10 October 2004
Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL/RPLL) – Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI)
Korean Air Lines KE 624
Boeing 777-3B5
HL7573
2350-0425+1 (0000-0355)
Economy Class, Seat 39H
Check-in lines for Korean were terrible, luckily I spotted a “no checked baggage” desk, and fortunately the guy guarding the entrance didn’t have problems with my two carry-on bags. Check-in took the usual 10 minutes, but after I had showed the supervisor about four tickets out of Korea, she was convinced that my intention was not to overstay in Korea.
I do find it very funny that countries like Korea, Japan and the U.S. always make a huge deal of this issue. Sure, if I was a Philippine national with a one-way ticket, then I could see the possible risk. Meanwhile, countries where I could see myself living such as Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong or the Philippines couldn’t care less. Passport control this evening was rather quick, and I made my way to the Sampaguita Lounge.
Sampaguita Lounge, NAIA 1
This is a lounge open to everybody; you just need to pay the entrance fee of 300 Pesos or about USD 6. Used to be USD 15, but even with USD 6 it was still nearly empty. Free offerings include sandwiches, peanuts, water and juice, as well as internet access. Additionally, you may purchase alcoholic drinks and more substantial meals. My can of Carlsberg cost 50 Pesos. The two guys were friendly, and the place is well worth the low entrance fee if you don’t have access to other lounges.
Boarding started on time, and this is where I started missing my elite benefits. The gate area was very crowded with the Korean flight as well as an Emirates flight about to start boarding. I waited what seemed like an eternity until my row number was called (the 777-300 is a long plane indeed!) while watching the elites and business class passengers skip the long line. It seemed to me that the aisle seat on the side had a bit less legroom than in the middle block, but it was still comfortable.
Crew was friendly and nice again, I just wonder who had assigned the seats for this flight. It was about half full, but still most people seemed to have no empty seat next to them. Again, a foreign captain was in charge of the aircraft, with a Korean first officer doing the actual flying. We were pushed back at midnight, but again the pilots estimated an early arrival into Incheon.
Service was similar to that on ICN-MNL, I had beef to eat this time. It was again ok but not amongst the best meals I have had in economy class. This flight operates at such horrible hours – 1:50 was the remaining flying time after the meal service was finished. Not enough to get any decent sleep, and we were scheduled to land at 3:55am – 2:55 am by Filipino time.
The flight deck guys had estimated the arrival time well, and indeed we landed just before 4am. Incheon was deserted at this hour, needless to say. The immigration guy seemed to be sleeping as well, at least he looked like he had never seen a Finnish passport before.
The fun began after clearing customs. I had left my (overweight for KE) bag at the Best Western, and it was not easy to find a taxi driver to do such a short trip at 4am. I finally found one “no meter, you pay 10000 won”. Ridiculous, but I had no other choice. It was still cheaper than storing the bag at Incheon Airport. Korean Air buses don’t operate at night, so I also had to wait about 40 minutes for the first bus to city… Let me tell you the day at university was not a whole lot of fun after this flight…
13 October 2004
Seoul Incheon International (ICN/RKSI) – Singapore Changi (SIN/WSSS)
Singapore Airlines SQ 883
Boeing 747-412
9V-SMQ
0905-1435 (0940-1500)
Economy Class, Seat 49A (Exit Row)
I almost missed this flight thanks to my habit of hitting the snooze button too many times… This morning, I obviously mixed up the buttons but thankfully woke up at 6am. After a very quick shower, I realized I had just missed a bus as well, the next one would be in 20 minutes. This got me to Incheon at 7:50 am, just in time.
A Singapore Airlines representative was welcoming First/Business class passengers, and after seeing my Lufthansa card, she escorted me to the empty First Class desk as Raffles had a group trying to sort out their mountain of bags and the associated excess charges. Luckily, an exit row seat was still left, albeit a window with the slide compartment blocking some of the legroom. Off to security I went, but an officer refused to let me continue with my standard-sized carry on bag. Nothing I said seemed to help, he wanted SQ to give a written OK for the damn thing.
Fuming at this point, I went back to the Singapore First desk and explained the matter. “So what is his problem? Your bag is fine sir.” She grabbed a marker and wrote CARRY BAG OK!! on my boarding pass. Now the officer was happy to let me pass… After completing the usual procedures in about 10 minutes, I was soon enjoying a nice breakfast at the SilverKris lounge. 9V-SMQ was waiting outside – it could handle a repaint I guess.
Boarding was conducted in an orderly manner as usual, and I was onboard in no time. A Singapore Girl welcomed me onboard, while her Korean colleague didn’t bother saying a word, let alone smiling. 49A was a decent seat, the legroom is a bit limited but I still prefer it to normal rows. The plane looked very tired inside, had no Wisemen3000 and no spacebeds. A 6-hour flight is not exactly a short hop, and I would expect these much advertised features to be in place on a 747.
Pushback was delayed by 40 minutes as “The authorities have decided some individuals can’t join us this morning and we have to find the bags.” The jumbo was perhaps 40% full this morning to Singapore, and again a few of the crew didn’t seem to be happy to be there. Hot towels were handed out, and menus after takeoff.
