A flight on Thai Air Asia.

Air Asia operates from the Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok which is also known as the older airport, If your flight arrives at the newer terminal Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and you have a connecting flight at Don Muang (DMK) make sure you allow plenty of travel time between both airports as the journey may take up to one hour. 

It takes approximately 25 minutes to reach the airport via car from central Bangkok and there's also the alternative of taking a train to Hua Lamphong railway station which is located opposite the highway which is linked by a foot bridge. 

We arrived at the terminal and proceeded towards the check in desk to drop off our checked baggage. I pre purchased 30 kg's (66 lbs) for each of us which was $40AUD when booking the cheap tickets. The agent weighed my bags to which she started speaking Thai to one of her colleagues and wanted to charge me a fee because my bag was overweight.

I smiled and told her to weigh my partners bags so we could see if we could transfer the weight between bags to which she obliged. I had a gut feeling she would try to play her game to which she said we were over 15 kilos and would cost us roughly $90AUD. I had my poker face on and told her it was too much to pay to which seemed to provoke her so she gave me the option of paying or no flight which really didn't bother me so I pulled out my little digital hand held scales and proceeded to weigh the bags myself. 

I can tell you that the look on her face was priceless as I weighed and showed her the correct weight of my bag which was 24 kg's (53 lbs) and my partners bag which was at 22 kg's (48.5 lbs). I asked her to grab her supervisor Tom and explained the situation to him to which her face matched the color of her uniform as he apologised for the miscalculations and proceeded to check us in as well as offer us in flight vouchers. 

The waiting area. 

Without lounge access we found some stores in the terminal and proceeded to check out the items on offer. There was a food court located upstairs although I had cravings for western food as we've been eating huge amounts of delicious Thai food over the past couple of days. I glanced back down at my watch and decided it was time to make our way towards the gate but only after we had a snack on some Mc Donald's and KFC. You guys must be thinking out of all places to eat, why eat there? 

I've found that the fast food chains offer different kinds of burgers, spices and meat's in each country so might as well eat and compare the different tastes and textures in each country we visit! 

Check out Two Nights in Hilton and Bangkok  The Hotel Muse Bangkok  

                  A smile got me upgraded on Turkish Airline

The seal of approval, carry on approved.

With twenty minutes until boarding I decided to wander and snap up some pics in and around the airport! It was a pretty laid back atmosphere in the terminal as announcements blasted over the speaker system in Thai and English until I heard our flight was about to commence boarding. 

One of Air Asia's A320's.

Nok Air's colourful livery schemes.  

Our plane was three minutes behind schedule but the crew did a very quick turn around. As the agents were preparing to call our flight to board a sea of passengers from who knows where congested the front of the gate. It was like a scene at a auction, they had their boarding passes in hand and pushing the white card's towards the gate agents which didn't seem to push their patience! They've done this plenty of times and were very strict with their handling procedures.

HOT SEATS BOARD FIRST ONLY!!! 

You're not hot seat!!! You wait!!!

Not your turn!!!! 

The passengers were closing in and the space around the gate began getting smaller as the heat and temperature of the group started warming me up. I couldn't stand them anymore and shoved my way towards the front with my Priority Boarding Pass and handed it to one of the agents. 

She yells something in Thai at the group, looks at my boarding pass, smiles and makes way for me to proceed down the jet bridge. We walked down the jet bridge dripping in sweat like we just came out of a battle. 

On board and ready to roll!

I could feel the blast of the cold air con from the little airbus as we approached the door and was greeted by a very gorgeous flight attendant as she directed us to our seats. I finally found my breath as we stowed our luggage in the over head compartments and settled down in the black leather seats with bright red headrests. 

A sea of passengers, children and tourists began to flow down the aisle as the metal tube began getting louder with passengers trying to find their seats and finding room for their bags. We and another passenger behind us were the only ones who purchased hot seats which entitle's priority boarding and extra legroom. 

 A short taxi meant the crew did a very short inflight safety demo as we headed towards the runway and with a slight right turn we soared down the runway left Bangkok. 

Planes lined up at DMK.

A nice shot of the airport in the distance. 

We departed Don Muang as the sun shined down on the airport.

Our piping hot meals - roast chicken with vegetables and rice and potato curry.

Once we hit cruising altitude, one of the flight attendants came over and confirmed with us our pre purchased meal selection by asking to see our boarding pass and then proceed to deliver our piping hot meals with a small beaker of water. The meal's were very tasty which I've found to be of similar taste's across the entire company. I pre selected and paid $5AUD for both meals which is a steal compared to prices on board which were $7-8 per item. 

Hot seat leg room is pretty decent for a short flight!

A very light load on todays flight.

Empty hot seats.

After we finished with our meals the flight attendants quickly did a rubbish sweep of the aircraft as we started our descent into Phuket. I was amazed that we didn't encounter any bumps of turbulence on our journey as we glided in a sunny and nearly cloud free journey.

Starting descent into Phuket.

My attention suddenly was drawn outside.

Eyes glued to the beautiful scenery.

Turquoise waters and beautiful scenery.

Getting lower with beautiful views of the ocean.

With a bump and hearing the engines roar we touched down 10 minutes earlier into Phuket International Airport as we taxied towards a open gate. Passengers already had their seat belts off and were standing and trying to collect their belongings while the plane was still moving. 

I watched the flight attendants and they weren't interested in telling the passengers to sit down until we arrived at the gates.  With the ever so familiar "ding" the plane was in full movement as the rest of the passengers and us stood up and collected our bags. 

The flight attendants thanked us for flying Air Asia as we walked out towards the terminal. Overall a uneventful short flight with Air Asia which wasn't heavy on the pocket if you book in advance and your travel plans are firm. A cheap and quick flight to get to Phuket for our final days at the Hilton Phuket. 

Nok Nok.

Bangkok Air departing.