“One night in Bangkok makes a grown man humble…” and so the song goes. No, there was nothing that happened to me in the Big Mango that made me humble; I added that phrase for the heck of it to start off the return portion of my trip report.
It was a very fruitful stay for my partner and me because we did absolutely NOTHING. There was no rush to buy a long list of goods for friends and family back home, there was no timetable to follow, and there was no attempt to negotiate the weekend market simply because I didn’t feel like it on this trip. Instead, it was a trip to spend quality time with each other.
Additionally, our dear friend Damien was moving back to Melbourne at the end of the month so we spent some time with him. Since I was in a mood of “reunions”, I also met up with some of my relatives whom I have not seen for 23years! My mother managed to rekindle the contact a few months back so here was I, representing the Singapore contingent! While my aunties and uncles recognized me, my younger cousins were absolute strangers although it was the opposite by the end of the visit.
Another highlight of this trip was also getting acquainted with fellow a.netter, Christao17. And we all know the story isn’t complete until Tawn – ever the featured star in Chris’ many reports, is added into the equation. It was an afternoon of pure delight bantering the time away and it is something I would definitely look forward to again.
15th June 2008
Good things always come to an end all too soon. We had to leave Bangkok first thing on Sunday morning really early because this was the only flight available for us to book.
“Sai meter… Sai meter!” I sternly told the taxi driver in my semi-conscious state to turn on the meter as he attempted to drive off to the airport with a fixed price. Do not mess with me at 6am in the morning; I am not a pleasant person to be trifled with.
As if out for revenge, Mr. Taxi Driver sped off from Sala Daeng towards Suvarnabhumi at incredible, neck-breaking speeds! Perhaps he just watched a pirated version of the movie Speed Racer? Or he wanted to make me pee in my pants for the meter comment? Whatever it was, dropping to 4th gear when you are at 100khm/h to pick up speed is not something I would normally do. I would not want to be his Corrolla at this instance.
Thank God the winding viaducts of the airport came into sight and he had no choice but to slow down. My white knuckled ride came to a smoky, screeching halt in the presence of a tightly-uniform clad policeman, incessantly blowing into his whistle shooing cars away, essentially giving me only a few seconds to get my bags out of the trunk, pay the taxi driver (asshole) and saunter off into the terminal.
“PPPHHHHRREEEEEEEEEEETTT…. Pai pai pai!!! “
“Ok ok! I got you!” Geez… Talk about a power trip!
Early morning hours after sunrise is definitely a busy time for BKK. I don’t think I recall seeing the departure concourse so teemed with movement before. It was definitely heaving with activity and check in counters seemed to be 100% utilized throughout.
Cool it babe… To check in we go.
Tiger Airways was found at the Island D and a line already formed with the formalities churning along. It didn’t take that long to reach the front of the line but I had a strange encounter with a man in front of me. Perhaps he was tired as it was still early, but he was squatting down throughout our wait in line. Even when the line moved, he would just move ahead in his squat position occasionally using his hands to support himself, very much like a primate on Discovery Channel.
“I have some dried banana chips…” I thought constructively to myself.
I reached into the bag to grab some; hopefully I could feed this malnutritioned-looking chimpanzee in front of me. However, he suddenly stood up and put his passport and e-ticket on the counter. Oh, we have evidently reached the front of the line.
Proper boarding passes were issued at this airport, so we didn’t have demeaning looking supermarket-like receipts.
I was famished by now so partner and I made a bee-line to the Sky Loft café located at the upper levels. As hungry as we were, we made some time to perv a bit at an Australian footie team heading off to… Err… I wasn’t really paying attention at this point about their destination.
Ok… If you ever wanted a recommendation of good food in BKK, this café isn’t it. The bacon and eggs combo tasted so bland I had to make sure my taste buds weren’t numbed by constant lashings of tom yam from the last few days. Can you imagine even the bacon had no taste? Added insult to the injury by having a cup of diluted hot chocolate. This café is a rip off!
