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Singapore Weekend By The Numbers: Was it Worth It?
A weekend in Singapore? From Chicago? That’s utterly crazy, right? Most people would think so, but not me. I love and adventure and I love to spend miles and points on truly unique experiences. If you haven’t read about my Singapore Weekend yet, you can do so by starting here.
Here are the critical numbers on the trip:
- Time Spent in Transit/Flying: 44 Hours
- Time Spent in Singapore: 68 Hours
- Flight Segments: Five
- Number of Airlines Flown: Three
- Total Miles Flown: 20,300
- Michelin Starred Restaurant Meals: Two
- Airlines Miles Redeemed: 160,000 (United Mileage Plus)
So, was it worth it? Absolutely. I loved the journey to and from Singapore and I had a blast while exploring the City for the first time and can’t wait to return.
What do you think? Am I nuts for spending 160,000 United Miles for a long weekend on the other side of the planet? What crazy trips have you taken?
EVA Air Infinity Lounge
After hurrying off the flight from Chicago, I quickly made my way to the EVA Air Infinity Lounge. EVA Air has several lounges available in Taipei, but I decided to visit just one. As I made my way to the lounge, I was struck by how absolutely dead this major airport was at 04h15. Empty hallways as far as the eye could see!
The Airport
The departure board – no flight departures for hours.
Early morning and empty terminal
Soon these halls would be filled with excited travelers, not so much at 04h30.
Entering the EVA Air Infinity Lounge you are greeted by several staffers, plus an inquisitive robot. The robot seemed mostly to distract people entering the lounge.
EVA Air Infinity Lounge
The Lounge
My first order of business was to grab a shower. It had been nearly 20 hours since I had last showered. While I wasn’t working out, I did feel quite gross. Maybe the gallons of champagne I drank had something to do with that. I immediately swapped my boarding pass for a shower key. Every time I take a shower at TPE, I struggle to figure out how to actually enter the shower area. I can’t offer guidance either, as I try a dozen different ways to get in and then it finally clicks. Just ask for help. I’m too stubborn to do that though.
The shower room isn’t anything fancy, but it is clean and has hot water.
The private shower room is stocked with fresh toiletries and towels.
Bulk shampoo, conditioner and body wash were waiting in the shower.
Not too fancy of a toilet, but it did have several bells and whistles, that I didn’t try out.
After the shower, I felt like a new man. I wasn’t very hungry, but I did force myself to grab some water, more champagne and some ice cream. The lounge was relatively quiet this early in the morning, which allowed me to get a little work done and relax before my next flight.
EVA Air Infinity Lounge looks like an arcade from the 1980s.
The EVA Air Infinity Lounge has ample room for guests.
I had spent the last 15.5 hours eating and drinking, so I wasn’t too keen on the idea of breakfast food. Plus, I had another 5 hour flight in Business Class in just a couple of hours. I’ll skip this meal.
Self-serve beverage station.
The breakfast pastries weren’t all that appetizing
Yogurt, butter and other chilled breakfast items
En Route to the Gate
I got a little tired of just sitting around the EVA Air Infinity Lounge, so I headed off to explore TPE and make my way towards the gate.
I don’t understand the infatuation with Hello Kitty, but I do dig the aviation themed kitty.
My flight from TPE to SIN. Love this Boeing 777-300.
While not exactly THE Hello Kitty Plane, this Sanrio livery was hot.
I’ve never had much time to spend exploring TPE, but I’ve been pretty pleased with my time there. Unfortunately, EVA Air doesn’t offer any stellar ground services like Thai Airways, Singapore or Lufthansa does, so there really isn’t any reason to push for a longer layover.
Have you spent much time in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport? What should I be on the look out for next time I transit?
