Orchid, Elephant, Turtle:ย Trip Planning
Thai Airways A350 Business Class SIN-BKKย
Conrad Bangkok (Executive Corner)
Thai Airways Business Class BKK-USM
Conrad Koh Samui (Oceanview Pool Villa)
Thai Airways B777 Business Class USM-BKK-SIN
Royal Silk Lounge at Concourse A (Domestic)
Since we were flying domestically, there was only one lounge we could enter using our tickets.ย I thoughtย the experience was a relative non-event – I think the international lounges are way nicer, though I guess this still beats the typical contract lounge.
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They even had a DIY pancake machine, though itย wasย apparently malfunctioning when I was there. There was a pair of sad pancake-deprived Singaporeans in the lounge that day.
The Hardware
The flight was on a Boeing 737, which is perfectly fine for a short 1h journey. Much like US domestic flights, these are pretty muchย glorified flying buses. ๐
That said, it’s nice to know that these “bus seats” offer generous legroom, even if furnishings are rather dated.
The Food
I didn’t expect too much from a short domestic flight, but was rather surprised to find out that they were serving porridge for the in-flight meal (no menu was provided), with no alternatives available. There was at least one westerner on board who looked at the food and declined the meal altogether.
Interestingly enough, a plastic container of condensed milk was provided (at the bottom left). I asked a flight attendant if it was condensed milk (Iย wanted to mix it into my tea) and she looked horrified – apparently, it’s meant to be paired with the youtiao (Pa Thong Koย /ย Chinese crullers).
I still proceeded to make my Singapore-style cup of teh, of course.
The View
Something I really enjoyed about the flight was the view on the way in. I’m so used to flying into cities that it’s nice seeingย something a little less developed and more scenic prior to landing.
The airport was rather rusticย (charming in its own way – more on that in a laterย post) – no jet bridges were provided, and upon landing we were herdedย into little mini-buses that brought us into the terminal.
It was time for the highlight of the trip – heading to Conrad Koh Samui!
