Almost in Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Jakarta to Singapore
Just a quick flight, a little under two hours, so not too much to write home about. The accommodation is a real step up from the previous flight, you can tell this plane (a Boeing 777-300ER) is a lot newer. It’s almost like having a little booth, very comfy. This is the same plane we’re taking for the long haul from Singapore to Amsterdam, so I’ll go on (and on) about it more then. With 14 hours to get through, I’ll have plenty of time (though hopefully good deal of that will be spent sleeping).

Changi Airport

Arriving at Changi airport I was really impressed – it’s enormous, clean, quiet, very modern – and if you’re going to be stuck in an airport for a while this would be one of the ones to get stuck in. We only had about half an hour to wander around, and couldn’t get from one end to the other in that time. Then it was right back on the same plane we just left, for the final leg of the journey to Amsterdam.

“Welcome back!” was the bright greeting from the cabin crew – the same ones that looked after us from Jakarta to Singapore. Before long we were settled in and ready to go. By this point I think it was about 2AM Sydney time, so it had been a long enough day. I think I fell asleep a few seconds after putting my seatbelt on, only to wake up when we took off.

After that, it was definitely time to try and get some proper sleep. What can I say, lie-flat beds are my new favourite thing. Push a button the seat cushions perform some clever gymnastics and before you know it, they’ve re arranged themselves into a perfectly flat and surprisingly comfortable bed. I’ve never been a great one for sleeping on planes, ’til now. With only a few moments to admire the ‘twinkling stars’ lighting throughout the cabin (and sorry I didn’t get a picture, but I’m sure Google has load of them), I was out like a light, and other than the occasional break for the bathroom or to take some panadol, I slept like a log. It was a pretty calm flight, only the occasional bit of minor turbulence but nothing to worry about.

Next thing I know was the sounds of breakfast being prepared, followed by an announcement that there were 3 hours remaining on the flight. One of cabin crew was taking breakfast orders – they were all out of omelettes (yep, freshly cooked apparently!), so I opted for some delicious muesli and a tasty pudding. Despite sleeping for most of the last 11 hours I can’t say I’m feeling all bright eyed and bushy-tailed, somehow all this sitting around doing nothing still does take it out of you. Still, considering there are about 6 weeks of amazing holiday ahead, I really shouldn’t grumble.

There’s a bit under two hours to go – judging by the map we’re flying over Bucharest at the moment. I’ve gotta say I’ve been seriously impressed with Garuda. When Perry first mentioned it I was a solid “Nope, no way, not going, forget it!” but after I did my homework and saw how much they’d changed I was willing to give it a go. And so glad I did – the flights have all been good – very comfortable, smooth landings, fantastic service from excellent cabin crew, really can’t complain at all. Nice one, Garuda!