Trip Reports - Thailand - Vietnam - Cambodia - Thailand

My wife was working in Asia on business for a couple of weeks, and I was to meet up with her in Bangkok so that we could start a two-week vacation in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, about which this report is written. I will post the report in segments, but under the same topic header!

23OCT1999
UA805, 747-400
SFO—HKG
First Class, Seat 1B

I arrived at the airport early for the 1:10 PM departure, so that I could spend some time enjoying the first class lounge at SFO. The check-in was excellently staffed, with one person checking me off a list, and a second person waiting to guide me to the lounge once I had checked my one bag for the two week trip.
I proceeded to the lounge, and once there, partook of a number of small dishes of edamame, a Japanese dish of boiled, salted soy beans. There were some other small hot and cold dishes, and a number of choices of liquid, but I stuck with water. The lounge had mainly Japanese travelers who were soon to board a JAL flight. When my flight was called, I proceeded unescorted from the lounge to the gate, a short walk of less than a minute, and was first to board. Immediately upon being seated, we were provided with a hot towel and a drink. I was to see many hot towels on this trip!

After we were in the air, I selected a personal 8MM video to watch (I chose an old 1979 movie called “From Here to Eternity”) and settled in to the comfortable seat. I selected the bulkhead seat because of the leg room, as well as the fact that traffic by the seat is restricted to those accessing the closet, a seat mate, or most importantly, a flight attendant with a treat! The first treat was an appetizer selection of smoked salmon, poached prawns with cocktail sauce, duck foie gras on walnut bread, and a warm goat cheese puff pastry. I only passed on the pastry. After a sizeable and fresh salad, I selected the golden sesame chicken with citrus sauce. It was ok, but the chicken seemed to want to escape the “golden sesame” crust, which kept slipping off. Fresh fruit for dessert. Then, after a long flight, a fruit plate (I selected that instead of the clam chowder with garlic bread). During the flight, there were bottles of water and other snacks available for consumption, and they were arrayed on the small first class cabin table. All in all, a pleasant flight. Accrued 6914 miles, with 8643 additional bonus miles.

Upon arrival at the shiny new airport, I was escorted from the plane (now here is an oxymoron) directly through the labyrinth of the airport to the first class lounge. That lounge is beautiful. There are huge leather seats, a large magazine and newspaper rack, a handful of marble-appointed bathrooms with showers and amenity kits. I took some time to wash up, but I was really anxious to try some of the food at the lounge, which included some dumplings, some fresh fruit and some other great snacks. I barely had time to eat before the escort was back, and he took myself and two Spanish gentlemen back through the maze to the departure gate. On the way, this Australian guy speeds by on what appears to be a collapsible scooter. We stop him, and check out the device, which is, not surprisingly, a collapsible scooter. It is the perfect, quiet device needed to manage the obscene lengths of walkways of that airport. However, after the first flight, I was actually glad to get the stretch in!

24OCT99
UA1, 747-400
HKG-BKK
First Class, Seat 1B

Same seat, new faces. The flight crew on this leg was extremely friendly and attentive. One of the flight attendants even gave me a pen to keep after I had filled in my customs form. No amenity kit for the 2 hour flight, but flying over Hong Kong at night was beautiful, and being in an aisle seat I was thankful for the fact that we made many turns, providing me with a view in that ‘banked’ position. Another hot towel, and then we were served food. I selected some noodles with bok choy, which weren’t great – especially after the food in the lounge at HKG. The flight went by fast. I read most of the way…a book by the South African author Wilbur Smith. Accrued 1063 status miles, and a bonus of 1329.

PART 2
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24OCT99
The Sukhothai
Garden Suite

By dint of the fact that a friend works in Bangkok in the hotel industry, I was able to get a suite at this gorgeous hotel. The rooms are full of teak and rosewood, and the service is impeccable. The hotel location on South Sathorn Road places it away from the main parts of the city, so you really feel like you are in a totally quiet and calm land, an illusion which is quickly dispersed once you leave the hotel grounds, for nearby Silom and Suriwong Roads. I am ready for bed, and know that in two days my wife will meet me at the hotel! Good night.

