After finishing dinner and the table cleared, the cabin was largely being set up for everyone to have a nap. Window shades were drawn down, and I was offered to have my bed made up. I accepted the offer whilst I moved to the bathrooms to freshen up.
The F amenity kit is a zip amenity bag (traditional shape) made by Tumi. The only thing which differentiated it from most common zip bags was the the zip line at the top was made of a reinforced material so it was almost impossible to rip the zip at the top. Apart from that, however, the bag was definitely not as good as the Rimowa cases - really missed the Rimowa cases (and I here they are only offered on A380 flights now).
Another thing I noticed was that the bathroom amenities on my TG F flight last year were from Salvatore Ferragamo, whereas this time they were from the lesser known Aigner. This got me wondering whether there is a substantial difference in the service and product between flights going
to BKK as opposed to those
from BKK.
Aigner products in the TG F bathrooms, rather than Salvatore Ferragamo
TG F amenity kit by Tumi
Contents of the TG F amenity kit - nothing too fancy schmancy here
As I exited the bathroom, I noticed that the F cabin had all the lights out and my bed had been set up. I slipped into the bed and soon slipped into a slumber...
...well, that didn't last very long. When I woke up again, I checked my watch and noticed that there was still quite a bit of time left before we arrived in BKK (though I was still concerned in the back of my mind about my next flight!). Having woken up and everything was still dark, I thought about doing a bit of work, but I didn't really want to put on any lights because it would definitely impact on the rest of my row. So what to do?
Having a mostly empty cabin and everyone in row 1 helps a bit! I got my belongings out quietly and moved back to 2A. Then I set up shop there. I used my personal reading light to shine the dimmest of lights on my workspace, making careful note not to shine it directly into the row in front. This seemed to work well. Fired up the laptop, cut the sound and reduced the brightness.
The cabin manager noticed I was up and asked if there was anything I would like. I asked for a glass of the Australian Domaine Tournon 2009, a Victorian Shiraz. Not a bad drop, I must say.
Glass of Domaine Tournon Shiraz 2009
As I worked away, the cabin manager noticed I had finished my red wine and offered a top-up. I declined and instead wanted to shift gears to something a bit sweeter and basic. Would you believe that at this time all I wanted was a chocolate drink, but I didn't want a hot one. I noticed on the menu there was something called "Chocolate Malt 3-in-1" (whatever the three ingredients were). The cabin manager informed me that this drink is normally served warm, but I asked him whether it was possible to serve it cold. He said, "Let me see what I can do".
When he returned, I saw a glass of malted chocolate milk drink with ice cubes in it. Tasted fantastic! I wasn't too phased with the ice cubes, as the ice cubes don't melt fast enough to compromise the flavour of the drink. Full marks to the cabin manager.
Cold malted chocolate milk drink
1D started to stir, probably again, like me, not quite able to sleep the whole flight to BKK. He switched on his IFE and looked for another movie to watch. Soon enough, 1K stirred as well and copied my form, moving to 2K to do some document reading. This left 1G as the only passenger snoozing away in the dark cabin.
Eventually I tired of working and returned to my bed to snooze until the cabin lights were turned on and we were ready to think about landing. A check of my watch and the moving map confirmed that we had made up a little bit of time, but I was still staring down the barrel of a 35 - 40 minute connection.
After getting changed back into civilian clothes again, I sat down for the pre-landing snack. This started off with a traditional Tom Yam soup.
Tom Yam Goong soup
The two choices of snack were chicken satay or tortellini. I opted for the chicken satay, which was tasty, though the peanut satay sauce was a bit sweet for my liking. I usually prefer a much more concentrated peanut flavour with a very good hint of spices / lemongrass.
Chicken Satay snack
The conclusion of the snack was marked by a dainty Frangipane tart, which I had with some green tea.
Frangipane raspberry tart with vanilla sauce
Now well and truly fed, it was time to plot my transfer at BKK. By my estimations, I was hoping to run to my next gate after we land at BKK, and hoping my bag could similarly make it in time, too. I had no backup plan if I didn't make this flight - it probably wouldn't be pretty and might involve an unpleasant experience of calling US DM when I was overseas and not in normal communications contact. I even repacked my bags to be as "security screening compliant" as possible - all of my loose items put into my bags so I wouldn't be emptying my pockets; my laptop was placed near the front of my backpack for easy access.
As the cabin manager and F FA came around to say thanks for flying Thai and farewell, they reassured me that I would make my next flight. I thanked them for their hospitality on this flight and wished them well.
With that, we were seated for landing and soon arrived late at night into Suvarnabhumi Airport.