The Private Room, SilverKris Lounge (Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3)

Previously I have posted about the SilverKris business class lounge at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3.  This post will take a look at the Private Room which is available to passengers travelling on Singapore Airlines Suites and First Class.  Together with your boarding pass, they will also invite you to the Private Room.

A look inside the Private Room, basically it is divided into 2 area the common area and the dinning area.

The service at the dinning area wasn't spectacular or even close to a fine dinning restaurant, I sat down and waited for 5 minutes before someone came to me and handed me the menu which was quite a disappointing experience.

There are 2 menu: Oriental and Western

I ordered the Poached Lobster Provencale and the Assorted Satay.  The portion of the lobster was quite small.  Although the Satay do not look too good on the photo but it was done well and not too dry.

There are also some cakes and chocolates at the dinning area which you can help yourself to (which I didn't take any pictures).

The Private Room also has 2 rooms for you to have private conversation in (no phone inside though), a baby room and an area which 2 desktop.  Basically that's about it.

New York City (2 Days Trip)

This is part of my 1 week trip to USA (Washington DC and New York).  I was in New York to catch 2 broadway musical and my flight back to Singapore.

I arrived from Washington DC at New York Penn Station at about 2.30pm.  You can read about my Washington DC trip here.  I checked in to Westin Jersey City.  The room was spacious but abit dark.  The bathroom is quite dated unlike the Westin I stayed in the past.  However I find the location really inconvenient if you plan to visit Manhattan especially if you only have 2 days.  I moved to Hilton Garden Inn Times Square the next day.

By the time I settle in and get ready to head out, it is about 4.30pm.  I took a Metro to Broadway Lafeyette St Metro Station and shop at REI.  This is a good place to shop if you are interested in camping equipments, they also have quite a good range of travel accessories.

Next I walked to The Halal Guys on East 14th Street while taking in the sights of New York City (there isn't much to see en-route though).  The Halal Guys started off in a food truck and they became very popular and you can now find a permanent storefront though.  I didn't take photos here except for the food I ordered.  The portion is very huge and can easily fill 2 guys, so share if you do not want to overeat.

After dinner I headed over to Rockefeller Center and it is Christmas time, beautiful lightings and great atmosphere there.

Then on to Times Square and call it a day.

The next day I moved to Hilton Garden Inn Times Square, the room is smaller than Westin Jersey City and it is a very busy hotel with a small lobby.  But the location is very good, near to all the broadway theatres.

After checking in, I took the metro to check out the Yankee Stadium and the Hard Rock Cafe there.

Then it is broadway time. I caught Les Miserables and Book of Mormon, I prefer Les Miserables which is very good, totally immersed throughout the show and Alfie Boe cast as Jean Valjean!

I head back to Singapore the next day.  I visited New York again in April where I visited the more touristy places, will update in a later post.

Locations

1) Westin Jersey City

2) REI

    303 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012, United States

3) The Halal Guys

    East 14th Street, New York, NY 10003, United States

4) Rockefeller Tower

5) Time Square

6) Hilton Garden Inn Times Square New York

7) Imperial Theatre

8) Eugene O' Neil Theatre

Washington DC, USA (3 Days Trip)

This is part of my 1 week trip to USA (Washington DC and New York) and it is definitely insufficient to cover both cities however I am in need of a good break.

Washington DC is very easy to navigate and most attractions are reachable by Metro, the only place which I had to take a bus is to/from George Town.  I bought a SmarTrip card which can be used on the Metro as well as the buses.  More information on the SmarTrip card can be found here.

My initial plan was to explore Crystal City and Arlington on the first day I arrive but due to the long flight delay I have scrapped that plan.  So I started the day with a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.  This is a very educational visit, there is a section on mammals providing facts where you might not know of each mammals, a section on human evolution which I find tremendously interesting, a section on marine life and also a section on dinosaurs.  There are also other exhibitions when I was there like a display of gems.  Also this museum is free which is surprisingly as the exhibits are much much better than alot of paid museums outside.

Some photos of the museum (didn't take much pictures as I am still recovering from my lack of sleep the previous 2 days).

Next I visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum which is also free.  This museum touches also on the evolution of flight and the discoveries and advancement during the different period, a highly recommended museum for aviation enthusiast.  However if you are more looking for a flight experience like a flight simulator than this isn't really the place for you.

As you enter the building you will be wow by the different life size planes hanging over the hall.

After visiting the museum I also saw lots of food trucks lining the streets, which is a common sights in Washington DC.

