Thailand Trip Dec 2022 - Seattle to Bangkok via Seoul and how we got to Chiang Mai (logistics, logistics and nothing more)
With the pandemic subsiding and armed with the confidence of being vaccinated with the Bivalent booster, we decided to resume our global adventures. Our criteria for December vacation were that it had to be easily accessible for Maa and Baba to fly in from Kolkata, it had to be a warm sunny place and the cuisine had to be suitable for Indian palates. Thailand with its proximity to Kolkata (3.5hr flight) and flavorful cuisine seemed to be an ideal destination.
We flew from Seattle to Bangkok via Seoul on Korean airlines flight operated by Delta from Seattle to Incheon. The flight was longer than Seattle to Dubai that we are used to and unlike Emirates, the meal portion was extremely small. We were super hungry and wondering how to survive the flight when we discovered the sandwiches/chips/cookies that were kept in the galley at the very end of the airplane. We landed at Incheon and discovered it to be a Bidet paradise with all restrooms equipped with bidets! Yes, it matters if you prefer bidets over tissues :)
 |
| The beautiful art installations at Incheon, Seoul airport and don't miss the orchids! |
We had a 3.5hr halt in Incheon where we picked up some burgers and then got onto the Korean Airways flight to Bangkok. We all slept through majority of this flight since we had barely slept on the previous flight into Incheon. Some food was served but we were too sleepy and weren't hungry enough to pay any attention.
We landed past midnight at Bangkok and went to the pickup point where the hotel staff from Gold Airport Suites was waiting for us. We checked into the hotel and went straight to bed after a quick shower. Somnath on other hand barely slept because he was going to pick up Maa and Baba the next morning at 6am. After settling them into their room for some rest, Somnath picked up the famous paninis from a nearby 7-Eleven store. Thailand has many 7-Eleven stores - almost one every block. They have different sandwiches in the refrigerated sections like ham/cheese, cheese, egg/cheese, pandan sandwiches etc. While these don't taste as good when cold (we tried eating them cold), they are heavenly when grilled in the many toasters at the store. They end up turning into melt in the mouth sandwiches (not exaggerating!). This was our rest day so that Maa and baba could catch up on their sleep and we could also freshen up. In the evening we had an Air Asia flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
Our first experience flying Air Asia and we LOVED them. After a short 1.5hrs, we landed in Chiang Mail around 6pm where the hotel staff from "The Grand Napat" was waiting to pick us up. As we neared the exit, Somnath gave in to his temptation of renting an 8-seater van from Sixt with pickup at 7am the next morning. As you can guess, it meant he did not get any sleep on the first night in Chiang Mai either since he was excited about the rental van pick-up. Explore Chiang Mai with us via the next blog post!
 |
| Is it a runaway cart? No, it is a robotic vacuum cleaner that keeps Bangkok airport clean and shiny! |
Our ratings:
- Gold Airport Suites - 4/5. Small hotel with clean rooms. Bit like Motel 6 or Super 8 but bigger rooms. Free water and coffee/tea with Kettle in the room.
- Air Asia - 5/5. You will hear us raving about this airline throughout the trip. It's a budget airline with no free beverage or snack services and everything is for purchase. They are super-efficient, and check-in was smooth. Inside the flight, the first couple of "premium" rows are reserved for passengers needing assistance or wheelchairs. We had carried a wheelchair from Seattle to Thailand for baba and we did gate check-in for the wheelchair for all the Air Asia flights within Thailand.