EVA Air Royal Laurel Class (Business Class) ORD-TPE
EVA Air boards Business Class passengers directly from the Air France / KLM Lounge for our flight to Taipei. I was the third person on board and quickly took my seat of 9A. As I was getting situated (you know, tablet, headphones and chargers out), Daisy, the flight attendant working my portion of the cabin approached, delivering menus and a warm moist towel to help you get refreshed before the 15 hour flight.
On the Ground
EVA doesn’t serve champagne on the ground, at least in Chicago. Cook County taxes are very high and they don’t want to pay them, so they serve an inferior sparkling wine, they wouldn’t even tell me what kind it was.
Pre-departure champagne and chocolate
Daisy asks if I want the seat cover – not a mattress pad mind you, just a quilted cover over the seat. I took it. I’ll take any additional padding I can get on airline seats. Pajamas were delivered and I immediately hopped up and changed. The lavatory between the two business class cabins is much more roomy, making it much easier to change. The front lavatory is a standard sized room…small, very small.
These private business class seats are some of my favorite in the sky.
Loves these very private seats.
These private business class seats are some of my favorite in the sky.
Lots of leg room on EVA Air’s Business Class Seat
New Pajamas!
Boarding continued and I sat back and enjoyed my drink, in my new pajamas, and thought about my trip. Was I crazy for flying so far for just a couple of days? Maybe, but I am going to enjoy the journey. The door closed at 00h20 and we were pulling away from the jet bridge at 00h23. It was fast. Then we sat on the tarmac for about 20 minutes.
Business Class Amenity kit. Not the fabulous Rimowa kit, but Georg Jensen was still nice
The amenity kit was a little lean
Departure – Copa Airlines off to Panama City
In the Air
Once airborne, the crew sprung into action. It was late, people wanted to sleep and the sooner they can put us to bed, the easier their flight will be.
I had preordered the duck for my entree, which was easy to do on the EVA website. EVA offers some additional entrees that aren’t normally stocked on board, but they are catered upon request.
Another glass of champagne arrived as did the amuse bouche. It was quite lovely, Turkey Ham (huh? What’s turkey ham?) with Asparagus with champagne was a great way to kick off this Business Class Meal.
Prelude
Turkey Ham with Green Asparagus – Brie and Gouda Cheese with Onion Chutney Tartlet
The lobster appetizer arrived fifteen minutes later. It was served with drawn butter and a quinoa salad that was just packed with flavor. I skipped the quail egg though
Hors D’oeuvre
Maine Lobster – Quail Egg – Quinoa Salad
Hors D’oeuvre
Maine Lobster – Quail Egg – Quinoa Salad
Right at 01h30 my duck arrived. I asked for a glass of Bordeaux to accompany the duck, but it never arrived. The duck looked…well…strange. I’m not sure what happened to it, but about three-quarters of it looked and felt like it had been eaten by someone else then spit back onto my plate. I was disgusted. I couldn’t eat it. Daisy came by and saw that I wasn’t eating and she asked a couple of questions, then took it away. The purser came back to talk to me and she was mortified. She suggested I choose a different entree, which I did. The kung pao chicken sounded good to me and it was delivered moments later.
Duck breast with rice and broccolini
Duck breast with rice and broccolini
The chicken looked strange too. It was stuffed with a truffle brioche that just seemed off when paired with a kung pao truffle jus. I scraped out the stuffing and ate the chicken. Quite a disappointing entree selection.
Main Course
Truffle Brioche Stuffed in Pan Friend Chicken Brease with Black Truffle Jus – Mixed Vegetables
The fruit and cake plate and was delivered. There was no cheese course. When I asked about it, the matter of fact answer was that “There was no cheese course tonight.” Hmmmrph.
Sweets
Fruit – Blueberry Cheese Cake
At 02h00 the dinner service was over, plates and linens cleared. I was a bit disappointed.
It was time to turn in, so I laid my seat out to a bed and put on the EVA provided headphones and listened to the Big Bang Theory as I slept. It is a great plane show – as it always makes me want to sleep.
