Cliff(y) Goes Travelling

SYD-MEL (1h 35m) Boeing 737-800 ETD:  12.30pm  (GMT + 10) ETA: 2.05pm (GMT + 10) After a rather eventful journey with its fair share of travel hiccups, I was glad to have finally made it to Australia. There was a quiet sense of relief knowing that I had one last flight to catch before reaching Melbourne. It marked my first time flying Qantas, the country’s flag carrier and largest airline.

SIN-MNL (4h) Boeing 777-300ER ETD:  2.15pm  (GMT + 8) ETA: 6.15pm (GMT + 8) “What? You’ve never been to Australia?” was something I’d grown used to hearing up to the age of 35. Indeed, this travel series marks my very first Down Under experience. While Melbourne can be reached directly from Singapore, I set off in the opposite direction first, heading to Manila, the Philippines with the oldest commercial airline in Asia.

NGO-NRT (1h 20m) Boeing 737-800 ETD:  2.15pm  (GMT + 9) ETA: 3.35pm (GMT + 9) It's really been a while since I last flew with ANA domestically. The previous time was way back in 2013 from New Chitose Airport in Sapporo to Osaka Itami Airport. This time, I flew from Chubu Centrair International Airport to Narita International Airport aboard a Boeing 737-800, part of a fleet with an average age of 12.9 years at the point of writing.

NRT-NGO (1h 20m) Boeing 737-800 ETD:  6.30pm  (GMT + 9) ETA: 7.50pm (GMT + 9) I've been to Japan a few times, but actually I rarely fly with Japanese carriers. After enduring the long queue at immigration, I finally got my passport stamped. With that done, it was time to locate the transfer counter for the next flight, which marked my virgin experience of touching down at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya.

SIN-NRT (7h 10m) Boeing 767-300 ETD:  8.10am  (GMT + 8) ETA: 4.20pm (GMT + 9) In the quest to visit all 47 prefectures of Japan, I embarked on yet another journey to this fascinating country to explore a few destinations in Aichi, Gifu and Mie Prefectures. My adventure began with Japan Airlines JL712 that brought me to Narita International Airport before I caught a domestic flight to Nagoya.

IST-SIN (10h 25m) Boeing 787-9 ETD:  5.55pm  (GMT + 3) ETA: 8.30am (GMT + 8) We've finally reached the last post to wrap up this series on my very first round-the-world experience. Starting from Singapore, crossing the vast Pacific Ocean to the Americas to the Americas, and returning via the Atlantic Ocean and beyond, it was an amazing trip. Turkish Airlines TK208 flew me back to Singapore from Istanbul, Turkey.

YUL-CUN (4h 25m) Airbus 330-200 ETD:  2.40pm (GMT - 4) ETA: 6.05pm (GMT - 5) Founded in 1986, Air Transat is a Canadian airline based in Montreal with a fleet of 37 Airbus aircraft at the point of writing. Had it not been for the massive cancellations by WestJet, including our flight from Toronto, Canada to Cancun, Mexico, I probably wouldn't have been aware of the airline, let alone purchased a flight ticket from them.

[BR226] SIN-TPE (4h 35m) Boeing 777-300ER ETD:  1.15pm (GMT + 8) ETA: 5.50pm (GMT + 8) Here's to a new travel series! Join us as we set out on our very first round-the-world trip, a voyage filled with anticipation and wonder as we went back to Canada after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ushered in the festive spirit of Christmas in Panama and New Year in Colombia. The journey began with EVA Air BR226 from Singapore to Taipei, Taiwan.

KIX-KUL (7h) Airbus 330-300 ETD:  9.55am (GMT + 9) ETA: 3.55pm (GMT + 8) The eagerly awaited post-pandemic family trip concluded with a pretty enjoyable flight on Malaysia Airlines MH53 from Osaka, Japan to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, followed by MH607 to Singapore. Unlike the inbound flight  MH52  that encountered a one-hour delay, the outbound flight departed on time as scheduled. 

[MH608] SIN-KUL (1h) Boeing 737-800 ETD:  5.25pm (GMT + 8) ETA: 6.25pm (GMT + 8) Welcome to the start of a new series of travel posts! Our long-awaited family trip, which happened in December 2022, led us to explore the Kansai region of Japan. This series is going to be a rather brief one as I've unfortunately lost most of the photos I took, except those I've shared on Instagram. Still, join us as we revisit and relive our adventure!

