SFO to Nepal and Hong Kong on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Yeti Airlines, and Dragonair (56K Warning)

Itinerary: SFO-ICN-SIN-KTM-PKR-KTM-DAC-HKG-SFO

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This report covers the following flights in economy class. This is my first experience with all four airlines, so bear with me if I seem easily impressed coming from mostly US carriers.

1. SFO-ICN-SIN on SQ15 (Apr 1-3)
2. Overnight Transit at Changi
3. SIN-KTM on MI412 (Apr 3)
4. KTM-PKR by bus (Apr 4)
5. PKR-KTM on YT684 (Apr 7)
6. KTM-DAC-HKG on KA191 (Apr 8-9)
7. HKG-SFO on SQ2 (Apr 12)

Oh and see here for my non-aviation photos from Nepal

SFO-ICN-SIN on SQ15

Boeing 777-300ER (9V-SWE)

Seat 36A

SFO-ICN Segment

Departed SFO: 2:05pm PDT

Arrived ICN: 7:05pm KST

Flight Time: 12h 21m

Cruising Altitude: FL320-FL380

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I arrived at SFO two hours before scheduled departure and was pleasantly surprised to find no line at the Singapore Airlines check-in counter.

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I brought only one backpack with me, hoping to bring it onboard to avoid getting the straps caught in conveyor belts and machinery.

When I declined to check in any bags, the agent kindly asked me to put my backpack on the scale. Well, crap. It was 10.8kg, well above SQ’s limit of 7kg for carry-ons. Since I didn’t have a smaller bag, I reluctantly parted with my possessions and resigned to entertaining myself with only my phone on the 33-hour journey to Kathmandu.

This also meant I didn’t have my camera on me en route, so I apologize in advance for the photo quality.

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As luck would have it, the one time I had no bag with me, I was sent through the expedited security line that provided no plastic bins and required you to put all of your loose items in your bag. After scrounging around the checkpoints for a bowl for my phone, wallet, and other loose items, I was sent on my way without further hassle.

One thing I don’t like about SFO’s international terminal is the tint on the windows. Some of the gates even have opaque glass on the lower level that thwart all attempts to capture decent photos.

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The SQ 77W I would be taking was parked next to an Air China 77W headed to Beijing.

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I was impressed by the efficiency of SQ’s boarding process: despite being in the last economy group to board, I was seated within 10 minutes of the scheduled boarding time. An American airline would only have been warming up with their announcements by that time.

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The seats onboard had an interesting color scheme. I had no complaints regarding comfort in this 3-3-3 economy cabin with 32 inches of legroom. The seats even have a nifty flip-down footrest.

Before we pushed back, flight attendants passed out hot towels and menus covering the three meals to be served over the two segments.

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While taxiing out to runway 28L, we saw the departure of a Phillipine Airlines 777, a KLM 747, a UA 747, and the usual string of JetBlue A321s and United Express and Delta Connection CRJs and E170s.

When the seatbelt sign turned off during the climb, the cabin crew started a beverage and peanuts service and passed out basic amenity kits containing a toothbrush and toothpaste. The peanuts were rather plain–I prefer the heavily seasoned variety on Southwest.

I fell asleep for about 20 minutes and woke up to a delicious smell wafting throughout the cabin as the FAs delivered special meals to those who reserved them ahead of time. For lunch, I chose the braised beef, which was quite tasty:

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We had a special treat for dessert – a generously sized ice cream cookie sandwich. Absolutely delicious!

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Around 5.5 hours into the flight, cabin crew rolled out carts stocked with fresh fruit, sandwiches, and chips. The cabin lights were soon turned off to match the approaching San Francisco nighttime, even though it was fully bright outside.

Another round of beverages and apples were given out at the 8.5 hour mark.

We had a second hot towel service about 2.5 hours before arrival, soon followed by the “light snack” (really a full dinner). I chose the kimchi fried rice with chicken and egg, which was spicier and more flavorful than lunch.

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Thick clouds had gathered around ICN by the time we started our descent:

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We landed on runway 15L at 7:05pm local time, which was 3:05am in San Francisco.

All passengers had to disembark at ICN during the scheduled one-hour stopover. Those continuing on to SIN had to go through security screening, which was quick and painless.

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ICN-SIN Segment

Departed ICN: 10:19pm KST

Arrived SIN: 3:30am SGT

Flight Time: 5h 41m

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At the gate was a LG Smart TV on display, showing a stereotypical cooking show featuring two men drooling over slices of sizzling pork belly.

