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Singapore Airlines Business class to Moscow & Back plus snippets of Moscow

I fly to Moscow and back within a few days, for a short but most fascinating experience. Singapore Airlines operates a daily flight to Houston via Moscow. I would be flying the Singapore-Moscow leg, and on return the Moscow to Singapore leg.

Flight SQ 62 scheduled departure from Singapore Changi was 0225hrs, wee hours of the morning. Alighting at the Terminal 3 concourse, number 5 gate, leads you directly to the Business Class check-in section.
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This check-in section was rather empty that evening. Check-in was very quick, under 3 minutes. Going to Russia requires a Visa and the check-in staff was trying to find the visa on my passport. She had to flip through my passport a few times, but it was definitely there. Otherwise, there would be no Moscow trip for me.
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This full sized X-wing craft was on display, close to the gates to the restricted area. The exhibit was closed for the evening, but plenty of people taking photos. There was also a 80% scale model of a TIE Fighter at Terminal 2, and I was quite tempted to go over to T2 to check it out, but I didn't.
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Here is a video I made of the X-wing. It was a crowd favourite. People rushing to the restricted area would stop, take out their cameras and start taking photos/selfies/wefies... you name it.
 
The SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 3 was pretty busy at this time of the evening. This should be the evening peak, as many flights leave for Europe and other destinations in the late night and into wee hours of the morning. Still, it was not difficult to find a seat.
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Here is a video I made of the SilverKris Lounge. You can see that it is a rather large lounge. I read that Singapore Airlines will be refurbishing this lounge, probably in 2017. This lounge is not new, but still classy.

Self-serve alcohol. Make your own drink.
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I decided to make my own gin and tonic drink. There was tonic water and gin and lemon, so what was I waiting for?
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Ingredients to make your drinks.
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I had used this SilverKris lounge before but I hadn't explored the business area. There were at least 20 of such stations with nice wide screens and a grand total of zero lounge users were using the lounge IT equipment. These days, people bring their own mobile devices anyway. So this space is very underutilized. When the lounge is refurbished, this space could be put to better use.
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Kid's Meal? Yes. This was the first time I noticed this sign. It could have been there before. You can approach staff to ask them for some kiddy food like nuggets and onion rings. There were very few kids in the lounge though, maybe 2 or 3 max.
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This was showing on one of the large TV screens. President Hollande of France of addressing an urgent joint session of the French Parliament. The tragic Paris attacks had occurred recently. Condolences to all the victims.
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In this screenshot, the caption is very apt. "Barbarians will not be able to change the face of France." Well, as the world figures out what to do against these terrorists and barbarians, let us also be very clear that these terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam, are just using the name of a peaceful religion as a cover. I am not a Muslim (in fact, I believe in Jesus Christ as my one and only saviour) but I have Muslim friends and have worked with many of them, and even served in the Singapore Armed Forces (which is a largely conscript army) with many Muslim brothers. Yes, I call them my brothers because we stand together, fight together, for the common good of Singapore, regardless of race or religion. These are all good guys. Let us not equate Islam with the heinous actions of these ISIS barbarians.
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Coming back to a more wholesome topic, I am still very chinese/asian at heart when it comes to food and the congee was very comforting before my long flight. The congee was a fish congee. I added the available condiments, and went over to the prawn noodle station to add some prawns!
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I must have spent more than 2 hours in the lounge. Well, time flew by. The internet connection was pretty fast and some work kept me busy. The lounge cleared out a lot past 1am, but soon it was time for me to make my way to the gate, which wasn't too far away.
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It was late (or early), and the crowd waiting to board clearly looked tired. Most of the passengers were Caucasian. Well, not surprising. Let me put up my two flight videos here first, before going into more pictures and descriptions. This time, I decided to break the video into 2 parts instead of one mega long video.

