INTRODUCTION
This is my final report on My Europe Trip 2019.
The reason I went to Europe this year is because last year (2018) I promised my youngest daughter that I would take her to Rome if she aced her Victoria Certificate of Education (VCE). Well, she did ace her VCE where she scored an ATAR Score of 99.X, which means she can enter any university she wants in Australia and even a guaranteed place for Med School with the No.1 ranked university in Australia. She even won a Premier’s Award for having the highest score in the entire state of Victoria for one subject.
So, a promise is a promise and I had no choice but to go to Rome. However, I could not get 3 FREE direct flight tickets (for my wife, daughter and I) to Rome in July 2019 on Business Class from KL or Singapore with any airlines! FYI, June and July are peak travel periods and these months are extremely tough to get FREE air tickets to Europe and my daughter’s uni break is in July!
However, God is good to me and instead offered me FREE Suite Class tickets from London! You see, when I was searching for flights to Rome, it so happened that Singapore Airlines just released many Suite Class tickets from London in July (remember – it is peak travel period)! So if God wants me to depart from London, that is what I shall do….. and my wife and daughter will get to experience Singapore Airlines Suite Class too! Click here to read more about my Singapore Airlines Suite Class tickets for my wife, youngest daughter and I.
As for my ticket to Rome, I was NOT interested to stopover/transit in the Middle East but would rather fly direct from KL or Singapore to Europe (so that I can sleep for at least 6 to 8 hours straight). Well, somehow I managed to redeem 3 FREE Business Class tickets from Bangkok to Copenhagen instead. Therefore, I get to experience Business Class with Thai Airways Boeing 777 and the best part is, I get to go to Copenhagen too!
As usual, you are sure to learn a thing or two from all my articles. So, below are my previous reports on My Europe Trip 2019, starting from KL with Thai Airways Business Class and returning home with Singapore Airlines NEW Suite Class:
My Europe Trip 2019 Part III – Day 2 In Copenhagen And What You Must Do
My Europe Trip 2019 Part III+ – Rome Here I Come
My Europe Trip 2019 Part V – I Conquered Rome In A Day
My Europe Trip 2019 Part VI – Roaming Free & Easy In Rome
My Europe Trip 2019 Part VII – Vatican City, Michelangelo and The Most Beautiful Girl In Rome
My Europe Trip 2019 Part VIII – Florence Cathedral & Dome, Another Wonder Of Italy
My Europe Trip 2019 Part IX – Italy XXX
My Europe Trip 2019 Part X – Girls’ Day At The Mall
My Europe Trip 2019 Part XII – Venice City Of Water
My Europe Trip 2019 Part XIII – Venice Free & Easy.
My Europe Trip 2019 Part XIII+ – Islands Murano, Burano and Torcello Plus Gondola Ride
My Europe Trip 2019 Part XV – London Duck Here I Come
My Europe Trip 2019 Part XVI – Girls’ Day Out Again
My Europe Trip 2019 Part XVII – London Best Restaurant and Marie Kondo
My Europe Trip 2019 Part XVIII – My Europe Trip 2019 Part XVIII – London Free & Easy
Day 5 in London and Heathrow Terminal 2
In my previous report Part XVIII, I have informed you guys that my wife and daughter flew back with Singapore Airlines Suite Class a day before me and I then spent the entire day with my uncle who flew to London just to meet up and have meals with me, practically we had roast duck every single night for dinner 🙂
FYI, before I went to London, I only booked 3 nights hotel room (for 3 pax in a room) and left the last night out. Only when I reached London, I booked the last night at Ibis Budget Hotel at Hounslow for myself and it cost me about RM300. After dinner with my uncle at London Chinatown, I headed to Hounslow via the Underground Piccadilly Line.
Photo taken from Hounslow Central Train Platform
The reason why I decided to stay at Hounslow is, it will only take me less than half an hour to get to Heathrow Terminal 2. Therefore, I do not need to wake up early and rush to the airport.
Below is a photo of the room:
The walk from Hounslow Central Train Station to Ibis Budget Hotel is less than 10 minutes. The room at Ibis Budget Hotel is clean and the bed is comfy. I was not familiar with Hounslow until I got there. If you would like to stay near Heathrow, I would recommend that you stay at Ramada or The Continental or Travelodge which are much nearer to Hounslow Central Train Station (about 3 minutes walk).
The train at Hounslow will stop at Terminals 1, 2 (Singapore Airlines), 3 and 5 (Malaysia Airlines). If you are going to Terminal 4, take note of the train as not every one goes there. But don’t worry if you get on the wrong train because you still can get a FREE train ride to Terminal 4 and 5 if you take the train to Terminal 1, 2 and 3.