I woke up after about 5 hours of sleep and decided to watch a movie I brought (Indiana Jones) and get some work done. The internet was slow and cost $16.95 for three hours of service. It did what I needed it to do, but it was soooo slow.
At 08h00 I ordered the vermicelli with pork, which was a great choice. I should have had three of those for dinner.
Snack
Stir Fried Vermicelli with Pork in Taiwanese Style Sauce
I napped intermittently until breakfast, which was served promptly at 12h30. The lights popped on with a never before seen intensity! I’m not a big breakfast guy, so I skipped the cereals and I chose to have the fruit, pastry and the bread pudding. It was all pretty great. The fruit was a little under ripe, but it was still flavorful.
Breakfast Pastry – Croissant
Breakfast
Butter Bread Pudding with Cherry Ragout
At this point, breakfast is done and we are still two hours from Taipei. US and European carriers don’t start serving arrival meal until 90 minutes before landing. We had lots of time left, but now I wasn’t really in the mood for sleeping.
Landing
As we come into Taipei, the flight crew sprung into action. Unlike the rest of the trip, they seemed like chickens with their heads cut off. Seemingly executing their landing procedures in a near panic mode. For example, I had five sheets of paper stored in a cubby behind my shoulder. I was told that I couldn’t stow anything there and as I was grabbing it another stew comes over, repeats the request, then the first grabs the paper, ripping it, then shoves it in another cubby (that also said No Stowage During Taxi, Take Off or Landing). Theses were just notes I had taken to prep for my trip – not a big deal, but the service sure went south fast. The crew all took their seats and we still had 30 minutes until we touched down.
We rolled into TPE at 04h05, 11 minutes early. Despite this flight being more than 15 hours, I wasn’t ready for it to end. I really do love EVA. The flight timing is great – I can work a full day, leave at 00h30 and be anywhere in Asia by noon the next day. That’s no small feat from Chicago. The seats are among my favorite in Business Class. If you are traveling with someone it is a bit difficult to chat, but for a solo traveler, you can’t beat these seats. The food is usually pretty good – the entrees on this flight were pretty abysmal, but the other courses were enjoyable. Loved the noodles.
The Cost
I used 90,000 United Miles (Saver Award) on this Business Class flight (including the next one), the value can’t be beat. I haven’t ever checked the actual cost of the flight, because I’m not expensing these flights back to a third party. I’m not paying thousands of dollars this flight (likely) costs in Business Class.
Have you flown EVA Business Class before? Do you dig their service? What do you think was wrong with that duck entree I had? Have you ever not wanted to get off a flight after more than 15 hours of flying?
EVA Air ORD-TPE (BR 55)
After leaving the abysmal lounge at O’Hare International Terminal 5, we boarded through door 2L and turned left to our seats in EVA Air Business class. We elected to use United MileagePlus Miles for our international flights on this trip. We were able to find tickets from Chicago to Yangon at preferred times at Saver Prices — so this trip cost us 80,000 miles each, in Business Class from Chicago all the way through to Yangon.
Flight: EVA Air 55 (Business Class)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300
Seat: 3D
Departure: 00h20 (00h00)
Arrival: 05h00 +1 (04h36 +1)
Pre-Departure
Royal Laurel Class occupies the first ten rows of the Boeing 777 and is broken into two cabins. The first with six rows and a galley separating the final four rows. All seats offer aisle access and are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. The reverse herringbone layout is one of my favorites. It offers you privacy as every seat faces away from the aisle. Although it isn’t even fully enclosed suite, so people can see you, but it’s pretty difficult.
The view from my seat on EVA’s Royal Laurel Business Class. I kind of dig the cabin art work.
