The day is finally here, and Felix and I are off to Bali and Singapore via the craziest route we have embarked upon yet. With the help of Alex at Point Pros were able to use a few 100,000 points up and get to Singapore via First Class, but via Europe.
After our last trek and coming back from Greece, we had the chance to fly with Lufthansa First from Frankfurt to Washington D.C., so we were game to get the whole trip booked First with the express request that there are no domestic carriers, why ruin the trek with United or American bunging the thing.
11:30
The car arrives to pick us and the luggage up to LAX. By chance the driver was the same as for the Amsterdam Trip. Fast and effortless we are pulling into Terminal 4 and roll on over to the Lufthansa Check In. 10 minutes later, we are on our way to the Lounge to get a bit of lunch. Felix is nervous as ever. He get’s that way before a flight. In the security check, I had the pleasure of being taken to the special room for a full body rub/pat down. They were efficient and very apologetic. Then on to the lounge.
THE FLIGHTS
LF 457: LAX –> FRK (with a Toronto bonus)
TG 921: FRK –> BKK
The Star Alliance Lounge at Thomas Bradley ain’t so bad. But they were having problems with the Air Con, and it was mighty chilly. We snacked on a few tidbits and drank lots of water till they called the flight. So we rolled with our new carry-on roller suitcases, and finally got to the gate, which was a bit zoo-like. A full flight and everyone was trying to smooth their way in. Finally on board and up to the Upper Deck were Lufthansa has their First Class, and sadness… it’s the old First Class arrangement! Our 747-400 hasn’t been updated yet. But the did give us two full seats each, one to be the Sleeping Seat to mimic the new (and fabulous) First Class Seating. But it was still pretty comfy though it looks a bit dated. Alex our Steward got the Champagne and snacks to us pronto while we waited for take off.
From there, after take off dinner was started and we had our now traditional Caviar with Vodka shots. And when the other appetizers came by I just requested the whole trio, cause I wanted to sample them all. The Crab Cakes were the best, the others were forgettable. The main course of Chicken with White Beans was surprisingly good. At first I didn’t want desert but the Lime Cheesecake was to tempting. Then settle in and watch “Cowboys and Aliens” and hopefully fall asleep. Next stop Frankfurt where we would get a quick shower and continue on to Bangkok on Thai.
About 30 minutes into “Cowboys and Aliens” there was an announcement that if there was a doctor on board, to contact a stewardess. Appears there was someone in need of medical attention. About 20 minutes later the pilot walks by not looking very happy, but figured he was German. About 15 minutes later I notice that the plane feels like it is descending, but what do I know. And then cam the announcement that we were making an emergency landing in Toronto. A passenger was suffering a heart attack and needed immediate attention. Guess we just added another Airport to this adventure. We descend into Toronto and pull up to the gate and are surrounded by several Ambulances and a whole tone of Canadians come on board. It appears that emergency procedures stop everything, even the flow of Champagne in First and entertainment system. ANd the plane needs to refuel. It was mentioned that they had to dump fuel before landing as procedure and the refueling would take at least 45 to 60 minutes, and that our flight will be behind schedule at least 2 hours. Leaving only 35 minutes at best for us to transfer to the Thai flight. We take off and I check with our head stewardess to let her now our transfer schedule. Then proceed to dose off in the middle of “Cowboys and Aliens”.
Approaching Frankfurt, the pilot announces that we are about 2 hours and 15 minutes behind schedule. Oh oh, this leaves 15 minutes for a transfer. We are also given a note from the Ground Staff that they will meet us at the the gate. They will escort us to the next flight if we touchdown within enough time. At arrival time, we are given priority exiting and there is our helper to meet us at the gate. A sweet young dark haired german girl who immediately tells us to hurry… Run! if we are to make the flight. She immediately bolts down the corridor waving her ID Badge, turns and suggests we move a little faster if we want to make the flight. She seems hell bent that we make this connection. We need to go through a rescreening at the terminal, and she just basically pushes us right through a private screening area. And then she off like a gazelle glancing back to make sure we are keeping up.
Finally at the gate, and we have a couple minutes to spare, she collects our Passports and Boarding Cards, and fast-tracks us on the plane. We are onboard, I am a bit damp from the Airport run and have a glass of water and champagne handed to me. We are on, but they explained that they doubt our luggage was. One minute after we sit down, the plane begins it departure from the gate. Rolling down the tarmac for take off, an announcement over the PA, it appears someone has changed their mind, and doesn’t want to go to Bangkok, they insist on getting off the plane. The plane pulls over to a parking area, and we wait for them to escort the person and get their luggage. 35 minutes later, we start back on our way for Take-Off. Our steward later mentioned that she had changed her mind about getting off later, but had not choice, she was removed from the plane.
We settle back, put on our Purple Flying/Sleep suits. After take off we have our Caviar and Vodka shots. The steward let me know that my special order meal of This Style Jumbo Prawns looks wonderful…. I thought a bit salty in the end. I start to watch “Cowboys and Aliens” but there is an Audio Problem, and I can’t here the English dialogue and play a bit of Angry Birds and fall asleep. Our second night flight within 18 hours. In the middle of our sleep, we are awoken by the Crazy German guy over there in 3A. The one with that crazed look of a young Gary Busey / Mickey Rourke. It appears he had about 6 Vodka Sprites to many. Was singing loudly in his sleep a crazy song of English and German mix. At first I though it was Felix til I realized it was German which Felix doesn’t know. He woke the whole First Class section.
We awake and have breakfast and get ready to arrive in Bangkok.
BANGKOK SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT
Morning arrival into Bangkok with a beautiful sunrise on approach. We disembark to find our driver waiting at the gate to take us through Immigration and to the Baggage Claim. Thank goodness too, Suvarnabhumi Airport is huge. Our driver zips us past all the other passengers and takes us to immigration. Initially I thought we were going to get “Fast-Tracked” but oh no, not for the Royal Silk (First Class) passengers. We are taken quickly past all the others waiting to the Diplomats Only window where our Passports are scanned and stamped within 45 seconds, and out to Baggage Claim where two additional baggage handlers greet us. Felix and I inform them that we probably have no baggage to claim, being that it probably did not make the transfer from Frankfurt. This sets a whole new set of wheels in motion, and our entourage suddenly grows to 5 people. Two of which are in now in charge of the missing baggage. We are informed that we should wait by Baggage Claim and that they do not have the updated manifest to check if our baggage made the flight. But that the Lost and Found paperwork has been started already, just in case.
Manifest is received from Frankfurt and it is clear our luggage is on the next Thai flight from FRK. We are ushered over to Lost & Found, where our Baggage Handlers accidentally take us to the standard area and are scolded… they should have taken us to the special room for the Royal Silk passengers. They have two flights a day from Frankfurt, so our Baggage will be delivered to the Hotel by 3:30pm. All the paperwork is processed and we head out of the Airport to find our driver to the Hotel. They have a lovely Mercedes waiting with a lovely Off-White interior. We sit back and discover that Bangkok traffic is crazy.
SOKUTHAI HOTEL BANGKOK
We decided to spend an extra day in Bangkok, just to chill a bit. Never having been in Bangkok before thought it nice to get over the jet-lag there first and see a couple sites too. Plus I wanted some good Thai food. I booked the Garden Suite rather than a standard room just to make the stay a bit more special, but the Hotel upgraded to one of the larger suites (Beuford Suite) with a Kitchen and Dining area which made it real nice. And it was the perfect place to lounge around during the day, napping a bit trying to get onto Asia time.