The moment I reached Terminal 2, I see Smoking Areas 🙂
Signage to Smoking Area at Departure Level
Oh yes, there is a Hilton Garden Inn right in front of Terminal 2.
Checking In With Singapore Airlines
When you fly Suite Class or First Class, there will be a red carpet waiting for you, haha.
While I was taking photos right in front of the Singapore Airlines Suite Class Signage, a family squeezed past me. I thought they were flying First Class but then I found out they were only flying Business Class – why the heck can’t they go to the Business Class line which had no Q? Tak malu. Singapore Airlines staff should make those flying Business Class go check in at the right counter, i.e. Business Class counter, and not suka-suka check in at the First Class counter, because I had to wait before I could be served, haha.
And you know lah, I chinapek and taking photos (for your sake ok) here and there, as if I have never flown First Class before. So when it was my turn to be served, the girl at the First Class counter asked what she could do for me (as if I was at the wrong counter)? I handed her my passport and then she said – oh, you are flying Suite Class and suddenly became nicer and smiled at me, hahaha.
The counter staff then told me to use the Fast Track lane for Security and gave me instructions on where to go as a buggy would be waiting for me to take me to the lounge.
Singapore Airlines Suite/First Class Lounge Heathrow London
It is a very long walk to the SilverKris Lounge and luckily Singapore Airlines provides buggy rides for their First and Suite Class passengers.
Me playing the role as Singapore Airlines Buggy Driver
The buggy driver will stop here and escorted me to the lounge on the upper level.
In my wife’s case, the buggy driver drove into the lift and dropped my wife and daughter right in front here!
Unimpressive Reception
The moment I entered the lounge and gave the receptionist my boarding pass, she gave me a sealed envelope with my name on it where the content was the Invitation Card to the Private Room in Changi. FYI, for my wife’s and daughter’s case, the Invitation to the Private Room was given to them when they checked in at the ticketing counter.
I guess most of you would have seen photos of Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge at Heathrow from My Air Miles Disciples Live Travel Reports. My wife did a splendid job of taking photos of every corner of this said First Class lounge when she flew out a day earlier than me – click here to see the photos.
I will just show you some photos of the lounge here.
Kid’s Menu – cooked to order too!
No XO but Remy Martin VSOP
I ordered fried carrot cake and from the buffet, eggs, bacon and croissant – heaven!
Spacious toilet and the shower is damn good as can turn on both the handheld and overhead together 🙂
I was informed that the departure gate is only a 5 minute walk away but my wife who flew out the day before told me to use the buggy as the walk is not that near. So once again, I took the buggy and the driver escorted me from the lounge (as if he is my bodyguard) and dropped me right in front of the gate. I tell you, you must take this buggy ride, in addition to the siren, the driver will be honking people blocking our way, one of a kind experience. In the previous report, I told you guys for my wife’s case, the driver even announced “VIP VIP” when approaching the gate, haha.
Singapore Airlines NEW Suite Class (which is beyond First Class) London to Changi
The moment I entered the plane and showed my Boarding Pass, I was greeted with “welcome back Mr.X” and on the way to my Suite 1A, the Chief Steward and Leading Stewardess also greeted me with “welcome back Mr. X”. I tell you, this small personal gesture really makes one feel welcome.
Suite 1A. Seat in taking off and landing position.
The moment I entered my Suite, I was asked if I needed anything and what drink I would like and I just asked for some water. The Leading Stewardess then asked me what size pajamas I wanted and showed me the closet where the slippers were kept.
The chair can swivel 360 degrees but that is only allowed after take off. The leg room during take off is ample but after taking off and adjusting the chair to TV position, the leg room is like as if I am in my living room!
Take Off position.
Below video shows that the seat is mechanically adjusted by me touching the controls hidden beneath the armrest cover.
TV position after taking off.
I asked for 1 teddy but they gave me 2 teddies! The green shirt teddy bear is new. However, please note that not everyone is entitled to the teddy bear. I was told that the teddy bear is only for the lady who is sharing the double bed with her partner. So happened that my flight had no ladies flying Suite Class. Therefore, they gave both the teddies to me!
I tell you, the Suite is really huge for a single passenger.
After taking off, we were served lunch and I had ordered the lobster earlier. For appetizer, I had caviar – not that I enjoy caviar but since it is FREE, might as well enjoy it with the Krug 2004 Champagne (that cost about RM1K per bottle!).