Boarding was delayed by half an hour, but I was in no rush to get to my scheduled 8+ hour overnight layover in SIN. Light rain and gusty winds had started during boarding.

By the time the cabin doors were closed, the drizzle had developed into a raging thunderstorm, giving us quite a light show outside. To my relief, the captain announced a 30-minute ground stop. It was pretty cool that we got to experience light turbulence while parked at the gate!

As is often the case, the 30-minute delay estimate persisted over the next hour and a half as we waited for the thunderstorm to let up and the resulting backlog of departing flights to clear. Cabin crew passed out cups of water during the delay.

The hot towels inexplicably increased in temperature with each service; the pre-departure towels from ICN were scalding.

We finally received our clearance at 10:00pm, pushed back about 20 minutes later, and finally lifted off from runway 15R at 10:49pm.

For dinner, I carried on with the Korean theme and chose the spicy seafood stir fry. My only criticism would be the rather bland veggies, but the smoked salmon more than made up for it.

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The meal was followed by Korean cheesecake ice cream. It didn’t compare to the ice cream cookie sandwich we had out of San Francisco, but I had no complaints.

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With the weather delay, we landed at SIN at 3:30am, about 2.5 hours late.

Transiting at Changi

The plentiful seating and wifi bandwidth in the wee hours of the morning made transiting at the beautiful airport even more pleasant.

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Unfortunately, most of the stalls in the food court was closed when I decided to have breakfast at 5:00am. Luckily, I was able to procure a roast duck noodle dish from Meng Kee Roast Delights:

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Changi featured Easter decorations in addition to the koi pond, garden, and sanctuary in Terminal 2:

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SIN-KTM on SilkAir 412

Boeing 737-800 (9V-MGC)

Seat 11F

Departed SIN: 9:29am SGT

Arrived KTM: 12:27pm NPT

Flight Time: 5h 12m

I made my way over to gate E6, which was closed until an hour before departure.

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We made a short taxi out to runway 20C and lifted off uneventfully. Service began with mixed nuts and beverages.

During the meal service, cabin crew passed out trays of fish curry. However, some misunderstanding caused the FA to presume that I’m vegetarian, and she offered me cup noodles instead. Not one to ever refuse ramen, I went along with it and was brought a steaming cup of goodness minutes later:

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As we started our descent into KTM, the captain informed us that due to inbound traffic congestion, we would be entering a hold.

No problem, I thought–that gave me more time to take in the breathtaking scenery that surrounded us.

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We started our approach into the hazy mountains after two loops around the hold. Shortly, the captain came on the PA again and announced that we were executing a missed approach and returning to the initial approach fix.

This news did not sit well with a baby several rows forward, who started screeching continuously, presumably due to the numerous altitude changes involved.

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The second approach ended in a full stop landing and rather harsh braking, eliciting applause from some passengers.

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We arrived about 30 minutes late as a result of the en route delays, which wasn’t a big deal because the impending immigration queues would take far longer.

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Immigration and Ground Transportation

The process of getting a tourist visa on arrival was as about as efficient as a visit to the DMV. Uniformed employees marshalled arriving passengers into a large mob, hidden within which was the visa fee collection counter.

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After paying the fee at the center counter, one would line up for one of the actual immigration officers on either side of the fee collection station. Somehow, it took an hour to process the fifteen-or-so people in front of me. Those who had neglected to first go through the (invisibly marked) visa fee line were dismayed to discover that their time spent in the immigration line was spent in vain.

At last, I made it to the baggage claim about two hours after landing. To my amazement, the backpack that I checked in at SFO was waiting for me at KTM with the contents (including my MacBook Air) intact!

As soon as I entered the arrivals lobby, a taxi driver started hounding me incessantly, insisting that my hotel would not send a vehicle to pick me up.

He stood next to me as I called the hotel, but the ambient noise made it impossible for me to hear. When the hotel eventually hung up on me, I turned to the smirking taxi hawker and followed him to one of many unmarked white vans, which already had a driver inside and waiting.

The hawker got in the passenger (left) seat, and off we went into the barely moving traffic exiting the airport. He asked me about who I was visiting, exactly when my travel companion would be arriving, and other questions that could easily have come from a kidnapper sizing up a potential victim. It didn’t help that he spoke in Nepalese to and grinned at the driver after each answer I gave.

Before we left the airport grounds, the hawker got out of the taxi and walked back to the arrivals area, presumably to pick up his next client.