During my last visit, the viewing gallery was closed. However this time, I managed to make a trip up there and what a pleasure it was! I truly believe that this viewing gallery is one of the best in the world for you to look at the airport structure so close up. In fact, you can gawk at the architectural marvel that is Suvarnabhumi so close to you that anything beyond that is pretty much obscured. Who cares if you can’t see the planes outside, we are here to view the steel structure!
I know the need to be wheelchair friendly is the right thing to do nowadays. But Suvarnabhumi seemed to have taken it to the other extreme. RAMPS, RAMPS and more RAMPS zig-zagging in every direction and levels that they seem to have forgotten about those that do not need wheelchairs.
Moving on… Remember the hot and cold complaints about the air conditioning? Well, it looks like they have yet to rectify this problem. That being said, this environment would be a paranormal investigators playground with all the different temperature readings. Hahahahaha… I can imagine the people from TAPS going around Suvarnabhumi with a probe, “IS ANYONE HERE WITH US?”…
Immigration was painless and no sooner were we directed into airside. The shopping mall had some very classy looking pasta bars in the middle island. It seemed to be open for business but I thought who the hell would eat pasta at this time of the day? But hey, there could be travelers in transit with a screwed up body clock who was probably yearning for a plate of oglio at 8am in BKK, which is really 8pm in NYC.
GATE D1
Despite being an LCC, Tiger Airways gets to use a proper air bridge. Assigned seating also meant that there was no American Idol rush when boarding was announced. In fact, it was a very orderly process where people leisurely strolled to the door and conversation mainly consisted of what was done in Bangkok, and not some devilish snare of getting into the plane first to get the best seats.
0745H: Boarding started.
The Tiger crew was on their cheery mode this morning. Lead FA Qweeny bared her pearlies clearly for all to see at the door assisted by Hariana.
Further down the aisle, there was Suhailah and a male cabin crew Revo Lim (what is it with these names nowadays?).
Nevertheless, we were nicely settled in our seats while the ground crew were busy paging for some missing passengers who were either lost, in the toilet doing number two, wolfing down classy pasta, or simply too inconsiderate to turn up on time.
There were 5 of them… who came panting through the door. Even before they could settle their cabin baggage, pushback commenced as we were already 10 mins behind schedule at 0825H.
I was very sleepy by this time so I left the window seat to my partner and he used that chance to fire away with the camera. Like a teacher would to a misbehaving student, Qweeny stood by the aisle as my partner focused the camera… wait for an angle… SNAP! And then she went…
“Sir, no photos. You need to put the camera away. We are taxiing.” Oops… sorry.
The safety demo was another one of those that really went unheeded due to the early hours for this flight as passengers (like my outbound) preferred to get some badly needed shut-eye time.
0840H: Marshalling point…
By now, the flight deck was asking the crew to be positioned for take off and entering 19L, there was a momentary pause to allow the NH 777 ahead of us to gain some distance before we powered up into the skies.
Bangkok, City of Angels, Big Mango… whatever name you call it, it is still a city that is very hard to say goodbye especially after a holiday. Sitting where we were, we had a distant view of the giant metropolis as we pulled away towards the Gulf of Thailand.
0900H: Carts out!
As warned by the flight deck, this flight was going to be bumpy as hell. Why not as the seas during this summer has warmed up prematurely due to El Nino causing some rather freakish weather patterns not normally seen during this time of the year. Typhoons have formed rather early around the South China Sea making any journey in this region a bumpy affair.
This, however, didn’t stop the FAs from pushing out the carts to begin the BOB service. The passengers were probably smart enough not to eat at the airport and chose to spend their last remaining holiday baht on some on board food purchase.
0915H: Seat belt off…
Ah… now the flight has smoothened itself out as we stabilized on our cruising altitude. No sooner as we continued into our journey were the lights in the cabin dimmed. I used this opportunity to partake my lie-flat personal Sky Suite. It is not everyday I get to lie flat and snooze while flying.
While you were sleeping…
The rest of the report henceforth was notes taken by my partner while I snoozed off to la-la land.
There was an attempt with 2 duty free carts to persuade us to part with more money.
