A Singapore story: this equatorial island nation offers an exotic change of pace in sightseeing, hotels, and food that is enchanting

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), July, 1995 by Laurel F. Lehrer, Christine Hachiya

The health-conscious could find a lighter meal comprising appetizer, main course, and dessert. This was particularly helpful for business travelers and those who had dined more heavily during the day.

Because of medical reasons, I was restricted to drinking soft beverages. However, there was an impressive list of champagnes and wines available.

During the course of the trip, instructive colored maps were flashed on the large pull-down screen in the cabin which displayed the entire route of the flight. No need to wonder what our position was in the sky as we flew over the Northeastern coast of the United States, Newfoundland, across the North Atlantic, Ireland, United Kingdom, and Belgium before setting down for a short stop in Frankfurt. Also furnished was time at destination, altitude, wind speed, and number of hours yet to be traveled to final destination--all indicated in both English and German.

The cabin's large screen relayed current world news and interesting documentaries. Time passed quickly as I watched the wonders of Paris. A small individual personal video could be raised from beneath the armrest between my seat and the adjoining seat to allow me to see first-run movies of my choice or an absorbing account of the pelicans' life cycle.

After dinner, on the eastbound flight, the stewardess showed me how to convert my electronically controlled seat to a horizontal lounge for comfortable sleeping. My feet, already encased in a one-size-fits-all sock-bootee, relaxed on the raised, cushioned footrest. How pleasant it was to snuggle under the lightweight wool blanket. In this communal bedroom in the sky, a woman across the aisle adjusted the soft, dark eyeshades, while the man in front of her snored unabashedly. Two hours before landing in Germany, the window shades were raised to welcome a new day. Refreshing hot towels preceded a continental breakfast of chilled juices, a boat-shaped wedge of papaya dressed with thin circles of oranges, and hot croissants or soft pull-apart rolls that waited to be smeared with jellies or marmalade. Hot tea or coffee washed down cherry and apricot danish.

Though passengers were free to leave the plane for a brief walk through the Frankfurt airport, I chose to relax aboard. New passengers boarding for the 12-hour flight to Singapore were greeted and made comfortable with current newspapers, magazines, and drinks.

When airborne, the route displayed on the cabin's screen formed a southeasterly curve over Munich, Salzburg, Iran, the former Yugoslavia, Turkey, India, and Malaysia, ultimately touching down in Singapore.

On this second leg of my journey, my gracious Singapore girl provided a cuisine luncheon consisting of chilled Malossol caviar, beef consomme with herb pancake or zucchini veloute with crab meat charbroiled beef tenderloin with sun dried tomatoes or turbot in champagne and herb sauce, saffron rice mixed with raisins and almonds, buttered French string beans, carrots glazed with honey, and fennel in cream sauce. The meal concluded with pear liquor-flavored iced parfait, chocolates, and tea.