We finally pushed back at 9:40 am, and took off shortly thereafter. Peanuts and the usual limited selection of drinks were offered before lunch. Lunch was a choice of Korean style beef or chicken with vegetable paella, I chose the chicken. Comparable only to Lufthansa economy food on BKK-MNL-BKK, the main course was simply disgusting. Totally tasteless etc. The salad was ok, and ice cream for dessert was very nice of course.
Drink service was very poor, no refills whatsoever were offered. I wanted a water refill, and waited for it with the call button on for almost 10 minutes. Meanwhile, 6 flight attendants passed by, nobody was even looking if a passenger needed something. I would almost expect that on certain airlines, but couldn’t believe that happened on Singapore Airlines, after all they claim to offer “inflight service even other airlines talk about”…
I wasn’t interested in the old-style PTV, so decided to try to sleep for the rest of the flight. It’s never easy in cattle class, but I managed a few hours, and then it was time for the afternoon snack. It was a big sandwich, either tuna or ham. I chose the ham and it was much better than the abovementioned main meal.
On approach to Changi, we passed a company 777 – it was so close I could easily read the “Jubilee” text near the cockpit windows. He landed on the parallel taxiway eventually at about the same time I believe – at least a 777 was landing there. After a smooth landing, we taxied to terminal two and arrived approximately 25 minutes late. A nice touch was the cheerful Singapore Girl in red dress thanking everybody for flying SIA upon deplaning.
13 October 2004
Singapore Changi (SIN/WSSS) – Bangkok Don Muang (BKK/VTBD)
Singapore Airlines SQ 66
Boeing 747-412
9V-SPD
1600-1720 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 33G
Due to the late arrival of SQ 883, I had hardly enough time to visit the SIA Premier Lounge this time. No hot food was available at this hour; I just had a Diet Coke and checked my emails before trekking back to the E-gates where SQ 66 to Bangkok was just about to start boarding. Security was quick, and after the SATS guy took the larger part of my boarding pass, I basically walked straight onboard as they had just started pre-boarding.
9V-SPD had all the much-advertised bells and whistles, and a young and friendly crew to serve us on the short hop to the Thai capital. Legroom isn’t the best on SIA’s Megatops, but it was not a problem for the short 1h50min flight. Hot towels were again offered before pushback, and doors were closed on time at 4pm. Load in economy class was 100%, but premium cabins looked quite empty.
The cabin was a madhouse during boarding; there was this huge Chinese tour group shouting and blocking aisles… A guy from this group was seated in front of me, and was coughing like there was no tomorrow… Due to SARS I believe, he was provided a mask by the crew and asked to wear it throughout the flight. I’m pretty sure myself SARS and other things are well alive somewhere in China unfortunately.
We were pushed back a few minutes late, and the Australian captain welcomed us onboard and expected an on-time arrival at Don Muang. A hot meal was served on this flight by the friendly and attentive crew, I chose beef with rice. The other choice was duck with noodles. The beef was good as was the dessert cake and Caesar salad. Drinks were refilled, and service was what I would expect on SIA. I just find it strange that in both directions there was a huge difference in service on BKK-SIN and SIN-ICN sectors. Bangkok yields must have crashed after the entry of low cost competition, yet the crew still seemed to go the extra mile.
Wisemen3000 is a great system in my opinion; I especially like the “My Playlist” feature where you can select songs from tons of albums. After the meal, the in-flight supervisor came to ask me if the meal was edible and if everything else was ok. A very nice touch and much appreciated that he actually checked to see where Star Golds were sitting.
With a nice meal and good entertainment, the flight passed by very quickly, and soon we started our approach to Bangkok International Airport. The routing had so far taken us over the Gulf of Siam and near Pattaya, landing would be on 21L this afternoon. Another smooth landing today marked an on-time arrival of Singapore 66 at Bangkok.
Immigration was a quick as usual, and I took a taxi to a dump hotel where my suitcase with Raffles Class priority tags looked very much out of place.
JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok
Since I have achieved Marriott Rewards Gold status after my last stay here, I just had to try it out for one night again. A flawless stay I would say. I was upgraded without questions to the Executive Floor, a nicer room than a notmal room at this hotel. The lounge is fantastic as well, great views and the evening cocktails/snacks included everything you can imagine. A complimentary breakfast was included as well - I chose the buffet at Marriott Cafe, undoubtedly the best breakfast buffet I have seen so far.
On Friday 15th of October, my mum arrived for her first visit to Thailand. Don Muang was an absolute madhouse that afternoon, I have never seen so many people at any airport before. Needless to say it took her a few moments to clear customs...
Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok
I checked in in the morning already before picking up my mother, a suite upgrade was available for $50 which I took. It was another xx01 non-renovated suite but of course very nice nevertheless. A highly enjoyable stay, and the breakfast buffet at Next2 is a great way to start a day as I have mentioned before.
Intercontinental Bangkok
The Intercontinental is perhaps the best location for shopping in Bangkok, and conveniently located right next to BTS Chit Lom station. I called earlier to request room preferences etc, but was very pleasantly surprised that we got upgraded to a huge corner room on the 28th floor. A funny incident was that at check-in, my nationality was listed as Afghanistan... The rooms here are modern and very nice, one of the best Bangkok hotels for sure in my opinion.