Singapore I tend shy away from buying anything but the most basic items however this really caught my imagination. Whilst I'm a big fan of mince pies and enjoy my cheese I admit to being sceptical as to whether this would work.

I'm pleased to say that it was absolutely delicious and highly recommend it, even if we are well past the Christmas period.

Clearance Corner

Western imported good are pretty expensive in Malaysia so any opportunity to pick up some on the cheap its welcomed.

Having previously worked in the retail industry I’m well aware what food labels or date codes mean and their associated risks. Almost everything these days has to have a best before date however most non perishable food is usually ok to consume for considerable amount of time afterwards.

Cold Storage is a large retail chain carrying a large selection of imported goods with many supermarkets in both Malaysia and Singapore. It always amuses me that Cold Storage stock a range of imported Waitrose budget products and sell them at a premium price. Seriously who would pay a premium for tins of economy veg or packets of frozen french fries?

In almost every outlet located somewhere is a section displaying goods approaching their best before date and in some cases there some absolute bargains to be had especially the Waitrose goods.



I think in developing an addiction to buying marked down goods because its now the first place I visit whilst my wife is picking up the usual groceries.

Beating the system at Tiger Airways

These days I often find that Tiger Airways are the cheapest for my Friday night commute back from Singapore . Like many others I have my own system and ways of doing things just like the commuters in UK who stand in the exact same spot every day when boarding their train.

Although Tiger are a budget airline they are generally pretty good provided the flight runs on time etc although there is one area that is a continued area that's often struggle – the check-in!

As with other airlines Tiger has implemented a series of common check in areas for several flights are once. Tiger’s has a fleet of A320 aircraft which hold approximately 180 passengers each. The check in system results in 100’s of people at each zone being served by only two or three counters, hence long and slow moving queues.

A little trick I picked up when the budget terminal was open was that 15-20 minutes before the flight closes the check in counter is moved to 1 or 2 of the ‘fight closing’ counters. Many of my fellow regular counters can be found hovering around the counter waiting for it to open because once its opened up to 70 people can be seen trying to extract themselves from the original check in zone and rushing to the special counters

Recently I arrived in good time only to find that the check-in area was completely full and overflowing for on every counter. Looking around I see and sense the anger and disappointment on many people’s faces as their joined a queue of 100’s of people.

Not overly happy and wanting to relax in the lounge but mindful of how the system works I went down to McDonald's and at exactly 20 minutes before the flight was due to close I headed back up. As I approached the late check-in counter the following appeared on the screen:

 

In the minutes that followed chaos, confusion and a degree of panic  ensued as 60 people tried to relocate from the other queues and I pity the check-in agent who had to rush to check all disgruntled people in.

As for me a sense of satisfaction occurred that I once again played the system and made my commute relatively stress free.

Mindless Choping

I recently called into McDonalds at Harbourfront Singapore and despite the outlet being less than half full I noticed people leaving their bags on seats to reserve them.
 
This strange practice is common place in Singapore and is known as chopping.

Considering that the place was pretty empty I cannot fathom out why these people are compelled to do this.

Some people here seem to lack real common sense here because Singapore maybe pretty safe but there is no way I’d leave my bags, phone or other valuables laying around.

Is it any wonder that that some people are easy targets when they travel overseas if they like to leave their items laying around unattended.
 

Airport Lounge Access with Priority Pass

Access to airport business lounges is typically only gained if you are an airline CIP (commercially important passenger) however throughout world there are some shared lounges which you either pay on the door, book a visit using one of the many holiday add companies or join a lounge membership scheme such as Priority Pass.

Being a regular air traveller I try to keep my time at the airport to the absolute minimum and often grab a quick snack/drink on the way though. I'm fortunate that my weekly commute is between Singapore (Changi) and Kuala Lumpur which are two very good airports.

During my usual routine which involves a quick stop here and there followed by a snack (sandwich/burger meal) which costs SGD 7-10 and if there is a queue its very rushed pitstop.

Following my recent protracted delay at Changi I started thinking that things things would be easier if I can get lounge access so that I can just sit down, relax and nibble on some snacks.

In some previous roles I was fortunate to travel business class on a regular basis and become accustomed to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge however those privileges have long since passed.

After some research I found that the Priority Pass Membership scheme looked good and offered several membership plans based around usage including an unlimited visit plan. Some further searching led me to some discount codes which gave USD 80 discount on the first year as well as renewal making the total cost per year at USD 319.