25OCT99 – 29OCT99
The Sukhotai
Garden Suite

I had a couple of massages, and spent all day every day walking the city and seeing the sights: Wat Po, Wat Arun, Lumpini, Sukhumvit, the Royal Barges. My wife and I bought a 17th century Buddha from Burma to celebrate our 2nd anniversary, and we went to see kick boxing and other Thai sights. Our timing was on, as when we left the Thai kick boxing, the street outside was being cleared by police for a member of the Thai royal family…so we saw the prince drive by! That was great, and getting a taxi after that and being able to drive behind the procession where there was no traffic built up yet was also great! I don’t think that our driver had ever gotten his car into third gear before that drive, given the congestion of the city. He had a big smile on his face and his engine purred for the next few minutes, until the normal hustle and bustle resumed. We passed an elephant on the ride back that night, so we felt very lucky and we slept fitfully. Best meals: Celadon (on the hotel grounds) and Harmonique (Thai food), as well as dim sum at the Grand Hyatt Erewan’s Chinese Restaurant.

30OCT99
TG 112 (Thai Airways), Airbus 300
BKK-Chiang Mai (CNX)
Business Class – Seats 1E, 1F

We wanted United miles for these flights, and purchasing business class tix meant that we got them: a whopping 363 flight miles, and a 91 mile bonus.
Thai service is great – even for this one-hour flight to the northern reaches of the country. Even though Chiang Mai is the second largest city after Bangkok, it is relatively quiet and unpopulated in comparison. The surrounding areas are mountainous, green, and simply plush! One would even use the term verdant! The flight was short, but we were still served a small meal that was to my taste very spicy and tasty: a bed of rice with chicken, veggies and chili peppers. A small dessert cake accompanied this treat of a meal. I think we had three or four hot towels on this leg!

30OCT99 – 1NOV99
The Regent Resort Chiang Mai (a Four Seasons Resort)

The grounds of this hotel are spectacular, and most rooms overlook the resort’s own working rice fields. There was also a family of the working water buffalo…but I never saw the animals to my dismay. However, there was great birdwatching and we toured the orchid farms, and explored Doi Suthep, the region’s most significant temple. The stay was far too short, but we had to continue on to Vietnam, so we left on the for the airport to Hanoi through Bangkok.

1NOV99
TG103, Airbus 300
CNX-BKK
Business Class – Seats 1E and 1F

Another simple and good meal with four hot towels in the flight, which left at 10:15 as promised.

PART 3
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Air France 172, 747-400
BKK- Hanoi (HAN)
First Class

--flight cancelled—

Vietnam Airlines
Business Class, Seats 1A, 1B
BKK-Saigon (SGN); SGN-HAN

We arrived at domestic, put our bags on a trolley, and walked the length of five football fields to the international departure gates in the stifling humidity of a Bangkok mid-day to find that Air France had no 747-400 for us. Too bad, because I wanted to see what their 1st class product was like, and we were in first on a 747-400 from BKK-Hanoi, despite it being a 2 hour hop! So, Air France booked us in business class on Vietnam Airlines. We knew we had to take Vietnam later in our travels, but not so soon! So, we lost a chunk of the day in transit, but the flights were very good. Vietnam Airlines, after some accidents, is trying to bring the airline up to spec. They are planning to institute a frequent flyer club next year – anyone think I can get retroactive points??? The service was very preferential: business class pax were taken from gate via private air conditioned van out to the plane on the tarmac. The company uses mainly Airbus and Boeing planes, and they were very clean! The flights were bumpy as there was a tropical depression in the region at that time. They served a simple meal on both flights, with two or three hot towels, which is in my mind equivalent to a rating system by this time in the trip. The flight attendants were great, and we landed safely both times.

