Me Minus You is Such a Lonely Ride

We were up early for a travel day; checked-out, walked the 700 meters to the train; 6:40 AM Skyliner to Narita—and it was packed!

 

Checked-in with Singapore, fast track security, then headed to the lounge.  We had access to three lounges.  We started with ANA, which was modern, elegant, spacious, and with an excellent selection of beverages (including businessmen drinking cognac at eight in the morning).  Stephen stayed on while I headed out to explore.  I passed on spending time at the United lounge, but made a stop at Turkish, where the food options were more, ahem, western, and the ambiance a tad quieter.

 

We boarded seamlessly.  Lovely new business class seats, very efficient crew.  Lunch, which was spread out over about two hours, was decent, although the chicken satay skewers to start were a marvel of deliciousness and unsurpassed.

 

Singapore arrival easy enough.  For those who’ve never witnessed Changi Airport, it’s something between the elegance and expense of Fifth Avenue shopping amid a garish theme park with wafts of tropical humidity seeping through the cracks.  We headed to the Singapore lounge where the offerings included an expansive dim sum selection, noodles, stir-fry’s and soups made to order, a decent bar and, of course, crying children.

 

Our final leg to New Zealand was a late night departure, 10 PM, but believe it or not Singapore had departures clear through to early morning including a Dallas bound plane scheduled for 2:30 AM.

 

Our plane, although an older four-class 777, was quite elegant.  Four seats in first class, two occupied.  A small biz class cabin behind that, a galley, a larger biz class behind the galley.  I chose for us two window seats in the smaller front section.  Humongous seats.  So big that to make a bed you flipped the back down, car seat style.  We settled in for an overnight.

 

Singapore lets you “book the cook” in advance and, out of its hub offers dishes like lobster thermidor and other assorted elegances.  I chose the Wagyu beef and it was, surprisingly, excellent.  Stephen and I crashed about two hours in and got what I call half a decent night’s sleep.

Arrival early afternoon Auckland time.  Breezed through customs and immigration despite myriad forms and waivers required in advance.  Taxi to hotel, the relatively new Park Hyatt.  Way above our pay grade; thank goodness for points.

Four rooms: powder room, walk in wardrobe, double sink shower and bath, then a main room with king size bed, sofa, and, believe it or not, a huge outdoor deck.

Oh, and wait for it: FedEx had delivered my phone, which my sister had found (shout out to Robyn, if I was code-inclined I’d insert a jumping up and down emoticon), I mean I had lost it, she had tracked it down, it was all very NCIS.  Reunited!  And it feels so good…  So, you know, a million emails to delete, a zillion apps to update, and all the chains and weights of modern life snapped back into place.

 

We headed out for an orientation walk.  Hot!  And Humid! 

Our hotel is on the waterfront, or Viaduct District, a revitalized neighbourhood of shipyards and piers, with new builds, lofts, restaurants and a lot of sharing spaces and parkland.  We went deep into the central business district and circled back along the foreshore, enjoyed a light dinner at one of the many open air restaurants, and returned early evening to the hotel.  There is a wonderful hydrotherapy room, so I took a steam, a dry sauna, a cold plunge and a hot whirlpool before bed.  And slept like a lamb.