Tag: Bangkok Travel

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The Most Visited City in the World is NOT New York

June 11, 2013 at 3:08 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you prefer to travel the 'beaten path' and visit cities that see more than their fair share of tourists, you may want to rethink your itinerary since there has been a shift in where the planet's travelers are heading. It's actually Bangkok, and not New York, that reigns as tourist capital of the world.

The figures are based on a recent survey put forth by Mastercard. The Global Destinations Cities Index lists the Thai capital as tops for foreigners coming to see the sights, eclipsing London, Paris and New York.

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Flight Review: Helsinki to Bangkok in Finnair’s New Business Class (Part 2)

June 6, 2013 at 4:20 PM | by | Comments (0)

Having talked you through the basics of our time in Finnair’s latest business class, we’re finishing up today with more on the airport experience, seat comfort, and in-flight service during our two, 11-hour runs between Helsinki-Vantaa and Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi airports.

Airport experience

Helsinki’s Vantaa airport must be one of the easiest in Europe for passengers rushing to a connecting flight, with a minimum time required between flights of about 30-40 minutes. The business class lounge, however, is not one with which we're super impressed, owing to the fact it's one large open space that's often so crowded you can barely find a seat. If you do magically have your choice of seats, head for the recliners facing the windows. There are at least shower facilities if you want to freshen up before catching your next flight.

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Flight Review: Helsinki to Bangkok in Finnair’s New Business Class (Part 1)

June 4, 2013 at 2:06 PM | by | Comments (0)

We recently showed you some pictures of the business class product Finnair is rolling out across its entire fleet of long-haul Airbus planes, and now we can tell you what it’s like to fly it, having spent nearly 24 hours in the cabin on a recent trip to Thailand.

As it happens, one leg was an overnight and one leg was a day flight, giving us plenty of time to put the product to the test for both sleeping and lounging/working. Flight AY89 left Helsinki Vantaa (HEL) at 5.10pm, arriving at Bangkok Survanabhumi (BKK) at 7.15am the next morning. Flight AY90 left BKK at 8.55am, arriving at HEL at 3.20pm the same day. Naturally, in the name of proper research, we also picked two different seats on opposite sides of the cabin in our quest to find the best seat of all.

We’ll break down our experience for you in parts, starting with how we ended up on Finnair, the cabin & first impressions, and which seat you should choose.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: Three Exotic Potato Chips of Thailand

Where: Thailand
May 31, 2013 at 11:48 AM | by | Comment (1)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

We can now add to our (growing) list of exotic potato chips from around the world. The latest additions come from Thailand, and this time it wasn't just one flavor that caught our eye, but we found three quintessential Southeast Asian flavors for snacking: Lobster Hot Plate, Crab Curry, and Sweet Basil.

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Our First Time at Bangkok's Cabbages & Condoms

May 10, 2013 at 11:31 AM | by | Comments (0)

Don't let the title put you off, this post isn't NSFW. Cabbages & Condoms is a portfolio of restaurants in Thailand that serves up delicious Thai cuisine while nonchalantly discussing the importance of safe-sex and sexually transmitted diseases.

Okay, we agree this might not be the best dinner-party topic, but it's all for a greater cause.

We recently checked out the Bangkok outpost and were pleasantly surprised to find mannequins outfitted in fashion made from condoms and birth-control pills—kind of like Project Runway meets a local clinic-turned-restaurant. Seems like a natural progression, right?

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Traveling in Thailand: Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport Versus Don Mueang

May 7, 2013 at 11:37 AM | by | Comment (1)

If you've been to Bangkok in the past 6 years, there's a pretty good chance you flew into the flashiest airport the city has to offer, Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).

The predominately concrete, metal and glass building of BKK is simply massive and it's obvious why it ranks as the 6th largest major airport in Asia; it even claimed the title of the most Instagrammed airport in 2012.

On the other hand, if you traveled to Bangkok before the middle of 2006, you most likely landed in the city's other airport, Don Mueang (DMK), which has since given up the official airport code of BKK to the newer, larger counterpart. Now, the airport is primarily home to low-cost carriers such as Air Asia and Nok Air.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Snack Breads of Thailand

Where: Thailand
April 19, 2013 at 2:50 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

We've said it before and we'll say it again, Asia has some of the intriguing snack foods—ones that make you tilt your head and say "huh?" From fish-flavored anything to seaweed sprinkled over anything else, the quick bites of this continent take the cake for most "out there."

