SEA-ICN-BKK

Covid put a huge hamper into my travel.  So one of the four trips I took during Covid was again to Bangkok Thailand.  From there, I would venture out to other areas of the country.  Trying to navigate the Covid rules was quite frustrating.  Pre-Travel, I was required to upload an SHA approved hotel booking, insurance proof, entire flight itinerary, proof of Covid Vacinne, and so on.  Below, I’ll explain the process.  Once uploaded within a week, I received a QR code that will allow me to board my flight.  This will be checked in Seoul, not in Seattle. 

Asiana A330 is awaiting my butt to occupy the seat. 

Seattle is my home airport, and I do have to say I do not like the international flights.  Unless you are flying a SkyTeam member, there are no good lounges, and the one lounge available at the S gates is, in my opinion, small.  The food is of less quality than I experienced in other airports. 

The plane was an older plane with an old interior.  It’s not too impressive.  The monitor was small.  Since we were in the midsts of Covid, Limited contact from the staff was present.  I was one of very few people on the flight. 

At this point, the food service will basically be a photo dump.  I don’t remember much about the taste of the food as i’m posting this well past the flight experience.  I do remember that there wasn’t anything I didn’t like. 

Upon arriving at Incheon Airport in Seoul, the ground staff made an announcement that if Seoul was their final destination to please have a seat and wait for the Covid prevention check.  Those who have connections may depart. 

Upon departing the plane, the walk through the airport was eery and weird.  It was deserted.  There were clear paths on where to go.  Once going through security and back up to the dearptue area, I was told that I could not enter the lounge until tomorrow.  It was currently 18:00 and my next flight was the following day around 10:00.  Therefore, I found a nice dark place in the terminal and slept for a bit, then prepared to work all night.  The airport was deserted.  The only restaurant that was open was Starbucks.  Which I had to walk miles to find.  All of the other shops were closed due to covid.  It was eery and strange.  Very Twighlight World War III type of weird. 

Although the next morning as early as possible, I entered the Asiana Lounge and took a shower.  This is one of my favorite ammenities of lounges.  Showers! 

Upon freshening up, I took my seat next to the windows.  I love watching airplanes.  Again, the lounge was deserted.  It was really weird to me.  Such an experience. 

I’m not sure why, but I waited longer than I normally do to go to my gate.  Generally, I like to be 15-20 minutes early.  This time, I was walking up close to minutes prior to boarding.  As I walked up, there were two Thai Airways personnel working with a young man at the podium.  Another gate agent approached me about 50′ from the podium and asked me by my name. Are you joining us today?  I was a bit shocked she knew exactly who I was.  I said yes, and she proceded to ask for my paperwork (the documents I submitted to obtain my QR code) along with the QR code itself.  As she was processing my paperwork, which took about 10 minutes, I overheard the issue with the young man. 

Aparently, he applied for his QR code but never received it.  They could not allow him on the plane.  He originated from the USA.  They began to explain that he should have never been allowed to board the plane in the USA and that he would not be allowed on the plane to Thailand until his QR code processed.  He was a bit lost and wasn’t sure what to do.  He couldn’t enter Korea and had no money to get a ticket back to the USA.  Short story, he wasn’t allowed on the plane. 

There were very few of us heading to Thailand.  I did find weird as Thailand was one of the few countries that was semi open for travel. 

Again, this plane was even older than my previous flight.  The interior was anchient.  The service was almost non-existent (due to covid).  I should say service was limited to prevent contact.  The food was delicious and the service we did receive was wonderful. 

Upon arriving in Bangkok, I was to look for my driver.  Due to the required SHA package, I was to be picked up by a driver and driven straight to the hotel for Covid Testing.  I would then be driven to my hotel and “locked” into my room until a negative test came back.  So, upon finding my name on a card being held up, I was escorted to my Mercedes and wisked to the hospital for mandatory Covid Testing. 

Then, I locked into my room at the Hyatt Erawan.  This was a strange but quick and efficient process.  I was met at the front of the hotel by staff and escorted to a private elevator and taken to my room.  There, they explained I am to stay in my room until the test results come back.  My test was taken about 15:30, and my test results came back first thing early morning.  So I did not lose much time. 

The Hyatt Erawn in Bangkok is a nice hotel.  I have stayed there in the past and felt right at home.  My 12 hour stay in my room was comfortable and decent.  It also included a meal that I could order via a QR code.