Day 1

The day started far too early—4:10 a.m.—as we did our final checks before heading out. Snoopy was already at day care and our bags were packed, so all that was left was to get dressed, make ourselves presentable, and wait for our Uber driver. Unfortunately, I had everything timed to the minute—so when the driver turned up six minutes early, it threw my schedule into chaos. 😄

Our first flight was to Melbourne, where we’d connect with our onward flight to Singapore. We grabbed a morning coffee at Muffin Break, and our friend Aani was kind enough to give them to us for free to celebrate the start of our holiday. We were also very lucky to be upgraded to Business Class, and the cabin manager—whom I recognised straight away—kindly gave us some champagne to toast the beginning of the trip. It wasn’t exactly wine time, but when you’re going on holiday, who’s keeping track?

The flight to Melbourne was quick and pleasant. We’d chosen the first flight of the day to avoid any risk of missing our international connection, which meant a four-hour layover—but that wasn’t a problem. We had another coffee while waiting for the Jetstar bag drop to open. That’s when things took a turn—all the baggage belts broke down at once. After fifteen minutes of staff trying to reset the system (and a growing queue of grumpy passengers behind us), we were finally free of our bag!

Having booked full-fare Jetstar Business Class tickets, we were able to enjoy the Qantas lounge before our flight. It was busy and crowded, but still a welcome escape from the airport hustle. After breakfast on the first flight, neither of us was particularly hungry, but it was nice to relax in peace. The lounge itself was quite different from the ones in Sydney or Adelaide—being underground, it didn’t have any windows or natural light.

We headed to the gate early to give ourselves plenty of time to board. The Business Class seats were comfortable, with a 2-3-2 layout. I was in the middle seat, but it was still manageable when nature called. We departed slightly behind schedule, but once in the air, the crew served a solid lunch: ravioli for my vegetarian self and lamb for Ted the carnivore. I hadn’t planned to watch any in-flight movies, but after Speak No Evil, I needed something lighter—so I followed it up with Wicked. To my surprise, there was a second meal service later. Ted had the quesadilla, and I had the vegetarian pie, which was so good I accepted a second without hesitation.

Arrival in Singapore was smooth. Passport control is now fully electronic, and even our checked bag came out quickly. We’d planned to take the free shuttle bus to the hotel, but since we landed over half an hour late—and the shuttle only runs every 90 minutes—we’d missed our window. Luckily, taxis weren’t too expensive, and we’d chosen a hotel nearby.

Our flight to Germany isn’t until around 11 p.m. tomorrow night, so the hotel offered us a club rate that included late check-out, buffet breakfast, light snacks, and evening cocktails. The hotel was already on the pricey side, so I wasn’t thrilled about the extra cost—but we didn’t really have a better option.

After exploring the hotel, including the rooftop pool and gym, we figured we should make the most of the Club access—so we went for evening cocktails. It was mostly light food and complimentary drinks, but after our in-flight meals, that was all we needed. As tempting as it was to stay up, we’re still on Adelaide time, so a 9 p.m. bedtime sounded pretty perfect 😊.Weiterlesen