SQ 62 Video Part 1 - boarding, take-off, drinks service before the meal

SQ 62 Video Part 2 - supper is served, sleep, breakfast and landing

Now, back to the picture Trip Report. This is a Boeing 777-300ER with the older Business Cabin product. SQ has had a New Business Class product since late 2013. Well, the retrofitting seems to be taking forever. Nevertheless, I shall enjoy whatever I have to enjoy! Privileged to be flying in a premium cabin.
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I am stretching out my legs.
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Being a flight to Russia, they had to have a Russian version of the menu. Sorry about the orientation of the picture as I do not know how to get it to stand upright. If a moderator could help, that would be great. I think this shows Singapore to Moscow - Supper.
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Another page of the menu. Well, you get the idea. Anyway, watch Part 1 of the video where I go through the English part of the menu.
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The cabin crew came around to offer drinks before departure. I chose the orange juice. There was some alcohol on offer, but I can't remember what.
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My choice for the after takeoff drink was the Singapore Sling. Some say this tastes like alcoholic fruit punch. But I do like it. It makes me happy. Here, the table has been set up for the meal service, which is supper.
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The starter was some prawn salad. Cold dish, which was fine. I ate the prawns, that's about it. Quite juicy.
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For the main, I chose the Thai style Pork Curry option. This was good, for airline food. Now that I am looking at the photo, it struck me that the dish looked spicy. In reality, it wasn't spicy at all. I don't even think that it was mildly spicy. It was, however, very flavourful. Not a bad dish.
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For dessert, I had the creme brulee. A rather heavy dessert, but it looked really pretty. I couldn't finish this portion. Took about 1/3 and left the rest.
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And finally, some cheese and crackers to end off. By this time, I felt really stuffed. I didn't eat that much on the plane. It must have been the lounge food as well.
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I had a decent sleep, though I didn't sleep for long. In fact, when I woke up, I figured there was still 1.5 hours before they started breakfast service. So I asked for noodles to eat. I got this big bowl of noodles, which I ate barely half. Skeletons had come out to play by then.
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I kept my seat in bed mode even as breakfast was approaching. It was time again for another breakfast in bed. Got some fresh fruit and croissant to start.
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It was curious how this funny looking chap on a horse got onto my plate. Wonder where that came from. Anyway, I am not keen on horse meat. See you!
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This was what I was waiting for! Nasi Lemak Book the Cook Breakfast. Now, this was simply awesome. I am sure there is better Nasi Lemak on land, but somehow, this was just so special. The sambal was outstanding. Looking at the picture makes my mouth water.
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Watching this video makes my saliva drip all over my keyboard. (Ok, exaggeration)

We landed safely in Moscow, and the temperature was minus 1 deg. For a guy from the tropics like me, that sounded really cold. But my Russian friends said that the weather was pretty mild. Ok.
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Disembarkation was smooth and our pick-up was at the airport waiting for us. Stay tuned for more pictures and videos of Moscow, as well as the flight back to Singapore.
 
We were picked up by our business associates from the airport, which was nice. I wasn't sure how we would get into the city, so was happy to be picked up.
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Another picture of the Terminal from the area where we boarded the car.
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Looked pretty cold. Glad to be in a warm car. I recall it was a relatively new Toyota Camry. The car heads towards the exit of the airport.
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The journey from Moscow Airport to Hotel Metropol would take us an hour and a half. The jams were quite bad, as we approached the city. I realised that the cars in Russia were fairly new, mainly Japanese and Korean brands. But many of them were also very dirty, like seen in this picture.
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In this video, see some scenes of outside.

By the time I arrived at the Hotel Metropol, it was past 11am. Fortunately, my room was ready and I could check-in. But this was not the time to rest. I left my bags and decided to go for a walk.

This video shows you the area immediately outside the hotel plus some footage of the hotel lobby.

Outside the hotel. The building on the right is Hotel Metropol. Temperature was about -2 deg. Not cold for locals, but rather nippy for me!
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A view of the Bolshoi from across the road. Yes, the Bolshoi was just across the road from Hotel Metropol. She looks a bit sad in the cloudy weather.
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Here is the Bolshoi at night. Much better yah.
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This was the ice on the ground just outside the Bolshoi at night. See the brightly lit building on the right? That is Tsum.
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I suppose this type of snow isn't considered thick at all.
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This was Tsum at night. Very pretty.
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Ok, back to the day time cloudy scenes. I made my way to the Red Square from Hotel Metropol. This is the video footage of my walk there from Hotel Metropol.

Here are some pictures.
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The very famous St Basil Cathedral. Awesome, even though it was a very cloudy day.
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The Kremlin.
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And here is the St Basil Cathedral at night.
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This is a video I made showing more of the Red Square, in the day and at night. Given that there was no sun in the day, the night views were much better. The security was quite tight at the Red Square. There were cordons as well as many policemen and policewomen guarding the place. A large security presence indeed. Well, it was quite an experience to be walking around the Red Square in Moscow! So, I relished the experience indeed.
 