Whilst this is no small sum I estimate that I will use the lounges 65+ times per year which equates to around USD 5 per visit.

Not all of the lounges offer alcohol however the Plaza Premium lounge has a beer tap and when a pint of beer in the bar opposite will cost around USD 10+ the Priority Pass membership starts look very good value.

Now when my wife (The Lady in Seat 12B) found out the conversation went along the lines of, you have bought what? why do you need this because the trip is only short? makan why do you need to makan at the airport, why do you  etc etc  etc......

The conversation carried on until I made it clear that any more complaints and the treasury would be carrying out an audit on expenditure at Watsons, Guardian and all the other beauty places frequented over the past 24 months following which a reluctant approval was given... sweet!

Laptop Chairs @ Changi Airport

In many airports around the world trying to find a working internet connection is a massive task on its own let alone finding a free connection that actually works.

Changi Airport is undoubtedly one of the top airports in the world and due to its efficiency many travellers arrive check in fairly late and bypass many of its great facilities. As a frequent traveller I fall into this category and from time to time I take notice of the new facilities for travellers.

Free Wifi is available throughout Changi and it actually works well. In addition to this there are several internet points with PC and laptop docking desks available in the quieter corners of the departure lounge. Now if this isn't enough some of the gate lounges also have laptop chairs which contain a power point a a retractable LAN cable.

On one of my recent trips I arrived early at the gate and thought I'd try out the laptop chair and I’m pleased to say that its works well.

Not to be outdone KLIA has finally fixed its free Wifi and it seems to work consistently albeit slowly.

Singapore to KL on MAS and what a disaster it was!

The Man in Seat 12A is back!

As regular traveller I’m well used to flight delays and even the odd cancellation with some of the less well run airlines such as Tiger Airways.

Following a long break from Malaysia Airlines mainly due to cost issues I managed to secure a reasonably priced SIN-KUL return ticket oleaving on the Friday 18:15 flight (MH608). After arranging an early finish I was feeling chuffed because would be home in time supper and I managed to get my usual seat.

Upon arriving at the gate despite the screens showing on time I found out that the nice new shiny b737-800 had a delay of 20+ mins.

Things then took a turn for the worse when the take off was aborted whilst speeding down the runway due to a technical problem.

After parking up for a while we moved to another gate where were kept on the plane for a further 1 hour and occasionally told that they were trouble shooting a technical problem before they decided to offload us.

On the positive side I had lots of legroom in the emergency exit row

I couldn't help look at the SQ/Silk air flights leaving and wish I had travelled on them like I usually do.

 
Nobody thought to stop the delayed 19:15 flight or even move people to the silk Air fight at 20:00 and to make matters worse the 21:15 flight was almost full so people with MAS connections were prioritised over others.

When I challenged one of the cabin steward's I received as to why we were not updated and the other flight held etc I received a rather condescending response which was met with some comments I’m not proud off.

Upon being dumped back in the terminal a complete lack of information from the ground ensured that the situation was a complete shambles. The ground staff at the gate didn’t want to make an announcement and seemed completely clueless.
 

Unhappy passengers

   
Some people were being rebooked on the 21:15 flight others were told that the flight is going at 22:00 and some were given food and beverage vouchers. After a period of time we were all asked to just go to the food court and show our boarding pass to get a brink and a sandwich.

Again chaos occurred because they don’t sell sandwiches and many people were asking can I have this or can I that

With budget airlines you almost expect a poor service but with a full service carrier such as Malaysia Airlines I expect better.

Fortunately the late night inbound flight which stays in Singapore was used to take us back to KL at approx. 00:40 and the men with spanners were due to work on the broken plane overnight.

Upon boarding the old 737-400 I realised that Seat 12A exist and the cabin crew said that the ground crew should have move my seat.  Fortunately for me that even with the crew of the original flight travelling as passengers there were spare seats for me to take.

So after leaving leaving my office at 16:55 I arrived back home in KL at 02:45 due to a 6:40h delay.

On Saturday I curiously checked the Changi website and found that the early morning flight from SIN-KUL was cancelled. I guess there the plane wasn’t fixed and/or there wasn’t a crew available.

Well done MAS you screwed up my evening as well as a plane full of people on Saturday morning.