I took a leisure walk along National Mall towards the Washington Monument then on to Lincoln Memorial, it was a very relaxing walk with people jogging and some walking their dog, the temperature was also a comfortable 15-18 degrees celsius.

It was almost dinner time and I took a bus to George Town to try the famous Luke's Lobster.  It is quite a small shop which spans 2 floor.  There was another table other than me at that time, not sure if it is popular among the locals as well or only made famous by foreigners' blog.  They are quite generous with the lobster (huge chunks of meat), however I do not find it spectacular at $16.50

The next day I went for breakfast at the famous Lincoln's waffle shop.  Again I forgot to take a picture of what I ate.  After that I strolled past Ford's Theater, which is also the site where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

After which I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  If you are into history this is a must visit museum when you are in DC.  The museum brings you through the events of world war II which is very educational and can be emotional at times, reminding us peace is not to be taken for granted.  If you take time on each exhibit, the visit can easily take up more than half of your day.

A visit to the white house is also a must do during your visit to the capital.  Security was very tight at the white house after the recent Paris bombing.

I went to shop around George Town and call it a day.  Note that the shops at George Town close around 7pm.

A few shots of my hotel room at Westin Crystal City.

The next morning I took the Amtrak train which brings me straight into New York City Penn Station. The ride was comfortable and spacious.  The journey took about 3 hours and cost USD52.

Locations

1) Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
    Nearest Metro Station: Federal Triangle or Smithsonian

2) Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
    Nearest Metro Station: L'Enfant Plaza

3) Washington Monument
    Nearest Metro Station: Federal Triangle or Smithsonian

4) Lincoln's Memorial
    Nearest Metro Station: Foggy Bottom - GWU (18 minutes walk away)

5) Luke's Lobster
    1211 Potomac St NW, Washington, DC 20007
    Monday-Sunday: 11am - 9pm

6) Lincoln Waffle Shop, 504 10th St NW, Washington, DC 20004, United States
    Nearest Metro Station: Metro Center Station or Gallery Place Chinatown

7) Ford's Theatre
    Nearest Metro Station: Metro Center Station or Gallery Place Chinatown

8) United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    Nearest Metro Station: Smithsonian

9) White House
    Nearest Metro Station: Metro Center Station or Macpherson Sq

10) Westin Crystal City
     Nearest Metro Station: Crystal City

Flight Delay on Singapore Airlines Flight SQ 26

This is a long over due post which took place in December 2015.  I took a 1 week break away from work to Washington DC and New York City, it was quite a last minute decision and there wasn't much planning done.  Do note that 1 week isn't really sufficient if you want to cover these 2 cities.

I took a night flight on Singapore Airlines SQ26 to New York and transit to Washington DC on Delta but the flight was a total nightmare due to the delay.

SQ 26 was scheduled to take off at 11:55pm on 18 Dec 2016, however the pilot only found that there was a problem with the traffic collision avoidance system around 11+pm.  They were also unsure if they can fix it or we need to wait for a replacement plane.

Suites and Business class passengers were advised to return to the lounge and wait for further updates while economy class passengers can stay in the gate hold room to wait.  Food and drinks was distributed much later as well as blankets.  They gave out cold buns which are normally given out during overnight flight's night service, understand such circumstances I thought better food could be provided to passengers.

Passengers queuing up to get the food and drinks.

The staff went around giving passengers a letter informing of the delay (the letter was altered 2 times due to further delay), this is the final copy but the delay was less than 6 hours meaning no insurance claim can be made.

This 5 hours plus of delay caused me to miss my connecting flight to Washington DC.  Luckily Delta was kind enough to rebook me on a later flight at no additional cost.  However the next flight only departs at 9.05pm on 19 Dec to DC and the flight was further delayed to 11:15pm.  By the time I collected my baggage and leave the airport (DCA), it was about 12:40am on 20 Dec.  This was the worst flight delay I experience and going with minimal sleep for about 55 hours.  Didn't expect this post to be so long, will cover the trip in a separate post.

For those who are curious if there was any form of compensation from Singapore Airlines, they gave a number lock when boarding the flight from Singapore to Frankfurt and a luggage tag when boarding the flight from Frankfurt to New York.  The staff at New York Airport also wasn't helpful in trying to explain your situation to the airline on your connecting flight instead asking you to reach out to the airline yourself.  Although I understand that the connecting flight wasn't book through them and they are not obliged to help in the rebooking but I have catered for more than 4 hours of transit time and if wasn't for them I wouldn't be in such a situation.  They could at least be more helpful in assisting with the rebooking(they did ask passengers who have connecting flight to provide their details while we are waiting in Singapore but seems like nothing was done, if there is no intention to do anything then why ask).