alliance
Mar 24, 08, 11:22 pm
I got in on the cheap PNH deal on CI in Y (~300 all in from LAX). Going to PNH and REP sounded like fun to me and $300 to Asia is hard to beat. But as soon as I jumped in on the mistake fare I had buyers remorse.
Spending the better part of a day in CI Y... was I crazy? And to make matters worse, it only earned 70% RDM (no EQM) on NW - a program that I was trying to stop earning with. So when a domestic DL segment that I had included on the same ticket was canceled and the next available flight wasn't for over 6 hours, I took the opportunity to cancel the entire trip and get a full refund.
This left me with a week vacation but no tickets to go anywhere. So I found a W fare on UA to BKK for $900 and blew $600 in VDB vouchers from my last international F award ticket so my out of pocket was less than before. I upgraded everything with SWUs and they all cleared before day of departure.
The early morning PHX-LAX flight went mechanical and so my later flight was oversold. I took a VDB and rerouted PHX-SFO-NRT with SFO-NRT rebooked in C. Part of my VDB negotiations were to rebook me in C SFO-NRT and allow me to upgrade for F (it was F0 at the time of processing the VDB, but the agent would have put me in F if it had been available). So I got a DM card for F and a C boarding pass in PHX and flew to SFO.
At the SFO international terminal, I noticed everyones favorite UA SD @ SFO (whose name may start with an R ;) ). Always a bad omen.
At the gate for SFO-NRT, I was called up and my C boarding pass was taken and I was given a F boarding pass. But a few seconds later it was taken from me and I was downgraded back to C. Apparently some supervisor was looking at the computer and felt that me being in F constituted a double upgrade and was not going to allow it.
The supervisor called the agent who had just handed me the F boarding pass and told her to take it back. They even went so far as to rebook me out of C and into Y. I was not happy. Once you are holding that F boarding pass and thinking about the flat bed - how can you feel good about being in a full C cabin? Impossible. I didn't enjoy the first few hours of that flight (and didn't take any pictures). Eventually I calmed down.
The guy I sat next to in C asked me why I was there. He had seen my F boarding pass before it was taken away. I explained the situation to him. His response: "If that is how UA treats 1Ks, why should I keep flying United when I can fly ANA or SQ?" My thoughts exactly.
Lesson learned: I should have had the PHX agent note my PNR that upgrading to F was okay.
So we start this picture report with a bad picture of the seafood meal served on the upper deck of NRT-BKK on UA:
NRT-BKK UA Meal:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/6060bfbb.jpg
The UA flight gets in around midnight and I was flying to CNX the next afternoon. So I stayed at the Hilton BKK for the first night because it was cheap and I could use the HH stay:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/9f168804.jpg
No corner suite this first time at the Hilton BKK - just a tiny regular room. They did give me executive lounge access though:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/166cef56.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/fe17a710.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/badfaca9.jpg
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The Hilton BKK has a great pool deck:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/e4016391.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/f67792a4.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/add2517c.jpg
The Hilton BKK Lobby seating areas:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/844b196d.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/f8b43fa3.jpg
The Hilton BKK provides free shuttle boat service to River City and the Saphran Taksin BTS station:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/50649755.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/731f9623.jpg
After spending one night at the Hilton BKK and the better part of the morning on the river, I took a cab to Don Muang to fly Nok Air to Chiang Mai (CNX):
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/6c682cac.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/dcd4ac0d.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/fff4c3b3.jpg
I flew Nok Plus, which provides 2-2 seating with seats similar to domestic F and provides a small snack:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/7597a198.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/4ac7c83f.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/b1fbb9e2.jpg
Upon arrival, I was greeted by an employee from the place I was staying - The Field Village (http://www.thefieldvillage.com). I usually stay at the international chains, but this time I decided to try something different. It was a great stay. It felt like I was visiting local friends in Chiang Mai. The owners took me out to dinner with their local friends, to the night market, and other places around the city. Being a small local place, it had some rough edges but I enjoyed the charm.