Cheaper flights by transiting via a hub

I recently made several trips to London and as usual trying to find the balance between schedule, comfort and cost is always a challenge.

Owing to myself being based in Singapore and my wife in KL we have a degree of flexibility over where we fly from. After checking the availability for flights to leave around 12 or 13 March we surprisingly found that Singapore Airlines ex KUL had a great fare RM3311 each.

This was actually cheaper than the middle eastern airlines, a fraction cheaper than Air Asia X and significantly cheaper than Malaysia Airlines who wanted approx. RM5200.

For my 1st trip I chose Singapore Airlines becuase of their fantastic product at that price it was a no brainer and for the 2nd trip I chose Emirates becuase of schedule and cost.

Regular travellers will know that typically if you book a ticket that involves transiting through the airlines home hub then the tickets are usually much cheaper. In the case of Singapore Airlines it worked out to be SGD700-800 cheaper per person.

Some examples based on tickets in May and June are displayed below. The examples for each airline are airline are in identical flights for the long haul sector eg both comparisons for the Malaysia Airlines are using MH4 and MH1 for the long haul flights.

A good example of this is in Europe using BA to JFK and transiting through London (price in GBP)

British Airways
Class of travel	Ex London	ex Milan	Saving
Economy	£573	£551	£22
Business	£2537	£1738	£799

Closer to home Malaysia Airlines also operate in a similar way when flying through KL (price in SGD)

Malaysia Airlines
Class of travel	Ex KL	ex Singapore	Saving
Economy	$2310	$1227	$1083
Business	$8731	$6629	$2102

A check of Singapore Airlines fares in May also shows a similar trend. Singapore Airlines fares are usually a little cheaper ex Singapore in two people travel together (price in SGD)

Singapore Airlines
Class of travel	Ex Singapore	ex KL	Saving
Economy	$2396	$1753	$643
Business	$8407	$6837	$1570

Having travelled on Emirates I couldn't possibly have left them out. A trend to note is that Emirates seem to be cheaper ex Singapore than KL. Perhaps this is due to the market at Changi being more competitive than at KLIA. A quick check of BA’s fares show their economy tickets cheaper than Emirates and the business class tickets around SGD 600 more.

Emirates
Class of travel	Ex KL	ex Singapore	Saving by flying from Changi
Economy	$1953	$1680	$273
Business	$7632	$6810	$822

Many people can benefit from deals like this and for those that like to fly business class it can result in much cheaper fares although they are still a significant amount of money to pay especially if two people are travelling.

Another point to note is that good competition tends to bring down prices hence the cheaper fares from Singapore.

EwF by Everything with Fries @ Orchard Central, Singapore

EwF is a fast food variant from Everything with Fries which have several outlets in Singapore and sell a range of premium burgers in a fast food environment as opposed to their existing restaurant type of set up.

The outlet is located on the ground floor of Orchard Central mall and has seating both in and outside their unit. The outside area is located within an indoor alfresco type of setting next to Coffee Bean.


I have visited EwF several times and my favourite order there is the lamb burger with original style fries. I believe that the bread and meat patties are hand made and all food is cooked fresh to order. On my last visit I again ordered a lamb burger which contains a mixture of spices and is topped off by caramelized onions, garlic cream cheese and a tomato relish. Owing to the being handmade and freshly cooked it’s juicy, tender and very tasty to eat.

There is a choice of fries and I again took the original fries which are standard french fries with a covering of spices which tasted like the Mc Donalds shaker fries. These were very average at best and I think they would be better off with thicker fries or even handmade fries similar to those found at Smiths & Chips.

The food used to be served in a paper box however this time it came in a paper lined tray which I personally prefer because a box is a waste of paper.


There are several other burgers available to order some of which come with different breads as well as different flavour fries. In addition a few side orders and desserts are also available however to date I’ve not tried them.

The cost of the lamb burger meal was SGD $9.90 which I think is pretty reasonable when compared to the cost of a meal at Wendys, Carls and Handburger.

The service was prompt and polite but the student like staff seemed to be disorganised and not particularly enthusiastic or observant with several tables left dirty for a extended period of time whilst they chatted.

There is now a fair bit a competition in Singapore for premium/gourmet burgers but I think EwF can hold its own with a quality food product.

Overall I like EwF and during the afternoons it’s a nice quiet, chilled place to eat and escape the crowds on orchard road.

