Singapore – zoo tour

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Today we went to the Singapore zoo. Mandy told me that it was one of the first zoos ever they gave the animals almost their natural environment for living. The visit was included in our Singapore Pass .

you can see several areas they are grouped either by the family of animals, for example, reptiles, or by the region in the world where they live for example, Australia.

The zoo is a little hard to reach you have to take the MRT for two lines and then a shuttle bus but at the end it’s definitely worth to go there. we spent almost 4 hours of relaxation, we had some food and of course you can learn even about nature

For dinner, we went to Chinatown. Our goal for this Singapore trip was finally to have chili crab, one of the most popular dishes in Singapore. Long story short we went into an authentic restaurant . We ordered chili crab just one to share it between us and well yeah, our conclusion is we do not need that again.

In Little India still the light show for Deepravali festival is on. Fantastic colorful sceneries….

Singapore- lazy day

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Nothing on the list so let’s do poolside business 

And rewarded ourselves with an additional hour of napping 

OMG. Time to move since we scheduled an appointment with Daphne and Bernice. Got some Indian street food right around the corner

After a nice walk along the river with some Singapore insights we have been surprised by a heavy rainfall. Jumped into a taxi and tried to reach the Art and Science museum opposite of MBS. (Marina Bay Sands) but due to the traffic we decided to go for dinner at Maxwell hawker center. wise decision and we had shared food around 7pm

Since I was thinking about the singing fountain show Daphne guided us through the CBD (Central Business District) to reach MBS area on time. While doing a fast walk we had still time for pictures

Impressive show. Very well done Singapore. And now time to go back to the hotel. My shoes were wet since hours from rain. You know the sound of squeezing shoes, do you? Not comfortable at all. That’s why a taxi brought us back. Again 14 km on my watch…

Singapore – arrived and busy day

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Short flight operated by AirAsia (funny gate changes ..) and arrived in Singapore 09:15 pm. Taxi to Hilton Garden Inn was 28 SG$ which is 20€ and fair enough. Hilton Garden Inn do not offer upgrades in advance even if you are a Honor Diamond member. Nevertheless I asked friendly and we got a nice King deluxe room with a view. Since it was late we found some food around the corner and while staying in Little India … yes Chicken Brixani and Tikka Masala :) accompanied by lassi and mint shake. Delicious and cheap.

Went to bed around midnight and had a good sleep. Plans for Singapore were made already in advance so we would start with the Hop on Ho off bus (our first ever…) They offer 2 routes , red one is 70 min and yellow one is 80 miles n total. All attractions are covered. We had a break after the red route and allowed ourselves a rest. The sky was cloudy when we got up but we did the yellow line until Gardens by the Bay. And this was really outstanding.

I personally like the Avatar part mostly. MRT brought us to Maxwell hawker center and we had Wantoon , Nasi Ayam fried and a Vietnam baguette. Accompanied by Tiger beer and some nice traveler talk. It was sooo tasty and after a whole day with little food being so hungry that i had no time to take pictures :)

Back at the hotel laundry business was waiting which we did and well, some Tiger beer later sleep came quickly….

Bangkok- Impressions

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Start the day with an awesome breakfast at Hilton Millennium, riverside.

and it’s very hard to make a decision what to have for breakfast…

Taxi picks us up at 1pm. Flight is scheduled 4:40 pm, plenty of time. ETA at Singapore Changi is 8:40 pm. Stay at Hilton Garden Inn Seragoon which is in Little India. Looking forward to Singapore. Again without a flu … 🤒

Bangkok with no rush

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We did not do anything yesterday, some poolside business and a massage. Plus a short walk through Icon Siam one of the iconic malls in Bangkok. Check this out…

2 pm is tea and coffee time at the Executive Lounge. O M G… We have been told that we have to have the food inside and look what they brought…

Furthermore we couldn’t escape the pitfall of Thai friendless and service. Discussing with a front desk manager what is the best option to reach Don Muang Airport tomorrow she suggested to order a taxi . We both (she and myself) that I will decide and come back later. 15 minutes later she showed up and announced with a big smile that she ordered a taxi already for us, 1 pm and it’s 700 THB. I mean I’d have paid it anyway but.. what shall I say to her? This is an uncomfortable pitfall.. just out of service and friendliness.

Breakfast at the Hilton Millennium is outstanding. Haven’t seen such a big variety not often. May be I can do a video to share .

What a nice day….

Stockholm to Bangkok

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Going to the airport in time we checked in for Royal Jordanian Airlines. easy as always. First part from ARN to AMM operated by an A 320 with a little old school business class. Crew was friendly and warmhearted. In Amman we took the chance to do lounge hopping. First Petra lounge which was very cozy and looks even opulent. And it was quiet, less visitors. Second was Merhaba lounge , best choice at AMM airport. And finally the Crown lounge by Royal Jordanian. Known since last year, less traffic then last year may be coz of the overall middle east situation. So time flies and we were boarded to BKK.