They provide complimentary airport pickup and drop off. I was quickly shown to my Cottage and given a welcome amenity:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/3947cf46.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/34cf5755.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/715d9b1a.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/81306bb0.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/ff078baa.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/874cebc0.jpg
The view from my deck:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/8d4913fa.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/0304e5cc.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/50615bfc.jpg
The resort was a comfortable and relaxing place to chill:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/48412a9c.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/d14aa53d.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/bcbb59d1.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/f5729279.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/a4fe5a3e.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/a82f3821.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/3757c615.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/c0f63089.jpg
And there was great plane spotting from the pool deck:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/3a94670b.jpg
The owner took me on a private day long tour up the mountain to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. On the way we stopped to enjoy the rain forest and mountain views:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/3dd00356.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/879c7a21.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/509373c8.jpg
We stopped at a couple local markets on the way:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/ded0f797.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/92f7cfd9.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/b3f997ec.jpg
Where I bought some excellent Som Tam (papaya salad):
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/922952b8.jpg
We had lunch at a great Thai restaurant with an outstanding view:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/0a0c6cf8.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/14d291e9.jpg
We went to a bat cave (yikes!):
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/2dd317ac.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/e118bb53.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/440661fa.jpg
We stopped at some roadside food stands:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/27375f26.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/1f3431f9.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/e28429cb.jpg
We went to a small out of the way hill tribe village and met a friendly family that survives mostly by picking and packaging flowers for sale. We hung out with them for a bit and they allowed me to take many photos of their home:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/89e7f82f.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/9c634e56.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/023a5148.jpg
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We eventually made it up to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. It had great views of Chiang Mai and the CNX airport:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/47c04913.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/dcca7bfe.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/6a5e9cbf.jpg
That night I got taken out to dinner at a local tapas place and met up with some expats and we shared several travel stories. The next day I went on a walking tour of Chiang Mai with a friendly couple from PEK who were staying at the Field Village:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/5a6f8ca9.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/711d40c6.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/bae9a749.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/54afa23a.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/d4cfbfb6.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/32135891.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/31f5e28e.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/391068b7.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/78acdcd5.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/183da930.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/a409ffb0.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/79973172.jpg
And found everyones' favorite duck with chopsticks eating a bowl of noodles in front of one of the larger temples:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/8eb4fcc9.jpg
I flew Nok Air back to the old airport in Bangkok. This time I had row 2 instead of the bulkhead row 1. Row 1 had a lot more leg room than row 2:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/b375c8f7.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/194013c7.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/a141ee0a.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/b031d476.jpg
Back in Bangkok, I went to the IC BKK where I had booked a corner suite. I was upgraded pre-arrival to a club corner suite. Upon arrivial I was informed that I had been further upgraded to an Ambassador suite. I then negotiated to pay an additional 2000 THB to upgrade to the Diplomatic Suite:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Diplomatic%20Suite/5a8d1303.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Diplomatic%20Suite/f9f0e629.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Diplomatic%20Suite/fa6124a2.jpg
Here is a video walkthrough of the diplomatic suite: http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Diplomatic%20Suite/?action=view¤t=408b6ecd.flv
Oh, and yes, the Diplomatic Suite like the smaller Ambassador Suite has two minibars.
One of the great things about the InterContinental BKK is their Club InterContinental:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Club%20InterContinental/a9471e9d.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Club%20InterContinental/c4de702b.jpg
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After enjoying two nights in Bangkok, I headed back to BKK to fly home. I took a couple pictures of the TG C lounge:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20TG%20C%20Lounge/25f5f3c8.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20TG%20C%20Lounge/2aefee09.jpg
And made a video walkthrough of the lounge: http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20TG%20C%20Lounge/?action=view¤t=c2be16fa.flv
As I had stayed up all night before my flight, I slept through BKK-NRT. I spent a good portion of NRT-LAX talking to a Disney employee about his job. He mostly flew on D fares, but wasn't really clued in to the mileage game. By the end of the flight he was trained. Between sleeping and chatting - no pictures of the return flight either. You're not missing much - just typical UA C.