Food/Beverage 8
Ambiance 7
Value 8
Service 5

181 Orchard Central
#01-24/25
Sun – Thurs 11am-10pm
Fri & Sat 11am-11pm
Tel: +6566348358

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk – A review of the good, not so good and the downright ugly

From a very young age I’ve always been rather partial to Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate and the various associated brands such as Buttons, Flake and Creme Eggs. So what is Cadbury’s Dairy Milk? it's a popular mass produced chocolate product available in multiple global locations and is not what a chocolate connoisseur would describe as one of the worlds best however it remains extremely popular globally.

I remember a defining moment of great disappointment back in June 2000 on a BA flight from JFK to London Gatwick when I realised that not all Dairy Milk bars are the same. During that rather tedious flight on a cramped BA aircraft I thought that a moment a pleasure had arrived in the form a small bar of Dairy Milk with the meal. Due to the excitement of seeing my favourite chocolate I decided to eat the chocolate bar before the dinner. I still remember the moment of disappointment when I took a bite only to find that the taste of the Canadian made bar was very different from the UK variety that I was used to.

A few months later I moved to Malaysia and was pleasantly surprised that most of the food shops seemed to stock my favourite chocolate although these were either made in Australia or Malaysia. Again disappointment quickly struck with the bars made in Malaysia tasting pretty awful and the Australian variant being passable when I really needed a chocolate fix.

From time to time the local Cold Storage supermarket in Bangsar Shopping Centre would stock the UK variant at hugely inflated prices and combined with the frequent trips to back to the UK it allowed be to keep a stash of UK chocolate in my fridge.

Several years later I moved to Singapore and noticed that most places only stocked the Australian bars, a few UK imports in Cold Storage or Market Place and the Malaysian made products being the specialist flavours and products. I thought this was a little odd when you consider that the factory in KL is only 300+ km from Singapore compared to Australia is several thousand kilometres away.

Around the same time I met a former senior exec of Cadbury’s Malaysia at a dinner and we had a good a discussion regarding the differences in taste and why the Malaysian made bars are not widely sold in Singapore.

From memory the key points of the discussion were:

• The Malaysian bars contain palm oil and a different milk recipe (possibly not using fresh milk??)
• The Malaysian bars were tried in Singapore but didn’t sell well because the Australian and UK products were established and consumers didn’t like the different taste
• He acknowledged that the Malaysian bars don’t taste as good but stated that they are much cheaper and that Malaysians are not chocolate connoisseurs so they won’t know the difference
• The UK recipe is not suitable for the warm climates of Asia and Australia

I’ve recently been looking into the different taste etc and have also discovered that the following:

• In 2009 Cadbury's were forced to the change the AU/NZ bars back to their original recipe after a massive campaign against the use of palm oil
• The size of the bars seems to have shrunk and Cadbury's claim this is due to rising costs
• The UK/AU bars are now Fair-trade certified
• The Malaysian bars which are exported around SE Asia are not Fair-trade certified and seem to contain some palm oil

From talking to several people they also feel that the Malaysian made bars are inferior and whilst researching for this article I found some good reviews on chocolate amongst other things on Dougs Republic.

After reading Doug’s reviews I performed my own tasting session and was surprised by the findings. The Australian bars were much closer to the UK bars than I remembered and in the warm Malaysian climate they were definitely firmer.

The Malaysian made chocolate does not taste as milky as the UK/AU bars and the sweetness tastes rather artificial. Previously (>3 yrs ago) I’ve detected a bitterness in the local bars but not this time. I’m not sure if this is due to my taste buds or the recipe changing or maybe both! Although the taste wasn't as bad as expected I would still rather go without then eat the stuff made locally in KL.

The small bars seen the shops in KL and Singapore are all different sizes:
UK: 49g
Australian: 50g
Malaysian 40g

In Singapore the AU/UK bars retail for SGD $1.75/$2.15 and in Malaysia the bar is approximately RM2.5 so just like most imported food in Singapore its almost double the price of that in the UK.