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The taxi dodged schoolboys on bicycles, pedestrians, and other vehicles travelling in all directions on our way to the hotel. The lack of sidewalks and adherence to traffic rules made walking in Kathmandu quite stressful.

Kathmandu to Pokhara (Greenline Tours)

Sutlej Coach

Seat 13

Departed Kathmandu: ~7:30am NPT

Arrived Pokhara: ~3:00pm NPT

Trip Time: 7h 30m

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Greenline operates air-conditioned tourist buses between Kathmandu and Pokhara for $23 USD each way. Despite Visa and MasterCard logos posted at the station, I discovered they do not actually accept credit cards for ticket purchases. I ended up making a quick dash to an ATM 2-3 blocks away before I could get my tickets for the next morning.

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The buses themselves were in great shape, and to my amazement the Wi-Fi actually worked for a good portion of the route.

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We left the Kathmandu stop on time at 7:30am. We were soon surrounded by beautiful scenery, which made the 7-hour ride worth doing at least once.

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First rest stop:

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The Greenline bus ticket included a buffet lunch at a resort, where we stopped just before noon. It was great to stretch our legs and enjoy a sit-down lunch outside. The “free” food was better than any economy airline meal.

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In the mid-afternoon, we arrived in a gloomy, dusty Pokhara.

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The drizzle soon gave way to nice weather by sunset, however:

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By now, we were used to sharing the road:

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From Pokhara, my travel companion and I went on a two-day hike around the foothills of the Annapurna mountains. The scenery was surreal:

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PKR-KTM on Yeti Airlines 684

British Aerospace Jetstream 41 (9N-AJC)

Seat 10A

Scheduled Departure PKR: 3:55pm NPT

Scheduled Arrival KTM: 4:20pm NPT

Block Time: 25m

The day we were scheduled to fly back to Kathmandu, there was a strike in Nepal that shut down all public transportation, taxis, and even private vehicles.

While the lack of unpleasant traffic noise, pollution, and constant vehicular threats to pedestrians was refreshing, the economic shutdown also made life difficult for practically everyone in the country.

Flights were still operating in the country, however, and after some delay our hotel managed to arrange a private car to send us to the airport.

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We found the Yeti Airlines check-in counter, checked our large backpacks, and got our boarding passes.

Just as I headed to the security checkpoint, an employee came up and took me to the baggage security screening area, where a worker had me open my bag so he could inspect the messy bundle of electronic gadgets and cables inside.

He also told me to bring my laptop as a carry-on instead of checking it in my backpack, which I agreed was a wise move.

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I proceeded once again to the security screening lanes, which were gender-segregated. Inside the changing-room-looking area, a guard gave me a typical patdown and sent me on. This setup affords passengers more privacy than at TSA checkpoints, where patdowns are conducted in the open.

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The sterile area of Pokhara Airport was rather basic, containing a standard souvenir shop with snacks and drinks and a large closet that turned out to be a Yeti Airlines souvenir shop. Naturally, I helped myself to a Yeti Airlines shirt and cap.

The waiting area also offered a children’s play area:

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An airline agent soon made the boarding call at our gate:

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A short walk led us to the J-41 parked on the ramp. Its external appearance and cabin (shown in later shots) appeared quite new–I was surprised to find out later that this plane is, in fact, 18 years old.

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We backtaxied down runway 04 and departed on 22. As soon as the seatbelt sign turned off, the lone flight attendant sprang into action: service started with a basket of candies, followed by peanuts and prepared cups of beverages.

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I was impressed by the service, considering the 25-minute scheduled flight time.

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On our descent into KTM, the mountains once again provided a scenic view:

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My choice of sitting in the last row paid off: as the last to deplane, I had the opportunity to photograph the empty cabin:

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I was also allowed a peek into the cockpit:

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After deplaning, we boarded a well-worn bus to go to the arrivals area.

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It appeared the domestic terminal building was closed for renovation. We collected our checked baggage outside:

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As we walked from the arrivals area into the parking lot, a pack of dogs started following us around and barking loudly. Waiting the half hour for our ride was not the most pleasant experience, with the four dogs and a stream of taxi drivers constantly hounding us.

We were not surprised to see this sign at our destination hotel in Kathmandu:

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Luckily, we wouldn't be flying out until the next day, when by which time the strike had been called off.

