****Sam—as British & Noreen noted, the atmosphere of the Doha lounge is wonderful, service excellent and the food is delicious. On your return, you may even want to venture into one of the many boutiques for some last minute very high-end shopping.
I am attaching some photos from our trip to Africa flying Emirates Airlines. It was a wonderful flight, however, I still prefer Qatar. This was our third trip to Africa and my husband decided it would make a nice birthday gift. We didn't go with Tauck but with a company called Wilderness Safaris. However, we met Tauck people in Narina Lodge in Kruger National Park. When we went to Africa on Qatar we used American miles and the cost was around $77.00 for the taxes roundtrip in 2019
Gladys HI!! I'm so happy to hear you made it to Singapore... what an ordeal.
Now, today it's a new day, so enjoy and relax.. keep taking lots of pictures and have as many Raffle slings as possible.
SEPTEMBER 5 ÷ British - Good luck with your travels, didn't know about Komodo wow that's a long way to go. Having to deal with the lost luggage surely put a damper on things and prevented me from doing more sightseeing on my own including missing the Botanical Gardens which were number one in my list, Raffles did help a lot with the luggage,
Nancy those photos are all from the walking and river boat cruise tour,
About the luggage which was supposed to arrived in the 2 to 4 am hrs, another ladies was delivered at 2:15 am and she texted to see if I had mine which I didn't, immediately called Delta baggage after a long wait talked to a lady that had no desire to help hanged up and called back, got a super nice rep who went out of her to help, told the luggage was in Singapore but it couldn't be found and she put in urgent messages to locate the luggage before tomorrow as we leave for Jakarta tomorrow, I decided to go shopping and buy an outfit and when I returned to the hotel the concierge told me I had a surprise in my room, the luggage was delivered.
We started the day with a lecture by our local guide about the ecology, fauna and animals of Singapore, an then we went to Gardens by the Bay for about 3 hrs, the gardens are amazing, as I mentioned before dealt with the luggage problem as I found out it was list in the airport, had afternoon tea in the hotel and a while later went back to Gardens by the Bay for the light show, we have an early start tomorrow, I'm sorry I didn't do more in Singapore but it is what it is,
The Gardens by the Bay look amazing. I have seen bits and pieces of it in movies, like 'Crazy Rich Asians' but it didn't exist when I was there years ago.
The only place we visited at that time was the tired and well-past-its-prime, Tiger Balm Gardens, a garden park created to promote Tiger Balm products. It was filled with creepy folklore and mythological creatures in allegorical dioramas, a number of which depicted what happens to children when they misbehave! A Far East version of scared straight? Anyway, it was a sad place. The original one in Hong Kong closed but the one in Singapore might still be open.
September 6 and 7 - September 6 was an exhausting day of travel Singapore to Jakarta and Jakarta to Java arrived at the beautiful Amanjiwo Resort at 7:30 PM so there was only time for dinner and bed, the rooms are amazing, by the way I'm a solo traveler and my rooms were and are as big as the ones for couples.
This morning at 6:30 we visited the Borobudur Temple a UNESCO World Heritage site, a 9th century Buddhist Temple its the world's largest Buddhist Temple with 504 Buddha statutes each seated inside a stupa, we could not ascend to the top to preserve the Temple but the Buddha's in each tier and there are 3 have the hands in different positions it truly is an amazing site, we returned to the hotel for breakfast and then went in individual horse carriages for a ride to a village, visited a house where they make Tempe an Indonesian food made from fermented soya beans and another house where they make different uses of cassava and yet another building where children were playing instruments like gongs and other percussion instruments, the children were lovely. Barbecue dinner and entertainment tonight
You are bringing back wonderful memories. I loved the village walk, and the Amanjiwo was spectacular. They had morning yoga by the pool, and a lovely breakfast on the patio overlooking the pool as well.
Your photos and commentary are wonderful, Gladys. Thank you for posting pictures and comments. We just today booked our flights to Singapore on Singapore Air for next May...now it seems real!