Hanoi Daewoo Hotel
Executive Suite with Park View

This room was beautiful, and located within walking distance of Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and other key buildings. We were checked into the suite in the executive club on the floor, rather than at the front desk downstairs, and provided with a bowl of fruit, some bottles of water, and some other treats. We immediately went walking in search of the famous Vietnamese noodle dish, Pho (sorry for providing no accents here!) which is pronounced “fuh”. We found it and it was good. It also set us back about 7,000 Dong, which I thought would bankrupt us until I calculated the conversion, and gladly forked over the equivalent of 50 cents! For the next two days we walked and took in the sights. The city is strange and wonderful, with far more bikes and motorcycles than cars, and all commuters continually honk their horns the entire time they are in transit. After a while, you get used to it. We went to the key museums and art galleries, and took rides on all forms of transportation.

03NOV99
Vietnam Airlines 217
HAN-SGN
Business Class, Seats 1A, 1B

We were delayed due to the horrible flooding in the central parts of the country (especially in Da Nang) but that gave us a chance to munch snacks and drink bottled water in the VIP lounge. By the way, before each Vietnam Airlines flight, we holed up in these VIP lounges. They have a good selection of fruit and cookies, and some of them are non smoking!! We made it safely to Saigon, and a hotel car took us to the hotel.

Omni Saigon Hotel
Continental Floor Suite

The hotel rooms were huge, with in-room check-in and a visit by the hotel manager. For some reason I am a VIP at this property…they must have confused me with a different “Wagner, Ronald H.”. My wife is excited, and she strolls from room to room, calling to me with a parrot like derisive: Mr. VIP, MR. VIP. I ignore her – or at least try to! She is funny, though! Anyway, our forays took us to the War Remnants Museum and the Ben Thanh Market. The war remnants museum shows the perspective of the Vietnamese as it pertains to the war, and that provided both my wife and I, as Americans, with much to contemplate. The military hardware – such as fighter planes and tanks -- in the museum’s courtyard is strange when viewed against the backdrop of the ever-present signs of commercialism: Coca Cola signs, Pepsi trucks, etc. The market had produce which was beautiful, varieties of fruit that we don’t even see in California(!), and myriad other exciting sights and smells. We could have spent a whole day poking around. But, we needed more Pho noodles!

PART 4
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04NOV99
Vietnam Airlines 817
SGN-Phnom Penh (PNH)

Uneventful. Last flight on Vietnam Airlines. Three hot towels. Upon arrival, I had filled in – in triplicate! – the customs forms I received from Cambodian Consulate, with attached passport sized photos, and presented those to the customs agents. They gave me new forms to fill in, saying that the ones my wife and I had were “old”. Despite the fact that they were identical to the “new forms”, we did as we were told. Once we filled in the forms, we watched as a long row of seated customs officers passed passports and forms down their ranks, each filling in or noting different information, until the passport is held up by an agent at the end of this procession. Once you claim your passport, you also must surrender $20 US to get that passport back into your possession. Fortunately, I always travel with greenbacks so 30 minutes of bureaucracy later, we were on our way to our connecting flight to northern Cambodia.

Royal Air Cambodge VJ360
PNH-Siem Reap (REP)
Business Class, Seats 1A, 1B

Not a member of the Star Alliance, Royal Air Cambodge was nevertheless an extremely competent airline from what we saw. We splurged to upgrade to the flight’s business class, which set us back $27.00 US. It was worth it! The food was scrumptious, and the hot towels kept coming. We flew over some flooded areas of Eastern Cambodia, and over one of the largest freshwater lakes, and landed 40 minutes later in Siem Reap. Here is where we experienced a free-for-all melee at baggage claim: the truck carrying all bags pulls up, and the employees randomly pull bags from the truck. When you see your bag, you yell from your place across the low counter, and then they give you your bag. Don’t try this at home! People are yelling and pushing, and it is really quite an exciting way to get your bags. I walked out front of the airport, and one of only 200 such cars in the world, a massive BMW limousine (one of two such cars owned by the hotel) whisks us away in the lap of luxury.

