I’m typing this from the ANA Lounge right now (well, actually I started the entry there but only finished it back home in Singapore, but it’s cooler if I pretend it was all done there). I know I’ve been rather scornful of lounges before, but this place has made me a convert. Just to clarify – they don’t have a separate lounge here for Star Alliance Gold members, so I got to go into the business class lounge this time – and boy, is it good! I can now understand why people are willing to pay extra for lounge access, especially in foreign countries where they aren’t quite as in charge of their transport options (for example, I got to the airport three hours before my flight, an hour earlier than I’d have liked, due to limited bus schedules).

Perhaps the most welcome facility I noticed was the shower. I wasn’t really expecting it there, or thinking of taking one – but somehow after stumbling upon it, I simply knew I wanted a shower. I’d showered the night before, but somehow it felt really good to wash up after the 3h-long bus ride, before the flight home.

Since I got to the airport about 8:20am, and hadn’t eaten anything earlier (woke up about 4h before that), I was starving when I arrived. Normally I’d have checked out a McDonald’s or something, but this time with free food at the lounge, I helped myself – and the options for food was really quite something! For starters, I got myself a bowl of udon from the hot noodle bar.

There was quite an extensive bread selection as well, so I grabbed myself a green tea and white chocolate bagel. I also tried a melon-flavoured bun later. Japanese bread is unexpectedly delightful – they’ve really adapted from European bakeries pretty well.

There was sushi as well, which was alright (passable but not great). There was a sake bar too, but since it’s still early in the morning I didn’t really try it out. But wow, this place is amazing – I can’t wait till I’m back again! Now I’m really curious abut the Silver Kris lounge back in Singapore. Wonder when I’ll get to see it, if ever?