Sept. 8 - Today we drove to Yogyakarta and once there wewent by rickshaw to the Sultan's Palace. There was a puppets show inside the courtyard and an entire band playing the Javanese music, there were many buildings including a museum for Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX a very loved Sultan Yogyakarta has a Muslim majority. After the Palace we drove to Phoenix Hotel we had a very nice buffet lunch. By the way the TD is being great its possible that maybe he was not feeling well because he has been a pleasure the last few days. This afternoon we visited the Prambanan Temple complex had dinner in one part of the complex and attended a performance by the Prambanan ballet.
We arrived in Singapore today after seamless travel and I think more sleep than I’ve ever managed on both planes. Our first Qatar flight was not Q suites but it was still excellent. We chose to have afternoon tea at the start of our overnight flight, lighter on the stomach. I had my dinner after a good sleep. You can chose to eat whenever you want, it takes about a half hour for it to come because obvious it has to be heated up. Amuse bouche was a lovely piece of lobster topped with caviar and gold leaf. Our second flight was Q suites but our seating was not together, I was in another section of the cabin. I’ve decided I prefer the non Qsuites seats, more room to spread out and actually more storage and seating is very spread out anyway.
We arrived at Raffles hotel around 10am and had to wait around an hour for our suite to be ready. We met our butler. Showered and refreshed we are heading out soon.
For those who are not familiar with Doha airport, I’m going to post some pictures of where the business class lounge is. We had a bit of an ‘argument’ about its location, even though we have been there several times before. Mr B was totally convinced it was where there was a long line of people waiting to go in, I said, no that’s not the one. The key is to find the Harrods tea room, the escalators for the lounge are opposite the larger poster on the side of the tea area. There is also a Hamleys toy store nearby. And a very large yellow teddy bear.
I took picture of the outside of the lounge reception for clarification. We were not in there long enough to take inside photos and wifi kept disconnecting during our short time in there.
British - Thanks for the assistance in finding the Doha lounge. We'll be there in under a month. We have the same seating on our two Qatar flights that you had - non QSuites on the first leg, Qsuites on the second leg.
British so happy you made it without the drama I had to go through, enjoy the trip.
September 9 - We had a very early flight to Bali this morning,left hotel at 5 and had the luggage pick up the night before, the flight to Bali was very pleasant and fast the Yogyakarta airport is incredible and Denpasar not far behind, we've had excellent service at the airport's breezing through lines, great seats Tauck surely takes good care of us, our TD has been great I firmly believe he was not feeling well at the beginning of the trip. Arrived in Bali and had a long ride to Ubud part by bus and part by van due to the difficulty driving through traffic. Stopped for lunch at Lakalake restaurant, lovely food and presentation, from there we went to the Monkey Forest, lots of monkey luscious forestry and very nice temples.
Continued from there to the Fiur Seasons Sayan, beautiful resort, we all have a villa with our own swimming pool, very private and unique. Have to take golf carts to restaurants but the service is grest and the laundry very inexpensive.
Glad you had an uneventful flight. It all sounds wonderful and the pictures are superb. My husband wants your husband's shoes. May I ask what brand they are? My apologies for digressing.
On a more personal note (not a political one), my sincere condolences on the passing of Her Majesty, a woman of great strength, dignity, grace and wit.
We arranged a massage when in Bali. We looked on TripAdvisor for recommendations, and took a short taxi ride into town. It was really inexpensive and an excellent massage.
I think I’m going to leave all the photo to Gladys, they are wonderful. Maybe I’ll stick to all the practicalities that I used to post about trips in the past…..so here goes.
I’m grateful to Gladys mentioning about cheap laundry. While in recent years, my husband says, you shouldn’t go on a trip where you can’t afford to pay for the laundry, it’s jars for me to shake my frugal nature from the many years of our early marriage that clearly worked or we would not be enjoying all these wonderful trips. You see the grey dress shirt my hubby is wearing in the teddy bear photo, that will cost $20 US to be laundered here at Raffles, and he was going to send it today….thanks so much Gladys for the tip!!
