kaptainrob
Administrator
I flew ThaiVietJet, a good service, CNX to BKK the afternoon before my NZ outbound flights (which would require early check-in at Swampy). This necessitated an overnight stay and so I took the Airtrain (@35bt) to Makkasan which is an easy 25 minute ride with some decent eye-candy 
I checked in at the FX Metrolink Makkasan Hotel (628bt) at 3pm. Nice room, smallish but recently modernised, squeaky clean and with all the little necessities like coffee/tea, soap, shampoo etc. Whilst their soi doesn't impress, it is surprisingly quiet and just across the road from the station, a 3 mins walk. I'd use it again.
Being a cool 28c afternoon, I walked south to Sukhumvit, hung a left to the Radisson and checked out their rooftop bar, Brewski. Good service, superb craft beers, the view ... nothing special. Tables and decor appeared a tad weathered before the sun went down though food items looked very tasty ... but I had other plans for dinner.
Next morning saw me on the Skytrain by 0730 and at BKK Departures level by 0800. 3 hours ahead of take-off. I don't like cutting things too fine and as it turned out I had ample time. It took exactly 55 minutes from Check-in to exiting Immigration and heading for the departure gate which took another 10 minutes.
Suvarnabhumi have installed the new pre-departure security gates
which all pax must pass thru before you even head upstairs to the main security check ... shoes/belt/jacket etc off and yes there's always a long queue. Then you have to queue again for Immigration ... slow as a wet week. I was lucky to do it all in under an hour. Wait until travel really picks up!
Cathay Pacific to HKG on a near new A350-900 was a 3hr flight and among the best experience of economy with any airline! Cabin crew were really lovely, food excellent and seats comfortable ... top marks! HKG airport was relatively easy to negotiate, far less busy than pre-covid.
I found my way to the AKL connection gate with a certain amount of trepidation, it was a Cathay code-share AirNZ operated B787 flight. I had not flown international with my home-team for some 30 years and wasn't looking forward to experiencing the changes I'd heard of. Boarding was chaotic, I've seen dogs herd sheep into a shearing shed in a more orderly manner. My aisle seat was ok, not as comfy as AirAsiaX, let alone Cathay. And the flight was full of code-share pax from all over the World ... too many screaming kids and bogans. Worst of all were the massively over-sized female cabin crew, some with a pretty face, others old and wrinkly. OMG I thought ... is this the face of NZ they present to international visitors? Food loaded ex HKG was good but they only serve drinks AFTER the meal cart, stingy as! ... and their safety video is a disgrace, canoes can't fly! FFS. Those lie-flat x 3-seat economy beds ... what a laugh watching the kerfuffle to make them up and see couples attempt to sleep on them!
A very late departure was made up with a little help from a high level jet stream and we landed in AKL on time at 0830. I entered the same old dingy arrivals hall ... 2 years of covid and not even a coat of paint. Customs queue was long but I was passed thru without a baggage search. My sister was there to meet me and we headed off to have coffee and shopping before I could uplift a key for a serviced apartment in the city.
To be continued ....
I checked in at the FX Metrolink Makkasan Hotel (628bt) at 3pm. Nice room, smallish but recently modernised, squeaky clean and with all the little necessities like coffee/tea, soap, shampoo etc. Whilst their soi doesn't impress, it is surprisingly quiet and just across the road from the station, a 3 mins walk. I'd use it again.
Being a cool 28c afternoon, I walked south to Sukhumvit, hung a left to the Radisson and checked out their rooftop bar, Brewski. Good service, superb craft beers, the view ... nothing special. Tables and decor appeared a tad weathered before the sun went down though food items looked very tasty ... but I had other plans for dinner.
Next morning saw me on the Skytrain by 0730 and at BKK Departures level by 0800. 3 hours ahead of take-off. I don't like cutting things too fine and as it turned out I had ample time. It took exactly 55 minutes from Check-in to exiting Immigration and heading for the departure gate which took another 10 minutes.
Suvarnabhumi have installed the new pre-departure security gates
which all pax must pass thru before you even head upstairs to the main security check ... shoes/belt/jacket etc off and yes there's always a long queue. Then you have to queue again for Immigration ... slow as a wet week. I was lucky to do it all in under an hour. Wait until travel really picks up!Cathay Pacific to HKG on a near new A350-900 was a 3hr flight and among the best experience of economy with any airline! Cabin crew were really lovely, food excellent and seats comfortable ... top marks! HKG airport was relatively easy to negotiate, far less busy than pre-covid.
I found my way to the AKL connection gate with a certain amount of trepidation, it was a Cathay code-share AirNZ operated B787 flight. I had not flown international with my home-team for some 30 years and wasn't looking forward to experiencing the changes I'd heard of. Boarding was chaotic, I've seen dogs herd sheep into a shearing shed in a more orderly manner. My aisle seat was ok, not as comfy as AirAsiaX, let alone Cathay. And the flight was full of code-share pax from all over the World ... too many screaming kids and bogans. Worst of all were the massively over-sized female cabin crew, some with a pretty face, others old and wrinkly. OMG I thought ... is this the face of NZ they present to international visitors? Food loaded ex HKG was good but they only serve drinks AFTER the meal cart, stingy as! ... and their safety video is a disgrace, canoes can't fly! FFS. Those lie-flat x 3-seat economy beds ... what a laugh watching the kerfuffle to make them up and see couples attempt to sleep on them!
A very late departure was made up with a little help from a high level jet stream and we landed in AKL on time at 0830. I entered the same old dingy arrivals hall ... 2 years of covid and not even a coat of paint. Customs queue was long but I was passed thru without a baggage search. My sister was there to meet me and we headed off to have coffee and shopping before I could uplift a key for a serviced apartment in the city.
To be continued ....