So what else is different between the Dairy Milk bars? let’s take a look at the ingredients and nutritional values:

UK	Australian	Malaysian
Milk	Full cream milk	n/a
Fair trade Sugar	Sugar	Sugar
Cocoa Solids 20% min, act 23%	Cocoa Solids 26%	n/a
Milk Solids 20%	Milk Solids 28%	Milk Solids
Fair trade Cocoa butter	Cocoa Butter	Cocoa Butter
Fair trade Cocoa mass	Cocoa Mass	Cocoa Mass
Vegetable fat	n/a	Veg Oil (Palm, IllIPE, Shea)
Emulsifier E472	Emulsifiers - Soya Lecithin, #E476	Emulsifiers - Soya Lecithin, #E476
Flavouring	Flavours	Flavour

per 100g	UK	Australian	Malaysian
Energy kjc	2200 kjc	2230 kjc	2200 kjc
Kcal	535 kcal	n/a	530 kcal
Protein	7.5g	8.1g	7.1g
Carbs	57g	57.4g	61.8g
- sugar	56.7g	56.2g	38.7g
Fat	29.8g	29.6g	28.4g
- saturated	18.5g	18.2g	n/a
Fibre	n/a	0.7g	n/a
Sodium	0.9g	80mg	69mg

I’m not a food nutritionist so I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusion but for me if I could only eat one more bar of Cadbury's then it would have to be a bar from the UK regardless of what the above numbers stated.

Following the Kraft acquisition of Cadbury PLC there is a great deal of suspicion that Kraft will change the product and several small campaigns have been started. I seriously hope they don't change the taste of Dairy Milk in the UK and if they do the backlash from the UK public would likely be huge.

To give Cadbury's a chance to reply I emailed the UK and Malaysia offices but almost a week later at the time of writing they have not responded.

Smiths - The best fish and chips in SG?

One of the great things about living in this part of the world is the abundance of fresh affordable sea food. With so many cooking styles available it is surprising that fish and chips is a popular dish in Singapore, perhaps due to relative closeness to Australia or maybe just hangover from it's colonial past.

In Singapore there are several fish related restaurant chains which serve a reasonable fish and chips however the chips are your standard frozen type that you find in almost every other restaurant. As a Brit I have to say that there nothing quite like some good old british style fish and chips.

Up until recently the only british style outlet in SG was something found in the food court of a few malls and I can assure you that it was hugely disappointing.

Towards the end of 2010 Smiths Authentic British Fish & Chips opened in Tanjong Katong Road and I’ve been meaning to check it out for some time.

For the past few days the weather had been very british with rain and sunshine appearing at 15 minute intervals so I took it as a sign that it was time to make a visit to Smiths.

The restaurant is easy to find with its large white signs and flag displayed outside

The restaurant is open fronted  and upon entering the familiar smell of a local UK chippy was in abundance and it was nice see a large fryer with the above food warmer as you would find back in the UK.

The food is ordered at the counter and the main items are:

Cod & Chips
Haddock & Chips
Dory & Chips
Salmon Fish Cake & Chips
Sausages
Chip Butty

There are several side orders available as well such as mushy peas, baked beans and pickled onions.

Today I opted for the cod and my friend tried the fishcakes.

Unlike a busy UK chippy the food is cooked fresh to order and despite there being only a few tables of customers the food took a little while to come. This is not a major criticism but more of an observation and is perhaps due to some preparation needed.

With Chinese New Year taking place at the end of the week we were given an ang pow packet which sadly didn't contain money but did have a money off voucher for a kids meal.

The food is served wrapped in paper and once ready is collected from the counter. Despite some negative comments on another food site I found the portions to be a good size as you can see from the pictures below.

The cod was fresh tasting with nice crispy batter however I found it a little too oily to be given top marks. The chips were the highlight for me with just the right texture and a fantastic flavour

The Salmon fishcakes appeared to be home made and was very fresh, soft inside and very tasty. One point to note is that the flavour is very different flavour from the pre-processed types served in the UK

In addition to this I had a side of baked beans and not being a mushy peas lover I gave them a miss.

Price wise this isn’t a budget restaurant however neither is it overpriced with cod & chips costing SGD $17, fishcake & chips SDG $11, baked beans $2 and softdrinks at $2 a can

Whilst eating the incessant rain/sun cycle continued and in the relative coolness I almost felt like I was back in the UK on a summer holiday.

As well as some fairly standard softdrinks several beers are also available which include Boddingtons and San Miguel.

I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch I hope the oiliness of the fish is reduced and only then can it match that of my local chippy in the UK. Unlike most chippy's I know Smiths doesn’t sell meat pies and savaloys which is a shame because I’m rather partial to a pie and chips.