Grand Hotel D’Angkor
Landmark Room

The hotel is statuesque. It is managed by Raffles, and you can tell that after being there but a few minutes. We walked around the grounds, and took a swim in the pool – we were the only ones swimming that early evening, and we wondered why. We found out: they were starting to “fog” the insects with a light dose of pesticide, which wafted out over the pool. That drove us off, with the bugs. It also attracted one of two very visible species of bats, one of which was small and the other gargantuan (fruit bat, I think). We went for dinner in the hotel, two kids sitting amongst a much older and more mature crowd. We saw and talked with a couple we had seen in Chiang Mai, and another group from our short stint in Hanoi. It was fun!

The next day was the highlight of the trip, the ruins of Angkor. This was the main purpose of the trip, and Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and Angkor Thom are all as amazing as one hears and reads. Angkor Wat is rightly a wonder of the world, and both my wife and I can’t believe that the ruins were man made, instead of being crafted from the hands of some god(s)! I was speechless. I did get some amazing photographs (it is not hard to do so, given the subject matter), and if you email me I will send you what I think is one of the best, via email. We had a guide delve into the history and symbolism of the 12th century wonders, and we left with high spirits and a serene calm.

PART 5
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06NOV99
Bangkok Airlways 931, AT72
REP-BKK

No, Bangkok Airways is not a member of oneworld. However, they do operate this rare direct flight out of the country from Siem Reap. Cambodia is trying to make sure that people transfer in and out of the capital city, Phnom Penh, because otherwise most people would go in and out of Siem Reap. They are losing that battle, though, as now Bangkok Air flies direct, and maybe one or two other airlines will follow. The flight was taken specifically so that we could see Chatuchak market on Saturday in Bangkok. A somewhat ‘trademark’ cream-coloured Mercedes of the Oriental Hotel, where we would stay that evening, met us. We had the driver take us to the market directly, and he waited for a few hours as we checked out the market. It was interesting, especially the birds and fighting fish and fighting roosters, and some textiles. Back into the car, and off to the hotel.

Oriental Hotel
Jim Thompson Suite

Our room was fabulous, with a huge balcony overlooking the Chao Praya. The room was decorated in the style of Jim Thompson, and it was a place we didn’t want to leave – ever. However, we had 2-hour spa treatments, so we took the hotel boat across the river to the Oriental Spa, and we had a suite where we got scrubbed by herbs and then 1.5 hours of massage in the same room. At the end of that experience, we were SO relaxed, and we were excited to get home. We dined en suite that evening, and had a wake up call for 4:00 AM the next morning.

07NOV99
UA876, 777
BKK-NRT-SEA
First Class, Seats 1E, 1F

The 4:00 AM wake up call was a rude awakening. But, we had rearranged our schedule to fly from BKK-NRT-SEA-SFO so that we could try the First Suite on the 777, flight 876. We arrived at the airport, and found not much assistance from the staff in terms of checking in and getting to the lounge. We did make it, and were soon on the plane. The first suite seat is a beautiful piece of machinery and cloth. There is a ton of personal space, and storage space, as well as in-seat video and built in noise reduction. I was so excited to sleep on the NRT-SEA leg, but decided to watch movies and read to Tokyo, which I did. The first suite seat is able to be configured in infinite settings, and getting comfortable to read and watch movies was easy! My wife had the omelet and I had a muffin with scrambled eggs and salmon that was delicious.

In Tokyo, we went to the first class lounge and ate a bunch of fresh and tasty sushi. I lived in Tokyo for three years, and wanted to get into the city but not on this trip! Soon, we were asked to re-board the plane, which was delayed by 30 minutes due to a congested gate area during our arrival from BKK, and we were on our way.

