Bangkok Reopens (Did it Ever Close?): SIN-BKK-SIN on TG A350/787 Y

[yflyer]

Another enjoyable TR yflyer. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for reading, SQ218!

TG lounge F&B looks to have better selection than KF lounge in SIN T3. I find the KF lounge food offering quite underwhelming since the renovation.

Which lounge are you referring to? The SilverKris Lounge or the Krisflyer Elite Gold Lounge? If the KFEG lounge, I would agree that the TG Royal Silk Lounge in BKK has better catering. That said, I think the T3 SilverKris Lounge (J section) has better catering than the equivalent J section of the TG Lounge.

[SQ218]

Another enjoyable TR yflyer. Thank you for sharing.

TG lounge F&B looks to have better selection than KF lounge in SIN T3. I find the KF lounge food offering quite underwhelming since the renovation.

[yflyer]

Final reflections...

Bangkok is one of those cities that one can visit over and over again, with something new to see or explore each time. The city is huge, with a scale and vibrance that is just mindboggling. Though I've been to Bangkok several times, I feel as if I've only just scratched the surface of what there is to see and do.

There are many wonderful hotels in Bangkok, and the Grand Hyatt Erawan is definitely one of them. The one thing I missed at the Grand Hyatt was a rooftop bar (Many hotels in Bangkok have them), but the rooms and the food at the Hyatt were excellent, not to mention the great location.

As for TG, while they didn't wow me with the newest planes or most innovative inflight product, they got the basics right, with a comfy seat and tasty catering. The TG Lounge in BKK was decent too, although I thought SQ's BKK lounge was more stylish and classy. Overall I was happy with my flights and would fly TG again if schedule and price were right.

I think we are spoilt for choice when it comes to flying from Singapore to Bangkok, with many great options, SQ, TG, Scoot just to name 3 airlines.

Thanks for reading!

[yflyer]

Final approach into Singapore...



At the gate on a hot sunny afternoon...



A fairly busy day at T1 immigration. Thank goodness for the autogates...



Out of T1 arrivals, I headed to Jewel for a quick look around.



It was nice to see Jewel busy with visitors again. Very different now compared to a year ago, during the pandemic.



My flight home on TG was very good. A modern plane, decent cabin product, and good cabin service and catering. While TG's IFE cannot match SQ's Krisflyer, I found their catering to be very impressive, and their cabin crew to be very warm and friendly.

[yflyer]

Fold-out IFE screen, with USB charging port.



A/C power...



Small IFE controller (Although it was also a touchscreen).



Much of today's flight was over water...



IFE looked to be the same system as my outbound IFE flight...



Lunch was served after take-off...



My tray as served...


Today's meal choice was pork with rice or prawns with pasta. I chose the pasta.



The Thai starter was very tasty.



My main came in a regular foil casserole today (Not ceramic like my outbound fluke meal), but it did look pretty good...



...with a generous serving of prawns...



Dessert was decent -- moist, with good taste and texture.



The gentleman next next to me ordered the pork with rice, and that looked good too.



Cabin ambience was ok, but between a 9-abreast A350 and a 9-abreast 787, the A350 felt slightly roomier because of the greater cabin width. Of course an 8-abreast 787 feels vastly more roomy than either of those. Note as well the electronically dimmable window shades.

[yflyer]

I left the lounge and headed to my gate...



My flight that day was TG413 BKK-SIN, an 11.30am departure.



This flight was operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was already at the gate.



Taking us to Singapore that day was HS-TQA "Ongkharak", an 8+ year old aircraft at the time.



Boarding was called...



Business Class was laid out 2-2-2...



Economy was laid out 3-3-3...not my favourite 787 config (JAL's is still the best, with 8-abreast 2-4-2 in Y), but for a short flight I guess this was bearable.



Lots of legroom in the emex row.



Decent legroom in the regular seats...



My seat was a bulkhead aisle seat. Seat recline was good (By Y standards).



Headphones in the seat pocket.

[yflyer]

I took a quick look around the attractively presented buffet spread...



Cheese and Salad...



Asian-style chicken soup...



Hot selections...



Vegetarian fried rice...



Fried bee hoon with chicken...



Spaghetti with mushroom cream sauce...



Dim sum...



Sandwiches, bread and cakes...



