HI-HO HI-HO We're off to get a DONE5 (Mrs WF & I)
PER-SIN-BKK and overnight
Ah well Perth airport (international side) does have its good points. It's almost never terribly crowded and the departure on 06 May on QF77 to SIN was no exception. Just as well as it was a hurried arrival at the terminal as I had it in my mind that the departure was 1230 rather than the actual 1130. And as a result the morning was rather more hurried than I had wanted. I could also say some some unkind words about having to use half of a Q class round trip ticket for the one-way trip , that being even with round-trip taxes, it was much less expensive than the standard one way ticket. But I am reporting about an honorable quest and simply asked QF to credit the miles for the deeply discounted fare to our respective QF accounts.
As the only other departing flight at the time was SAA to Johannesburg, check-in was prompt at the business non-line. The Finn Air eticket did prove to be something of a challenge - not so much to the agent - but for the machine that prints the BPs. Finally the agent at the
adjoining station suceeded.
The QP (Qantas Club lounge) was quiet and comforting though much too early for me to sample the beverages from the cooler while waiing for the seats at 28H/K
on the 763. Departure was close enough to on-time to not worry about recording the actual value though there was a short hold at the runway for a couple of twin prop planes to land.
The cabin staff were quite prompt in bringing the menus (yes in economy) around and setting up for the drinks and meal to follow. My notes indicate that it would be no
secret to a wine taster that Lindemans Bin 50 shiraz was not harvested in Western Australia. But acceptable to a cabernet fan sitting in an economy seat.
Aside from attempting to deal with the duelling elbows which are a essential part of an economy class meal, the lemon chicken was a quite acceptable and Mrs WF thought the coconutpannacotta was reasonable. Actually a compliment from one who does not like coconut.
Arrival in SIN was on time at Gate C11 - not all that far from the main concourse. Mrs & I strolled along looking for the OneWorld business lounge which was under construction when we were last there in November 2004. Quite spacious but a bit short on the variety of edible items given the four plus hour wait for AY98. Over the time the lounge filled and emptied and the use of the 12 computers reflected the changing number of clients.
The flight was announced about 30 minutes before departure giving us adequate time to wander from the lounge for seats 1A/C. Pity I don't read the language as the stock of newspapers on board was quite different that that found in the lounge. The entire business section
eventually filled. I speculated that there was some overflow from the back of the plane though it is hard to guess as both J and Y have very competitive fares on this route.
I must admit that I am rather partial to the food on Finn Air. It may be my preference for the dense and very thinly sliced rye bread which the normal markets in Oz seldom have.A parma ham salad was offerred followed by a chicken with an oyster sauce for Mrs and a salmon steak for me. I chose the 2002 Campanaro Fiano di Avellino for the dinner wineQuite nice - I judged it neither too sweet nor dry.
The flight was proceeding with the normal boredom of following the schedule until we got to BKK where a ten minute wait for a gate to clear slowed the process down. And we discovered the <i>faux pas</i> of the flight when we arrived at immigration to realize that boarding cards had not been handed out. Fortunately Thai immigration were their normal helpful selves and we filled the cards out at the adjoining (empty) desk.
Given the almost midnight arrival I reluctantly signed up for the pre-paid taxi into the city, as the air-conditioned airport A3 bus normally stops only 50 meters from the hotel entrance. The Hotel Manhattan is a *** on Soi 15 Suhkumvit that was probably quite classy in the heydays of the early 1970s. We find that it is low key enough for us with clean beds and good hot water and air conditioning to satisfy the needs for accomodation in a very busy city.
The breakfast buffet is standard given the combination of western and eastern guests which make up their clientele. In any case there is plenty of fresh fruit.
Mrs WF made it VERY plain to me that a haricut was in order and I included that task (and a beard trim) in the mornings schedule. Amazingly enough it was judged succesful by the all important judge and we wandered off to Robinsons Department store only a block or so away. Lunch at the Italian restaurant affiliated with the City Lodge Hotel (across the street from the Westin) was a quite pleasant surprise with quite good aspargus soup followed by penne carbonara for Mrs and lemon chicken for me. Given the late checkout and even later flight, we turned it into a lazy afternoon by adding ice cream and cappucino to the meal. All up less than $US25.
And on to BKK_CMB
You might have wondered why I was reluctant earlier to take the pre-paid taxi from the airport. $US17 is not terribly expensive one could say. Well the metered taxi on the return was about $US8 including a tip which made the driver smile nicely. The bus would have been $US5 for both of us though rather more difficult to take back to the airport.
The PTA ticket arranged through the CMB travel agency turned out to be quite simple once I determined where the proper ticket office at the airport checkin area was located.
Check-in through the empty CX business line was quite simple and we were off to the somewhat small business lounge. Mrs immediately noticed that the toilets were outside the lounge - but no so far away to be a problem. Her sample of the instant noodles proved to
be a very spicy experience. Not bad but rather an example of a learning process.
Boarding at the gare commenced almost as soon as we arrived. The announcement about that process was a bit confusing but as the flight was only a bit more than half full there was plenty of overhead bin space. The assigned seats 39D/G reflected that with the central seat left empty. Push back was perhaps 5 minutes late due mainly to a tardy pasenger. Meal choices were chicken curry for Mrs and fish cakes (more of a pate) for me. Given the late flight I managed to sample both red wines. The Australian
Yerling Frog from the Yarra valley - was decidedly better than the French option which was a bit sharp to the taste. The FA thought my comments were so interesting I got a second glass of the Aussie variety without asking
Into CMB was on-time but with the terminal building not yet finished it was walk down the stairs onto the transport bus and then into the terminal. The walk about long enough to realize that the climate was going to be fra different to the dryness of Western Australia
we had become used to. Immigration was easier that expected and one of the arrivals areas (before the choas of the public area) contained all the money changers and ATM.
The taxi to Negombo was perhaps a 10-15 minute ride.
More later.
WF