Right now I am at 34,000 feet in business class on a refurbished Qantas A330, feeling quite comfortable. We cashed in our frequent flyer points to travel in business, just for the treat of it.
We chose to park at the airport, in the parking station closest to the terminals. We arrive home at 1am and I need to be at work that day, so dealing with the (minor) hassle of off-airport parking stations and bus transfers in the Melbourne cold wasn't tempting. We paid $180 for ten days, parking in Premium Self-Park. I'm happy with $18 a day for undercover, easy access parking.
Check in opened 3 hours prior to departure. No hassles and no lines (thank you business class), and limited delay through security. They were trialling new equipment, so we could leave our laptop and liquids in our carry-on through screening.
One of the definite bonuses of being in the frequent flyer clubs is the reduction in lining up at airports. The higher you are in the club, the more streamlined the check in and security/customs process is.
We shopped in the huge duty free, and left it to collect on our return. We really like this service, as experience has taught us that if we wait til we come home we are either too tired to be bothered, or they don't have the items we were keen to purchase. We usually have spare time on departure so it makes sense to do a relaxed shop then. As airport staff we can usually obtain a 10-15% discount as well.
The Qantas Club lounge in Melbourne is large and comfortable, and had a tasty breakfast spread available, including scrambled eggs, sausages, fruit and danishes. And champagne.
After settling in to our (not-to-become-accustomed-to) business class seats and playing with all the buttons, we departed on time and scooted across the country via Adelaide, safe in the hands of some lovely cabin crew.
We arrived a few minutes early and within 15 minutes of touching down, including a long taxy to the bay, we were in a taxi on our way to town. I'm always amazed at how effectively Changi operates.
It was wonderful to be back in the steamy heat of the tropics, the roads wet from the latest storm.
Being after 5pm on a Friday evening it was a long ride to the hotel, Sheraton Towers on Scotts Road. We prefer to stay at the marina area as it's an easy ride from the airport, and convenient to shops and train stations. I thought we'd try somewhere different this time, to see some new things. Scotts Road is uptown, and the only sensible way to access it is via the long, circuitous highway around the city. $40 in a taxi.
After changing our clothes we walked to Newton Circus, a hawker centre, for dinner. We're often here early, sometimes at lunchtime, and it's usually very quiet with only a few traders open for business. At 7.30pm it was bustling! The tempting aromas made us feel right at home.
Sometimes people will bring laminated menus for you to choose from, they'll come to your table and offer to get drinks, or you can walk around and choose for yourself. The marketeers always manage to find you again to deliver the food (not that westerners are hard to spot in these local eateries). The locals eat this way regularly, as apparently many apartments don't have a kitchen. It's certainly very social. Families and friends and colleagues all sharing dishes and chatting.
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