Author Topic: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)  (Read 38393 times)

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #80 on: August 08, 2016, 12:36:27 PM »
Nah. I'm pretty sure you get lounge access for just flying PG. People just don't know or care so they don't even go.

No membership needed.
Cool! I never knew of an airline allowing all pax in the lounge. The sky in BKK seems super blue. I don't think it was that blue when we were there, despite it also being mostly clear.

Offline efflpetzel

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Fantastic amazing TR

Offline Emkay

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #82 on: August 08, 2016, 08:52:05 PM »

PSA:

It does not matter whether you book your flights with miles, on PG's website or via an OTA. Create a PG member account. You do NOT need to have any activity within the account. You do not need to link your reservations or flights to your member #. Just have one as they can link it at the counter for you. As soon as it was clear that my suitcases were quite a few pounds over the limit, before asking me to remove anything, I was asked if I was a PG member. They are very nice to PG members and will let most things slide without further questioning as long as you have a PG membership (which is free)
Isn't that because you get an additional 10kg and not because they are nice?

Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #83 on: August 08, 2016, 09:14:06 PM »
Isn't that because you get an additional 10kg and not because they are nice?

Well aren't they nice for giving you an additional 10kg..  :D
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Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #84 on: August 09, 2016, 03:01:14 PM »
Sunday, July 24th, Moving Day
Bangkok to Koh Samui

We landed in Bangkok on time and with good weather. We weren't really in a rush as we had two hours to spare but did want to get moving as we didn't know the airport well and weren't sure how far we'd have to walk.

After talking to one of the airport staff members it seemed like an easy 15min walk to my gate and thus we decided to hit up the Bangkok Airways 'Boutique' Lounge in BKK as well. It was significantly bigger then the lounge we found in Chiang Mai (Makes sense. I mean it is Bangkok.) and had a better spread of food and drinks plus comfortable seating.

The lounge is accessible to all Bangkok Airways passengers and includes Wifi passes as well. To find it, head down Concourse A. You will pass the Domestic TG lounge and should spot it at the far end. It is conveniently open from 430a - 10p.





After relaxing a bit... Nah. No real relaxing. Little kids running all over the place, Israeli temperament wherever you look and backpackers spread across the floor napping. We still had a fun time and I award PG and BKK Airport an "A" for their overall domestic travel experience.

We then went over to the gate where we found out that our flight would be operating on a 15min delay.



Heading over to our Bus that will take us to our Plane




My ride!




Yep, I bumped my head twice trying to get into the plane. Tiny doors.


Gulf of Thailand


I can see you!  :D





It was a quick 55m flight with meal service and the likes. Behind me, a 7 year old that could not stop herself from singing along to whatever her iPod was blasting out of her headphones. What fun that was. Either way, we landed safely and were off to our little hybrid Train/Car vehicles to take us into the actual airport. As can be seen, it was a gorgeous day.





Baggage Claim


After about 20 minutes of waiting for all luggage to be loaded from the plane and appear on the carousel we had our luggage and headed over to our pick up spot. [Thank you to MP for hooking me up with the driver who has nice, on time and was happy to make a stop on the way for food pick up.] Our driver made it clear to me on numerous occasions prior to arrival to steer clear of the "meeting point" but instead head to the "meeting area". I love how the airport decided to give two very different locations close to the same name.  :P

We found the Meeting Area just fine with the driver waiting for us already. He greeted us, loaded our luggage into the trunk and off we were..

Next up..



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Offline Yehoshua

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #85 on: August 09, 2016, 05:02:43 PM »
I'm surprised you need to go in those cart/minibus things to get to the terminal building at such a small airport. I'd have thought they'd park the planes closer. Cool though!

Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #86 on: August 09, 2016, 06:12:50 PM »
I'm surprised you need to go in those cart/minibus things to get to the terminal building at such a small airport. I'd have thought they'd park the planes closer. Cool though!

Sure made for a short fun ride with some cool take-offs!
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Offline Something Fishy

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Yep, I bumped my head twice trying to get into the plane. Tiny doors.

Pfft. Welcome to my life, every day ;D.

Great TR BTW, keep it coming.
Check out my site for epic kosher adventures: Kosher Horizons

Offline Yehoshua

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Pfft. Welcome to my life, every day ;D.

Great TR BTW, keep it coming.
Except by now shouldn't you be used to it and not do it as much?  ;D

Offline benjie1305

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Pfft. Welcome to my life, every day ;D.

Dude, you've got it wwaaayyyyy worse!
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Offline benjie1305

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #90 on: August 10, 2016, 04:48:38 PM »
Sunday, July 24th, Koh Samui
Basics about the Island, Chabad and the Conrad

After finally driving off we did need to make a quick pit-stop before heading to the Conrad.

