About Singapore Airlines

February 4th, 5:14 (central)

I'm in Russia, had to get TSA-ish checked again, and am now back on the Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore.

So there's offically a world outside the US. You sometimes occupy your mind with foolish ideas, and the fact that I've never left the US before meant that I'd never observed direct proof of the rest of the world. Foolish? Maybe.

But couldn't that foolish idea be indicative of a larger trend? I think Americans are undertravelled in general, and this idea of mine is probably part of that very trend.

February 4th, 06:12 (central)

I'll digress and try again to summarize my experience with Singapore Airlines; the flight crew changed between the flights, of course, as they are both over ten hours, but the experience remains the same.

First, they deliver to us a hot, damp towel to "freshen up"; I didn't need it, necessarily, but I used it nonetheless.

Second, we received a pair of headphones designed to work with the in-flight entertainment systems each and every one of us has in front of us. The headphone jacks are unfortunately a pair of mono 3.5mm jacks, meaning you only get one channel by plugging a single stereo pair of earbuds in. Their headset works adequately and isn't terribly uncomfortable. They sterilize and reuse these for each new passenger; as I am the same passenger on the same flight, I was permitted to keep mine and continue using them.

Thirdly, we received a packed containing a toothbrush, a tiny tube of toothpaste, and a pair of soft socks, presumably for changing into before sleep. I haven't used these yet, and I'm afraid I won't be able to change socks until I arrive in Hanoi, as my cotton socks have become rather unpleasant. I must also avoid taking off my shoes, for the safety of the human race.

Other deliveries to passengers have yet to come, but our menu for the meals on the Moscow-Singapore flight include these items:

Appetizer: Baby shrimp with potato salad.

Main courses:
a. Panfried chicken in asil crema sauce, butttered vegetables and roasted potatoes.
b. Gaeng Ped Moo (Thai style red curry pork, seasonal vegetables and steamed rice)

I'll probably choose option B this time; I chose the less adventurous options for breakfast.

Cheese and crackers (monterey jack, unless they have a variety; the crackers are pretty good)

A bakery roll is delivered hot to you with a packet of butter.

They offer both coffee and tea with dinner.

Finally, they offer 3 oz cups of ice cream afterwards; I've tasted the Chocolate thusfar, and it is good as far as my taste will critique. I hope to try another flavor, but I'm not positive they have another. We'll see.

They offer sandwiches in "savory" and vegetarian varieties, as well as fairly typical airplane snacks, including peanuts, the chocolate bar I mentioned earlier, bisquits, potato chips, fruit, and cereal.

For breakfast they offer these parts and options:

A fruit appetizer

Fruit yogurt

A. Russian bliny with scrambled egg (I intend to try this today/tomorrow)
B. Egg frittata with vegetables, roasted tomato, mushrooms and chicken sausage (tried this, enjoyed it.)

A breakfast roll with butter and a jam/preserve to put on it.

Coffee and tea are offered for breakfast as well.

I forgot to mention in my first post about Singapore that while they do have in-flight Wi-Fi, as so many other carriers probably do, they do NOT provide it for free. The prices are quite extravagant, in fact, $6 buying you a whole 5 megabytes, and $10 buying you 10 megabytes. It makes mobile carriers seem downright tame.

The clouds are gorgeous, the sun is bright, and the apple juice is good. The peanut packages include very few peanuts, so ask for two or three if you have any taste for them. They also come largely unsalted, so if your preference is salted peanuts, these will disappoint.

It strikes me as positively arrogant of man to get into a giant tub of metal and run it at absurd speeds, take flight, and proceed to increase speed yet further, and by all these things accomplish a timely arrival at a very distant destination; that we would also convenience ourselves with things we know and love from on the ground seems to further...I don't know. It just seems like the tower of Babel to me. This crazy, monstrous machine is not only capable of getting you from here to there in fairly reasonable times, but it's able to do so over and over again, safely, comfortably, and with added convenience and delight.

The way the wing bends upwards because of the weight on it is both impressive and slightly terrifying. I manage to remain calm throughout the flight, I think, because of a past ordeal which seems to allow me to ignore terror and stand still against fear. Anyway.

I think I've written enough for three posts now. I'll probably add to this before I can post in Singapore, though.

I am well.


!Noah!