I really enjoyed Chiang Mai and look forward to going back again soon. It makes a great side trip during visits to BKK. I'd give it a minimum of three nights, but you could certainly do more. Two night would still be worth the quick flight there and back if you are short on time.
Spending the better part of a day in CI Y... was I crazy? And to make matters worse, it only earned 70% RDM (no EQM) on NW - a program that I was trying to stop earning with. So when a domestic DL segment that I had included on the same ticket was canceled and the next available flight wasn't for over 6 hours, I took the opportunity to cancel the entire trip and get a full refund.
This left me with a week vacation but no tickets to go anywhere. So I found a W fare on UA to BKK for $900 and blew $600 in VDB vouchers from my last international F award ticket so my out of pocket was less than before. I upgraded everything with SWUs and they all cleared before day of departure.
The early morning PHX-LAX flight went mechanical and so my later flight was oversold. I took a VDB and rerouted PHX-SFO-NRT with SFO-NRT rebooked in C. Part of my VDB negotiations were to rebook me in C SFO-NRT and allow me to upgrade for F (it was F0 at the time of processing the VDB, but the agent would have put me in F if it had been available). So I got a DM card for F and a C boarding pass in PHX and flew to SFO.
At the SFO international terminal, I noticed everyones favorite UA SD @ SFO (whose name may start with an R ;) ). Always a bad omen.
At the gate for SFO-NRT, I was called up and my C boarding pass was taken and I was given a F boarding pass. But a few seconds later it was taken from me and I was downgraded back to C. Apparently some supervisor was looking at the computer and felt that me being in F constituted a double upgrade and was not going to allow it.
The supervisor called the agent who had just handed me the F boarding pass and told her to take it back. They even went so far as to rebook me out of C and into Y. I was not happy. Once you are holding that F boarding pass and thinking about the flat bed - how can you feel good about being in a full C cabin? Impossible. I didn't enjoy the first few hours of that flight (and didn't take any pictures). Eventually I calmed down.
The guy I sat next to in C asked me why I was there. He had seen my F boarding pass before it was taken away. I explained the situation to him. His response: "If that is how UA treats 1Ks, why should I keep flying United when I can fly ANA or SQ?" My thoughts exactly.
Lesson learned: I should have had the PHX agent note my PNR that upgrading to F was okay.
So we start this picture report with a bad picture of the seafood meal served on the upper deck of NRT-BKK on UA:
NRT-BKK UA Meal:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/6060bfbb.jpg
The UA flight gets in around midnight and I was flying to CNX the next afternoon. So I stayed at the Hilton BKK for the first night because it was cheap and I could use the HH stay:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/9f168804.jpg
No corner suite this first time at the Hilton BKK - just a tiny regular room. They did give me executive lounge access though:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/166cef56.jpg
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The Hilton BKK has a great pool deck:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/e4016391.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/f67792a4.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/add2517c.jpg
The Hilton BKK Lobby seating areas:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/844b196d.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/f8b43fa3.jpg
The Hilton BKK provides free shuttle boat service to River City and the Saphran Taksin BTS station:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/50649755.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/731f9623.jpg
After spending one night at the Hilton BKK and the better part of the morning on the river, I took a cab to Don Muang to fly Nok Air to Chiang Mai (CNX):
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I flew Nok Plus, which provides 2-2 seating with seats similar to domestic F and provides a small snack:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/7597a198.jpg
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Upon arrival, I was greeted by an employee from the place I was staying - The Field Village (http://www.thefieldvillage.com). I usually stay at the international chains, but this time I decided to try something different. It was a great stay. It felt like I was visiting local friends in Chiang Mai. The owners took me out to dinner with their local friends, to the night market, and other places around the city. Being a small local place, it had some rough edges but I enjoyed the charm.
