The A380 Experience - not just flying from point A to point B

With the advent of budget airlines, I greatly reduced my expectations for air travel. I am usually prepared to entertain myself with a book and mp3 player, and sleep in a foetal position in a narrow seat.

With Singapore Airline's A380, the new Economy Class seat removed all impressions of "economy" from my mind. With regards to space, service and in-flight entertainment, this was a real treat.

The friendly and helpful stewardesses made sure we were well taken care of. One of them even offered to help take a picture of me when she saw me wielding my camera. The dinner menu was a delicious one. A hot meal of beef goulash with a hot drink on the side, and ice cream for dessert was gratefully savoured while I flipped through the inflight magazine to check out what was in this month's entertainment catalogue.

The list of inflight movies and TV shows was extensive – 114 movies, 180 TV shows – and the catalogue was up-to-date. This year’s Oscar-nominated movies were among the many that I could choose from. I had a chance to catch up with the movies I missed over the past couple months, and cross another show off my to-watch list. I only wish the flight was a little longer so that I could watch a few more.

Similarly, the music-on-demand library features 700 albums from various genres, ranging from the usual chart toppers, to more niche-interest genres like new age, audio books, and popular music in foreign languages. I was glad that even recent releases like U2’s No Line on the Horizon, launched in March this year, were also included.

My favourite feature was being able to select individual songs and albums from across the genres to create my own playlist. I fell asleep listening to a customised playlist, not very different from what I would have had on my mp3 player. And I slept fully stretched out in the seat - all 1.7 metres of me.

With Singapore Airlines’ A380, it’s not about just getting to your destination. It’s about getting there in a way that's enjoyable and memorable, experiencing the best that inflight entertainment has to offer.

The Rocks Walking Tour

The first must-do in getting to know Sydney is to go on The Rocks Walking Tour. Think of it like this – it is like a visit to grandma’s house to flip through her old photo albums to see history unfold – how lives and now well-known places were built long before you came into the picture.

Our knowledgeable guide provided witty commentaries on the places we visited, telling anecdotes of the first settlers, how streets were named and what used to take place in certain areas. She pointed out original buildings that were still standing and showed placards of what some of them used to look like before they were refurbished.

Walking along some cobbled streets that have been around since the 1800s, I marvel at how some of the existing buildings were built way before the Sydney Opera House was even an idea. If you're curious about how the name "The Rocks" came about, it's not because the roads are full of rocks. Rather, it's because the area was named after the material used in many of its buildings.

I came away from the tour appreciative of the history and stories that were being retold to travellers like me. This is a valuable reminder of Sydney’s humble beginnings – how Australia's first European settlement, once a place to house convicts, has grown and flourished. It has risen above its past to become the sprawling metropolitan city that many have come to admire.