Kfnknfzk, the brown leather shoes my hubby is wearing have been fantastic all over the world, especially Afica. They are Merrill’s. I’m pretty sure I originally got them in the sale years ago, I hand wash them in the sink, leather and all and they come up great. I did buy him a lovely black pair in a sale last year, he was with me, said they fit but now he says they are too small, that’s nothing new, he says that about more than half the shoes he has because not only do his feet vary in size a bit more than most peoples, he has bad buniony feet that are getting worse….no he won’t even see a dr about them folks. Now here’s the fun thing, he has no trouble with the width of Clarks shoes, which we both have always worn in Britain, but in the US are too narrow and the wide sizes are limited and hard to find in store.
It’s the middle of the night here in Singapore. We visited the National museum yesterday afternoon and took a guided tour, the guide was wonderful, then we strolled around more. We took a short taxi ride there in the rain but walked back, it’s a short walk and was dry and not particularly humid. We got ready for dinner. Went to the outside bar for our $37 each Singapore Slings and then headed to the Italian restaurant for a small dinner….I had my favorite, risotto which was delicious. It was freezing in the restaurant, yes frigid, I was wearing a dress with short sleeves and yes, I did not bring a wrap on vacation with me. I do have a lovely batik cotton coat with me, but never thought I would need it inside, it was for any cool evenings outside. Now I’m glad that Mr B says most meals will be outside as the tour progresses, and yes, we did bring bug spray 😂
Comments
****Sam—as British & Noreen noted, the atmosphere of the Doha lounge is wonderful, service excellent and the food is delicious. On your return, you may even want to venture into one of the many boutiques for some last minute very high-end shopping.
🤮 that was my reaction when I read your post. My wife will hear nothing about this post.
I am attaching some photos from our trip to Africa flying Emirates Airlines. It was a wonderful flight, however, I still prefer Qatar. This was our third trip to Africa and my husband decided it would make a nice birthday gift. We didn't go with Tauck but with a company called Wilderness Safaris. However, we met Tauck people in Narina Lodge in Kruger National Park. When we went to Africa on Qatar we used American miles and the cost was around $77.00 for the taxes roundtrip in 2019
Yes, the Doha lounge is amazing. Huge two story lounge with incredible water pond in center of lounge.
Doha lounge
Gladys HI!! I'm so happy to hear you made it to Singapore... what an ordeal.
Now, today it's a new day, so enjoy and relax.. keep taking lots of pictures and have as many Raffle slings as possible.
Wish you the best!
Smiling Sam, Hi.
I would be the one with the stilettos! for sure .
SEPTEMBER 5 ÷ British - Good luck with your travels, didn't know about Komodo wow that's a long way to go. Having to deal with the lost luggage surely put a damper on things and prevented me from doing more sightseeing on my own including missing the Botanical Gardens which were number one in my list, Raffles did help a lot with the luggage,
Nancy those photos are all from the walking and river boat cruise tour,
About the luggage which was supposed to arrived in the 2 to 4 am hrs, another ladies was delivered at 2:15 am and she texted to see if I had mine which I didn't, immediately called Delta baggage after a long wait talked to a lady that had no desire to help hanged up and called back, got a super nice rep who went out of her to help, told the luggage was in Singapore but it couldn't be found and she put in urgent messages to locate the luggage before tomorrow as we leave for Jakarta tomorrow, I decided to go shopping and buy an outfit and when I returned to the hotel the concierge told me I had a surprise in my room, the luggage was delivered.
We started the day with a lecture by our local guide about the ecology, fauna and animals of Singapore, an then we went to Gardens by the Bay for about 3 hrs, the gardens are amazing, as I mentioned before dealt with the luggage problem as I found out it was list in the airport, had afternoon tea in the hotel and a while later went back to Gardens by the Bay for the light show, we have an early start tomorrow, I'm sorry I didn't do more in Singapore but it is what it is,
Oh wow, the gardens look amazing. Hope we can get ot he evening show, we just love gardens. Sent you a pm
The botonical gardens are amazing. My favorite section was the orchids — and the names given to each.
