It later became clear why there was no queue - the plane was almost empty. The attendant gave us a window seat and an aisle seat with an empty seat between us. When we boarded the plane, less than 20% of the seats were occupied. Not just lots of empty seats but lots of empty rows. People spread out full length in empty rows to get a nap.
When I rang Westpac yesterday, they suggested that we get Cash Passport cards from Travelex at the airport. These cards allow you to withdraw cash from a Visa ATM anywhere in the world. You put a specified amount into the card account and you can top it up later online if necessary. The man at Westpac said it was a good protection in case your normal credit cards get stolen. Naturally you need to keep the Cash Passport cards separate from your other cards - such as in the hotel safe. We took his advice and got a card each while we were getting traditional folding cash in Bhat (Thailand) and Euros.
We had been worried that the plane might be delayed because of the strong winds in Sydney this morning but the plane left right on time at 10am. While we were waiting in the terminal, we heard announcements that some other departures had been delayed because the incoming plane was unable to land. However, our plane was already on the ground waiting for us. The plane did rattle more than usual when we took off but we were OK once we got up above the turbulence.
The flight to Bangkok is about 9 hours 30 minutes which gives plenty of time for two meals, movies, reading, etc. The service was very good. I guess it was easy for the flight attendants because there were so few passengers.
In the terminal at Bangkok, the tour desk convinced us to buy a tour of the temples for tomorrow morning at a discounted rate. They also wrote out the address of our hotel in Thai to make it easier for the taxi driver taking us to the hotel from the airport.
At the airport, most of the staff and many members of the public were wearing medical face masks. Passengers walked past a thermal imaging camera on the way to customs. When we turned on our mobile phones, there were warning notices from the phone providers about swine flu.
The Vie Hotel is an impressive tall modern building in the heart of town. For some reason, they had upgraded us to a suite consisting of a large bedroom, king size bed, lounge room, luxury bathroom, two wide-screen TVs and a good view from the 18th floor. We almost felt guilty because Suzy had managed to get a really cheap price online when she booked the room.
Before it got too dark, we went for a short walk down to the nearby shopping centres. In these big air-conditioned centres, most of the shops were well-known international outlets.
We didn't need much for dinner after having two meals on the flight and so we had a snack in the lobby bar instead. The lobby bar also has the advantage of free WiFi internet access.
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