To my knowledge Smiths is the best british fish and chips restaurant in Singapore and I look forward to returning again.

Food/Beverage 8
Ambiance 7
Value 8
Service 7

Smiths Authentic British Fish & Chips
230 Tanjong Katong Rd
Tel: +65 6345 9855
http://www.smithsfishandchips.com

Note the website appears to be down at the time of writing

Rise and Shine

In Singapore most of the major malls have a Breadtalk bakery outlet selling a variety of breads and pastries some of which can be very different from the types found in the UK.

I’m a person who is extremely partial to a good all day breakfast and one of the stranger products offered that caught my eye is something called Rise and Shine. This delight consists of a thick slice of bread, cheese, ham and a well cooked egg on top.

I presume that this is meant from breakfast but it's usually found throughout the day in most outlets.

The initial thought of eating a cold fried egg was off-putting but don’t knock until you have tried it and these are great to eat any time of the day.

KUL-SIN - A Commuters Story

For the past 4 years I’ve been a regular commuter between KL and Singapore and must have spent countless hours and dollars on flights and long distances buses between these two locations. A few people have asked me what it’s like to like to travel the 330+ km on a weekly or even twice weekly basis.

My preferred way of travelling when I’m not in a rush or when public/school holidays are taking place is by bus due to the value and comfort that they provide. Taking a flight is usually quicker provided that you minimise the wait time at the airport and everything runs like clockwork with no delays whatsoever. The total journey time for a flight is typically is 3.5-4 hrs vs 5-6 hrs by bus

Last Sunday I took AK709 from KL to Singapore and I thought I’d record some of the trip details and show you what a typical journey is like.

• Trip Date: Sunday 23/1/11
• Flight: AK (Air Asia) 709
• Time: 17:00

Owing to my haphazard travel planning the ticket was purchased around 24 hours before the flight at a cost of MYR283 which included a hot seat for extra leg room. No luggage option was needed due to myself only having hand luggage.

  

A taxi was booked to pick me up at 15:00 and as usual they arrived a little early. The journey from Wangsa Maju to KLIA/LCCT usually takes around 50-55 mins however owing to the rather poor mechanical condition of the taxi (Proton Wira) that started shaking if the driver exceeded 88 km/h the journey took a little longer than usual.

For many foreigners their first experience of a Proton is when they travel in a taxi and I’m sure that they are mentally scared for life with an image of a dirty, noisy, uncomfortable car with questionable maintenance forever ingrained on them.

We arrived at the LCCT at 16:01 and the taxi cost was MYR 80 inc toll which is about normal. Another much cheaper option is to take the LRT and then the shuttle bus from the KL Sentral however it adds a considerable amount of time and pretty much removes the upside of the quicker travel time that flying provides.

The LCCT is basically a large cargo hanger type of building containing rather basic and basic industrial style fixtures. Owing to the popularity of the budget airlines the terminal was way over capacity and an extension was added to ease the pressure on the terminal. The extension has helped somewhat but I find the place more akin to a bus station than an airport and its the complete opposite to the relaxing ambiance and fantastic architecture of the main terminal.

A few pics of the terminal are below:

  

A brand new LCCT is currently being build to the west of the airport and once open in a few years time the current building will revert to cargo use or be demolished

The LCCT is only a few hundred meters away from the main terminal however owing to the road layout a terminal transfer entails a 20km drive. As per the local press some plans are being discussed to look at other options which may involve transiting people airside.

   

For Singapore flights the check in boards will always display Kiosk for the checkin counter due to the airline wanting you to use the self serve or web check in facilities. Air Asia now allow people to book tickets up to 4 hours before departure however owing to credit card processing times any tickets booked within 48 hours are prohibited from using the web or self serv check in counters.

For the inexperienced traveller this can be confusing and I'm sure that many people must wonder round looking for counter ‘kiosk’.

  

As a regular I usually give the board a cursory glance and head to counters S8/9 for check in. These counters are used mainly for the flights to Thailand and most of the time I’ve been lucky not to encounter significant queues.

Check in was swift and completed by 16:07 so with my stomach yelling lapar lapar (very hungry) it was time to grab a quick snack at McDonalds. The restaurant was it usual busy self and full of people buying the bare minimum food or drinks so that they can sit there for hours playing on their laptops or reading a book. As a solo traveller it really winds me up when I can’t easily get a seat because of all the people facebook’ing, talking or even sleeping!

