Hurtigruten MS Trollfjord

I boarded the cruise, with the expectation that the ship is basically a working ferry, a local transport with no entertainment to speak of. With this in mind, I was actually impressed with what MS Trollfjord has to offer.

Porters are waiting at the entrance of the ferry to bring my luggage to outside my cabin. I then proceeded to check in. The entrance is on deck 4. My window cabin is on deck 4 as well. The lowest cabin is deck 3. Check in was quick with only one other person in front of me. I didn't take up the offer to upgrade to the arctic suite as it was too expensive.

The boarding pass was given to me in a card, which I could keep as souvenir when I leave the ferry. My cabin was right at the front of the ship. and the windows are quite unique !

2 port-hole  windows !

Deck 5 viewing area by the side of the ship

A small play area on deck 5 as well

I'm impressed by the finishes of this working ferry. Looks as modern as any luxury cruise liner

More viewing areas on deck 5. There is a big viewing area at the front of deck 8 and a small viewing area at the front of deck 9 overlooking deck 8. There are plenty of seats. So no need to rush. I will usually take a seat at the front with floor to ceiling windows. The open deck is at the back of deck 9. 

Information area on deck 8. There is a bar and a library stocked with books and jigsaw puzzles on deck 8 as well.

Badges

In terms of entertainment, there is a live band on some days. And that's about it. No TVs in the cabins. The entertainment is the scenery on this route.

Breakfast buffet is served at the back of deck 5. It is free seating and there are plenty of seats as well. I went early each day to grab the window seat. The seats usually come in a table for four. The spread is sufficient for breakfast.

There is a souvenirs shop on deck 5, just beside the restaurant. I can pay using the boarding card, which is linked to my credit card.

Bus transfer from airport to ferry and About the Hurtigruten

This is my first time taking Hurtigruten ship. There are altogether 15 of them. The one I took, MS Trollfjord, is one of 3 largest. The cruise has exceeded my expectations! I highly recommend it to all. Prior to boarding, I was aware that it is not a luxury cruise ship. It doesn't come with all sorts of fanciful entertainment. 

Before talking about the ship, I want to mention about the transfer from Kirkenes airport to the ship. The SAS flight arrived at 1100. It is well-timed to connect to the ship. After leaving the airport building, on the left there is a bus stand with buses waiting. Though online forums mention about the Hurtigruten bus transfer, there wasn't any bus belonging to Hurtigruten. Being my first time, I need to ask the bus driver whether he is heading to the ferry. Ticket money is paid directly to the driver. I think it is 50NOK. A receipt will be given.

The bus left soon after I boarded. Which is a relief. If I missed it, then probably I need to get a cab. I'm not sure if there is another bus before the ferry departs. All baggage is placed at the bottom compartment of the bus. This is similar practice to all long-distance buses in Norway.

The bus passes through residential areas before reaching the central

The bus stops by some hotels as well. This is Scandic hotel, a Nordic brand.

Amfi is the shopping mall in Northern Norway. There is one in many towns that I went.

Thon hotel

At Kirkenes airport, look for the bus that is going to Sykehus. Something which I learnt.

Before reaching the port, I can see the Hurtigruten ship on my left. Hard to miss. The bus stops about 100m away from the ship. Which is great ! The bus takes about 15 minutes from the airport to the port. The driver announces the destination at every stop. The port is also the last stop for the bus. The connection is indeed well-timed.

The Hurtigruten is first and foremost a form of transport for the local residents along the Norwegian coast for many years. Locals may take it for a few stops or days. I could board from any port to any port and the ticket price will be calculated accordingly.

It takes about 1 week to reach from Bergen to Kirkenes one way, stopping at many big and small ports along the way. At smaller ports, it stops for only 15 minutes. At major ports, it may stop for a few hours.

As tourists, we are allowed to alight at any port to take photos and explore the area. But just remember to re-board before the departure time. At major ports, the ship will sound its horn about 15 minutes before departure.

I took the cruise from Kirkenes to Trondheim. The timetable and name of the ship can be found in the Hurtigruten website. I deliberately chose the day to board the MS Trollfjord for a comfortable journey.

The website is easy to navigate. I can purchase a package tour, a North-bound tour, South-bound tour or from port to port. I can also compare the prices across different days, weeks, months and even ships. The cheapest ship is the MS Lofoten, the oldest and smallest ship in the fleet. But I'm not sure how well it manages in the turbulent sea. Even the MS Trollfjord that I'm on will sway in the rough, open sea. More significantly so compared to the luxury cruises.

Tickets are booked and payment is made on the website. I received the cruise itinerary a few days after that. 