On the way to Seattle, the appetizers were quail kuwayaki, red bell pepper sushi and gravlax. The salad had Asian vinaigrette, and was great. The main course choices were: Texas cowboy chili with potato cake; Rack of Lamb with a Bacon, Tomato and Chantarelle Compote; Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops with Asian Pesto; and my choice, the Japanese Obento, which had eel, taro potato, tuna and a bunch of other goodies! Dessert was fruit and cheese, as well as ice cream with chocolate sauce and sliced almonds. Prior to landing: Omelet or fruit!

Both my wife and I agreed that the sleeper bed, once made up and fully reclined, was not terribly comfortable. It seemed sort of cramped, and neither of us slept. I am not ungrateful to have been on such an amazing flight, and in such luxury, but I am being honest when I say I preferred Lufthansa’s bed, for instance. Many hot towels, and pretty good service. Interestingly, on both legs of 876, the flight crews were new to the aircraft layout and the first suite product. We had to teach them how to use it in some cases!!!! We did receive a bottle of champagne and a box of Godiva chocolates. NICE! The amenity kit is solid, with the addition of lip balm being highly appreciated!

7449 miles for status, and bonus of 9312.


UA2310
SEA-SFO
First Class, Seats 1A, 1B

No way do I bore you with details about the shuttle flight! 678 status, 1017 bonus.

GREAT trip report. I think that UA has a lot of competition however now that Cathay will be adding sleeper suites to their 747-400. Will be taking a RTW next summer and look forward to the far east.

Fabulous 5-star trip report! But I want to hear about the shuttle flight! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Spectacular reports(s) Ron. Fantastic trip. Thanks. Love the Thai specialties offered at Celadon. I've been trying to get my wife to go to Cambodia and Vietnam for several years now. This report should help to convince her!

Fabulous report. I enjoyed reading your adventures through Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Their respective airlines are also interesting... They seem to have better service than our Shuttle by United... Shuttle should be ashamed...

Hot towel service seems to be important to you... Am I correct? Since United cuts out some of the hot towel service last month on those short haul flights, it is nice to find out that Asian airlines served three or four hot towels during a two hour flight.

Thanks for the report!

Carfield

Terrific report, rhw88. I felt like I was there in Asia with you. You have certainly whetted my appetite for some adventures in that part of the world.

good report==interesting observations about respective service.

I would love to have the Angkor Wat picture. We went there a few years back when the UN first arrived and before the Cambodian elections. Stayed at the Sofitel on the river in PP but in a mediocre place in Siem Reap. The Grand had not been renovated yet, had no AC, and was a mouldering dump. I would love to see it now! Angkor Wat has the most amazing ruins of any we have seen. Doc - you MUST go!

Caution Omni- Yes, thanks Karen, especially since my wife enjoys visiting ancient ruins so very much. Nearly 2 yrs ago we'd reached sort of a compromise and were planning a family visit to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, all out of BKK. We'd only do 2-3 nights in each country, which is not our usual way and a bit short, IMHO, but okay with her since she had some misgivings. At the last moment, the "agreement" collapsed, partly as I recall over the relative time, cost and difficulty of getting visas to Vietnam! We just stayed in Thailand which we all enjoy. Sometime in the near future for sure!

Great report! My fiancee and I are trying to figure out where we should journey for our honeymoon next May - some of these places sound like they may fit the bill.

BTW - on the UA First Suite, when I was on it last weekend, the f/a said that if we had a problem with any particular part of it, we should write to UA and let them know. The next aircraft to be delivered will come in January, and will in fact have a slightly different configuration, so they are changing them around.

Greg

Great report, with lots of memories on the Thailand portion since I'm just back from two weeks in BKK, CNX (Chiang Mai), and points north. My trip was entirely in coach <ugh> though, but thanks to advice on this board we at least had exit rows on all four flights SFO-HKG-BKK-HKG-SFO. My flights BKK-CNX ran about $50 (coach) and only gave 182 MP miles (UA only credits 50% of actual for TG flights) - do you mind my asking how much more your business class flights were?