They provide complimentary airport pickup and drop off. I was quickly shown to my Cottage and given a welcome amenity:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/3947cf46.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/715d9b1a.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/81306bb0.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/874cebc0.jpg
The view from my deck:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/8d4913fa.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/0304e5cc.jpg
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The resort was a comfortable and relaxing place to chill:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/48412a9c.jpg
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And there was great plane spotting from the pool deck:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/3a94670b.jpg
The owner took me on a private day long tour up the mountain to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. On the way we stopped to enjoy the rain forest and mountain views:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/3dd00356.jpg
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We stopped at a couple local markets on the way:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/ded0f797.jpg
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Where I bought some excellent Som Tam (papaya salad):
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/922952b8.jpg
We had lunch at a great Thai restaurant with an outstanding view:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/0a0c6cf8.jpg
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We went to a bat cave (yikes!):
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/2dd317ac.jpg
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We stopped at some roadside food stands:
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We went to a small out of the way hill tribe village and met a friendly family that survives mostly by picking and packaging flowers for sale. We hung out with them for a bit and they allowed me to take many photos of their home:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/89e7f82f.jpg
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We eventually made it up to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. It had great views of Chiang Mai and the CNX airport:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/47c04913.jpg
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That night I got taken out to dinner at a local tapas place and met up with some expats and we shared several travel stories. The next day I went on a walking tour of Chiang Mai with a friendly couple from PEK who were staying at the Field Village:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/5a6f8ca9.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/711d40c6.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/bae9a749.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/d4cfbfb6.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/32135891.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/31f5e28e.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/391068b7.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/78acdcd5.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/79973172.jpg
And found everyones' favorite duck with chopsticks eating a bowl of noodles in front of one of the larger temples:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/Chiang%20Mai/8eb4fcc9.jpg
I flew Nok Air back to the old airport in Bangkok. This time I had row 2 instead of the bulkhead row 1. Row 1 had a lot more leg room than row 2:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/b375c8f7.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/194013c7.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/CNX/b031d476.jpg
Back in Bangkok, I went to the IC BKK where I had booked a corner suite. I was upgraded pre-arrival to a club corner suite. Upon arrivial I was informed that I had been further upgraded to an Ambassador suite. I then negotiated to pay an additional 2000 THB to upgrade to the Diplomatic Suite:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Diplomatic%20Suite/5a8d1303.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Diplomatic%20Suite/a18a5390.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Diplomatic%20Suite/fa6124a2.jpg
Here is a video walkthrough of the diplomatic suite: http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Diplomatic%20Suite/?action=view¤t=408b6ecd.flv
Oh, and yes, the Diplomatic Suite like the smaller Ambassador Suite has two minibars.
One of the great things about the InterContinental BKK is their Club InterContinental:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Club%20InterContinental/a9471e9d.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Club%20InterContinental/c4de702b.jpg
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http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20IC/Club%20InterContinental/40618462.jpg
After enjoying two nights in Bangkok, I headed back to BKK to fly home. I took a couple pictures of the TG C lounge:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20TG%20C%20Lounge/25f5f3c8.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20TG%20C%20Lounge/2aefee09.jpg
And made a video walkthrough of the lounge: http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w56/alliance_ft/BKK%20TG%20C%20Lounge/?action=view¤t=c2be16fa.flv
As I had stayed up all night before my flight, I slept through BKK-NRT. I spent a good portion of NRT-LAX talking to a Disney employee about his job. He mostly flew on D fares, but wasn't really clued in to the mileage game. By the end of the flight he was trained. Between sleeping and chatting - no pictures of the return flight either. You're not missing much - just typical UA C.
I really enjoyed Chiang Mai and look forward to going back again soon. It makes a great side trip during visits to BKK. I'd give it a minimum of three nights, but you could certainly do more. Two night would still be worth the quick flight there and back if you are short on time.