TANKS Travel Tales - a travelogue.......

This is a review of my experiences when I flew on Business Class (i.e. 'J' Class) onboard Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ163 from Siem Reap International Airport to Singapore's Changi International Airport in May 2022. I had just a week ago, flew the outbound sector on SQ164 from Singapore to Siem Reap. The flight tickets were redeemed using my frequent flyer miles accumulated through retail purchases during the pandemic-induced stay-at-home period between March 2020 and April 2022. Selfie of myself sitting at the Departure Gate waiting to board SQ163 from REP to SIN, Krong Siem Reap International Airport, Siem Reap, Cambodia (2022) Check-in Check-in at the SIA Business Class counter at the Siem Reap International Airport was a breeze. During the check-in process, I noticed that passengers in Economy Class were processed just as quickly. Probably because the flight was not full and most leisure travellers were still hesitant to travel because of COVID. As usual, the coun...

It has been a while since I last wrote a review of my inflight experiences. In hindsight, "inflight" is actually a rather incorrect term for this series of reviews because the experiences include pre-boarding and at times, disembarking from the plane. So, the reviews do not exclusively focus on just experiences that occur inflight.  In-between my last inflight review posted in this blog sometime in 2020, I had flown on a small number of flights, both for work and for vacations. However, during the period from Feb 2020 to May 2022, I stayed totally grounded because of worldwide travel restrictions due to the COVID pandemic. Thankfully, for everyone and especially for the industry, those days are over. This is a review of my experiences when I flew on Business Class (i.e. 'J' Class) on Singapore Airlines (SIA) from Singapore's Changi International Airport to Bali's Denpasar Airport in December 2023.  The flight tickets were redeemed using my expiring frequent fl...

Seattle, Washington, United States A bucket list item can be anything that one wishes it to be. That is the beauty of it. It can be as challenging and adventurous as climbing a mountain or as laid-back as a luxurious cruise around the Mediterranean. It can also be as complex as traveling to every continent in the world or as mundane as reading a book under the trees by the sea in a secluded Pacific island. One of my travel bucket list item is to take a non-stop flight from Singapore to the United States. That dream came true in November 2019. Although the trip was a business trip, it nonetheless still fulfilled the criteria for a tick against that bucket list item. My passport and boarding pass, SQ28 from Singapore to Seattle, United States (2019) During the trip, I travelled on Singapore Airlines' SQ28 from Singapore to Seattle, Washington. It was a non-stop flight of about 14-hours. The longest non-stop flight I had ever taken before this trip was abut 12 hours f...

I have always view air travel on Business Class as an exclusive privilege, one in which I can only indulge in on rare occasions. This is because the exquisite touches of Business Class travel on premium airlines made the flight itself a separate and unique travel experience.  This is a review of my experiences when I flew on Business Class (i.e. 'J' Class) on Singapore Airlines (SQ) from Singapore to Taipei in December 2016. Check-in While Singapore Airlines offer a seamless check-in experience both online and via its SingaporeAir app, I have always preferred and enjoyed the experience of checking in at the check-in counters at the airport in person. I loved the feel of that Boarding Pass in my hand. Add the fact that I collect my Boarding Passes as mementos of my trips and the reasons for my in-person check-in preference become apparent. As with all premium class travels, separate check-in counters for Business Class are allocated at the airport by Singapore A...

Air Miles, are they worth the hassle? We have all read and heard of folks flying premium classes on 5-star airlines without paying a dime. And there are loads of articles, many of which I believed are sponsored, which attest to the realities of these free-of-charge luxuries in the air. Are there any truths to these fairy tales of the air? If you noticed that I had used the words "fairy tales" to describe these stories circulating wildly on social media, then you probably would also have catch that I don't really believe in these tales. Truth is, I don't believe and here are the reasons why. My cup of gourmet coffee served onboard the Business Class cabin of a Singapore Airlines (SQ) flight from Singapore to Hong Kong (2017) First things first, there are no such things as "free stuffs". Air miles come with loads of terms and conditions and they are by no means easy to earn. To get those so-called free tickets on First or Business Class on a...

Optimising the costs of travelling....... Travelling can be an expensive experience. For most of us, the main bulk of the cost of travelling is usually transport, accommodation and dining. Transport expense includes air tickets, train tickets and also money needed for those trips around a city. Out of these transport expenses, air tickets are more often than not the main big ticket item in our travel transport expense. I usually save on air tickets by subscribing to email newsletters from the major airlines I travel with. This way, I keep myself updated on any promotions these airlines may run from time to time. Keeping my eyes peeled for promotions and purchasing air tickets at the discounted rates have help me save much cash for my trips. And in this age and day, there are a whole lot of promotions with air ticket prices going at prices for as low as half of their standard prices. The best part is, these promotions usually include all classes of air tickers; from Economy and Pre...

While traveling to Tokyo in October 2014, I chanced upon a seasonable promotion by Cathay Pacific (CX) which offered relatively reasonable rates on Business Class from Singapore (SIN) to Tokyo (TYO), with a stopover transit in Hong Kong (HKG). Although there will be a 3-hour layover at the Hong Kong International Airport, this did not deter me simply because I could make use of the Business Class lounges at the airport while waiting for my connecting flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo. And so I went on to book my flight tickets on 'I' Class. The flights on both legs of my trip from Singapore to Hong Kong onboard CX2710 and from Hong Kong to Tokyo's Narita airport (NRT) onboard CX500 were great. The service were as often, excellent and the inflight products were simply amazing. Here are some pictures taken of the inflight meals which I enjoyed en-route from Singapore to Hong Kong onboard Flight CX2710.  The Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 getting ready for passe...