New adventures [Asia, Europe, & Iceland] – Part 1

[wingtip626]

Hello,

Welcome to my trip report covering my 4 week holiday through Asia, Europe, and Iceland. This trip sees me visit new destinations, wide ranging climates, and hopefully a number of breathtaking vistas!

My primary travel is in J, courtesy of a oneworld Classic Flight reward booking (280k QF points). The booking is split into two "trips", April 2018 and February 2019. By originating outside of Australia, I am able to have a 9 month stop-over in Australia before resuming my travels.
Included in this trip are a few domestic Y flights on smaller carriers.

Destinations in Part 1 include; Bangkok, Doha, Athens, Santorini, London, and Iceland.

I positioned to Bangkok on a seperate reward flight and have spent two nights in town before taking the first flight of my main booking, a Qatar Airways flight, BKK-DOH.

As this is my first trip report please be gentle.
I foresee this report will be more focused on the destinations rather than the travel – hopefully the photos will make this worthwhile.

Ready for an adventure?
Now boarding!

 

[wingtip626]

For my two night stopover in Bangkok, I booked a Studio Deluxe room at Tints of Blue Residence, located in the Watthana District. This boutique hotel is big on style with a range of uniquely decorated rooms. I scored the Bangkok Blue room – styled after everyday day life Bangkok. The room was well sized and contained a small kitchenette – although the kitchen facilities where not utilised due to the pleasant onsite breakfast and lunch options in the restaurant.

 

[RooFlyer]

Great start. A few comments on the flights would be welcome, if you can mange.

 

[VPS]

Following along with interest - good luck

 

[wingtip626]

After dropping my bags at the hotel it was time to head downtown for my evening food tour by Tuk Tuk. It was a quick trip on the efficient MRT to Sam Yan where the adventure began. The tour consisted of five stops over the evening and sampled a wide variety of Thai food including; Northeastern Thai, Guay Tiew Kua Gai and Pad Thai. Between meals we visited the flower market and Wat Pho.

But the real highlight of the evening was the transport – a full throttle, ear shattering onslaught through the streets of Bangkok.

 

[wingtip626]

The street food stall outside our first stop (Northeastern Thai food).



Cooking up fresh Guay Tiew Kua Gai in the outdoor kitchen.



The flower market working into the night.



A street vendor selling a sweet, juicy fruit (I've forgotten the name, maybe someone can remind me?)


The Wat Pho Budda Galleries at night. Whilst there are less tourists, the main attractions are closed in the evening.

 

[wingtip626]

A new day dawned in Bangkok and it was time to see the sights. One might imagine that on a short stopover the popular tourist destinations would be the top priority. But why waste time and deal with the hordes of tourists when you can experience a whole museum all by yourself!

Skipping over The Grand Palace and Wat Pho, I made my way to the National Museum of Royal Barges. An almost hidden tourist sight on the Bangkok Noi canal. The museum is accessed either via the river or though narrow suburban streets. Housing eight of 52 important royal barges (although seven were on display at the time of my visit) the museum details the history and artefacts of the royal barges.

The barges are ornately decorated with coloured glass, motifs, and plenty of gold lacquer.
Ongoing restoration and maintenance is undertaken on the barges as they are still used today for important royal events.

Admission costs 100 THB plus an additional 100 THB for cameras.

Well worth a visit to this unique museum.

 

[sydunipete]

We did a similar looking Bangkok food tour on tuk tuks and it was great fun. So much food! and delicious. We ended up leaving before the last course because we just couldn't fit another thing in. Great photos - thanks for sharing.

 

[Pushka]

I love your photos. You have a great eye for capturing something ‘simple’ and make it look extra special.

 

[wingtip626]

Thanks for kind comments. @RooFlyer I'll incorporate some photos and notes about my recent QR flights shortly.

After spending the morning admiring the Royal Barges, it was time to seek reprise from the rising temperature. Plus no holiday of mine is complete without some last minute work to be done – hooray! Back to the hotel to finish some documents.

Once the work was finished, it was time to tackle another of Bangkok's famed attractions – the shopping mall! Fortunately, not far from the hotel was the appropriately named and styled, Terminal 21. Each story of this nine story shopping mall is individually themed after various cities of the world with an overarching 'airport' concept. The cinemas and entertainment were themed as Hollywood, beauty shops as an Istanbul market, and male fashion as the streets of London.






After the retail therapy, it was time to wonder through the other nearby attraction, Sio Cowboy. A 150m long street packed with "bars"....
A lively place, with plenty of colour and energy.



That wraps up my short visit to Bangkok. It was an early rise the next morning to head to BKK for the first flight of my award booking; BKK-DOH on Qatar Airways B787-8. A few insights and photos to follow shortly!

 

[love_the_life]

What a great start. I am looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[kermatu]

Also following this with great interest. Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[Major]

Thailand and Iceland...now there's a contrast

 

[I love to travel]

I love Terminal 21 it just has a few different shops that you don't find elsewhere.

 

[wingtip626]

Apologies for the lack of updates, I have had an enjoyable week in Greece – details to come shortly.

I have just spent an overnight transit in Doha on my way to London. Having flown the last QR flight of my itinerary, now is a good time to reflect on my Qatar Airways experience.


Flight #1: BKK-DOH, Boeing 787-8

I found out upon check-in that Qatar will not short-check bags to Doha when transiting. Bummer! A quick repack of the essentials into my carry on and we are good to go. Thankfully, no enforcement of carry on weight limits!

I made my way to the Qatar Airways lounge for a light breakfast. The lounge was well designed with Arabic touches throughout, a range of comfortable seating, and decent food options.

