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sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Trip route:
Singapore – Bangkok - Singapore
Airline – Thai Airways
Flight no. TG 402/TG401 Departure: 7:40/19:40
Date: November 14th 2012
Aircraft type – B777-200
Flight duration – 2:40 Minutes

Background Info:

Swadee Ka

Recently I had to attend a work related meeting in Bangkok which was at 2 pm and decided to try a same day trip from Singapore. Although I could have chosen among many low cost carriers, I decided to fly Thai as it gave me the flexibility of taking a later or earlier flight if needed.

Thai Airways uses Terminal 1 which is the oldest terminal in Singapore. It was recently refurbished so it was a welcome change to see the much needed facelift.

New cushion chairs and light colored carpet similar to what is found in other terminals:

The key attraction of this terminal is an art in motion model called simulated kinetic rain drops which looks stunning to view. The kinetic rain drops installation features 1216 raindrops made of aluminum and highly polished copper, each raindrop being controlled by 1216 individual motors which make them swirl and dance to depict the joys of travel. See below the official video link:

http://m.changiairport.com/terminal1/

A grand piano sans the pianist:

Plastic wrap facility:

This is the only terminal where a plastic wrap facility is available for your fragile luggage for a fee of SGD 15. I used to witness hoards of Indians getting their SONY LED TV’s and luggage wrapped before checking it in, when Air India used to operate from this terminal. Last year Air India along with a few other airlines were moved to terminal 2 to pave way for renovation and I am sure this has impacted his business as I do not see much people using it now.

Renovated Duty Free stores:

When I reached the boarding gate, I noticed that the aircraft that had docked at the gate was a 777-200.

As I was waiting at the gate area I saw Garuda international airlines decked in its classic livery as part of its 62nd anniversary celebrations.

Soon boarding commenced and on entering the aircraft, I was greeted by a riot of colors. I really liked the multi color seating that Thai Airways uses on its flights, however this flight did not have any PTVs. For short haul flights I am not fussy about PTVs but I miss the moving map as it gives one the feeling of being an arm-chair pilot.

Soon push back commenced and after a long taxi run and we took off to the skies. Once the seat belt signs were switched off drinks were served and I took my regular apple juice. There is something about the taste and color of the artificial apple juice that I like. It looks a bit like wine and gives you a deceptive whiff of alcohol.

Once the drinks were cleared, the aroma of food being warmed filled the cabin and in no time my special meal arrived. Starving as I was, I was delighted with the Indian bread (Paratha), Chick Peas (Channa Masala) and cauliflower (Gobi Sabzi) that was served. The food tasted as good as it looked. Even the croissant which I normally avoid on flights was soft and fluffy. There was also fresh fruit, and yoghurt as part of the meal. I guess most airlines know that Indians love yoghurt and it is a standard item in any Indian vegetarian meal. Coffee and tea was served and the trays were cleared quickly as well.

In-flight and duty free magazines were available at every seat. There was also an in flight entertainment guide but without PTVs I could only use it as a reference to listen to songs.

Very soon we started descending into Bangkok and we slowly started approaching the runway for landing. The landing was smooth and we were quickly were docked at the gate.

My return flight was on the same evening by which time I was really tired. I only managed to take photos of the meal that they served me. Once again Thai did a good job. Not only was the meal piping hot, it was delicious as well. It consisted of fluffy basmati rice with a cottage cheese gravy and carrot peas vegetable. The corn salad was exceptionally tasty and so was the dessert which was mango kheer.

Overall my meal experience with Thai has been very good and I would say they even surpass Singapore Airlines in terms of taste and authenticity of Indian vegetarian food.

Hope you all enjoyed reading the report. Comments, as always, are welcome.

Sri_Bom

Nimish · Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 2:30 pm Post subject:

Thanks for posting this TR - seems like a long tiring day!

How was the service on board? How full were the flights?
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jbalonso777 · Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 4:56 pm Post subject:

Nice crisp little Trip Report.
I didn't notice the plastic wrap facility in my Sep '12 or Jun '13 trips. Maybe your gate was located somewhere else.

Cabin looks nice, as is always is with them, because of the colourful seating, however, it does look very plastic-y from the behind, with no PTV.
I noticed the big screen, looks classy Smile

Food looks nice too, on both sectors.

I liked the pictures too!

Was Cathay an option in this route? Or it didn't suit your timings well?

Regards
Jish
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Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:24 pm Post subject:

Hey, there!

Great TR, very nice pictures of the flight as well.

ameya · Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:36 pm Post subject:

Nice TR !

