Good late afternoon from beautiful Bangkok, Thailand! 
and after going throughout the city and Phuket, I can confidently say this is an amazing country with beautiful cities, landscapes and most importantly culture. My grandma and grandpa came here in October of last year and their positive experiences in the country convinced me to book a trip here and my goodness, am I glad to have listened to them. While it’s not as beautiful as the Maldives 
it’s still up there in top destinations of ALL TIME you just can’t beat these south East Asian countries in architecture, transportation infrastructure, cleanliness and culture. Unfortunately, I am too young to retire let alone in a foreign country so it’s time to begin the long journey back home to Miami, FL 
connecting along the way through Doha, Qatar 
on Qatari flag carrier Qatar Airways in economy class once again on a very special aircraft, I’m glad your joining me on this trip and let’s get going!
After an hour train ride, we have arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport and just like I’ve pretty much seen across Thailand it is BEAUTIFUL yeah it opened in 2006 but the architecture was FAR AHEAD of its time. Compare this to MIA’s concourse J which only opened a year later and looks DRASTICALLY more outdated than BKKs terminal. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a nice terminal and all especially the when you go towards the end but honestly most U.S. can’t compare to ones out here in Southeast Asia it’s just not possible but with the development of modern terminals domestically, I can imagine concourse K stepping it up or Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airports terminal 5 and from what I’ve seen from Orlando International Airport’s terminal C, I have pretty high expectations that’ll hopefully be met. Qatar Airway’s check in bag drop lines were somewhat long kind of giving a hint to our aircraft 
it took me 25 minutes just to drop off my 2 checked bags I guess the Asian efficiency wears off here luckily security is a big strength and I was through within 5 minutes. Now while this terminal is very beautiful and spacious pre security, post security is quite the opposite especially on the space side. BKK is also one of those airports to have confined gate spaces like I experienced in BOTH Dubai International Airport and my destination of Hamad International Airport. So I’ll try to explore the terminal as much as I can before going to the gate. It’s really beautiful and there are A LOT of stores here selling souvenirs but you’re better off just buying them throughout the country rather than here in the airport. My flight departs out of the S concourse which is appropriately the Satellite terminal which means I’ll have to head underground to catch a people mover system across the ramp. Now I’ve been raving on how the main almost 20 year old terminal of BKK still looks great but my goodness is the S concourse something else 
it only opened in early 2024 but it still has that new building smell and the central area is AWESOME reminding me of a colossal grand mall somewhere in the richest city in the world 
and maybe even part of MCOs terminal C. I even forgot I was in an airport until I looked outside. I got to my gate area which isn’t as nice but still is modern and clean to await my special aircraft.
FLIGHT INFO:
Origin: Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International (BKK/VTBS)
Destination: Hamad Intl (DOH/OTHH)
Flight Time: 5:44
Airbus A380-800 (Qatar Airways)
Server: Expert
When I initially booked my flights back, I was scheduled to be on the 9:00pm flight on the Boeing 777-300ER and while I do love me a good B77W I found this flight which only left an hour earlier on the flying whale
herself, the Airbus A380 and I knew I had to switch especially since I already turned her down on my trip to Paris, France 
from November so instead of a 777, our ride to Doha will be A7-APE a 10 year old A380 delivered to Qatar in June 2015 this aircraft had spent almost 2 years in storage in Doha’s old International Airport the predecessor to Hamad Airport due to the pandemic and was brought back. And from September 2022 to February 2023, it wore a sticker promoting the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup 
Remember how I said the gate areas were confined like at DXB and DOH? Well that only applies to the main terminal as the gates in the S concourse DO NOT have them which is such a relief knowing you can go get a last minute snack. Because of this boarding was also much more manageable than it would’ve been with confined gate areas. I was soon allowed to board so let’s see what QR’s super jumbo has to offer!