Ice cream...



A very impressive spread.

The Bangkok SilverKris Lounge remains one of my favourite SQ lounges, with great decor, facilities and catering. Also very close to the boarding gates!

[yflyer]

I was flying TG, but as Star Gold / Krisflyer Gold, I was eligible to use the SQ lounge. I headed in...



Unlike the TG lounge, the smaller SQ lounge was quite busy that morning...



...with almost all seats occupied...



The dining area was busy as well.



The bar in this lounge was a manned bar. There were seats available...



I sat myself down and peered over the bar counter...quite a decent liquor selection...



...and unlike the TG lounge, there was gin!

"Can I have a G&T please!"



Perfect.

The wines here looked pretty decent too. A choice of two reds...a Bordeaux and an Australian Shiraz.



A Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in the ice bucket...



Apart from regular coffee and tea, this lounge also had Thai Iced Milk Tea and a couple of other local beverages as well. A nice selection to choose from.



There was also fresh coconut water.

[yflyer]

There were showers in the lounge, but they remained closed at this point in time.



At the far end of the lounge was another bar...

There were two red wines on offer...



...and two whites...



...as well as Prosecco, which I could not resist a glass of...





The liquor selection was decent, although they were inexplicably out of gin that day. I felt like a gin and tonic. Where could I get one?

This was a very nice lounge, but since I had some time before my flight, I decided to do a small lounge hop and head to the nearby SQ SilverKris Lounge as well to check it out.

[yflyer]

The buffet selection was very broad, with fruit and salads...



...hot snacks...



...savoury pastries...



...dim sum...



...and many hot selections...



...including sausages, ham, eggs...



...pasta...



...mushrooms...



...and fried rice...

[yflyer]

Security queues were manageable. I was airside fairly quickly...



I headed straight to Thai's Royal Orchid Lounge...



This was a very large lounge, with lots of seating and several F&B zones...



There was a bar near the entrance (with another one at the far end of the lounge)...



As TG's flagship lounge in BKK, the lounge looked to be designed to handle a lot of passenger traffic...



Thankfully, this was an off peak time, so there was ample space...



One of the large F&B spaces...



...with both tables...



...and counter style seating...



The live cooking station was serving breakfast dishes...



...that looked very appetizing indeed...

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

The vast driveway at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport was not busy...



But inside, the airport was buzzing...



Lots of flights departing to international as well as domestic destinations...



The only reminder that we had just come out of devastating pandemic was the statue in the departure area, which was sporting a large face mask...



Self service kiosks were available...




But as the TG check in counters were not busy at 9am in the morning, I opted to get my boarding pass the old fashioned way...

[yflyer]

The next day, I headed to Suvarnabhumi Airport for my flight home...


To be continued!

[yflyer]

At the end of the event, my colleagues brought me to At-Ta-Rote for dinner...



This restaurant, set amidst lush foliage, specialised in traditional, even ancient, Thai cuisine...



Inside, the decor was traditional and very elegant, a cut above many other restaurants here...



While the menu looked back at traditional Thai cuisine of the Royal Court, the cocktails were modern and innovative, with a local twist...

I began with a Thiphy - Xu - Thay, an gin and triple-sec based cocktail with cucumber, mint, lime, almond and Thai herbals and flowers...



...before moving on to a Re-ya: Mekhong Thai Told Rim, with elderflower, thammarind puree, lemongrass and ginger ale...



My Thai colleague was in charge of the menu, and ordered several dishes to share...



Green curry...



Red curry...



Stir fry...



I doubt the steak was an ancient traditional recipe, but it was very nicely done...



Fluffy white rice...



Quite delicious!

[yflyer]

In the evenings, and in between sessions, I took the opportunity to explore the area around CentralWorld and the Grand Hyatt...



Bangkok seemed to be as busy as before.



The pandemic did not seem to have had any lasting effect on this part of the city. Shops and eateries were open, and it was crazy busy.

Traffic was as heavy as ever...



The Erawan Shrine was just as busy in the evening as during the day.



A newer shrine (To technies anyway) was the Apple Store Central World, which opened in July 2020, while the pandemic was still raging. This was actually the 2nd Apple Store in Thailand (The first was at the IconSiam Mall), but this one at Central World was arguably more stunning...