Asia Sampler 2014: Part 2

Part 2: Intra-Asia Flights

TPE-KUL EVA Air BR227 Premium Laurel Class: After an overnight stay at the Novotel TPE hotel we were off to Kuala Lumpur. We went to the EVA Air Lounge to grab a small bite to eat prior to the flight but after a large breakfast at the hotel we didn’t have much. Upon boarding, I knew we were on an intra-Asia configured EVA Air plane (A330-200). The seats were old recliner style but still comfortable. Onboard we were served a multi course lunch. It wasn’t the best food but much better than any US domestic flight. Upon landing into Kuala Lumpur it was pouring down rain.

 

KUL-BKK THAI Air TG420 Royal Silk Class: We departed the Aloft hotel from KL Sentral before dawn to catch our flight to Bangkok and then onwards to Tokyo. After checking in we went to the THAI Royal Silk Lounge which was empty. Super quiet as it was 7AM. Grabbed some breakfast items and then boarded our flight to Bangkok. Again it was an intra-Asia jet (A330-300) with just recliner seats which seemed very old and worn. It was a short 2 hour flight so very basic meal service onboard. We landed into Bangkok and immediately went to the Royal Orchid Spa during our layover for our free massage.

 

BKK-HND THAI Air TG660 Royal Silk Class: The free massage during the layover must have given us the luck we needed as our original plane (747-400) was substituted with a brand new plane (777-300ER). We had to take a bus to the plane as it was located at a remote stand. This was perfect as we needed to sleep a bit (fully lie-flat seats) before arriving into Tokyo late at night and wanting to tour the city right away. The food was amazing! Top notch service with a multi course meal. Landing into Haneda made it so much easier getting into the city and checking in at the Westin Tokyo with enough time to grab some beers in Roppongi.

 

NRT-BKK THAI Air TG643 Royal Silk Class: After an amazing 3 nights in Tokyo and especially our final night staying at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, we were ready to explore Bangkok with some local friends. We took the Narita Express from Shinjuku and once checked in we went to the ANA Business Lounge. The ANA lounge was very nice with a made-to-order noodle bar inside. We grabbed an awesome noodle bowl prior to our flight. Upon boarding our 747-400 we went upstairs to our seats and found they had been retrofitted with the newer seats. They weren’t lie-flat but still very nice. The meal service was decent but not as good as our flight into Tokyo. My IFE monitor froze and had to move seats halfway through the flight but otherwise a smooth flight.

 

Up Next… Part 3: Our adventure home from BKK-LAX with stops in Hong Kong and Seoul