I had called the Chabad House weeks prior in order to find out about food arrangements and was pleasantly surprised by the ease of it all. The Rabbi gave me his Whatsapp number and told me to just message him whatever I wanted and he would fwd it to the kitchen to be ready upon my arrival. I did just that and messaged him on Friday afternoon with my requests. I checked back in Saturday night and he said there would not be an issue and that the food would be waiting for me Sunday afternoon. [While some items I had wanted were not available, there was still enough to choose from.]

The menu can be seen >> here

On a side note for those interested about Kosher Breakfast at the Conrad: I had also been in talks with the Conrad about Kosher breakfast which they were happy to facilitate being that I was a Diamond member. Turns out that the Kosher breakfast consisted of eggs, fresh rolls and dips such as hummus, spicy tomato, Israeli salad and Tuna plus a can of Coke. We decided to save it for lunches during our stay there as it was just the perfect lunch food.

To further elaborate on the choice of hotel and reason for food pick-up as opposed to heading there for dinner daily I have posted the map of the Island here:

Point A: Airport
Point B: Chabad House
Point C: Conrad
Neon Green Dots: Most of the hotels on the Island
Blue line: Directions from A-B-C


It did not take long for it to be clear to me that I was not going to venture out to the Chabad for any of my meals during this stay. It is simply too far from the hotel and my time was too limited to waste my time with that. (To be honest, I am not sure that I would venture out even if my stay would be longer. Wasting two hours RT just to eat, does not seem worthwhile to me.)

As can be seen, the Chabad House is a quick ten minute drive from the airport and any reasonable car service should be able to stop on the way to the Conrad without charging extra. It is then a 45min drive from the Chabad House to the Conrad.
Most hotels on the Island will be within a 15min ride from the Chabad with the exception of the Conrad (45min) and the Four Seasons (35min) which is located on the top left corner of the screen. I did not bother renting a car while I was there. This was mostly due to the fact that I got a good price on a driver to take me there (and back). I also figured that in case I wanted to explore the Island I could simply rent a "Tus Tus" for a mere $5/24hr.





Entrance to Chabad


No matter where life takes you, Kariot will be there!


Another person picking up food


Play-room


Space on the second floor of the Chabad House. The shul is another separate -very big- room



Crazy how the Chabad House in Koh Samui dwarfs the one in Chiang Mai. This is a legitimate house with play area, shul, learning area, restaurant, computers, Mikva and more.

Kosher Pizza Store across from Chabad


We went for the Sambusak which was quite tasty and a nice change from all the meat we have been eating



Driving through town is quite the experience as you get a real view and perspective on the local life. You can see all the poverty around. It really is a bubble that one experiences when going to Koh Samui as most hotels cater to the Western Luxury Traveler and thus the hotels and surrounding activities are very similar to Western prices (think Miami).

The Drive




First signs of the Conrad



Being that the resort is on very high grounds the last 1.5 kilometers is basically a very elevated and curvy ride up the hill. Not the funnest of rides you'd want to make driving this yourself so in case you are renting a car, beware.

Resort stretching from bottom of the hill all the way to the top


The video does not do the best job in highlighting the curves and turns but trust me, its curvey and turney!



We made it!





Next up: Check-In, Tour around the Resort, Our room and the rest of the evening..
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Offline Yehoshua

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #91 on: August 10, 2016, 04:56:47 PM »
I'd really like to see that video. It's not showing up properly.

Offline benjie1305

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I'd really like to see that video. It's not showing up properly.

It shows up just fine for me.
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Offline Yehoshua

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It shows up just fine for me.
Appears now.

Offline Feivish

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Re: My (very) belated Honeymoon to the "Land of Smiles" (CX F, EY F)
« Reply #94 on: August 11, 2016, 12:02:20 AM »
When I was there in the winter there was no pizza shop.
Any idea who runs it? Is it kosher certified by Chabad?

Offline benjie1305

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When I was there in the winter there was no pizza shop.
Any idea who runs it? Is it kosher certified by Chabad?

It only opened around 4 months ago and yes - I confirmed with the rabbi ahead of time - that it is indeed under Chabad supervision.
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Offline shwarmabob

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It only opened around 4 months ago and yes - I confirmed with the rabbi ahead of time - that it is indeed under Chabad supervision.
Just a small correction: Kosher Pizza Store is on the same side as Chabad. Across the street is a treif Israeli establishment.

Offline benjie1305

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Just a small correction: Kosher Pizza Store is on the same side as Chabad. Across the street is a treif Israeli establishment.



You are indeed correct!
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Offline mgarfin

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You are indeed correct!

Maybe ask a mod to edit in the TR so nobody is נכשל

Offline Feivish

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It only opened around 4 months ago and yes - I confirmed with the rabbi ahead of time - that it is indeed under Chabad supervision.
That's great.

I gather that the Conrad still takes their breakfast from the main place?

I could not find any details on Chabad's website. I'm wondering how's the selection there?