Fabulous photos...so glad you and your luggage are together again! Your weather looks great too.
The Gardens by the Bay look amazing. I have seen bits and pieces of it in movies, like 'Crazy Rich Asians' but it didn't exist when I was there years ago.
The only place we visited at that time was the tired and well-past-its-prime, Tiger Balm Gardens, a garden park created to promote Tiger Balm products. It was filled with creepy folklore and mythological creatures in allegorical dioramas, a number of which depicted what happens to children when they misbehave! A Far East version of scared straight?
Anyway, it was a sad place. The original one in Hong Kong closed but the one in Singapore might still be open.
September 6 and 7 - September 6 was an exhausting day of travel Singapore to Jakarta and Jakarta to Java arrived at the beautiful Amanjiwo Resort at 7:30 PM so there was only time for dinner and bed, the rooms are amazing, by the way I'm a solo traveler and my rooms were and are as big as the ones for couples.
This morning at 6:30 we visited the Borobudur Temple a UNESCO World Heritage site, a 9th century Buddhist Temple its the world's largest Buddhist Temple with 504 Buddha statutes each seated inside a stupa, we could not ascend to the top to preserve the Temple but the Buddha's in each tier and there are 3 have the hands in different positions it truly is an amazing site, we returned to the hotel for breakfast and then went in individual horse carriages for a ride to a village, visited a house where they make Tempe an Indonesian food made from fermented soya beans and another house where they make different uses of cassava and yet another building where children were playing instruments like gongs and other percussion instruments, the children were lovely. Barbecue dinner and entertainment tonight
You are bringing back wonderful memories. I loved the village walk, and the Amanjiwo was spectacular. They had morning yoga by the pool, and a lovely breakfast on the patio overlooking the pool as well.
To British...safe & speedy travels to Singapore!
Your photos and commentary are wonderful, Gladys. Thank you for posting pictures and comments. We just today booked our flights to Singapore on Singapore Air for next May...now it seems real!
We are at the airport!
British Wishing you safe uneventful travels & Have FUN!!!
Thank you everyone and thanks to Gladys for leading the way with her reports and photos.
Sept. 8 - Today we drove to Yogyakarta and once there wewent by rickshaw to the Sultan's Palace. There was a puppets show inside the courtyard and an entire band playing the Javanese music, there were many buildings including a museum for Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX a very loved Sultan Yogyakarta has a Muslim majority. After the Palace we drove to Phoenix Hotel we had a very nice buffet lunch. By the way the TD is being great its possible that maybe he was not feeling well because he has been a pleasure the last few days. This afternoon we visited the Prambanan Temple complex had dinner in one part of the complex and attended a performance by the Prambanan ballet.
We arrived in Singapore today after seamless travel and I think more sleep than I’ve ever managed on both planes. Our first Qatar flight was not Q suites but it was still excellent. We chose to have afternoon tea at the start of our overnight flight, lighter on the stomach. I had my dinner after a good sleep. You can chose to eat whenever you want, it takes about a half hour for it to come because obvious it has to be heated up. Amuse bouche was a lovely piece of lobster topped with caviar and gold leaf. Our second flight was Q suites but our seating was not together, I was in another section of the cabin. I’ve decided I prefer the non Qsuites seats, more room to spread out and actually more storage and seating is very spread out anyway.
We arrived at Raffles hotel around 10am and had to wait around an hour for our suite to be ready. We met our butler. Showered and refreshed we are heading out soon.
For those who are not familiar with Doha airport, I’m going to post some pictures of where the business class lounge is. We had a bit of an ‘argument’ about its location, even though we have been there several times before. Mr B was totally convinced it was where there was a long line of people waiting to go in, I said, no that’s not the one. The key is to find the Harrods tea room, the escalators for the lounge are opposite the larger poster on the side of the tea area. There is also a Hamleys toy store nearby. And a very large yellow teddy bear.