We were one of the last to board in Royal Laurel Class. Of the 22 business class seats in the forward cabin, 19 were occupied. I found my seat and began getting prepped for the flight – grabbing my tablet and headphones. I noticed the Rimowa Amenity Kit was already and the my seat. It was filled with Harnn products, including lip balm, hand lotion, a hairbrush, a toothbrush and even a screen cleaning cloth. The real beauty of this kit is the carrier itself. Made by Rimowa, this hard sided case is really practical for future uses – United offers those tin amenity kits from time to time and they dent and bend so you’d never want to or be able to use them again. I snagged one of these kits when we flew First on Thai a few years ago.
My seat for the next 15+ hours. Loved every minute of it.
Seat and Controls
As I sat in my seat, the flight attendant approached asking if I would like a pre-departure beverage. She also addressed me by name – as did every other flight attendant on board. I wasn’t allowed champagne, but could get some sparkling wine. The tax laws in the US frustrate me. If the airline opens a bottle on the ground they pay tax on it, but not in the air. I had a lovely sparkling wine and a water while we boarded. I was also quickly told that I couldn’t leave my tablet in the stowage area near my seat…and she stood there until I moved it.
We are ready for take off – I’ve got my chocolate, a beautiful amenity kit, a hot towel and a glass of sparkling wine.
The menus were handed out at that point – a food menu plus a separate wine list were opened to the appropriate pages (English language and direction of travel). I was excited to see EVA was serving Krug on this flight, I thought they were serving Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame, but they made a change. The champagne was good…just not enough of it, as they ran out halfway through the flight.
Dinner Menu
Snack and Breakfast Menu
With about five minutes to review the menu, the flight attendant came back asking about my selection. I had been researching the options for a couple of days, so other than the Krug, I knew what was up. I was surprised when they were quasi demanding our selections right then. Pajamas were handed out while the dinner orders were being taken too.
I love airline Pajamas. Yes, I am the guy who complains about people wearing yoga pants to fly, but that is different…somehow.
The captain came on telling us details about the flight and that the door was closed and we were ready to depart…20 minutes before schedule. The Taiwanese appear to be an efficient bunch.
In Flight Service
Climb out of O’Hare was about bit choppy, but just a few minutes off the ground the flight attendants jumped into action, serving our drinks and setting our tables. Before my table was set, I took off for the lavatory to change into my pajamas. Surprisingly they fit pretty well…maybe a little short in the legs, but that is to be expected – I’ve got long legs.
I’m modeling the pajamas offered to Royal Laurel Business Class Passengers. I guess black isn’t as slimming as people say.
The tray tables are very large and we’re covered with a beautiful cloth – not those thick white bland clothes United uses, but a delicate fabric with a beautiful and intricate design.
Beautiful Table Cloth was rolled out for every meal and snack service.
Dinner was served.
Amuse Bouche of Bresaola and Grilled Pumpkin , Brie Fig Chutney Topped with Green Grape.
After the amuse bouche, the bread course was served.
Veal Tenderloin and Grilled Artichoke with Truffle Cream Sauce.
Lobster with Cashew Nuts and Braised Pork with Mixed Vegetables and Steamed Rice.
Fruit and French Kiss Strawberry Cream Tart
Throughout dinner I was watching the Brad Pitt movie Allied, which I thought was pretty good, but was it just me, or did you think you were coming in late to the movie?
From the time we took off until dinner service was completed and cleaned was less than two hours. I just hate when the meal service takes a long time. A flight leaving at midnight has two types of people, those who want a sleep immediately and those that want a quickly eat….then sleep immediately.
I converted my seat into and bed, cozied up under the duvet and went to sleep. While it wasn’t solid sleep, it was good sleep. I woke up and few times. It always surprises me how freaking hot it gets on these planes. That’s what really kept me from getting proper sleep…it was just too blazing hot. That being said, I woke up at 09h30 (CDT) after going to bed around 02h15…that’s pretty solid sack time for an airplane.