There are some add-ons such as meals and excursions which I did not opt for. For short journeys, usually only breakfast is included. Lunch and dinner paid separately. For longer journeys, all meals are included, and the ticket price is more expensive.

Alright. It's a long post for now. The next post will talk about the ferry facilities and my exciting cruise !

SAS domestic flight Oslo - Kirkenes

My flight from Doha landed at Oslo airport on time ~0610. There was hardly any immigration queues so I collected our priority baggage and were at the arrivals hall in no time. My connecting domestic flight was to depart at 0850. Oslo airport is made up of 1 big terminal for both international and domestic flights so there is no need to leave the airport building when transferring flights.

I had a friendly chat with the lady immigration counter official. I told her I was going to take a cruise and see the Northern Lights. I asked her and she said she had never seen the Lights before.

A good thing about arriving at Oslo airport is that there is no need to fill immigration form. This is great as I had not booked any hotel for this trip so I need not worry about the address part.

Oslo airport, or rather Norway embraces technology to a large extent. For example, there are many self check-in machines for SAS flights. There are manned counters as well, but is only for baggage drop and passengers with status and premium classes. There are counters for SAS plus as well. Travelling on SAS plus allows me to check in 2 baggage. As a star gold, I can check in 1 more baggage even for domestic flights. As almost everyone else were using the check-in machines, there were no queues for the counters.

It was here that I learnt how to pronounce Kirkenes correctly. My first time. Haha ! Anyway, this lady check-in staff don't even know what is the Northern Lights. And we are in Oslo.

To enter the departures gate, I only need to scan the QR code on my boarding pass and the automatic gate will open. For domestic flights, I can simply head to the gate area after security. There is no passport checks.

As I'm travelling on SAS plus and as a star gold, I'm entitled to use the SAS domestic lounge on the 2nd level. I took a lift up from the ground level and scan my boarding pass to enter the automatic gate. This lounge is underwhelming. Small area with limited seats, food and drink variety limited and no shower facility.

SAS has another international lounge for star gold as well but I need to pass through immigration checks before entering the lounge. Since I'm on a domestic ticket, I could not go there.

After a short time at the lounge, I went to the gate, a short walk away. Boarding is delayed by a while, probably due to the weather. It was foggy outside Oslo airport. Soon, boarding is called and SAS plus and star gold passengers board first. Great that they emphasize priority boarding even for domestic flights.

The aircraft was a B737 narrowbody. SAS plus seating is exactly the same as economy seating. SAS has removed business class from its domestic and european flights. There is no curtain to separate the classes as well. I should say that the only benefits for SAS plus is domestic lounge access, priority baggage, additional baggage, priority boarding and front row seating.

SAS serves free breakfast for all its passengers on all its morning flights before a certain time. I think its ~0900. Since this flight is to depart at 0850, I guess we qualify. Hence, there is no difference in food quality between SAS plus and economy. The flight was close to full.

The flight took off in foggy weather. At higher altitudes, the fog cleared with only some hanging clouds. Soon we got above the clouds with only blue sky and the morning sun. Cabin staff served the free breakfast package in a box soon after. In this aircraft, there was absolutely no in flight entertainment and no overhead TVs.

As we approach Kirkenes, the clouds cleared and revealed the spectacular scenery below. It was simply gorgeous! Easily the best airplane scenery I have seen before.

This is what it looks like to be near the top of the world !

Kirkenes airport does not have airbridges. So we descended via stairs. This makes it a great way to take a picture of the plane that just sends me here.

In the very small airport terminal

This is basically a domestic airport with limited facilities. I entered the airport building and there is the baggage belt. There is no immigration control as all flights to and from Kirkenes are domestic. Good that priority baggage came out first. I was out of the airport very quickly.

And my trip continues...

Qatar Airways Business Class

This trip to Norway and Sweden is easily the highlight of my many trips abroad. Rather than mentioning it in a single post, I decided to describe my experience in detail in a few posts. Partly also for me to relive my memories. Haha !

My holiday begins in Changi Airport T3, where I received my Qatar Airways Business Class boarding pass. I have taken Qatar Airways A350 and A380 economy class to London before. They are rated 5-star airline and my experience confirms that. They are impressive even in economy class. The inflight entertainment and the food is great.

I purchased the tickets during the Qatar Airways Travel Festival. Economy and business class tickets were deeply discounted. My tickets from Singapore via Doha to Stockholm cost ~$2300. Literally a steal! I don't think I will see that kind of business class prices again. It didn't take me long to confirm my booking. Economy class tickets were going at ~$1000.

I was invited to the Dnatas Lounge in Changi Airport T3. It was disappointing for a Business class lounge. Food variety is limited to a few hot dishes such as satay and desserts. Drinks variety is still acceptable. There is no shower facility.

