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Haha... And it seems that the timing couldn't have been better in both cases...

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My First Songkran (Thai New Year)

With such a short time in Bangkok and lots of places to see, I needed to maximize my time there. Knowing that some airports offer transit tours, I asked my TG F escort if she knew if such tours were offered in BKK. She didn't know anything about them, but took me to the Tourism Board desk.

The people at the desk told me that they did offer them, but then asked me for how long I wanted it, and what I wanted to see. So, in the end, it turned out that they don't offer organized transit tours. Instead, I payed for a car with an English-speaking driver, or at least that's what they said, for a certain number of hours. While this was not exactly what I had in mind, and at times it was quite annoying (specially when he tried to take me to massage houses), it ended up not being that bad.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 077 by desquiliano, on Flickr

As the title of this installment says, I was there right in the middle of the three-day celebration of the Thai New Year. For those who don't know what this means, it could easily be described as the largest water festival on earth. For three days people throw water at each other, which is considered a blessing. One of the advantages of having a driver, is that at times he also worked as a bodyguard, talking to people before I got off the car and not letting them throw large amounts of water at me.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 298 by desquiliano, on Flickr

Well, since there is no flight on this installment, I'll go straight to some of the pictures I took in Bangkok. Once again, if you want to see the whole album, just visit my Flickr account.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 080 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 091 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 113 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 126 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 142 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 153 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 178 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 185 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 204 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 247 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 260 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 266 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 288 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 303 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 323 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 326 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 334 by desquiliano, on Flickr

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My First Long-Haul on a Boeing 747

After mi quick tour of Bangkok I headed back to the airport. While I could have spent more time in the city, I wanted to enjoy the famous TG F lounge, have dinner there, and be on time for my massage. I even had time to walk around the airport looking for the post office.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 356 by desquiliano, on Flickr

I headed to the F check-in counter, although I had already checked-in in HKG. I was quickly escorted through fast track security and passport control. Hey, I could get used to this kind of service! And then I was driven to the F lounge.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 357 by desquiliano, on Flickr

I don't think I have to say much about the lounge, since it has been reviewed several times. I will just tell you that the service is amazing. I'd definitely like to have another layover here.

For dinner I had a beer and the Pad Thai Goong. I didn't want to eat to much, otherwise I could have had another serving of the Pad Thai, because it was great.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 358 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 359 by desquiliano, on Flickr

After dinner I went for a walk of the terminal. At the appointed time I headed back to the F lounge, where someone was already waiting for me to escort me to the spa. The massage was great and relaxing. It was so relaxing that I fell asleep during the last minutes. Well, in my defense, I was very tired due to the early start of the day.

After the massage I went back to the F lounge. I don't remember how long I was there, but it felt like we were one of the last Europe-bound flights to be called to board. Anyhow, someone came to escort myself and the other 3 passengers that were on the same flight. We arrive to the gate after boarding had already started.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 371 by desquiliano, on Flickr

Flight Info
Thai Airways 944
BKK - FCO
April 15, 2012 00:20
Boeing 747-400 (HS-TGK)
Seat 2A

Once we were on board, we were offered newspapers and magazines, menus, drinks, and pajamas. At all time they addressed my by name, or rather, they tried to address me by name. As I mention on an earlier post, I have a difficult last name, and the poor FA was never able to pronounce it, not even close. Well, not her fault.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 372 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 373 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 374 by desquiliano, on Flickr

Once we were in the air, food service began. As others have experience on TG F, champagne never stopped flowing.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 377 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 379 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 381 by desquiliano, on Flickr

For my main dish I had pre-ordered Lobster Thermidor, which I really enjoyed.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 382 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 383 by desquiliano, on Flickr

After diner, I went to the lavatory to change into pajamas. When I came back to my seat, the bed had already been made. In no time I was completely gone, and I think I slept for about 4 or 5 hours.

