Holiday in Bangkok September 2011 - Part 4

Part 2 ~ The Flight Back Home to Singapore

After a journey time of approximately half an hour, we finally arrived at the drop-off area of Suvarnabhumi Airport at 10.25 a.m.. We were dropped off at entrance No. 6, where Cathay Pacific was operating its check-in counters.

Immediately, after unloading all of our baggage from the cab, we grabbed a few baggage trolleys and went into the departure terminal. Here are some pictures I took outside the drop-off area.

His Majesty The King warmly welcomes you to Suvarnabhumi Airport

The drop off area outside the departure terminal at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport

Some of the SkyTeam and Oneworld carriers operating their check-in counters near entrance door No. 6 to the departure hall at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport

After we entered the terminal building, we immediately walked to the Cathay Pacific Business Class check-in counter to check in for Cathay Pacific flight CX 713 bound for Singapore. We then received our boarding passes after we checked in all of our bulky baggage.

According to the check-in agent, our flight would depart from Gate No. G4 at 11.45 a.m.. She then informed us that boarding will commence at 11.15 a.m., approximately half an hour before the scheduled departure time.

The departure and check-in area in the terminal building of Suvarnabhumi Airport

The departure flight information screen in the departure and check-in area of BKK showing the departure timings in Thai

The departure terminal from the Cathay Pacific check-in counters

My boarding pass for the flight between Bangkok and Singapore

After we received our boarding passes for our Cathay Pacific flight CX 713 bound for Singapore, we went over to the entrance to the security check areas. The passenger security check area was really packed with travellers. As a result, we had no choice but to use the security checkpoint and passport control for airline crew members to get to the airside more quickly.

As soon as we cleared the security checkpoint and passport control, we decided to head to the Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge to have some light bites and refreshments. We then made our way, looking through information counters and maps for the Cathay Pacific lounge.

The departure flight information screen in the airside of BKK showing the departure timings of various flights to overseas cities

A lineup of various duty-free shops in the airside of BKK

One of the signs in the airside of BKK showing the directions to the various gate concourses

One of the signs leading to various areas in the airside of BKK

About to pass by more duty-free shops

After about 25 minutes of searching, we finally found the Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge at 10.10 a.m.. Immediately, we went to the counter to gain access, and were in the lounge no later than 10.15 a.m.. We relaxed for approximately half an hour in the lounge before our flight back home.

The logo for the Cathay Pacific First and Business Class Lounge in the airside of Suvarnabhumi Airport

The food and beverage self-service area in the Cathay Pacific First and Business Class Lounge

One of the seating areas in the Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge

Another view of the interior of the Cathay Pacific First and Business Class Lounge in BKK

Airline: Cathay Pacific
Flight No.: CX 713
From: Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK / VTBS), Bangkok, Thailand
To: Singapore Changi Airport (SIN / WSSS), Singapore
Aircraft: Boeing 777-367
Registration No.: B-HNM
Class: Business Class
Seat: 15K
Date: Tuesday, 6 September 2011

After relaxing for about half an hour in the lounge, the clock was finally showing 10.45 a.m.. Knowing that boarding for Cathay Pacific flight CX 713 bound for Singapore, we packed up all of our bags and headed to Gate No. G4. Arriving at Gate No. G4 at 10.55 a.m., we were finally in the gate holding area by 11 o' clock.

Today, Cathay Pacific flight CX 713 bound for Singapore would be operated by a Boeing 777-300, registered B-HNM and powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines. B-HNM was delivered new to Cathay Pacific on 3 October 2003 as the thirteenth Boeing 777, and the eighth Boeing 777-300 for the airline. It had arrived from Hong Kong earlier at 10.35 a.m., and was to have a layover in Bangkok for 1 hour 10 minutes before continuing its journey to Singapore at 11.45 a.m..

Our aicraft for today, B-HNM, as seen from the walkways while approaching Gate No. G4

The details of our flight being shown on the departure screen at Gate No. G4

Our aircraft for today, B-HNM, being prepared for her final leg to the Republic of Singapore at Gate No. G4 as Cathay Pacific flight CX 713 bound for Singapore after arriving from Hong Kong

After approximately 20 minutes of waiting, the first boarding calls for Cathay Pacific flight CX 713 bound for Singapore were finally made at 11.20 a.m.. The Business Class passengers, Asia Miles & Marco Polo members, as well as the needy passengers were called to board the aircraft first.