0945H: Hello Peninsular Malaysia. Like all southbound flights from Indochina, we coasted into eastern Peninsular Malaysia over Trengganu and probably around Kota Bahru, before coasting out momentarily over Mersing.
1008H: 150 miles from Singapore, FL370.
Flight deck came on to announce that we were nearing our destination as the A320 started to nose towards earth. I was awake by now and had to be upright to fasten my seatbelt. Wow that was a very nice nap! I also noticed there was a small patch of drool on the seat where I had my head on. Hmm…
1020H: Seatbelt on!
Approach was carried out over the vast state of Johor heading towards runway 20C. Sporadic wooden fishing boats and expansive rural plantations were suddenly punctuated by a busy waterway, and then suddenly a burst of dense development – I knew I was home.
1034H: Touchdown runway 20C
A smooth end to what was a very restful break, albeit a little short. Heck, all holidays are! The engines finally heaved a sigh of relief at 1137H local time as we inched into Gate 7 at the Budget Terminal.
Check in: 9/10… Check in was very efficient and although the line was long, we were there for no more than 20min.
Boarding: 9/10… Once again, I applaud Tiger for implementing assigned seating. Air Asia, are you listening?
In-flight service: 9/10… This batch was more evidently working. Lead FA Qweeny was obviously a very experienced woman as she carried herself with dignity and poise that was obviously bred out of some top-breed airline. True enough, I later found out she is ex-EK. Revo was another one that was very chatty and attempted to make small talk with the people he was serving. Overall a very good showing for the team.
Arrival: 9/10… Only a retard will fault the arrival at Budget Terminal. How many flights can Tiger have in a day to clog the process up?
Overall: 90%
Other pictures taken during the trip…
Welcome to my starry one world alliance, a team in the sky!
Jsnww81 From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 1779 posts, RR: 19 Reply 2, posted (3 years 11 months 5 days 1 hour ago) and read 4374 times:
Nice report Ryanair!
Good shots of BKK as well. I just posted the next installment of my Asia trip report and had several similar shots... I'm not a big fan of Suvarnabhumi either.
Looks like Tiger Airways is a pretty reasonable LCC. I'm surprised they got an airbridge at BKK, but I guess they don't have a low-cost terminal at Suvarnabhumi yet, eh...
Yes, I found that out the first time I visited BKK and took a taxi from Baiyoke Hotel to Suvarnabhumi. My friend told me I need to tell them this. The next time I visited BKK and took the taxi from Nasa Vegas hotel to Suvarnabhumi, I didn't have this problem.
The UA flight at 6:50AM is for NRT.
Suvarnabhumi is an interesting airport from an architectural point of view but not for spotting.
I hope Air Asia listens to this as well. I am not sure how much more the proper tickets cost to make, because those crappy 'receipts' used by Air Asia are just an embarrassment.
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): Despite being an LCC, Tiger Airways gets to use a proper air bridge.
That is pretty good for a LCC. Again, Air Asia could learn a little.
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): also noticed there was a small patch of drool on the seat where I had my head on. Hmm...
Let's just hope it was your drool and not something else... Hehehe.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 5429 posts, RR: 81 Reply 7, posted (3 years 11 months 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 4074 times:
Another great report, your writing style ensures good entertainment.
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter):
Early morning hours after sunrise is definitely a busy time for BKK. I don’t think I recall seeing the departure concourse so teemed with movement before. It was definitely heaving with activity and check in counters seemed to be 100% utilized throughout.
Wow, what a crowd. I remember something similar when we once were looking for our SriLankan counters. Large groups of students were sitting on the floor and some of them just didn't move an inch when we tried to pass with our luggage.
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): Even when the line moved, he would just move ahead in his squat position occasionally using his hands to support himself, very much like a primate on Discovery Channel.
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): “I have some dried banana chips…” I thought constructively to myself.
You never run out seeing strangers at airports. When I waited for my recent KUL-FRA flight I noticed a guy singing loudly, then spiting on KLIA's clean floor, then singing again...