Onboard, I had selected seat 2K, forward aisle and window. The seat was comfortable although not quite long enough for my tall frame when fully flat. I found the seat not as private as other business class products.

Breakfast order was taken pre-departure. I choose the cereal which was served promptly after takeoff. Taking advantage of Qatar’s a la carte dine on demand service I ordered a steak sandwich later on in the flight.

My only complaint was the IFE system. Attempting to navigate the system either through the remote or directly via the screen was an excruciating process — the input response was horrendous and wildly inaccurate. I gave up and resorted to my personal music library and the onboard magazine collection.

The troublesome 787 IFE...


Knock-off Weet-bix for breakfast.


On demand lunch.


Flight #2: DOH-ATH, Airbus A350-900

This was my first flight on an A350 and it was a pleasure. I found the aircraft quieter and more comfortable than the 787. A new favourite for sure.

The design of the seat appeared almost unchanged from the 787 product but I felt the A350 seats where a tad shorter – not great for me.

I was pleased to find the IFE usable and reasonably well stocked with recent movies – although not as extensive as other carriers.

Once again the breakfast order was taken prior to departure and delivered promptly at the requested time. This time, I selected the omelette which was enjoyable.

A350 IFE – with bigger screen!


Qatar Airways reverse herringbone business class seat.


Eggs for breakfast.


Climbing out of Doha.


On approach into Athens.


Flight #3: ATH-DOH, Airbus A350-900

A quick check-in with the essentials already packed into my carry-on, I passed through security and in to the Swissport Lounge at Athens. The lounge was rather basic and decorated in cool tones. A small selection of hot and cold food was available.

Another pleasant flight on the A350, again seated at a forward aisle and window seat. An afternoon departure provided a new menu to sample. Throughout the flight, I indulged in; a tomato and red pepper soup, pumpkin gnocchi, arabic meze, and a chocolate lava cake. All dishes were delightful and of high quality.


Pumpkin gnocchi for dinner.


Chocolate cake for dessert.

 

[craven morehead]

Hello,

Welcome to my trip report covering my 4 week holiday through Asia, Europe, and Iceland. This trip sees me visit new destinations, wide ranging climates, and hopefully a number of breathtaking vistas!

My primary travel is in J, courtesy of a oneworld Classic Flight reward booking (280k QF points). The booking is split into two "trips", April 2018 and February 2019. By originating outside of Australia, I am able to have a 9 month stop-over in Australia before resuming my travels.
Included in this trip are a few domestic Y flights on smaller carriers.

Destinations in Part 1 include; Bangkok, Doha, Athens, Santorini, London, and Iceland.

I positioned to Bangkok on a seperate reward flight and have spent two nights in town before taking the first flight of my main booking, a Qatar Airways flight, BKK-DOH.

As this is my first trip report please be gentle.
I foresee this report will be more focused on the destinations rather than the travel – hopefully the photos will make this worthwhile.

Ready for an adventure?
Now boarding!

Late aboard, playing catch up

 

[henleybeach]

This was my first flight on an A350 and it was a pleasure. I found the aircraft quieter and more comfortable than the 787. A new favourite for sure.

I agree. I found the a350 very quiet and is defiantly my favourite aircraft

 

[wingtip626]

After landing in Athens, I made my way to my Airbnb. I took the metro from the airport to the city which took approximately 50 minutes. A one way ticket is 10 EUR, or a 3 day "tourist ticket" is available including a return airport trip for 22 EUR.

My Airbnb was located on Ermou Street, the main shopping street in Athens and provided a convenient base for my two nights. From Ermou, it was a short walk to Plaka, the historical neighbourhood on the northern side of the Acropolis.




The Roman Agora, not to be confused with the larger Ancient Agora...




After exploring the sights of Plaka it was time to find a good vantage point to watch the sunset on the Acropolis. Areopagus hill to the west of the Acropolis provided a great view!




Once darkness falls, the Acropolis and ancient sites are illuminated for all to wonder at their beauty.




As the day drew to a close it was time to sample some of the traditional Greek cuisine.... why a souvlaki of course! This store in downtown Athens cooked up some delicious souvlaki's and pitas.

 

[wingtip626]

The first full day in Athens called for the typical tourist activity – the guided tour. What better way to start than with a walking food tour! Meeting at 10am opposite Syntagma Square, the next 3.5 hours were filled with no shortage of delicious food. The tour included stops to sample olive oils, greek coffee, koulouri, baklava, souvlaki, and bougatsa just to list a few.

The morning market at Monastiraki.




A store near the busy Varvakios Market selling dried produce.




The seafood hall of the Varvakios Market.




Saving the best for last – a souvlaki to end to food tour!




After all that food, it was time to work off all the calories. An afternoon bicycle tour was on the cards but as this is a holiday there's no need for too much physical exertion so an e-bike tour fits the requirements perfectly.
Starting from near the Acropolis, the 3 hour e-bike tour visited areas outside the regular tourist hotspots.
The hilly geography of Athens was no challenge for the e-bikes. Minimal effort was required to power up the hills – it was almost too easy! It was certainly a comfortable way to see more of the city whilst learning about the history.

There was no shortage of sights to see from the bike, including fantastic street art;




Ancient ruins (the Keramikos Archaeological site);




Historical temples (The Temple of Olympian Zeus);




Sporting history (Panathenaic Stadium [apparently it is the only stadium entirely built of marble!]);




And more recent Greek architecture (Zappeion, completed in 1888).




It was an early night for me due to an early start the next morning... a 2am alarm was set to catch a 3am bus for a 5am flight!!

 

[ellen10]

Enjoying your trip report. Looking forward to more.