With that, we were on board B-HNM, just before 11.30 a.m.. A flight attendant then showed us to our seats, and we stowed all our bags before settling down for the short hop back home to Singapore. I settled into my seat No. 15K for the journey, while my brother sat beside me in seat No. 15H.

The flight attendants then did their usual rituals of distributing newspapers, menus, wine lists, and pre-departure beverages to the passengers. I then ordered my usual pre-departure glass of orange juice. Here are some pictures I have while waiting for pushback from Gate No. G4.

The Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 Regional Business Class cabin during the boarding process in Suvarnabhumi Airport

A view of my seat, 15K, during the boarding process in Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi)

The contents of the seat pocket in front of me

My usual pre-departure glass of orange juice

The 'no smoking' and 'fasten seatbelt' signs illuminated

A Thai AirAsia Airbus A320-216, registered HS-ABF, parked beside us at Gate No. G3

An Air France Boeing 777-228/ER, registered F-GSPQ, taxiing to the runway for her afternoon journey back home to France as Air France flight AF 165 bound for Paris (Charles de Gaulle)

The Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 Regional Business Class cabin during the pre-departure process in BKK

At around 11.55 a.m., 10 minutes behind schedule, we pushed back from Gate No. G4 after all the aircraft doors were closed. The safety briefing information video was shown on all our video screens while we taxied to our assigned runway for take-off.

After approximately 25 minutes of taxiing to the runway, the two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines spooled to life, and we finally took off from Suvarnabhumi Airport at 12.20 p.m., heading into the afternoon sky for a short flight time of just 1 hour 50 minutes to the Republic of Singapore.

Part of the safety briefing demonstration video which reminds passengers about the forbidding of smoking

A glimpse into the food and beverage menu for the sector between Bangkok and Singapore

The wine list for the sector between Bangkok and Singapore

Taxiing past two Airbus A320s resting on the tarmac at BKK

Cathay Pacific Flight 713 ~ Take-off from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Flying over some suburban areas near Bangkok

Flying over some paddy fields in Thailand

The South China Sea shortly after take-off from BKK

A Kingfisher Airlines Airbus A330-223, registered VT-VJP, parked at Terminal 1 Gate No. C18 after arriving from Mumbai as Kingfisher Airlines flight IT 029. Sadly, since March 2012, the airline has lost its long-haul Airbus A330 fleet and terminated all international flights because of the airline's financial crisis. The possibility of the airline collapsing seems to be very likely now

Cathay Pacific Flight 713 Score Report

Seat: 18 / 20
Food: 17 / 20
Service: 17 / 20
Aircraft cleanliness: 17 / 20
Legroom space: 18 / 20
Total: 87 / 100

Holiday in Bangkok September 2011 - Part 3

Welcome to the third section of my recent vacation in Bangkok, Thailand in September 2011. This section will mainly explain on how we spent our last two days of shopping at the familiar places in Bangkok.

Part 4 ~ Shopping at MBK Center Again

Again, while I was at Toy Studio at MBK Center, I purchased three more Herpa Commercial aircraft models. They were:

1) Air Canada Boeing 777-233/LR Herpa Scale 1:500 (515870)

Air Canada Boeing 777-233/LR Herpa Scale 1:500 (515870)

2) Air France Airbus A340-313X Herpa Scale 1:500 (517539)

Air France Airbus A340-313X Herpa Scale 1:500 (517539)

3) Philippine Airlines Airbus A330-301 Herpa Scale 1:500 (517867)

Philippine Airlines Airbus A330-301 Herpa Scale 1:500 (517867)

This now brings the third section of my short holiday in Bangkok, Thailand in September 2011 to a close. The final part will be published as soon as I have put in the best pictures.

Holiday in Bangkok September 2011 - Part 2

Welcome to the second section of my recent vacation in Bangkok, Thailand in September 2011. This section will mainly explain on how we spent our first two days of shopping at CentralWorld, Siam Paragon, MBK Center, and Central Chidlom.

Part 1 ~ A Day of Shopping in CentralWorld

The next day, which was a Friday (2 September), we woke relatively late at around 11 a.m.. We had quite a long sleep the previous night for about 10 hours. We then had a shower and changed up to start the day correctly. There was nothing much to do that day. At around 1.30 p.m., we decided to go down to CentralWorld to shop for some new items. We also decided to have lunch while shopping at CentralWorld.