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): During my last visit, the viewing gallery was closed. However this time, I managed to make a trip up there and what a pleasure it was! I truly believe that this viewing gallery is one of the best in the world for you to look at the airport structure so close up. In fact, you can gawk at the architectural marvel that is Suvarnabhumi so close to you that anything beyond that is pretty much obscured. Who cares if you can’t see the planes outside, we are here to view the steel structure!
I can only agree, what a joke of a "viewing gallery"...
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): Moving on… Remember the hot and cold complaints about the air conditioning? Well, it looks like they have yet to rectify this problem. That being said, this environment would be a paranormal investigators playground with all the different temperature readings.
Great. I noticed that problem in December 2006 already and it's still not fixed...
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): Assigned seating also meant that there was no American Idol rush when boarding was announced. In fact, it was a very orderly process where people leisurely strolled to the door and conversation mainly consisted of what was done in Bangkok, and not some devilish snare of getting into the plane first to get the best seats.
Assigned seating is always a pleasure. I'm glad we chose Xpress boarding on our recent KUL-LGK-KUL flights on Air Asia. Though I had heard about the usual boarding madness before, I was still amazed to watch the boarding process of another AK flight. People standing in front of the queue behaved as if their lives were threatened. Come on, even if you have 10 or 20 people in front - what's the purpose of shoving? There are 180 bloddy seats on the plane, more than enough to choose from!!!
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): “Sir, no photos. You need to put the camera away. We are taxiing.” Oops… sorry.
Ryanair!!! From Singapore, joined Mar 2002, 4608 posts, RR: 30 Reply 9, posted (3 years 11 months 3 days 19 hours ago) and read 3809 times:
Thank you for all your replies... Let me attempt to answer some (all).
Quoting Ozzietukker (Reply 1): I like Tiger Airways for the assigned seating so no boarding scrum occurs, unlike Air Asia where there is always a mad dash to board the plane.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 7): Assigned seating is always a pleasure. I'm glad we chose Xpress boarding on our recent KUL-LGK-KUL flights on Air Asia. Though I had heard about the usual boarding madness before, I was still amazed to watch the boarding process of another AK flight. People standing in front of the queue behaved as if their lives were threatened. Come on, even if you have 10 or 20 people in front - what's the purpose of shoving? There are 180 bloddy seats on the plane, more than enough to choose from!!!
It all really depends on the gate agent. In Singapore, everyone is forced to line up before the boarding begins at the main terminal. On my last Air Asia flight out of Terminal 1, the gate agent was very strict in announcing that unless the line was formed, there would be NO BOARDING! I think this probably applies to Air Asia operating our of SIN as the rest of the budget carriers (Jetstar, Valuair, Tiger) now assign seats. Over at the Budget Terminal, there are ropes at the boarding gates to you have NO CHOICE but to queue up.
Quoting Jsnww81 (Reply 2): Good shots of BKK as well. I just posted the next installment of my Asia trip report and had several similar shots... I'm not a big fan of Suvarnabhumi either.
Looks like Tiger Airways is a pretty reasonable LCC. I'm surprised they got an airbridge at BKK, but I guess they don't have a low-cost terminal at Suvarnabhumi yet, eh...
Yes I read your PG report. Awesome stuff there. The only budget carrier that do not use gates at BKK is Thai Air Asia. Not that I mind! I simply love walking down the stairs of a plane to smell the jet fuel, look at the engines close up etc...
Quoting Fly2YYZ (Reply 3): And a great way to end it with a beautiful meal!
Street food is always the best and Bangkok is no exception. However, you would need to have a strong stomach and a sense of adventure to really go for it. I am not only an aviation enthusiast, but an avid foodie as well. Other than the plane journey, the other highlight of my holidays is always the food (in the plane or otherwise).
Quoting Je89_w (Reply 4): Oh my! Miss Puke is still there? I remember taking photos of it when I stayed at the Novotel Bangkok back in 2006. Nice catch.
Yeah Miss Puke is still hard at work. I have seen her there for many years already and I decided to take a photo this trip. I have a feeling it is "poo-kay" and not the slang that we are used to. LOL.