I agree about Harmonique Restaurant - we went because it was near our first hotel in BKK (the Sheraton Royal Orchid), and returned when we got back to BKK after Chiang Mai because their stir-fried chicken with ginger was so good: an incredible amount of fresh ginger, with tons of flavor but not the bite I would have expected from that much of it! Their coconut chicken fried rice was good, too.

Sorry about walking the length of five football fields to the international departure gates in the stifling humidity of a Bangkok mid-day I made nearly the same connection getting to my CX "mileage run" to Hong Kong (domestic terminal to international one), and easily found the elevated (and air conditioned) tunnel (well, it felt like one despite being 50 feet off the ground!) that runs between the two terminals. I was glad not to be outside in the "fresh" air. (BTW, their signs, posted every 60meters, say the walkway is 400 meters long. That's about 4¼ football fields, but I can imagine outdoors it felt like 5, or even 6!

As for the Oriental Hotel, we found them to be incredibly snobbish. We dropped by to see about booking their day trip to Ayuthaya (bus up, Oriental Queen boat back), and weren't even allowed in the front door but were sent to a travel agent in their shopping mall. Then on the day of the trip, the boat let us off at the hotel's pier...and they routed us out the service entrance - hotel staff were standing guard at each place we could have gone in and sullied their property. At $50 USD each, I found that offensive. Their nose is stuck so high in the air, their eyes must be looking backwards!

[This message has been edited by johna (edited 11-23-1999).]

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif sorry johna to hear about your Oriental experience.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif For me (and now for Gisela too) the Oriental Mandarin Bangkok is again (after our revisit 2 weeks ago), at least by service/friendliness/competence/restaurants/(cigar-)bars/(author's-)lounge/fitness-/tennis-center (across the river) the number one hotel in the world.

... and we paid US$225/night, and UA 1K (may be because I also show my LHW-Leaders-Club-card) always get me a very nice upgraded room (by written info the UA 1K card alone should do it also).

The Oriental is also an Amex Plat FHR property, another way to get upgraded.

I too like/enjoy this place if you want to be on the river, but it is a little "highfallutin'" as noted by johna. You always need to be dressed up. When I went to meet my friend at the lobby bar a few years ago, I just poked my head in to take a quick peek to be sure hea was not early and waiting. Since I had on tennis shorts etc, I was quickly (but politely) approached and escorted away being reminded I could not enter without proper dress.

Incidentally, I found the fitness center at the JW Marriott Bangkok to be surprisingly quite excellent and far more convienient.

BKK-CNX is $50 coach, $63 business. I always fly business on TG domestically because it's so cheap to upgrade and you get full mileage. Some flights do not have business class, so you have to be careful.

I have not seen ever a Thai men in shorts (outside pool/sports-areas) - only some of my fellow European and American visitors (and most often those with not very slim appearances) think they should wear shorts as (just moneywise very welcomed) guests in Thailand.

Great report, rhw88. I really like your attitude. I don't know if you are American, but most American's do not face adversity well. They complain about all the things you found interesting. I try to have the same attitude.

I also love the Oriental and didn't have a problem dining there in business casual clothes (no tie or jacket).

How did you get the Jim Thopmson suite? That's supposed to be one of the finest rooms in Bangkok!

Stimpy:

THank you for your response - everyone has seemed to enjoy this trip report, so I will do another one from next year (planned destinations: Cuba, UK, Kenya). As to the Jim T. suite, I wish I could claim that it was my high status, or that I am a VIP of sorts, but the plain truth is that I know someone who knows someone at the Oriental, and that did it! I took pix of the room and if you would like, send me an email and I will email you pictures of the suite - not great photos, but...let me know! Also, I love the adversity and change and feeling of being totally out of context, because that is the best way to learn about where you come from, and think about who you are.

No need for pictures. Some magazine I read when last in Bangkok had a large article on Jim Thompson which included pictures of the suite.

I agree with your comment about being out of context or in other words like a fish out of water. It is the best way to learn about a place and it's people.