When I woke up, I polished off a bottle of water and order another meal. This time I wanted the chicken and rice in a lotus leaf. I hit the flight attendant call button and before I could even ask myself “Wait…did that work?” the flight attendant who had been taking care of me all night was by my side. I ordered the chicken, some water and a glass of champagne, which is when I found out they were out of champagne.
Steamed glutinous rice with Chicken Wrapped with Lotus Leaf.
This on demand meal took about 10 minutes to arrive as they had to make some more rice. The midnight snack was really great. I paired it with as French white wine. I wasn’t sure if you were supposed to eat the lotus leaf that the chicken and rice was wrapped in, or not. Cutting it was nearly impossible with the cutlery on the plane, so I made the assumption that we weren’t to eat that. What do you think?
After my midnight snack, I decided to watch Arrival, which was on my list since it came out in the theater, but I kept dozing off. The seat was quite comfortable for napping, I’ll give them that. After a few attempts, I finally made it through Arrival. Afterwards I decided to watch A Street Cat Named Bob, which was surprisingly good – if you haven’t seen it, put it in your queue.
Breakfast was served about 90 minutes before landing. I had the western style breakfast – I just can’t get into congee – can you? The breakfast service was fine – the fruit was really fresh, although, I’m not a big fan of papaya, kiwi, cantaloupe or honeydew — the pineapples and berries were quite good. The yogurt they served with breakfast was very thick – like paste from a school project. The thick texture and a slightly off flavor from a traditional yogurt. I tried a few bites of it, but decided I’d hold off. I still had two more international flights in Business Class this day, I did eat the omelette with bacon and grilled veggies. It was great – even for a guy who doesn’t really like eggs.
A surprisingly good omelette with bacon.
Breakfast was finished about 45 minutes before landing and I decided to order a Bloody Mary, which was on their cocktail listing. It was a little watery and not all that flavorful – I’d skip it if I were you.
My watery Bloody Mary – I didn’t drink much of this.
Landing
About 25 minutes before landing, I headed back to the lavatory to change into my street clothes and brush my teeth. The lavatory was stocked with toothbrushes, individual mouthwashes, toothpicks as well as soaps, lotions and facial sprays. The lavatory was a little tight for changing. I was constantly concerned my street clothes would fall to the ground and thus need to be burned. Airplane bathrooms are so gross. That being said, the lavatories on EVA were all cleaned by flight crew immediately after a passenger used it. As I was waiting to change, a passenger came out of the lav and a flight attendant asked me to wait a couple minutes, while she refreshed the area. Very nice.
Toiletries by Harnn in the Business Class Lavatory
Personal care items stocked and restocked in the Business Class Lavatory.
Something as simple as a flower in the lavatory can really brighten up a traditionally gross airline bathroom
We landed in Taiwan about 25 minutes earlier than scheduled and headed off to the lounge for a shower and to wait for our flight continuing on to Bangkok.
At the end of the day, I really enjoyed this flight. The seats on EVA’s Royal Laurel class are second to none for an international business class product. They offer privacy that can only be beat by a fully enclosed suite – which is tough when traveling with someone – it is almost impossible to have a comfortable conversation with them. The flight crew was stellar – they weren’t hovering over you (except during boarding when they were taking orders and being very strict about certain rules), but when you needed them they were there in a flash. While I have not flown Cathay Business Class from Chicago, I’d say EVA provides the best business class product and service from Chicago to southern China and for only 80,000 MileagePlus miles, you’d be hard pressed to find a better value.
After May 31, 2017, EVA will be operating this flight with their Hello Kitty Branded Plane from Chicago. I’m torn; on one hand I don’t care about Hello Kitty and I’m glad we weren’t annoyed with all the HK branded materials on the plane, but on the other hand, it is such a unique product, I’d like to give it a try — maybe next time!
Have you flown EVA? Were you surprised they they called themselves E-V-A (the actual letters, versus Eva, a name)? What is your favorite ultra-long-haul product out of Chicago? When are you taking EVA Royal Laurel Business Class?