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Holtyboy's Travel Blog
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Location Date Europe 1624921200 South America 1575590400 Asia 
1557010800 Africa 1493506800 Oceania 1430694000 North America 1423872000 -
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Location Date Samphanthawong 1556319600 Kanchanaburi 1415491200 Krabi 1415145600 Bangkok
1414800000
I cannot get the 1984 song performed by Murray Head, One night in Bangkok, off my mind especially as we only have one night in Bangkok this time around. Interestingly the song, which comes from the musical Chess was written by Tim Rice along with Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame - something I was unaware of until writing this blog entry.
Our trip to the Far East started with a flight with Emirates Airlines from Birmingham to Dubai departing at 1325 (Flight EK40 operated by a Boeing 777-300ER for those that are interested) which was scheduled to take six hours and fifty minutes. We then had around two hours in the very busy middle eastern hub before catching flight EK376 the 0320 from Dubai to Bangkok (again operated by a 777-300ER) taking just under six hours arriving at 1230 local time in Thailand. The Emirates flights, our first with them, were pleasant enough with the second aircraft providing a far more up to date in flight entertainment system than the first leg. The first leg was OK, but the second was much better!
Arriving at Dubai International Airport at around 0130 local time (or 2130 UK time) it was difficult to say what time it really was. The terminal was busy with people connecting with flights going to all points of the globe so it was a little bit like being in a Las Vegas casino in that respect - if you have been to Vegas you will know what I mean. You can also see why Dubai is expected to overtake London Heathrow as the busiest international airport in the world very soon given the number and range of flights on offer by Emirates Airlines alone. If you add in Etihad Airlines (based in Abu Dhabi, literally just down the road from Dubai) and Qatar Airlines (based close by in Doha) both of which are offering a similar level of international flights you can see why the traditional European major airlines are quite rightly concerned about losing business.
After a small issue in locating our driver to get us to our bargain priced hotel close to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International airport we soon arrived at the interestingly named Lilac Relax Residence around ten minutes from the ultra modern airport serving the Thai capital. We will also be using the 'old' international airport at Don Muang later in this trip in order to reach Cambodia but we have plenty to do before then. The hotel, costing just £34 for the night, provided a large clean room complete with an inclusive mini bar (and snacks), breakfast and the round trip transfer from/to the airport. It is not the Novotel or a Marriott but for the price it is difficult to find reason for complaint.
After a few hours of catch up sleep we headed out for some food at a cafe across the road from the hotel. It is now time to turn in (well, maybe after one more free beer from the minibar) safe in the knowledge that the meal, consisting of a tasty starter, mains, beers and coffees came in at £11.50 for both of us - a real bargain. At least our redundancy money will hopefully go a long way in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam over the next eight weeks if we can find places like this for our main meals - the less we spend now the longer we can travel . . . . . . .
So, after our very own 'One night in Bangkok' we will head to Krabi in southern Thailand tomorrow lunchtime travelling with Bangkok Airways - another new airline and airport coming our way!
Our trip to the Far East started with a flight with Emirates Airlines from Birmingham to Dubai departing at 1325 (Flight EK40 operated by a Boeing 777-300ER for those that are interested) which was scheduled to take six hours and fifty minutes. We then had around two hours in the very busy middle eastern hub before catching flight EK376 the 0320 from Dubai to Bangkok (again operated by a 777-300ER) taking just under six hours arriving at 1230 local time in Thailand. The Emirates flights, our first with them, were pleasant enough with the second aircraft providing a far more up to date in flight entertainment system than the first leg. The first leg was OK, but the second was much better!
Arriving at Dubai International Airport at around 0130 local time (or 2130 UK time) it was difficult to say what time it really was. The terminal was busy with people connecting with flights going to all points of the globe so it was a little bit like being in a Las Vegas casino in that respect - if you have been to Vegas you will know what I mean. You can also see why Dubai is expected to overtake London Heathrow as the busiest international airport in the world very soon given the number and range of flights on offer by Emirates Airlines alone. If you add in Etihad Airlines (based in Abu Dhabi, literally just down the road from Dubai) and Qatar Airlines (based close by in Doha) both of which are offering a similar level of international flights you can see why the traditional European major airlines are quite rightly concerned about losing business.
After a small issue in locating our driver to get us to our bargain priced hotel close to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International airport we soon arrived at the interestingly named Lilac Relax Residence around ten minutes from the ultra modern airport serving the Thai capital. We will also be using the 'old' international airport at Don Muang later in this trip in order to reach Cambodia but we have plenty to do before then. The hotel, costing just £34 for the night, provided a large clean room complete with an inclusive mini bar (and snacks), breakfast and the round trip transfer from/to the airport. It is not the Novotel or a Marriott but for the price it is difficult to find reason for complaint.
After a few hours of catch up sleep we headed out for some food at a cafe across the road from the hotel. It is now time to turn in (well, maybe after one more free beer from the minibar) safe in the knowledge that the meal, consisting of a tasty starter, mains, beers and coffees came in at £11.50 for both of us - a real bargain. At least our redundancy money will hopefully go a long way in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam over the next eight weeks if we can find places like this for our main meals - the less we spend now the longer we can travel . . . . . . .
So, after our very own 'One night in Bangkok' we will head to Krabi in southern Thailand tomorrow lunchtime travelling with Bangkok Airways - another new airline and airport coming our way!
- comments
Sweeney Todd Could do with some more hair cutting of the top. Enjoy the food and drink.
Julie Beck-Richards OK, we are on our way...I cannot believe that you found such a cheap hotel (with mini bar and snacks!) and then tasty looking food for such a remarkable price. Puts our 5* luxury trip many years ago (loved Emirates by the way) to serious shame. Enjoy Vietnam - we haven't done Cambodia but we did pop our heads into Laos when we visited the Golden Triangle. Paul said it was a bit like a scene from Mash as we went down the Mekong. Have fune
Andy Holt I may have been suffering from a bit of long haul flight and afternoon nap hair. I did have a look at the local barber near pur hotel and he was charging just £1.50 for a haircut!
Andy Holt I think your five star hotel would probably have been a bit more plush, but for the price it was more than adequate for us - well worth the searching on Trip Advisor (etc). Would stop there again if needed an overnight near BKK airport. Just arrived in Krabi and our room for the next four nights is just £31 a night (no breakfast though) and it seems very nice. Check it out if you wish at www.aonanghomestay.com (basically just renting a room) it gets very good reviews and Heather found this one. I guess the cost reflects the fact that Krabi is 'touristy' too.