Below is the In-Flight Menu London to Changi on SQ317 NEW Suite:
I tell you, Singapore Airlines Suite Class service is second to none. Every single time they want to enter my Suite the cabin crew will knock and address me as Mr. X before they do anything else! And I mean every single time! They keep asking me if I need anything. I love coffee as most of you guys know but I do not enjoy the so called expensive Blue Mountain coffee served on board Singapore Airlines…. so I specifically asked the Stewardess to give me normal coffee. Well, the second time I asked for normal coffee, they took the trouble to serve me Fresh Brew Coffee without me asking and I tell you, it was good 🙂
I asked the Chief Steward to take some photos of me and he happily agreed and took more than 10 photos from different angles as he wanted to make sure I got the best shots!
Well, the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 does not have a bar on board but I had a mini bar in my suite 🙂 I asked the Chief Steward to bring their Hennessy XO, JW Blue Label, Krug 2004 and Dom Perignon to my suite as I wanted to take a photo. And the best part is, he suggested Macallan Lumina too!
Mini Bar in My Suite 1A 🙂
So, since I have never tried the Macallan Lumina, I asked for a glass as my night cap and it was really nice. After enjoying the Macallan Lumina, it was time for me to sleep and I slept all the way straight up to breakfast time!
More than 1000 km per hour and the ride was smooth
Just before breakfast was served, the Chief Steward and Leading Stewardess rushed to my suite and I was wondering why? They told me to look outside the window as the sunrise was kind of unusual, red light amongst the clouds – as if the sky was on fire, and they knew I like to take photos, hahaha. My Samsung Smartphone camera could not capture the true color of the red light.
I was not really hungry so I just ordered the pancakes for breakfast.
Toilet
There are 2 toilets for the 6 Suite Class passengers – this means 1 toilet to 3 persons! No waiting time. And one of the toilet is super huge, it is even bigger than my Melbourne apartment’s master bedroom toilet! The toilet size itself can justify Singapore Airlines’ claim that their Suite Class is beyond First Class, hahaha.
I bet the ladies just love this dressing table with a huge mirror and stool.
Changi Terminal 3 Private Room
The flight landed in Singapore Changi on schedule. I then went to the Private Room for a quick breakfast before catching my connecting flight to KL. I was informed that Singapore Airlines will be renovating their lounges in Changi soon.
The Airbus A380 SQ317 which I flew in from London
CONCLUSION
My Europe Trip 2019 started off with me flying with my wife and daughter on Thai Airways Business Class KL to Bangkok to Copenhagen. I can tell you that Thai Business Class is nothing great. The stewardess who served me was a young Thai girl and she did smile and was friendly. On the other hand, my daughter was sitting on the other side of the aisle and was served by a older stewardess and she was not friendly at all and kind of rude as she did not reply to my daughter’s question but just walked away (sounds like our older muka masam MAS stewardess, hahaha).
As for Copenhagen, in My Europe Trip 2019 Part III, I shared with you guys that you must take the river/canal guided boat tour as this is the best value for anything in Copenhagen. For DKK50, we were taken around Copenhagen for an hour and got to see many sites/attractions while in the boat.
As for Italy, if you have the time, do visit Rome, Florence and Venice as each of the city is a totally different world. Rome is where it all started for us – in today’s modern world, we are still using the Roman Alphabet and Calendar. Even Rolex watches have the Roman Numerals in their dials.
As for London, I have visited many times and the only thing I look forward to there is the London Roast Duck, hahaha. And I would love to dine at Core by Clare Smyth again where the food was skillfully prepared and presented plus ALL (not one person but all of them) their service staff is one of the best I ever come across!
By me flying for in style and class for FREE with Thai Airways on Business Class to Europe and returning to KL for FREE too with Singapore Airlines Suite Class, the money I saved on air tickets was used for shopping (I showed you guys my wife’s new Chanel handbag here in the same post as Core and Bottega Veneta wallets for both my wife and daughter, Ferragamo Shoes for my wife and Prada bag for my daughter here) and makan 🙂
Next year I will be flying Round The World – First Class with Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines 🙂 And I will be dropping by London again for more roast duck, hahaha.
Click here to read about My Tokyo Trip 2019 Plus Stopover in Hanoi
Click here to read about My USA Trip 2018 – Hawaii
Click here to my First Class and Business Class Page for Live Travel Reports by My Air Miles Disciples and I with [1] Cathay Pacific First Class and Business Class [2] Malaysia Airlines Business Class (Beijing, London and Melbourne), [3] Singapore Airlines Suite/First Class (London, Paris, Shanghai and Zurich), [4] Singapore Airlines Business Class (Brisbane, Dusseldorf, Japan, Johannesburg, Melbourne and San Francisco). [5] Qatar Airways Q-Suite to Europe, [6] Qantas First and Business Class Melbourne, [7] Japan Airlines Business Class Melbourne and [8] Thai Airways Royal First Class.
GenX GenY GenZ 