Hotel Metropol

Here are some pictures of the room I stayed in. I think it was a standard room. Wasn't too expensive, which was good. This was the bed.
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Rest area, mini-bar. TV. The channel selection was pretty good, at least to me.
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Bathroom. Bathtub cum shower. Be careful stepping in. I nearly slipped! Thank God for safety.
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Safe, closet area. Another closet area to hang clothes next to this. Plenty of space.
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Guest services booklet and room service menu.
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Overall, the room looks a bit dated and could do with a makeover. However, there was nothing wrong with it. Everything worked and fortunately for me, the heating was good and I didn't freeze. Neither did I have to wear a ton of clothes in the room. I had no clue where the heating controls were, but since it felt right, I left it alone. Here is a video I made of the room, and also snippets of the gym and pool. Overall, the room and facilities, not much to shout about. But the breakfast was phenomenal, and that would be covered later.

Oh, I didn't realise that the Russian word for gym was so long. Or maybe the Russian word conveyed something else. Any Russian speakers here?
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BREAKFAST! Now, this must be the highlight of the stay in this hotel. The venue for breakfast was incredibly beautiful. A very large hall, with a fountain in the middle. You can have right next to a fountain, which I did.
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Here is a closer look at the flowing water. Very soothing.
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What was even more awesome was the live music, not just any music but a harp! This was really quite special. Check out this video for a sample of the wonderful music we enjoyed while having breakfast. How cool is that!

Of course, a nice venue and good music while very important, isn't enough. When it comes to breakfast, the bottom line is still the food, at least to me. In this department, Hotel Metropol did not let me down. The buffet spread was impressive, in an adjacent room to the main hall. What I really liked was the great selection of fresh fruit, as you can see in this picture. I ate a lot of fruit during this trip for breakfast and went easy on the heavier stuff! (a healthier lifestyle, I hope)
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The buffet area.
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Bread and more bread. Too much bread to eat.
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This is a view of the ceiling in the side room where the buffet spread was laid out, in itself a work of art.
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A huge platter of slightly salted salmon, if that is your cup of tea.
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My breakfast. Notice the fruits. Eggs. Bread, some rice.
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Finally, here is a video I made of the breakfast experience. It shows you the venue and all the food on offer. Looking at it again made me hungry. Enjoy!

The major streets in Moscow were very wide but they ended up very congested in the evenings. There was this huge TV screens, showing some Sand Art display. Quite fascinating.
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I even took a video of it. This was in the morning, temperature was about 4 deg.

Some more pictures of the street.
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It was raining lightly.
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Yes, rain. Not snow. I guess it wasn't cold enough, otherwise it would be snow.
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Like this scene. I noticed some of the buses were still of this electric nature. They looked rather old though. I'm not sure if such buses are a common sight anymore, I may be wrong though.
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This video shows you some light snow in Moscow, as I look at the streets from the warmth of the office. Thankful I was not out there in the cold!

Now, let me talk about my Big Mac in Moscow Adventure! Yes, Big Mac.
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Before I went to Moscow, I told myself I will look for a McDonalds. I didn't have much luck searching google maps. I couldn't find any McDonalds near my hotel, perhaps I didn't know how to search properly. Doesn't matter. I figured that if there was going to be a McDonalds, it was going to be at some prominent place at a prominent street. I didn't find one in Gum and Tsum. But as I walked up on one of their major streets, I found not one, but two. Finally! So I decided to have a meal there.

What should I eat? A Big Mac, of course. Why? Why would I want to fly all the way to Moscow just to have a Big Mac? It just felt cool.
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Growing up, in Singapore, the news was always talking about possible war between the then Soviet Union and America. President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union the 'evil empire'. I remember he wanted to build 'Star Wars' as a defense against the Soviets. I remember asking my teacher, if the world went to war, what would happen to Singapore. The answer was, we would all die together. That was the first time I was introduced to the concept of mutual assured destruction. I remember studying about the Cuban missile crisis, the facedown between JFK and Khruschev, and how close the world was to nuclear war.

So many memories and thoughts came to me as I looked at my Big Mac. I don't think I got emotional, but those memories and the fact that I was staring at this Big Mac before me, certainly left an impact.
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So, savour the moment. Cherish the relative peace we have today. At least, we are not at the brink of a nuclear war. Make love, not war. And share the Big Mac yah? Here is a video of my experience eating the Big Mac. I had to take this all down, to tell my kids and grandkids that I had a Big Mac in Moscow, in 2015. Better still, I paid for my Big Mac meal using VISA, and observed many other locals enjoying their Big Macs and McChickens and other American Fast Food.