The crew was a little restrained. Warmhearted and hospitality looks a little different. Anyway we were able to get some sleep and landed in BKK on time. The business class boarding pass gave us access to fast track immigration and at the end it took us 25 minutes from touching ground till the exit with luggage. Not bad. After a hustle with a taxi driver we jumped on air link train to Paya Thai and proceeded with BTS to Saphan Thaksin. Ferry boat to the other site of the river showed up quickly and finally we checked in at the 31st floor at Hilton Millennium Bangkok.

Found some noodle soup and Chang beer for dinner always a good choice. Went to bed early and let’s see what tomorrow will bring….

Stockholm- a day at the Swedish capital

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We got up quite early and after a short stretching session (Mathias only…) breakfast was waiting. A special area for Diamond members was provided. I have to admit that i like it. Variety of food was good , nothing extraordinary but good. Short walk to catch the ferry, paid by contactless Amex and after not even 10 minutes the museum island was conquered by us. First Wasa museum, tickets were bought in advance and it was overcrowded since it was Sunday. Museum itself is great, they made a pretty good job. The ship is fully showcased, a lot of signs around the 5 floors explaining almost every known piece of information about the pride of Sweden and its fall down after a hour on the sea.

after 2 hours we left it and heading towards the next museum we crossed a small cemetery.

Next place was waiting and make an educated guess what is it….

Mandy was so happy to be here but she was not going to perform a song on stage as the 5 th member.. what a pity. It was an holographic stage and a lot of young visitors did. The museum is fully packed with information, pictures and items. Very well made.

the room on the island where most of the ABBA songs were written

Then the tram 7 brought us to the center. Searching for a shaver we found a supermarket and because it started to rain we took the subway back to the hotel. Skipped dinner outside and used the provided dinner at the Executive lounge together with some shots 😊

Today it s time to start our journey to South East Asia. ARN -BKK by Royal Jordanian Airlines….

Sweden and South East Asia in 2023

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After some trouble with our booked flights finally we left our home base. The long haul flight from BKK to ARN was cancelled by Royal Jordanian Airlines without a reason , at least the part from AMM to ARN. But here the advantage of being an Amex Platinum Cart Holder comes in. Since we have booked those flights via Amex they arranged the flight back with Finnair , one day later as planned but without a stop over. Means 12:30 hours on a plane. You know us so no worries it’s a Business Class flight of course. And this airline brought us from HEL to LAX in 2022 weeks are looking forward to this flight.

Next was KLM . Flight from NUE to ARN was cancelled, then re-routed via CDG then finally re-re-booked with less than 12 hours. The last text message reached me at midnight… Nevertheless we made to Stockholm 😊

The Bla Dörren is famous for Schwedish food , even among tourists 😉 As hotel we choose Hilton Slussen. Nice and one of the smaller Hilton’s. https://www.hilton.com/de/hotels/stoslhi-hilton-stockholm-slussen/ Their staff is so friendly and helpful as well as knowledgeable , wow. After getting up 3am we were fallen asleep at 09 pm.

USA 2022 – summary

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While sitting at the lounge at LHR waiting for the connecting flight to AMS a brief recap.

Place to be : Haleiwa , Oahu

Beach: Unknown beach around the corner

Food : Poke!!!

Scenic drive : 17 miles drive at Peeble beach

Viewpoint: Battery Spencer for Golden Gate bridge

Place to skip : Los Angeles

Place to return: Hawaii, San Francisco

Crazy place : Las Vegas

Beer : Kona Longboard Lager aka Liquid Aloha. comes along best with plain nachos

National park : all of them. Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, Big Sur.

Car : white Mustang convertible

Hotel : The Bellagio, Las Vegas

Motel : Inn at the beach, Santa Barbara

Overrated: Shave ice from Matsumoto, Haleiwa

Sunrise: Lanikai beach

Sunset : Waimea beach

Airline : Finnair Business class A 350-900

Distance driven : mainland USA 4180 km

Santa Barbara – last night

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The Inn at the Beach is expensive but worth it.

A short walk on the beach …

Next morning early wake up for sunrise at Stearns Wharf. Not that spectacular as back in 2014 but nice.

We spent a relaxed day in Santa Barbara. Nice little town, mediterranean ambiance. Now it’s time for the very last part, going to LA. Return rental car and catch an Uber to LAX. But there is one beach on the way which is famous for the guy’s dressed in red swimwear… yes it’s Malibu.

And we missed even the famous Malibu house from Two and a half man…

Rental car back, Uber was 43$ to LAX. Checkin… and BAMMM. Our flight from LHR to AMS which is a business class flight as well.. not available. And I recognized it only by the luggage tag coz it says LHR. 30 mins later we got an Eco flight 90 mins later than the original flight but we will be in Amsterdam tomorrow night. The lounge (Quantas, British Airways and … ) is big . The food is … well… british. ☹️ Anyway looking forward for a new flight experience with a BA 777 business class. And we drove approximately 4180 km within 3 weeks… more than last year in Namibia.

mat_blog

mathias`weblog

Singapore – zoo tour

Singapore- lazy day

Singapore – arrived and busy day

Bangkok- Impressions

Bangkok with no rush

Stockholm to Bangkok

Stockholm- a day at the Swedish capital

Sweden and South East Asia in 2023

USA 2022 – summary

Santa Barbara – last night