Our living room in our hotel room shortly after we awoke

A Bangkok Skytrain (BTS Skytrain) approaching Siam BTS Station

Siam Paragon and downtown Bangkok as seen from our hotel room

More of downtown Bangkok

The lobby of Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld in the afternoon

The main hotel lobby lounge on the 23rd floor

The top floor of CentralWorld

Looking down the atrium of CentralWorld

Overlooking the top floor while taking the escalator down

Looking up towards the upper floors of CentralWorld

Looking at the information map in the ground floor

After looking through the CentralWorld restaurant information map, we decided to have lunch at a cafeteria located in one of the lower floors. This cafeteria was known as 'Patio', which has been closed since somewhere in mid-2012 for unknown reasons.

While we were at Patio, we had a sumptuous lunch of chicken wings and spaghetti alla carbonara. My spaghetti alla carbonara, in particular, was very flavourful with cream cheese, which went very well.

The logo of Patio cafeteria

The exterior view of Patio cafeteria

One of the seating areas in Patio cafeteria at CentralWorld

The food and beverage menu of Patio cafeteria

Looking through the pasta dishes page in the food and beverage menu of Patio cafeteria

My mouthwatering dish of spaghetti alla carbonara in Patio

A side order of fried chicken wings

A lobster dish for my mum

A plate of nachos coated with cheese and vegetables

An ox tail stew for my dad

Several shops by Patio

After having a sumptuous lunch at Patio cafeteria, we passed by a few more shops in CentralWorld. Having nothing else to do that afternoon, I decided to go up to the hotel lounge for a drink. On our way back up to the hotel, we looked by some shops and shopped for new items, such as shoes.

The ice skating rink in CentralWorld

Looking down towards the lower floors on the escalator

Looking up towards the upper floors on the escalator

Rows of shops and food parlours in an alternate concourse of CentralWorld

After looking through some shops in CentralWorld, we headed back to the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre. From the 23rd floor of the hotel, we took the elevator up to the World Executive Club Lounge on the 51st floor. While at the World Executive Club Lounge, I just had a simple glass of bottled Coca-cola. While in the lounge, I shuddered at the thought of getting caught by my teachers when school re-opened following their presents' delivery.

The main lobby lounge at the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld

Inside the World Executive Club Lounge on the 51st floor

The skyline of downtown Bangkok from the World Executive Club Lounge

My glass of Coca-cola in the World Executive Club Lounge

The World Executive Club Lounge in the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld

After having a well-earned drink in the World Executive Club Lounge, I decided to head back to the hotel room to have the rest of the afternoon off. As I was feeling bored and tired, I did my own personal stuff on my laptop computer to keep myself busy.

Later that evening, after I had a well-earned afternoon rest, my family came back from their shopping. They then had their rests and pondered at where to eat for dinner later that night. After much pondering, we decided to go down to CentralWorld to look for a good restaurant for dinner. We then went down to CentralWorld from the hotel at 7.50 p.m..

The main hotel lobby on the 23rd floor at night

The main hotel lobby lounge on the 23rd floor at night

The top floor atrium of CentralWorld at night

After we looked through the map carefully on the floor just below us, we finally found a good Japanese & Korean Barbecue Yakiniku Restaurant, by the name of Sukishi Charcoal Grill & Japanese Restaurant. Once we were outside Sukishi, we requested for a table for the four of us. A waitress at the entrance then showed us to a good table, and everything was prepared for us. We then had a look through the menus before we made our dinner orders.

The logo of Sukishi Charcoal Grill & Japanese Restaurant

The last top floors of CentralWorld

The interior of Sukishi Charcoal Grill & Japanese Restaurant

The cover page for the food menu of Sukishi Charcoal Grill & Japanese Restaurant

Some of the many popular beef cut platters in the food menu of Sukishi Charcoal Grill & Japanese Restaurant

Some of the many popular beef cut platter sets shown on the food menu of Sukishi Charcoal Grill & Japanese Restaurant

After we made our reviews through the food and beverage menus, a waitress finally came by to our table to take down our meal orders for dinner. We placed our orders for several of the meat cuts depicted on the menu. Soon, we had a huge charcoal barbecue dinner feast at Sukishi Charcoal Grill & Japanese Restaurant that night.

