The Can Can

Flights from February to May 2017

I have done a lot of flying on a lot of different airlines in the last four months.  And much of it has been in business class.  I have, therefore, seen a lot of business class lavatories.  So what better to do than rate them.

Worst

 Jet Airways is an Indian carrier and while the bathorros were not down to this level, they were nothing to write home about.  Luckily it was a rather short flight from Bangalore to Mumbai.


Average
Air Canada, Lufthansa, and United were all servaciable.  Lufthansa is sometimes referred to as "The United Airlines of Germany" and it lived up to that reputaion.  All three were realtively clean, if someimes rather small for a person my size (like on UALs 747).  On the other hand, UALs 787 has little tabs on the side of the toilet seat and lids that makes it a little more sanitary to raise and lower the seat and lid (I was well trained).


Honorable Mention
ANA is so Japanese.  Their lavs not only have the seat and lid tabs, they also have Washlets.  These are airborne bidets.  Washlets are common throughout Japan and, evidently, on their airlines. 

Top Honors
Not surprisingly, Singapore Air has top honors.  They are kep amazinly clean, even on 15 hour flights.  They not only have the lid/seat tabs, but they have motion sensors on the faucets so you dont have to touch anything.  Another step towards hygene is the foot operated trash lid.  Plus how the heck to they always have fresh orchids in the lavs.  Kudos to SQ!
 

Petaling Through Singapore

Today is Buddha’s birthday--who knew?  What that means here in Singapore is that it is a public holiday, Vesak Day.  What it meant to me was I could take a hike to The Southern Ridges.  I will post on that in the near future, but for now I just want to share some of the impressive (and unexpected) flora.

I started at Hort Park which is known for its gardens so that got me in the mood and made me take my camera out.  I don’t know what many of these flowers were called (one was Cat Whisker’s and another one sure looked like a Bird of Paradise), but there were pretty.  And, of course, they had a vertical garden which is always a winner for me.

Mustafa is a Flip Flopper

Since before I came to Singapore I had heard about a store opened 24/7 that carried almost anything you would want.  That store is The Mustafa Center.

It took a couple of months before I actually went to visit (shopping is very low on my list of things to enjoy).  I had also been warned to know go on Sundays as that is the day when laborers and helpers have off and one of the things they do is go to Mustafa Center.  So since it was a free Saturday I decided to go check it out.

I walked from my apartment towards Little India and was there in about 20 minutes.  As I got closer the streets seemed to narrow and the density of people seemed to increase.  Definitely had an Indian feel.

I really didn’t know what to expect at Mustafa, but I was kinda expecting chaos.  What I saw was one of the most orderly store layouts that I have ever seen.  Also one of the densest.  Overall, it can be intimidating, but not stressing  if you are just wandering.  If you’re looking for something specific I suggest printing out this guide that an expat mom created--INVALUABLE!

So here’s one little example of what they have.  Want men’s flip-flops?  They have 6 racks of them—more than I have ever see before.  All different styles and colors.  More choice than any man would actually want.

Singapore's Dark Side (Yes, it has one-kinda)

“May the Force be with You.” Well, how about “May the Si(x)th”?

Since coming here at the end of February, I had been planning to visit Gardens by the Bay, but just hadn’t gotten around to it.  It’s hard to miss with its flower and cloud forest domes, and  supertrees that are visible from many places in Singapore, including the roof of my apartment building.  I just hadn’t gotten around to visiting yet.

A coworker mentioned that there was going to be a Star Wars light show this weekend and I thought “why not?”.  So off I went—a long with thousands of others.  Nothing like trudging along like cattle in the Singapore heat and humidity.  Once I got in the supertree grove I pulled up a piece of ground and waited 5 minutes for the show to begin.

And, this being Singapore, PROMPTLY at 7:45 the show began and it was pretty damn cool.  Worthy of Disney, the show lasted about 20 minutes, then it was the trudge back to the MRT station—worse this time because there were those of us leaving,  and a like number of people coming for the next show.  Bedlam (Singapore style).