 

As with the main terminal the food costs more than that found of the majority of McD’s outlets and they sneakily try and hide it my changing the menu format and listing the price of just the burger and the fries/drink as an add on to make seem cheaper rather than just displaying the total price.

Food was completed by 16:24 and it was time to walk round to the immigration counters. Despite there being only a few counters open the immigration and security formalities were completed swiftly.

  

The now extended LCCT is now much better then when it opened and a few shops and food outlets have been added just after security prior to descending to the gate level. As I was collecting my bags from the xray machine the first call boarding was made at 16:32. Air Asia  customers who purchase hot seats are also entitled to priority boarding so to ensure that I didn’t miss out on this I rushed to the gate hence the lack of photos of the gate area.

  

Fortunately today there were no delays and after a minute or two we were allowed to start walking to Gate F62 to board the aircraft.

Air Asia run an extremely efficient turn around operation and today was no exception. I noticed that the last of the arriving passengers were still disembarking from the aircraft as I walking to the gate and upon boarding the crew were still wiping clean the last few seats. 

 


   

None of the gates at the LCCT have aero bridges so a walk in the heat and noise is needed to reach your aircraft. Although the A320 is a small jet aircraft, when standing at ground level it size seems anything but small.



  


 

The crew of an adjacent aircraft finding time for a chat. Photography in this part of the airport is forbidden so you have to be discrete and quick.  

I boarded the aircraft at 16:38 and owing to my regular seat being booked I was temporarily the man in seat 14a today. 

  

Rows 12 and 14 are adjacent to the over wing emergency exits and provide greater leg room. The only downside apart from the extra cost is that row 12 doesn't recline and row 14 only reclines on some aircraft

Most people found their seat quickly however there are always a few people who seem to be lost or only just realised that there are not sat with the partner because they didn’t pay extra to choose their seats.

Whilst waiting for everybody to board I snapped a few pics from the window

At 16:51 boarding was completed and the doors were closed a few minutes later. After a short taxi to runway 32R we departed at 17:03 heading north before making a u-turn back towards Singapore.

Despite the flight duration being short I typically snooze, catch up reading magazines or listen to music.

Owing to the journey being pretty short the relatively low cruising altitude of approx 22,000 ft is reached quickly and typically only a few minutes are spent at this level.  All too quickly at 17:23 it was time to start our descent as we passed the town of Batu Pahat. The decent was quite bumpy until we were below the clouds which is quite normal owing to the large amount of tropical storms that take place every day along the coast line. 

Due to the abundance of clouds photo opportunities were limited so I've added one from a recent Silk Air flight. The pic below shows Pulau Kukup and if you look at the top right of the pic the coastline of Tuas (Singapore) is just visible. 

Today we were vectored around the south of Singapore over the Riau Islands of Indonesia and seemed to take a slightly more southerly route than usual.

Due to some GPS issues the I've used sample track from a few weeks ago although the route was almost the exact same taken on this flight.

A landing from the south on the left runway at Changi provides fine views of East Coast Park and the sprawling condominiums dotted along the coast.

The pictures below were taken on a recent trip back to Singapore and start with a hazy Marina Bay and end with The Bayshore condominium (my old home).

A smooth landing was performed at 17:43 and we arrived at T1's gate D37 a few minutes later. Disembarkation of a single aisle aircraft is never quick however from from row 14 it only took around 5 minutes.

Terminal 1 is undergoing major renovations which also includes an extension to the retail area. As a result of this parts of the terminal are closed off with screens to hide the construction work. In T1,2 & 3 there are two immigration halls at each end of the terminal and a little tip to share is that if one is full then take a short walk to the other because it’s usually quieter.

As a Singapore employment pass holder I’m able to use the ICAS system (Immigration Automated Clearance System ). This is a superb system that reads your passport/access card and then performs a fingerprint scan thus allowing me to clear immigration in less than 1 minute.

Today I was travelling light with just some small hand baggage so a few minutes after leaving immigration I boarded a taxi at 18:00 reaching home at 18:23.

The total journey time was 3:23 which is pretty good going and close to the best I’ve had which is about 3:15. I hope that this gives you a little insight into my regular rather tedious commute that I perform.