The cost was 259 Roubles, or about US3.90 A Big Mac Meal in Singapore is officially more expensive than a Big Mac Meal in Moscow.

Alright, I know I'm slow. McDonalds opened its first store in then Soviet Union in 1990. This year, they celebrate 25 years! I read that McDonalds now has more than 500 stores in Russia. Way to go!!
 
My trip to Moscow was short and sweet. It was time to go home. Journey from the Hotel Metropol to the airport took an hour, even though the traffic was quite clear.
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The weather was about 5 deg.
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The airport security screening started at the main entrance. They do not let you enter the airport without first getting all your bags screened and walking through a metal detector. I understand this was needed to enhance security. This airport had suffered from major incidents before.

As I had been seated in the car for a rather long time, I needed the toilet. The toilets were easy to find, following the large signs. However, the toilet was down a rather long flight of stairs, and pax had to lug their luggage down and back up. Not very user-friendly, in my opinion.

Anyway, the airport was rather crowded. Finding the SQ check-in counter wasn't too difficult. There was a short line for Business Class check in but no line at the First Class counter. So the check-in staff ushered me over to the First class counter to check in.
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Check in was smooth. I got my boarding pass, which looked like this. Notice, they printed that I was invited to the International Business Lounge. On top of that, they would give you a voucher for the lounge. You need the voucher and boarding pass to get into the lounge, which I will show you later.
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Once check-in was done, I headed straight to the restricted area. You had to look carefully to go to the area that your flight was departing from, in my case, it was the A gates. Business class passengers were ushered to a separate security section, which was labelled for diplomats and APEC. But I think most of us were travelling in Business or First. Queues were short and I got through security quite quickly, to my relief.

Finding the business lounge was easy. I got in without any problems. The lounge was quite spacious. I spent a bit of time there, clearing some work, and taking a light lunch before the flight. I tried the red wine, which was pretty good.
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The lounge had just one shower, but I wasn't planning to shower today. It also had a kids' area as well as a business center, both of which nobody used. Most pax were just seated, eating, drinking, working.. basically doing their own thing.

Food selection was ok, I guess, for a lounge in Europe. This is what I got to eat.
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The views from the window was not bad and I spent quite a bit of time plane watching! Here is a shot of the Singapore Airlines plane that would bring me home. She had just arrived from Houston.
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This green coloured S7 plane was about to depart.
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Here are videos of the plane watching I did from the lounge. This was El Al, Israeli Airline, pushing back from the gate. This would be the same gate that the Singapore Airlines plane would use. In fact, in this video, you can see the SQ Boeing 777-300ER already waiting at the tarmac, for this plane to depart.

And now the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER jet taxis in, led by an airport car. I am thinking of home, as the soundtrack would tell you.

In this video, the Azerbaijan Airlines plane had just arrived. No aero-bridge for this plane. Passengers disembarked from front and rear doors, to a waiting airport bus. I have never been to Azerbaijan, though I have heard that Baku is a beautiful place.

Finally, here is the review video I made of the Moscow Domodevodo International Business Lounge. Check out the video to see how the lounge looks like and the food on offer.
 
Next, my flight home.

The lounge made announcements for passengers to board their respective flights. I found the announcements useful. Once the announcement was made for my flight, I picked up my bags and headed to the gate. I noticed that other pax were doing the same. By this time, the lounge was more crowded.
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By the time I got to the gate, the plane was already boarding. But I wasn't late, by any means. For my video flight review, I broke it into two parts as follows.

Part 1 - boarding, taxi and take-off.

Part 2 - meal service (lunch and breakfast before landing) and landing into Singapore Changi

Now for some pictures. Boarding was quick and easy, and I got my seat in a jiffy. Looking at the menu as if I understood Russian.
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The cabin crew came around to offer drinks and I opted for the champagne. A little bubbly to celebrate a successful trip and the fact that I was going home.
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An Emirates airlines Boeing 777-300ER pulled into the gate next to us, just as we were pushing back.
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I usually choose the Singapore Sling for my drink after take-off, but this time round I felt like having a gin and tonic, which I did. Here was my gin and tonic, served with warm nuts. Delicious.
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Lunch was served. This was the first course, Smoked salmon, some salad. I am not a big fan of smoked salmon, so I ate the salad.
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For my main, I ended up having some chicken with penne pasta. It wasn't too bad. Note that Book the Cook was not available for flights out of Moscow so I couldn't use this service.
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Dessert was a very nice slice of opera cake. I chose this over the ice-cream.
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And some cheese to finish.
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I think the Business Class cabin was 100% full. Not sure about Economy. After lunch, it was time to get some sleep. The total flight time was 9 hours and 50 minutes. I probably got about 4-5 hours of sleep, which wasn't too bad. I automatically woke up before breakfast was served, though I noticed some pax looked pretty tired and they were really fast asleep, even throughout breakfast.

