Bangkok, Thailand – November 26, 2015
Shortly before 23:00, we boarded our Airbus A330-300. We quickly found our seats. The amount of legroom in business class was terrific. The “control panel” for the reclining chair looked like something one might find on the International Space Station. It took us a while to figure out all of the buttons.
At our seats, we each found a goodie bag. They looked similar to small, zippered toiletry bags, each containing socks, eye cover/mask, toothbrush and paste, mouthwash, lotion, etc. We opted not to take them. We did not want the extra weight.

The plane pushed back from the boarding area at 23:28, about seven minutes ahead of schedule. We found it hard to believe Bangkok was just over four hours away.
Shortly after takeoff, the flight attendants began to feed us a wonderful meal. The following is why my weight loss, noted in the previous posting, was very short-lived.
First Course
Grilled U. S. scallop
Beef bresaola
Shell pasta with colored capsicum and Italian vinaigrette
Orange couscous, mesclun salad
Main Course
Beef Karachi
Yellow pilaf
Kaddu ka salan
Dessert
Pandan sago pudding
Tiramisu
Espresso
Such was our midnight Thanksgiving dinner at 37,000 feet.
We arrived in Bangkok at about 05:50. Our bags were checked through to Auckland, so all we had to do was get from the plane to our day-room.

We had a layover of about 12 hours. Part of our business class ticket included a reservation at Louis’ Tavern and Dayroom. We checked in at 06:30. The room was small but clean. The beds were particularly tiny. Regardless, we laid down and slept for about four hours.
When we awoke, we decided to walk through the terminal to find a Bangkok refrigerator magnet. We found one quickly, switching our sights to finding something to eat. After all, it was Thanksgiving Day. We ended up at the Bill Bentley Pub. We opted to have a local beer and to share a club sandwich. Leslie did not like the club sandwich.

From the pub, we strolled back to our room. We slept again for a couple of hours.
Our room included a free meal in Louis’ Tavern. Leslie decided on the Phad Thai. I ordered the cream of mushroom soup. Both meals were delicious.
About 20 minutes before 17:00, the wheelchair attendant arrived. He took us to the transit counter so we could get our Bangkok and Auckland boarding passes. Then came the long hike to our gate. Luckily, the Royal Thai Lounge was nearby. We relaxed there as we waited for our boarding time.
We arrived at the gate about 10 minutes before our scheduled boarding time. Finally, at 18:20, some 15 minutes late, we boarded the plane. We were not exactly sure what caused the delay. We began to get concerned about making our connection in Auckland.
We took our seats and waited for the departure. Ultimately, we departed 22 minutes late, at 19:07. The pilot did mention that the problem causing the delay was a suitcase had been loaded, but the passenger had not boarded. We finally pushed away, so the situation was somehow resolved.

• Thailand