Monday, March 24, 2008

Checked out in the club lounge, and the hotel car was ready for us this time with our bags ready to load into it. A quick drive over to the airport and airport porter’s met us at the curb (there’s very few as aggressive in Bali in search of tips).

This is one of those ‘failure of the last mile’ sorts of moments. The club lounge experience at the Intercontinental Bali – small issues aside – really is quite sublime. They provide you with complimentary transportation back to the airport. I understand they may not be able to leave the vehicle on the curb and come inside, but it seems easy enough to provide an extra staff member who could help you with your bags, through security, and to the checkin gates. Just a suggestion, I guess.

Denpasar Bali, Indonesia (DPS) to Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
5:20 pm Thai Airways 432, Airbus A330-300, Business Class, Seats 11J/11K
Scheduled flight time: 4h 15m

The Denpasar airport has baggage screening immediately as you enter. Once through with your checked bags, you head to the checkin lines. There were makeshift signs indicating Thai Airways checkin, with a single line for business class. After a couple folks were checked in ahead of us, we were processed rather quickly and given lounge invitations. The passes specifically mentioned the Parai Cyber Lounge which is the nearest to gate 8 which is used by Thai, but I believe you can use the Garuda Indonesia lounge as well (confirmed by the lounge attendant there).

No doubt the Garuda lounge would be nicer. The Parai Cyber Lounge appears to advertise itself to any travelers willing to pay a fee, though it was deserted except for another couple on our flight. It has a smoking lounge outdoors, a couple of computers, and wireless internet that requires a password. Rather than writing it down, a gentleman came over to whisper it to me. Very sparse buffet which appeared to have been sitting out longer than I wanted to know. But it was close by the gate…

The flight itself was rather unremarkable, with what I’ve come to regard as rather typical Thai matronly service. Still, a short regional business class flight offered a full enough meal service and amenity kits. The ancient seats on the A330-300 were fairly uncomfortable.

And another instance where SeatGuru doesn’t know what it’s talking about (I’ve found too many of these the past year or so), the plane has empower rather than direct seat power.

Dinner Hot Savoury Shrimp Siew-mai First Course Smoked Salmon, Beef Roll Teriyaki, Chicken with Dry Fruits, Asparagus Tip Salad Mixed Green Salad with Thousand Island Dressing Main Course Braised Beef Rib Buttered noodles, buttered broccoli, carrot -or- Grilled Prawn with Ginger Sauce Fried Rice with Spring Onion, Vegetables -or- Grilled Dory Fish with Citrus and Honey Sauce Potatoes with Sauteed Onion, Oriental Vegetables -or- Chicken Curry “Mussaman” (with Peanuts) Steamed Thai Hom Mali Rice with Peas Assorted Breads, Butter Assorted Cheese Tray / Fresh Fruits Dessert Cream Brulee Tea, Coffee Espresso, Cappucino

Landing at Bangkok was on-time, but we didn’t have a gate and were bussed to the terminal. The wait wasn’t long, though, and we were quickly through immigration. (The last two times I was here I had transit immigration with no line and first class immigration, so this was my first time using the regular line at Suvarnabhumi.

Ok, I’ll just have to call the next part… “One Night in Bangkok.”