BKK-SIN (2h 15min) Airbus 350-900 ETD:  11.20pm (GMT + 2) ETA: 2.20pm (GMT + 7) I know I've been taking so long, but we're down to the last post of the trip to Azerbaijan that my BFF and I embarked on in the middle of last year. We found ourselves on a plane for the third time in less than 24 hours, heading back home from the Land of Smiles. My previous flight with Thai Airways had been long before the COVID-19 pandemic, aboard one of their Boeing 747-400.

GYD-IST (3h 5m) Airbus 320 ETD: 8.50am (GMT + 4) ETA: 10.55am (GMT + 3) It was time to depart from Baku, Azerbaijan for Istanbul, Turkey. Before we jump into it, I need to let all of you know that I've unfortunately lost all photos from that point onwards, and am borrowing from my BFF to feature in the next few posts. Anyway, be honest: how many of us actually pay attention to the safety information card like Pikachu before we fly?

IST-GYD (2h 50m) Airbus 320 ETD: 12.20pm (GMT + 3) ETA: 4.10pm (GMT + 4) Trying out a new airline is something that I always look forward to, so much so that I keep a  record  here in my travel blog. Even though I knew I'd be flying in a rather old aircraft, I was excited to hop aboard the flag carrier of Azerbaijan to its capital city, Baku. As a recap, Georgia is the first Caucasus country that I visited back in 2018, where I touched down at Tbilisi .

HKG-SIN (2h 45m) Airbus 380-800 ETD: 2.10pm (GMT + 8) ETA: 6.10pm (GMT + 8) Are you excited about the Singapore - Hong Kong travel bubble that's set to launch in the middle of May 2021? I hope it's not going to burst again though. While waiting for that to happen, join me in reminiscing about this particular flight home onboard one of Singapore Airlines' jumbo jets in December 2015. 

OKA-HKG (2h 45m) Airbus 330-300 ETD: 11.55am (GMT + 9) ETA: 1.40pm (GMT + 8) It's time for another quick post on Hong Kong Airlines today. Despite it being a short leisure trip in Okinawa, my BFFs and I really had lots of fun discovering the unique heritage of the southernmost prefecture of Japan. We I flew out of Naha Airport to Hong Kong for the second part of the year-end trip in 2015. 

HKG-OKA (2h 30m) Airbus 330-300 ETD: 7.25am (GMT + 8) ETA: 11.55am (GMT + 9) Having the slogan 'Fresh and Very Hong Kong', Hong Kong Airlines started off as CR Airways in 2001. It was in 2015 that I flew with it for the very first time from Hong Kong to Okinawa, Japan in the Economy Class. I've also previously written about my experience with its Business Class onboard HX773 and HX768 from Hong Kong to Bangkok, Thailand and vice versa respectively.

SIN-HKG (3h 45m) Airbus 330-300 ETD: 7.55pm (GMT + 8) ETA: 11.40pm (GMT + 8) Happy Lunar New Year! May the new year bring unfading joy and renewed hope to the world. To kickstart the Year of the Ox, follow me in a major throwback to my trip to Okinawa, Japan via Hong Kong that happened in December 2015. In fact, that was before the inception of this travel blog of mine. Oh, Happy Valentine's Day too!

KUL-SIN (1h 5m) Airbus 320 ETD: 9.25pm (GMT  +  8) ETA: 10.30p m (GMT + 8) We've finally come to this post that shall put an end to the series on the short trip to Tokyo, Japan in search of early-blooming  sakura (lit. cherry blossom). It'd been a while since I last took a flight with Jetstar, and I finally did again for the short hop back to Singapore from the low-cost carrier terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.

PEN-SIN (1h 25m) Boeing 737-800 ETD: 12.15pm (GMT + 8)  ETA: 1.40 pm (GMT + 8) As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely crippled the global airline industry. I wonder how's the progress of the Silk Air fleet upgrading before the full-service regional wing of Singapore Airlines is merged into the parent company in the future. Would that short hop from Penang, Malaysia to Singapore be my last Silk Air flight?

SIN-PEN (1h 25m) Boeing 737-800 ETD: 7.00pm (GMT + 8)  ETA: 8.25 pm (GMT + 8) From today onwards, I shall write a short series of my family trip, which actually didn't happen recently, to Penang, Malaysia when my siblings were all back in Singapore during their university holiday. Together with my BFF and his mother, we flew with Silk Air, the full-service regional wing of Singapore Airlines, in the Economy Class.