Day 16 -- Singapore

 6/24/2023 Saturday

Itinerary:

• Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard Centre Hotel
• Food Republic 313 @ Somerset 
• Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Lounge T3
• TWG Tea
• Bee Cheng Hiang 
• Singapore Airlines Airbus 350-900 Ultra Long Range

We woke up late today as Mason was still feeling sick and we checked out our room close to noon as we were meeting my high school friends for lunch and it was a short walk from our hotel. We left our luggages with the bellman and told him that we would be back in the afternoon to go to the airport. We were supposed to meet my friends at Vivo City which was about 30 minutes away but I told them last night if we could meet closer since Mason was still not feeling well. 

After meeting my friends for lunch, we walked back to our hotel to pick up our luggages and called for a big taxi so that it could fit our 4 large luggages. It cost $60 to go from the hotel to the airport and this is actually one of the few times that we had sat in a car facing backwards. The drive to the airport took a bit longer as there was some traffic. Once we reached the airport, we were able to check in to the counter and get our boarding passes so that we can go to the lounge.

We went to the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Lounge at Terminal 3 and it was recently rennovated. After scanning our boarding passes, we entered the lounge and turned right. We saw the bar and some food on the right side and found a seat. I went through the food selection and was initially disappointed as there was not a lot of selection and nothing really I want to eat. After getting a drink, I walked towards the other side of the lounge to check it out and found that there is a huge selection of food and tea. I texted the rest of the family to come over to eat and after eating my favorite laksa, we found some seats to rest while I took the kids with me for some shopping. We went to get some TWG Royal Darjeeling Tea for the 2 dentists that Mason is interning at. Also, went to Bee Cheng Hiang to buy some prawn rolls and they were out of stock. I asked if there was another location and the lady told me to try Terminal 1. So, we took the train to Terminal 1 and finally found the prawn rolls. There were only 4 small and 1 big one left, so I bought everything that they have in stock and they gave me a dumpling. Lesson learn here is to buy them when you are in the city, not wait till you are at the airport. After that, we quickly took the train back to the lounge so that I can take a shower before it's time to board the plane.

We had to go through the security and x-ray machine to enter the gate and we were picked randomly to have a check in our backpacks. After going through our backpacks, we were allowed to board the plane. We were on the Aribus A350-900 Ultra Long Range which only has business and premium economy. There was only 1 bulkseat which was available to pick when I was selecting our seats, so naturally I picked that seat for Mason since he is the tallest in our family at 6 feet. With the bulkseat, he was more legroom space to stretch while we only has a small hole to put our legs. But since we are not tall, it didn't bother me at all. The only thing that is a bit inconvenient is that we have to flip the seats if we want to sleep instead of just pressing a button to lower the seats like most other airlines. We had to call the flight attendant to help as we didn't know how to do that. 

I had also pre-order our food through Book the Cook and was able to select my favorite dish, Laksa again. The food served was super delicious and I could even say that the satay was one of the best that I have tasted and even better that the ones that we tried on our trip. If you want delicious food, you need to depart from Singapore as they have local cooks and facilities to cook such yummy cuisine. 

After almost 15 hours of flying due to headwinds, we arrived at our airport and was able to enter quickly due to our global entry. We texted our driver and he came shortly after we picked up our luggages. 

Day 15 — Singapore

6/23/2023 Friday

Itinerary:

• Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard Centre Hotel

We woke up really late today as Mason is still sick, so we don’t plan to do anything today. We just rested in our room until Mason felt a bit better. We left our room around lunch time to go to Marina Bay Sands Mall for some lunch and shopping. After spending a couple of hours there, we took the MRT to Orchard Road for more shopping. 

Since Mason was still feeling weak from not eating much,  we returned to our hotel to rest before heading out for dinner.

Day 14 — Siem Reap, Cambodia and Singapore

6/22/2023 Thursday

Itinerary:

• Park Hyatt Siem Reap Hotel
• Siem Reap Airport (REP)
• Changi Airport (SIN)
• Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard Centre

While checking out of our hotel, the front desk asked how our stay was and I briefly mentioned that it was good but my son had diarrhea the entire day yesterday. He talked to the executive chef and the chef gave me some tips on what to feed Mason as well as told me that I should have told him yesterday so that he can prepare some food for Mason. He asked when we were leaving and I told him in a couple of minutes as our driver is coming to pick us up. He asked me to wait a few minutes and went to get some bread and bananas for Mason to eat. Super nice guy and people at the hotel. Highly recommend to stay at this hotel if you are in Siem Reap.

The driver was waiting for us and we left for the airport which was about 15 minutes ride. After checking in, we went through customs and had to show our passport, boarding pass, immigration card and copy of visa. They took away our arrival card and visa before stamping on our passport.

We went through the security check and proceed to the lounge. There was no one at lounge and we were there for a while before another family of three came. The food selection at the lounge was pretty good compared to the one in U.S. and we had our stomach filled with food before boarding our plane.

The flight to Singapore was about 1 hour and 55 minutes and landed in Terminal 2 in Singapore. Terminal 2 was under construction, so some area was covered and it was quite a bit of walk to go through customs. Since we have U.S. passport and had filled out the declaration form online, we were allowed to use their automated line to scan our passport, eyes as well as right thumb.

After getting through customs, we went to pick up our luggage and took a taxi to our hotel near Orchard Road and it cost SIN $55 for a big van so that it can fit our 4 large luggage.

We checked into our hotel and when we went inside our room, it smell moldy and I had to go back to the front desk to change our room. The front desk was very nice and told us that they have another room for us which we went. This time, the room did not have any smell, which was a good sign but the bathroom was full of molds. We didn't change our room again as we were all tired but I am quite disappointed in both of our hotel stays in Singapore as the rooms in both hotels were not well kept and for the price that we are paying, I was expecting a bit better room condition. The hotels in Bali and Siem Reap were in a much better condition than Singapore.

We rested a bit before Anthony and I ventured out to find food. Mason was still feeling sick, so we bought him some porridge and noodles for Madison. After having our late lunch, we went to my old neighborhood to buy some local snacks before returning to our hotel with some dinner.