Quoting Triple7man (Reply 5): Yes, I found that out the first time I visited BKK and took a taxi from Baiyoke Hotel to Suvarnabhumi. My friend told me I need to tell them this. The next time I visited BKK and took the taxi from Nasa Vegas hotel to Suvarnabhumi, I didn't have this problem.
This is what I do not like about Bangkok, the dishonest taxi drivers. But for every bad apple, there are a bunch of really hardworking and sincere ones who really go out of their way to make yuor journey pleasant and get you there quick. But this is the reality of it, and I just roll with the punches. I am glad for the crackdown as this could not have come any sooner.
Quoting Globetraveller (Reply 6): I hope Air Asia listens to this as well. I am not sure how much more the proper tickets cost to make, because those crappy 'receipts' used by Air Asia are just an embarrassment.
Well... whatever they need to do to keep costs to a bare minimum. Remember that prestige is the last thing on anyone's mind when you fly an LCC.
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Reply 8): AK and QZ usually use proper gates at BKK. FD is mostly bus gates though.
I am surprised that AK and QZ, being affiliated to FD, do not use the remote gates.
Once again, thank you for reading my report.
Ryan
Welcome to my starry one world alliance, a team in the sky!
Ryanair!!! From Singapore, joined Mar 2002, 4608 posts, RR: 30 Reply 10, posted (3 years 11 months 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 3791 times:
Hmm... I just caught what I think might be a "ghost" in my photo. Look under the word THAILAND. That is not a walkway, there was no construction going on, and there were no cleaners on the roof that morning...
Welcome to my starry one world alliance, a team in the sky!
SQ772 From Singapore, joined Nov 2001, 1792 posts, RR: 5 Reply 11, posted (3 years 11 months 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 3695 times:
Another entertaining report. It's been a while since my last BKK trip... can't really say that I enjoyed it. Am not a shopaholic, but enjoyed the massages...
This report still doesn't convince that flying LCC is the way to go for me though...
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Reply 10): Hmm... I just caught what I think might be a "ghost" in my photo. Look under the word THAILAND. That is not a walkway, there was no construction going on, and there were no cleaners on the roof that morning...
Bring out your pomegranate leaves, red threads, and water... and bath yourself in it.
Ryanair!!! From Singapore, joined Mar 2002, 4608 posts, RR: 30 Reply 13, posted (3 years 11 months 19 hours ago) and read 3430 times:
Quoting SQ772 (Reply 11): Another entertaining report. It's been a while since my last BKK trip... can't really say that I enjoyed it. Am not a shopaholic, but enjoyed the massages...
Hahahaha you and your massages. Yes they are good and cheap... But some how, you know how much I have been going to Vietnam and it seems that I have no more mood to really shop in Bangkok anymore after that.
Quoting Palmjet (Reply 12): Always love reading your trip reports. Thanks so much for this one and the pics. More please!!
Thank you. As for the pics, for some reason my camera seldome left my bag during this trip unless it was for something REALLY interesting. I am normally very trigger happy with the camera but this trip was so laid back for me.
Welcome to my starry one world alliance, a team in the sky!
Christao17 From Thailand, joined Apr 2005, 805 posts, RR: 10 Reply 14, posted (3 years 11 months 3 hours ago) and read 3373 times:
Wow, how flattering. Go to lunch with Ryan and get my picture in his report. An honor.
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): Early morning hours after sunrise is definitely a busy time for BKK. I don’t think I recall seeing the departure concourse so teemed with movement before.
Yeah, there are two big rush hours: early morning and then late evening. It gets really busy at those times.
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): “I have some dried banana chips…” I thought constructively to myself.
Aren't you helpful!
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): I truly believe that this viewing gallery is one of the best in the world for you to look at the airport structure so close up.
Yeah, it is pretty useless. I don't think the restaurant up there is quite so bad, though. Okay view.
Quoting Ryanair!!! (Thread starter): I used this opportunity to partake my lie-flat personal Sky Suite
That is a rare opportunity on these low cost carriers.
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