Unlike QF's A380 suites, I felt like I was disturbing the other passengers when I woke up and started watching a movie. Anyhow, it wasn't too long before breakfast service started.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 384 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 385 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 387 by desquiliano, on Flickr

After breakfast I changed back into my normal clothes, and enjoyed the rest of the flight.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 391 by desquiliano, on Flickr


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 396 by desquiliano, on Flickr

Once we landed in FCO, I took a picture of the cabin, which I hadn't been able to do earlier. You might have seen this cabin in several reports, but here we go.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 405 by desquiliano, on Flickr

We were only the second international arrival of the day, just after an Ethiopian flight, and clearing immigration didn't take too long. Unfortunately, FCO's luggage handlers were slow as usual. With an almost empty airport, it still took a while before we got our luggage back.

And this was the end of the trip. The only part left was taking the train back home, and start preparing for the next trip.


Easter Break 2012 (Bangkok) - 406 by desquiliano, on Flickr

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Award Booking Services

Shortly after I published the first installment of this TR, I got a PM asking about my thoughts on using an award booking service. I know some people might disagree with me, but these are my thoughts.

For me it was absolutely worth it. I considered I paid primarily for three things, time, knowledge, and first-hand experience.

It is my understanding that booking awards with UA is quite easy to do online, and if I had traveled only with *A, I probably would have not paid for the service. AA is a program that I'm still learning, and at the time I decided to take this trip I didn't know how their partner awards worked. And even if I did, I probably wouldn't have come up with the route that Ben suggested. I also trusted Ben's suggestions, knowing that he had experienced almost, if not all, these products himself.

Unfortunately I don't have long periods of time that I can set apart to call the airline and deal with this. To book this trip all I needed to do is reply to emails during my short breaks.

So, all that considered, I think hiring an award booking service was a good idea. Would I do it again? I probably would, specially if don't have the time to do it myself, or if I want to make sure I'm maximizing the value of my miles. I'll probably reach the point where I can do it myself, but as of now I'd rather leave it to those who know better.

If someone is interested, I would highly recommend Ben's service, Points Pros.


The Airlines

Choosing a favorite airline would be tough, because I would have two compare QF and TG in a different category, since I flew on their F service. BA and CX would have to be considered on a second category. So instead, I'll just write some general comments about each one.

BA C was perhaps the most disappointing product, but we all know that intra-European service is nothing to write home about. I don't think I would ever want to pay for the service, not that I can afford it though, even with miles. I did enjoy having access to a lounge in FCO, though, since this is not one of my favorite airports.

QF F was my favorite flight. Regardless of what you think of the A380, having all that space for myself was great. I also enjoyed the privacy offered by the suites. I wished I had tried more dishes and drinks, but I'm overall pleased with what I ate and drank. I would definitely like to fly on this plane again, and I'd consider doing it when I visit Australia.

CX C was my favorite service in C. White the experience at SIN wasn't the greatest, mainly because of the disappointing lounge and the chaos at boarding, I enjoyed the inflight experience. The meal was very good as well. I would like to experience their long-haul F or C service, but that will have to wait.

TG F offered the best overall service, or at least that's my opinion. While my first encounter with them was not as I expected, after I couldn't take the earlier flight that I thought I was book in, their ground service, both in HKG and BKK, was awesome. Bangkok itself is not a city that I find appealing, but I would fly TG again, just to spend some more time in BKK's F lounge. The in-flight service on the flight to FCO was also very enjoyable.

So, these are my opinions. I wouldn't mind flying on any of these airlines again, but I'll probably choose different ones next time I redeem an award, just to expand my horizons.


What's next?

Well, my next flight is in about two weeks. It will be to the Americas on BA, but in the back of the bus, so I'm not sure you guys would want a report. Anyhow, I'll try to take pictures in case I decide to write it.

I'll also have a couple flights with 4O (Interjet). I'll try to write a TR for these flights, just because they don't appear very often on FT.

After that, my next flights won't be till three months down the road, when I go back to Asia. This time it will be in the back of the bus with SU, and I will most likely write a TR.

Thanks for reading this one, and please feel free to post any comments you may have. I also remind you of my invitation to visit my Flickr account if you want to see all the pictures of this and previous trips.