I left the lounge after a short time there to the A gate quite far away. Boarding commenced as soon as I entered the gate. At this point, I must say that on the 1st 2 segments of my flights, SIN-DOH and DOH-ARN, the flights were almost full in both economy and business class. On the return flights, economy was only one-third full while business was equally packed.

Qatar Airways uses A350 thrice daily between Singapore and Doha. It uses B787 dreamliner between Doha and Stockholm. These two aircraft types are easily my favourite planes to date. 

I have previously taken A350 on Qatar Airways as well, but in economy class. I have taken B787 on United and Scoot economy class. These have lower cabin pressure in flight, which translates into less dry air. They are also able to ensure a less turbulent flight. I have to agree, especially over the Bay of Bengal, a hotspot for turbulence.

I was welcomed on board the flight. On some segments I was escorted to my seat, on others, I wasn't.

Big TV screen 

Pre-departure drink ? Rose champagne

Amenity kit + pyjamas. Qatar Airways only has first class on A380. On other plane types, business class is king ! The amenity kit was sparsely populated. Few other airlines give pyjamas in business class. 👍

Arabic appetizer. I'm not used to the cuisine. So only test-tasted the dishes.

Main dish is fillet

Adjustable seat. Bonus: flatbed😉. It is just so great to lie flat while zooming across the world !

Passing through Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia towards the Scandinavia

Doha airport train or people mover running. I saw it the last time, but it apparently only started carrying passengers just a month back. No wonder it felt so new inside the train.

Stockholm airport lounge. Underwhelming. Similar or worse than Dnata lounge at Changi.

Qatar Airways B787 bringing me from Stockholm to Doha

Doha airport lounge is so impressive. Plenty of seats with food and drink options and shower facilities!

Plane spotting at Doha airport lounge

Overall, a very pleasant experience on board Qatar Airways business class on A350 and B787. The reverse herringbone seat is great for lounging and sleeping. Aircraft types are my favourite. Value for money for the price I paid !

Northern Lights

I came back from my one-week quick trip of Norway and Sweden. The most satisfying part? Yup, the Northern Lights! Finally fulfilled my long time wish. 

I saw the Northern Lights on the second night on the cruise ship. Some of my thoughts about the Lights. The ferry crew made an announcement in the open deck to view the Lights at the back of the top deck. So people got up and headed to the back to see.

Fortunately for me, the Lights are very visible to the eyes. They are a visual treat. Very spectacular. But then to take great photos, a professional camera is needed. I took the photos with my iphone 6. Turned out dark and not really visible. I have to adjust some settings to make it more visible. 

Anyway, the experience of seeing it for myself more than makes it up. This year, 2016, is supposedly the last year to view it, according to many reports. The next solar peak will only happen in about 10 years' time. That is too long for me to wait. And life is too short to wait that long.

I'm really tempted to go back a second time. Before the whole thing finishes by March next year. The ferry is certainly a budget and offers a high chance of catching the Lights. I'll definitely recommend it to anyone!

Singapore - Changi boardwalk

Looking forward to my upcoming Northern Lights trip !

A lot of online reviews say that we shouldn't plan a trip just to see the lights. The trip should revolve around other sightseeing places and the lights is supposed to be a bonus. So that even if we didn't get to see the lights, the trip will still be fruitful.

For me, I did plan for other sightseeing places and unique experiences, such as the Qatar airways business class, SAS domestic flight, the hurtigruten cruise, norway fjords and arctic circle train, norwegian train.

The Northern Lights is also part of my plan. I didn't treat it as a bonus. But of course, I try to maximize my chances of seeing them. By heading way up to northern norway, at the top of the world literally. By taking the hurtigruten cruise, away from the city lights.

I sound kind of desperate. Haha ! Because after this year the next solar peak will be in 10 years time. Who knows what happens by then. Better to enjoy it now while I still can.

This week I went to the Changi boardwalk. Again another ulu part of Singapore which I'm stepping foot on for the first time. Hardly anyone there on a weekday morning.

But still, the boardwalk along the coastline offers magnificent views of the sea and nearby islands and planes landing at Singapore.

The boardwalk is connected to Changi beach, albeit a long distance away, probably that's why not much people here. The drive is via a small narrow road and there is no public transport coming in. It is close to the chalets and the changi sailing club. Yup, that's about it.

Map of Changi boardwalk

The shelter

A nice view of a private jetty belonging to changi sailing club

Panorama photo always makes the scenery curvy when it's actually straight.

The road to sea !

A lonely rock perched on top

The typical slanted coconut trees