A portable charcoal barbecue griller placed under the smoke chute for the smoke to be extracted

The first platter of beef short ribs

The first platter of beef tongue

Four pieces of beef tongue being grilled on the portable charcoal barbecue griller

A platter of salmon sashimi served in a clam shell

A few pieces of sliced beef briskets being grilled on the portable charcoal barbecue griller

A small side plate of tempura don for my brother

A large platter of thinly sliced marinated beef brisket

Three more pieces of sliced beef and a beef rib bone cooking on the portable charcoal barbecue griller

A bowl of Korean Bibimbap for my mum

A bowl of spicy Kimchi soup on our dining table

Three more pieces of sliced beef cooking on the portable charcoal barbecue griller

More pieces of beef tongue and slices cooking on the barbecue griller

The last platter of beef short ribs

Several cuts of beef being grilled on the portable charcoal barbecue griller

After having a large, hearty and sumptuous charcoal barbecue dinner at Sukishi Charcoal Grill & Japanese Restaurant, the clock was already showing 9.10 p.m.. Knowing that the everything in CentralWorld would be closing in an hour's time, we paid our bill and decided to head back up to the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld.

Upon arrival at the main lift lobby of the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre, we took the elevator up to the World Executive Club Lounge on the 51st floor, whereas I went up all the way up to the top floor before heading back down to the World Executive Club Lounge for a drink. On the top floor, there was a classy luxury hotel restaurant, which was known as Red Sky.

The interior of Sukishi Charcoal Grill & Japanese Restaurant just before we left the restaurant

The 23rd floor lobby of the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld at night

The main lift lobby towards the 55th floor in the 23rd floor hotel lobby

The night view of downtown Bangkok from the World Executive Club Lounge

The first view of Fifty Five Restaurant on the 54th floor at night

The massive dining table in the inner area of Red Sky Restaurant on the 55th floor

The night view of Red Sky Restaurant on the top 55th floor

A rather dim and deserted dining area in Fifty Five Restaurant on the 54th floor

A brighter dining area in Fifty Five Restaurant on the 54th floor

An alcoholic beverage table in the middle of Fifty Five Restaurant

More seating areas including a private dining room at Fifty Five Restaurant

The night interior view of the World Executive Club Lounge on the 51st floor

After having some light bites and drinks in the World Executive Club Lounge, we took the elevator one floor back down to our 50th floor room. Once we were back in our room, we had a shower and changed up before doing anything else. Having nothing else to do for the rest of the night, we were all in bed by around one or two o' clock late that night.

Part 2 ~ Siam Paragon and MBK Center Shopping Day


On Saturday (3 September), we woke up late again, close to 12 noon. We then had a hot shower and changed into our day's attires to commence the day. My parents then informed us that today, we would be going to Siam Paragon, which was located just nearby our hotel across the roads. After we prepared all our necessary belongings for the day, we took the elevators all the way down to the first floor lobby floor via a change of elevators on the 23rd floor.

The 23rd floor lobby of the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld in the afternoon

The lift lobby in the ground floor of the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld

The ground floor lobby of the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld on a sunny afternoon

After we arrived at the ground floor lobby of the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, we exited through the glass doors and walked along the pathway towards Siam Paragon. As Siam Paragon was quite near our hotel, the walk took no more than five to seven minutes.

The roundabout road near the entrance to the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld

The tall building of the Centara Grand Hotel at CentralWorld on a sunny afternoon

The overall exterior view of the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld on a sunny afternoon

While at Toy Studio at MBK Center, I purchased three new Herpa Wings Scale 1:500 commercial aircraft models. The models were as follows:

1) Air France Boeing 777-328/ER Herpa Scale 1:500 (506892)

Air France Boeing 777-328/ER Herpa Scale 1:500 (506892)

2) Delta Air Lines Boeing 747-451 Herpa Scale 1:500 (506915)

Delta Air Lines Boeing 747-451 Herpa Scale 1:500 (506915)

3) Qantas Airbus A330-203 "Oneworld" Herpa Scale 1:500 (518116)

Qantas Airbus A330-203 "Oneworld" Herpa Scale 1:500 (518116)

This now brings the second section of my short holiday in Bangkok, Thailand in September 2011 to a close. The final two parts will be published as soon as I have put in the best pictures.