KTM-DAC-HKG on Dragonair 191

A330-300

Seat 27K

Departed KTM: 23:33pm NPT

Arrived DAC: 1:05am NPT

Departed DAC: 1:47am NPT

Arrived HKG: 7:12am HKT

Total Trip Time: 5h 24m

We arrived at KTM to find a massive line at the Dragonair check-in counter. Luckily, my travel companion’s frequent flyer status got us both through the empty Marco Polo line, and off we went to immigration and security.

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I glanced into the waiting room for China Southern flight:

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Fortunately, the gate for our Dragonair flight was at the end of the concourse in a less crowded area. Our A333 arrived just a few minutes behind schedule:

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Written on the side of the catering truck:

“Heartiest Congratulations to Oman Air for the start up of second flight!

Wishing Oman Air the Very Best!”

I got a good view of the aircraft on the way to the rear boarding stairs:

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The seats looked somewhat thin but were comfortable enough for the 6-hour redeye:

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The AVOD screens had a good selection of content. The reading light and FA call sign were also operated through the IFE touchscreen controls:

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I tried playing Who Wants to be a Millionaire but failed miserably (no, I don’t remember what the question was ):

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We got a Dragonair cookie and a drink on this short hop to DAC (I appropiated the second set from my sleeping seatmate):

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We soon landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh to pick up more passengers. Everyone was required to stay onboard during the stopover:

At 1:58am, we lifted off from runway 14 and continued on our way to HKG.

A few minutes later, the cabin lights were turned back on, and the crew started the meal service. We were offered the choice of chicken with rice or seafood with pasta. I chose the latter:

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Just as I dug in to my late dinner, we hit a patch of clear air turbulence over Mandalay, Myanmar. The FAs crew quickly rolled the carts back to the galley and rushed back to their seats. If anyone wasn’t awoken by the cabin lights, they sure were awake now.

The turbulence lasted a couple of minutes and resulted in only a couple of spilled drinks around the cabin. Not too bad.

The cabin lights were dimmed just after 3:30am. I dozed off for about an hour to find that we had climbed from our initial cruising altitude of FL310 to somewhere in outer space, near the maximum integer altitude value.

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Just as it was getting bright outside, we descended into a gloomy Hong Kong and landed on runway 7R:

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I was pleasantly surprised to find the immigration lines empty at 7:30am and got through in minutes.

We shared baggage claim 13 with CX 170 from PER:

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I won’t share my non-aviation photos from Hong Kong here except for taking a cable car ride up to Ngong Ping 360 and the giant Buddha, which looked pretty cool shrouded in fog:

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The Home Stretch: HKG-SFO on SQ2

Boeing 777-300ER

Seat 32K

Departed HKG: 11:32pm HKT

Arrived SFO: 8:26pm SFO

Flight Time: 11h 15m

Cruising Altitude: FL330-350

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This was the second time I’ve used the convenient downtown check-in for HKG. It’s really convenient, and I checked in my backpack (without my laptop in it this time) before heading to the Airport Express train.

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Like the rest of Hong Kong’s MTR metro system, the Airport Express train was modern, clean, and comfortable. I was disappointed by the product selection at the MTR souvenir stand at the airport station, however, and headed off to the terminal empty-handed.

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The above picture really does not do the airport justice – I love the terminal’s design and spaciousness.

In no time, I was at the gate:

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I noticed SQ outsourced catering to CX at this station.

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During climbout, cabin crew passed out menus, which included both the SIN-HKG and HKG-SFO segments, in both English and Chinese.

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For dinner I picked the stir-fried egg noodles instead of the fish and was not disappointed:

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My only disappointment on my journey with SQ is that the bowling game in the IFE system does not give you a third throw after a closed 10th frame. This appalling bug marred an otherwise amazing IFE system.

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I selected dim sum for the pre-arrival meal (what sane person flying from HKG wouldn’t?!), which was as tasty as it could get on an airplane.

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We got a nice sunset during our descent into SFO:

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We touched won on runway 28L a full hour early. However, the captain informed us that we had to wait on a taxiway for 15 minutes since our gate was still occupied.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that SFO finally installed Automated Passport Control (APC) machines:

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Last but not least, my backpack made it all the way through to SFO. One may think this is nothing to get excited about, but to me it was refreshing after two consecutive trips I flew on United in 2013 resulted in a lost bag.

Maybe next time I should go on an international trip with only a carry-on bag (within size and weight limits!)...

Until then!

Nice report

Anyways, I enjoyed taking pictures of peoples faces throughout this:

Quite nice, particularly enjoyed the Cup o Noodles.

Awesome report!

Nice report! It's a terrible tragedy, the earthquake. 

RIP. 

Great Report!