For my hot breakfast item, I chose the beef brisket noodles. Tasted like what I would get in Hong Kong.
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Service was smooth and efficient and soon it was time to prepare for landing. The plane was early. From my window, I could see the glittering lights of Singapore. Awesome. Tiny Singapore.
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Landing was smooth. I made another video of the landing, this time putting in a National Day SG50 song. Yeah, Go Singapore!
 
Starbucks in Moscow
Yeah, I walked past a Starbucks in Moscow (near the hotel) and since it was raining and I felt a bit hungry, why not stop by for a coffee and something to eat.

This is how the Starbucks looked like from the outside.
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The place was fairly crowded, but not full. I could get a small table to myself. I decided to get a cafe latte and croissant. Ordering was easy enough, the staff could speak english and i could pay by VISA.
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These mugs were pretty neat, though I didn't buy any. Didn't know the price either.
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See this video for more of my experience in Starbucks Moscow!

KRISPY KREME Donuts

On the morning of my departure, I had some time to walk around the immediate vicinity of the hotel for a short while and this time I noticed a Krispy Kreme. This place was pretty near the Red Square. At first, I walked past it and didn't feel like having a donut.
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Then, I decided, let's have something to eat. A donut wouldn't hurt. With the novelty of having a Krispy Kreme donut in Moscow at the back of my mind, I entered the store, which was almost empty that time in the morning. The selection of donuts was pretty good.
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The donut cost 85 roubles (1.30 USD) and the latte cost 200 Roubles (3 USD). Donut tasted fresh, though I didn't see them produce any at the donut machine. Quite a number of people were buying entire boxes. Looks like Russians have acquired a taste for Krispy Kreme donuts. Again, VISA was accepted, which was great because I did not have any Roubles.
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Here is a short video of my experience having a Krispy Kreme donut in Moscow! I guess this is one of the 'been there, done that' moment.... LOL.

Soviet Style Canteen in GUM

I read so much about this place before going to Moscow that when I first went there, it seemed quite surreal. This is Stolovaya 57 at the GUM shopping complex which is right at the Red Square. Touted as a Soviet-style canteen, it turns out to be more like a decent cafe where there was good food at decent prices, cafe-style. The place was very easy to find. Once you get into GUM, just head to the 4th floor, which I believe is the top floor.

Before I show you the cafe, some pictures of GUM itself. The shopping center is quite large and there are many entrances. Christmas decor has been put up.
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GUM - 1893. I assume this building came from the 19th Century! Pretty big and grand.
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A rather large Christmas tree.
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So, I took a mixture of escalators and stairs and found myself on the 4th floor, outside the canteen.
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And this was my lunch. Total cost was 470 Roubles, or about 7USD. A lot to eat. I had a Chicken Kiev, some type of roasted vegetable wrap, boiled pasta, Russian cabbage soup (which was very hearty and full of meat) and two drinks!
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You can email the cafe if you have any feedback!
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And here is a video of my experience in Stolovaya 57. I queue up for food, make payment, eat and clear my tray. This place is well patronized, I think mostly by locals. I had a good meal! Recommended, if you are in the vicinity.

In this video, I am walking around GUM. I also show you how to find your way to the 4th level, where the Stolovaya 57 is located. There are similar eateries next to Stolovaya, selling Asian inspired food (like noodles), Western style burgers and even one store selling crepes. I saw some sushi place, but I didn't go there.
 

Smuffe

Medlem
Thanks for the trip report. First that I read from you and I really enjoyed it. Great triples of text, pics and videos.
I've only been to St. Petersburg when I was a kid and only remember small blurry details of the surroundings, palace, an indoor circus where I got my dad to buy me an old military officers hat and an old hockey shirt. Unfortunately I haven't been to Moscow yet and I guess I'll wait until politics ease and clear up unless I go there for work.
But I really enjoy all your details of where you went and that the airport don't always needs to be a hazard that many describe when passing through.

Looking forward to more reports.
I miss Singapore and love the city. I'll get back to you when I'm passing through.

Cheers buddy!
 
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