Enjoyed reading and seeing the pics

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Nice TR, really liked all the pictures

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Srinivas, it is really very nice to have a report from you after quite a while!
SIN T1 post-renovation looks better, with the Kinetic rain drops quite an interesting exhibit. Is this at the same spot where they had the water falling along thin channels? I seem to remember something like this from 2002/4 when I had a SIN trip on IC 858/859 and AI 447/442, respectively.
Nice comment on the apple-tipple link!
Your vivid descriptions matched some very nice pictures.
Thai's Indian Vegetarian offerings are superb - if you remember my Jodhpur friend `Mr. Green' from my trip reports, he reports some excellent catering from three stations on Thai: DEL, BKK and SYD. The food was not just excellent in quantity, it was extremely tasty as well. He is a big fan of Thai's Indian vegetarian offerings, and thanks for tingling my taste buds at 11pm!
I have been intrigued ever since I was the last image and the one before that. First, the last-but-one image. Is that a KulchA to the bottom left? Second, what is in the little bowl - is it a Mango pickle in a generous helping? As for the last image, the food looks a bit oily, but as you said, would have been extremely tasty. Srinivas, I wonder - why is the `AVML' almost always a North Indian offering? Why is the world so oblivious to the culinary heaven that most of the South is? In general, people in the South go easy on oil, most savouries use just the right amount of oil as needed in the cooking, and unlike many places in the North (especially in my home-town, Delhi), they do not add extra oil-with-spices(taDkA)/ghee/butter/full-fat-cottage cheese(paneer) on the top of an already greasy dish. I am even more wonder-struck, since Singapore has a considerable Tamilian population. In that sense, I have found offerings on Air India to be quite balanced between the North and the South.
Thanks once again, for taking the time to share this gem with us!
Cheers, Sumantra.

ameya · Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 12:07 pm Post subject:

Good TR Sir. Liked the T1 pics of SIN.

10 years ago had done KUL-SIN on T7s and was amazing for a short haul.

However, this non PTV T7 is a little interesting, while it is good for short haul, it radically reduces your option of swapping it on longer hauls thus not being able to balance the cycles on your aircraft or keeping the long haul pax unhappy

PAL@YWG · Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 12:56 am Post subject:

Lovely TR, sri_bom crisp & mouth watering Very Happy

Always liked TG food. Can't believe TG does a better job in AVML category than airlines from Indian soil.
Clearly remember their preparation of Prawn in cocoanut milk with mild lemon fragrance to go with it, served with basmati rice during a packed MD-11 run on HKG-BKK sector. That dish became benchmark for similar bengali dishes whenever I get a chance to try Smile

Very nice selection of pictures too. Expecting TRs from you more frequently!
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sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Oh Sir, thanks for the sweet post, in spite of the `preview' option repeatedly popping up. I remembered that you have reported this once, but possibly no workable solution came out of it. Personally, I have not faced this problem before, so I cannot comment much on it, unfortunately.
As regards the North-South food question - Srinivas, you will find more South Indian breakfast options, than for the main meal! It is here that I find Air India to score over the rest, since I have had beans-and-shredded-coconut poriyal (mainly a Kannadiga item, IIRC), avial (mainly a Mallu delicacy), Chettinadu Chicken (mainly a Tamiliam dish), and of course, numerous rice preparations such as the Puliogare (to the Kannadiga) and Puliodarai (to the Tamilian). For obvious reasons, most airlines do not try to serve a Thayir-sAdam (Tamilian)/MosarAnna (Kannadiga), since the curd/yogurt may let out whey soon, and this is a dish not amenable to a re-heat. You will find more of the fried snacks such as dosa(i), utthapa(m)s and vada(i)s, you will find upamas, but idlis are not that common (due to the non-fried nature, and being made from fermented rice (and some times, a bit of pulses, too), lest the taste go a bit different, not to mention the specific re-heat instructions (keeping a bit of moisture inside the box). Even Air India's idlis are sometimes not spectacular, but one has to remember that it is not an easy job! A dense Sambhar is a piece of cake, in comparison, though I haven't come across kuzhambu, possibly more for its lack of being popular, as opposed to any difficulty in serving it as an airline meal. On another front, Air India is perhaps the only airline to dare to serve the North Indian chappatis/phulkAs - that too, in business class. The fried counterparts are but too common - the parAnTha/barottA, for instance.
Cheers, Sumantra.

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 3:09 pm Post subject:

Cracking TR, though Thai's T7s don't seem to be the best going around.
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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Great TR !!
Were the meals pre-ordered or did they just have lots of options? Food looked great!
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