I took picture of the outside of the lounge reception for clarification. We were not in there long enough to take inside photos and wifi kept disconnecting during our short time in there.
British....I'm so glad your travels were uneventful. Have a Wonderful tour!
British - Thanks for the assistance in finding the Doha lounge. We'll be there in under a month. We have the same seating on our two Qatar flights that you had - non QSuites on the first leg, Qsuites on the second leg.
British so happy you made it without the drama I had to go through, enjoy the trip.
September 9 - We had a very early flight to Bali this morning,left hotel at 5 and had the luggage pick up the night before, the flight to Bali was very pleasant and fast the Yogyakarta airport is incredible and Denpasar not far behind, we've had excellent service at the airport's breezing through lines, great seats Tauck surely takes good care of us, our TD has been great I firmly believe he was not feeling well at the beginning of the trip. Arrived in Bali and had a long ride to Ubud part by bus and part by van due to the difficulty driving through traffic. Stopped for lunch at Lakalake restaurant, lovely food and presentation, from there we went to the Monkey Forest, lots of monkey luscious forestry and very nice temples.
Continued from there to the Fiur Seasons Sayan, beautiful resort, we all have a villa with our own swimming pool, very private and unique. Have to take golf carts to restaurants but the service is grest and the laundry very inexpensive.
British,
Glad you had an uneventful flight. It all sounds wonderful and the pictures are superb. My husband wants your husband's shoes. May I ask what brand they are? My apologies for digressing.
On a more personal note (not a political one), my sincere condolences on the passing of Her Majesty, a woman of great strength, dignity, grace and wit.
Wife and I will be in the Doha lounge on the evening of the 7th of October. Seems like a central gathering place for Tauckturians. Haha.
We arranged a massage when in Bali. We looked on TripAdvisor for recommendations, and took a short taxi ride into town. It was really inexpensive and an excellent massage.
I think I’m going to leave all the photo to Gladys, they are wonderful. Maybe I’ll stick to all the practicalities that I used to post about trips in the past…..so here goes.
I’m grateful to Gladys mentioning about cheap laundry. While in recent years, my husband says, you shouldn’t go on a trip where you can’t afford to pay for the laundry, it’s jars for me to shake my frugal nature from the many years of our early marriage that clearly worked or we would not be enjoying all these wonderful trips. You see the grey dress shirt my hubby is wearing in the teddy bear photo, that will cost $20 US to be laundered here at Raffles, and he was going to send it today….thanks so much Gladys for the tip!!
Kfnknfzk, the brown leather shoes my hubby is wearing have been fantastic all over the world, especially Afica. They are Merrill’s. I’m pretty sure I originally got them in the sale years ago, I hand wash them in the sink, leather and all and they come up great. I did buy him a lovely black pair in a sale last year, he was with me, said they fit but now he says they are too small, that’s nothing new, he says that about more than half the shoes he has because not only do his feet vary in size a bit more than most peoples, he has bad buniony feet that are getting worse….no he won’t even see a dr about them folks. Now here’s the fun thing, he has no trouble with the width of Clarks shoes, which we both have always worn in Britain, but in the US are too narrow and the wide sizes are limited and hard to find in store.
It’s the middle of the night here in Singapore. We visited the National museum yesterday afternoon and took a guided tour, the guide was wonderful, then we strolled around more. We took a short taxi ride there in the rain but walked back, it’s a short walk and was dry and not particularly humid. We got ready for dinner. Went to the outside bar for our $37 each Singapore Slings and then headed to the Italian restaurant for a small dinner….I had my favorite, risotto which was delicious. It was freezing in the restaurant, yes frigid, I was wearing a dress with short sleeves and yes, I did not bring a wrap on vacation with me. I do have a lovely batik cotton coat with me, but never thought I would need it inside, it was for any cool evenings outside. Now I’m glad that Mr B says most meals will be outside as the tour progresses, and yes, we did bring bug spray 😂
I actually think it’s good they are combined Cathy