Review of Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Paris in Economy

Recently, I had to make a week's travel to Paris and UK for work purposes, with 2 SQ long-haul flights in economy and a hop across the English Channel on the Eurostar accomplished within 6 days. Would be flying up to Paris and returning from London.
As usual, it was the DIY check-in at Terminal 3 and the machine spitted out the flimsy paper boarding pass.

A bit of plane spotting prior to heading to the gate at B2. My A380 is behind the B772.

05 March 2017
Singapore Airlines
SQ 336
Singapore (SIN) - Paris (CDG)
A380-800
9V-SKG
Economy Class
Flight Time: 13H16M
Boarding the aircraft.

Reached my seat at 56A, which is the last row of the middle cabin. The flight was almost totally full, but luckily my 2 seatmates were petite french ladies. Boarding in progress.

Reasonable leg room.

Poor quality earbuds were preset at the seats, and they have even done away with the proper packaging! Blanket and pillow on each seat.

It would be more than 13hrs to Paris tonight.

Reading materials.

Started on the movie, Trolls, shortly after settling down. Hot towels were also distributed.

Safety video played with french subtitles while we pushed back.

Short taxi to the departure runway 02L.

Takeoff from Rwy02L.

Amenity kits were distributed after takeoff.

As per usual, the amenity kit contains a pair of socks and a toothbrush set.

Menu for the flight

Beverages selection

Supper, Delectables and Breakfast would be served on this sector.

What is served on the return CDG-SIN sector.

A round of juices was served, followed immediately by supper service.

Supper tray

I went for the Kung pao chicken with fried rice and vegetables. Nicoise salad was simple and fresh.

The main was rather tasty, and dessert was light and good. A satisfying supper. Service was also pretty good, with the crew coming down the aisle offering top ups of wines and coffee/tea before tray collection.

We were entering the Bay of Bengal after supper service was completed.

Visit to the lav. Don't understand why the razor symbol is still being kept when razors are not offered in economy lavs.

Napped for almost 3hrs after the movie and woke up to the darkness with city lights (not sure what city it was) shown below.

Went to the galley behind to grab some snacks. Had chips, pretzels, sandwich, muffin and dried mangoes. Hmm doesn't entirely reflect what is stated on the "Delectables" selection. There were also whole apples available.

Back for more sleep till almost 3hrs prior to arrival, when the lights were turned on. Hot towels were given out again. I caught a Chinese-Korean comedy during breakfast.

Chose the asian selection of ee-fu noodles with chicken, which is the standard asian dish served years after years for breakfast. It was accompanied with fruits, roll and yoghurt. The noodles dish was quite tasty though.

Breakfast service in progress.

Cabin view after meal service.

It was dawn as we approached Paris CDG.

Landing in Paris CDG Rwy27R slightly ahead of schedule.

Taxi to the gate at Terminal 1.

Disembarking.

View of the whale.

Immigration was surprisingly painless with the foreign queue much shorter than the EU queue and after grabbing my luggage, I was on the way to the hotel, Melia Vendome, in Central Paris. As it was way too early to check-in, I proceeded to a nearby cafe, Angelina, for some morning pastries. This cafe is famous for its beautiful desserts.

I then walked to the nearby Lourve museum, which was having free entry for the first sunday of the month. The queue from the outside was ridiculous long and in the rain, but for information, there is a shorter queue from a seperate entrance from the underground which I chanced upon. Queued for about 40min for entry.

It was a drizzly and gloomy day outside.

Down to Champs-Elysee for some shopping in the afternoon. Only the shops on this tourist strip are open on Sundays.

Arc de Triomphe

Along River Seine

My room at Melia Vendome, which is of a reasonable size and with a very comfortable bed.

Weather turned better towards the evening and I went out for another stroll along the riverbanks.

On the following day, it was a full day of meetings, followed by a rush to Paris Nord to catch the Eurostar to UK. Passed by the Eiffel while on the ride to the train station.

As I was on a Business Premier ticket on the Eurostar, I was entitiled tomake use of the Business Premier lounge. The lounge was basic, offering snacks and beverages, but a comfortable place to rest while awaiting the train departure.

06 March 2017
Eurostar
Paris Nord - London St Pancras
Business Premier
Journey Time: 3H
Exit immigration from France and entry immigration/customs were both performed at Paris Nord. Boarding for the train was soon called and proceeded to the platform. The Business Premier seat is wide, with sufficient legroom but not too generous recline. Comparable to an inflight premium economy seat.

When travelling on Business Premier on Eurostar, Business Class styled food and beverages were offered. Service started with a hot towel, followed by nuts and selection of beverages. A wide selection was offered, including chanpagne, wines, juices and soft drinks. I went for a diet coke (served in proper glassware) with my chilli-lime flavoured nuts.

The menu was then offered.

Initially when we pulled out of Paris Nord, the train experienced intermittent technical problems, which halted the train at times. In the end, there was a 40min delay to our travel time due to the faults.
Dinner was served on trays but with proper cutlery. The tray came with the starter, cheese, dessert, chocolate and a roll.

Mains were offered later, but my choice of salmon ran out and was offered either the cold beef salad or a hot vegetarian option. Went for the vegetarian option, which is a vegetarian lasagna-like dish. It was ok but being tired, I do not have appetite to finish the meal. Coffee and tea were also offered subsequently.

Had a nap after the meal and dozed all the way to London. The Eurostar is not as smooth a ride as I had expected, compared to the German and Japanese high-speed trains. Constant rocking can be felt though it did not affect my nap.