Detailed Postings for the Day
Ahhhhhh terminal 3; I had been here during the pandemic when it was almost devoid of people. Good to see it coming alive with much buzz and life!
Checking in our luggage ourselves. With many airports facing manpower issues, I have heard of horror stories of luggage that were so delayed; the passengers had already returned home! Praying hard it wouldn't happen to me as I need the luggage space for my shopping!
View of terminal 3; if you ask me which is my favorite terminal at Changi International Airport, my answer would be terminal 4 and it will be reopening in September 2022, given the increasing air traffic.
Preparing to step into the departure hall.
Glad to see the signage that stated the time taken to walk to the gates. I think many people assumed that as Singapore is small, there wouldn't be that many gates. Only bad thing about the signage? It totally blocked the beautiful façade of Louis Vuitton.
Compared to pre-pandemic, I must admit the departure area wasn't as crowded.
Hudsons Coffee - a new coffee chain? According to a search on the world wide web, it's from Australia where there are 67 branches and this outlet at Changi Airport appeared to be its first overseas venture.
Daily feeding from 9am to 9.30am and 4pm to 4.30pm and you are free to join. No feeding on Sundays though; hm.... the fish needs to fast?
IRVINS Salted Egg; supposedly so famous until it ran out of stock at one period of time, I actually don't remember if I have ever tried their "world's #DangerouslyAddictive Salted Egg Fish Skin and Potato Chips".
A Louis Vuitton exhibition.
I didn't eat with Alex for two reasons; one, I don't see the point of paying premium pricing for fast food that I could easily have outside the airport and two; I have access to SATS Premier Lounge where I would have free food and drinks! Click here to find out more!
Wait! Flight SQ712 would be at Terminal 1?! So glad we thought of checking the display to confirm the gate for our flight one hour before departure! The usual me would only look at the display 30 minutes beforehand as the walk to gates wouldn't take more that long.
Time to rush!
First time taking the skytrain within the departure section! Should I have more time, I would have taken the skytrain from terminal 3 to terminal 2, where it would pass by the breathtaking Vortex!
Arrived at terminal 1; the grand old dame of Changi Airport which was decked out with carpets that felt very 80s. I actually can't remember how terminal 2 was like.
Empty waiting area at gate C13.
No one queuing into the airplane. Please be assured we were still ahead of time and there were still passengers behind us. I don't understand why people want to rush into the plane; it's not as if there are free seating.
In the plane and got to my seat. Our air tickets didn't allow us to choose our seating and I had to forgo my usual window seating. Oh well, I was hoping I would be lucky but then; I have shitty luck this year.
Remember to ask for the earphones if they are missing.
You need them to watch movies!
You remember those pre-departure safety demo conducted by the air stewardesses and air stewards? For Singapore Airlines, it's now on the screens and I can guarantee you that the video is a far cry from expectations! Same flow yet it brought viewers through Singapore's familiar landmarks! I am impressed!
Love checking out the one movie that shall accompany me for the next two hours! It shall be something I have yet to watch and eventually, I chose the hilarious "ah girls go army"!
Alex said this slot was for spectacles.
For real? I have no idea.
Could only steal a peek from the window next to my neighbor.
Can you spot the National Stadium?
Our unimpressive meals; Alex, for his first flight on Singapore Airlines, was utterly disappointed with his food. For me, I didn't have much choice as I like beef but dislike mashed potatoes. It didn't help that dessert was chocolate ice cream.
Maybe because it had been so long since I took a plane; I kept having blocked ears on the plane! Anyway, uneventful flight, which I would have preferred.
Arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport!
Immigration clearance was quicker than expected although there wouldn't be of much difference when we had to wait quite a while for our luggage to appear on the belt.
You can make use of the time to register for a Thai sim card at the numerous counters near the luggage belts. I saw the price list by True and the cheapest plan for 5G was 299 baht with 15GB of data, unlimited usage for a list of apps like facebook, messenger, twitter, line, whatsapp, instagram etc, and 100 baht worth of talk time over 16 days. You can also opt for 5G unlimited for 30 days at 1,699 baht!
Even though there was an airport rail link connecting Suvarnabhumi Airport to downtown Bangkok, I always prefer taking a taxi. What I didn't remember was the segregation between short distance taxi, regular taxi and large taxi! Was that new?
Toll and expressway fees are separate, which I am aware of; as well as the requirement to top up 50 baht to the fare. What I didn't know was the charges for large pieces of luggage; more than two pieces would be charged, exceeding 26 inches in size would also result in surcharge of 20 baht a piece etc.
Anyway, we only had two pieces of luggage and they were within the size limit! Here's our automated slip on the lane assigned for our taxi.
A pink taxi; reminded me of the time Alex and I were given a pink room at Cingjing on our first trip to Taiwan. Read here for the posting!
The ride was smooth sailing and we arrived at the hotel in less than 45 minutes.
Our hotel; Grande Centre Point Ratchadamri! Located within 300 meters from a BTS station, the room was huge and came equipped with a small kitchen, plus a washer / dryer; I literally brought home zero dirty laundry! For more information, please visit here.
The five-star hotel is also just a short walk to the famous Erawan Shrine. Maybe due to the downpour earlier, the incredibly popular attraction, before the pandemic, appeared a lot quieter.
I needed dinner and I remember a friend once recommended Baan Ying at Amarin Plaza. Since it's my first meal in Thailand in over two years, guess it's appropriate to start with Thai cuisine!
Centralworld it shall be as I was lazy to walk any further. I noticed the new Apple store in front of the shopping mall; new for me as it wasn't there in my last visit to Bangkok in January 2020.
Even Centralworld had undergone transformation; the above two photos were taken in the mall and seemed more like an art gallery than a shopping centre. It might seem like a perfect waste of precious retail space but do note that tourism was basically in doldrums for the past two years.
Bar.B.Q Plaza - our official first meal in Bangkok since January 2020! One of my colleagues, a Thai mix, was surprised I haven't tried it all these years but she expressed more shock when I told her I have never stepped into COCA; even the ones in Singapore!
Whatever the case, both Alex and I were extremely satisfied with the food we had at Bar.B.Q Plaza; can't wait to return and hopefully, this caramel salted egg ice cream would still be around for us to try.
Continuing window-shopping in the mall; many shops had already closed for the day as it was already 9.30pm. p.s. I didn't know H&M had a Home division.
We went all gaga when we chanced upon a shop that focused on just HOKA shoes! Close friends would know I have been jogging frequently since the start of the pandemic and the jogging shoes from HOKA were the best! It's a guarantee we would pop by in the next few days.
Bangkok Street Food Market - just to look see even though we were tempted by the trays of moo ping telling us to buy and eat them!
Nezha Pavilion Temple; was this around before? It feels like this recent Bangkok trip was to collect back memories I had lost since the pandemic.
The Palladium Night Market; terribly quiet.
Bought a basket of goodies, and some souvenirs!
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