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Totally Soaked in Thailand: A Peek at the Water Festival of Songkran

April 15, 2013 at 10:54 AM | by | Comments (3)

If we could offer one little tidbit of advice for travelers planning to hit up the Thai New Year, Songkran, it would be to prepare to get wet. Like, really wet. We're not kidding.

First, a little more background on what this is all about. Songkran is the celebration to ring in the Thai new year and, in Buddhist tradition, everyone splashes water onto statues of the Buddha to ensure a proper cleansing into the new year. The Thai people will also splash water on each other as a symbol of good luck for the upcoming year. Tourists are hardly exempt from the wet antics and in fact it's often the reason people travel to Thailand during this time of the year.

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Thai Smile Not Quite Taking Off As Planned

Where: Thailand
February 28, 2013 at 9:38 AM | by | Comments (0)

Back in March we were excited to talk about the news of a new budget airline coming to Thailand. Our excitement was then justified as Thai Smile took to the skies in August. Now, the little Thai LCC has already overhauled its service model.

Going from a modern offering of mostly economy with a few EconomyPlus-type seats flying domestic routes and key regional international routes, the airline has now moved to a full-service airline similar to its parent company, Thai Airways. The reason for the change? Thai Smile cites "poor reception" from flyers for the Thai Smile layout.

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Flying Bangkok Airways from Phuket to Bangkok for Under $50

September 6, 2012 at 7:34 PM | by | Comments (0)

Before we launch into our review of this one-way Bangkok Airways flight from Thailand's Phuket International (HKT) to Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi (BKK), let us point you to the one-way flight that got us to Phuket in the first place, right here, on Nok Air.

While our Nok review is littered with pictures of the bird-painted airplanes and plenty of notes on the flight, this one won't be as detailed on account of the fact that we flew in the dark of night after scuba diving off Phuket for three straight days (yes, fellow divers, we did wait over 24 hours before flying, don't worry). Still, it was dark and we were crazy exhausted and bracing for what was the beginning of a 24-hour ordeal to get to back on US soil.

Booking our Bangkok flight was easy enough—right on BangkokAir.com, and we paid only the equivalent of $49 USD, purchasing the ticket about 1.5 weeks in advance. Searching the same route now, it looks like the web saver fares average 2390 THB ($76 USD), so keep your eyes on the site for specials.

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It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's...Flying Nok Air, the Planes That Look Like Birds

August 31, 2012 at 11:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

Don't knock Nok Air. Their planes may be painted like tropical birds, their flight attendants young enough to feel more like candy-stripers, and their hub airport of Bangkok's Don Mueang International empty enough to inspire more smirks than all that "we fly smiles" claiming they make, but our own flight on Nok was actually pretty great.

First off, a little background. Nok Air is a Thai low-cost airline that started up in 2004 and now runs routes out of Bangkok to a slew of popular vacation destinations typically no more than several hours' flight time away. View all their routes right here. Flights start around 1,300 THB ($41) on average, which even includes an in-flight snack and one free checked bag up to 30kg.

We hopped onboard, flying from Bangkok-Don Mueang to Phuket International, a 1.5-hour flight that cost us only around $51 USD total (and it was a last-minute booking).*

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One More Bird in the Sky: Scoot Officially Takes Off with Cheapie Fares

Where: Singapore
June 5, 2012 at 9:03 AM | by | Comments (0)

We've spent months already talking about the little, Singapore-based low-cost airline called Scoot. Here is a brief refresher on what we know; This is the low-cost leg of Singapore Airlines and will offer no-frills service with the option of premium pampering, for an extra cost.

Yesterday, in Singapore, an actual plane painted with the Scoot livery took off for the first time, though after a 1.5-hour delay to tinker with the aircraft. The yellow 777 is doing its thing from Singapore to Sydney, Australia and, next week, will be heading to the Gold Coast, just south of Brisbane.

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