Given the A380s size, it seats a whopping 571 people across first, business and economy across its 2 decks. The main deck or bottom floor is EXCLUSIVELY economy class with 405 Recaro CL3710 seats in a 3-4-3 configuration. An additional 56 seater, 2-4-2 arranged economy cabin can be found in the rear section of the upper deck. I was lucky enough to snag a seat on the upper deck before they were all taken with my seat being 28K, a thing to note is that the seats are marked from top to bottom so rows 1-32 are on the upper deck and 40-83 on the main deck. Despite being on the upper deck, I still had to board through one of the lower jet-bridges and even than had to use the rear stairs meaning I won’t be able to see the first or business class cabins. And just so you know, NONE of QR’s A380s have their famous QSuites. Waiting for me on the seats are a pillow, blanket, headphones and even an amenity kit! Never seen one in economy class across my travels. The seat was comfortable and the legroom was generous. Not technically part of the seat but us window seat passengers had storage boxes, this is why I’d ALWAYS recommend a seat on the upper deck whenever possible.
The only thing I can say I dislike about flying the A380 upstairs is that you can’t get the best wing views which I always try to do as I like to an aircraft in action. But my goodness is it much more cozy up here, it’s definitely a fair trade off. Boarding surprisingly went quickly for an aircraft of this size so we soon pushed back and made our way to BKKs runway 20L for take off!
There’s absolutely NOTHING similar to taking off in an A380, the quiet engines and sheer size made this the most COMFORTABLE take off I’ve ever experienced, what a way to leave Thailand!
The smaller wing view did give us a better view of the Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi airport one final time which is great as it looks so gorgeous in the night!
but we soon turned west heading away from the city and towards the Middle East!
We climbed up to 38,000ft really quickly as we passed above Myanmar
another plus of the A380, it’s 4 powerful engines really help her become what she is.
The crew soon also began the meal service, us upper deck passengers even have our own dedicated crew which is AMAZING and they brought out our meals as quickly as possible which is great, I ordered the chicken piccata which came with penne pasta and arrabbiata sauce. I had a piece of warm bread, a Orzo salad and a Bangkok staple, Mango Sticky Rice. I’ve had the Mango Sticky Rice while on the ground and even though it wasn’t as good as my previous one was, it was still great not only the sticky rice but the entire meal as a whole. You can 100% count on Qatar Airways to feed you great on your travels if you choose to fly them, even if it’s just an economy flight on one of their narrowbodies, they will take good care of you! The crew in general were also really great always in the aisle checking on us and even one tried his best and SUCCEEDED in getting a baby to stop crying. A relief for all of us and maybe even the business class passengers in the cabin ahead, 5 stars! 
Given the short flight time and nighttime arrival into Doha, I decided to skip out on sleeping and just pass the time by going through the inflight entertainment. The A380 uses the exact same system that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and A350-900 I flew on previously use, even the Wi-Fi is the exact same which is great to see QR trying to have consistency on the IFE side of things. I put on the The Big Bang Theory to pass the time as the view out the window isn’t the best considering the time but down there you can make out the coast of India 
along the Bay of Bengal.
Another feature of the A380s and A350s is that they feature onboard exterior cameras from the tail and they are amazing to look at especially now with us approaching the Arabian peninsula by Oman
with the capital of Muscat coming into view.
Before we landed, a snack service was provided consisting of a savory pastry and a muffin both warm along with a beverage choice which I chose a Coke and just like the main meal, it was DELICIOUS!
Before I forget, inside the amenity kit you could find a toothbrush with toothpaste, a pair of socks, eye shades and ear plugs. Very essential items especially the latter with the crying baby. I forgot to mention that after the initial dinner service, we were served tea and coffee which I gladly accepted along with the SAME Austrian candy from my DOH → BKK flight. Thought it was probably a Doha thing but no, they even served them on a flight originating in Thailand funnily enough.
After all those great meals, episodes of TBBT! and another Austrian chocolate wafer, Abu Dhabi, UAE
once again came into view and it was soon time to begin the descent into Doha, we spent the ENTIRETY of our approach over the Persian Gulf above small Emirati islands before turning to be on the left downwind leg for RWYs 16L/R before making a 180 to be on the right downwind leg for RWYs 34L/R we soon turned base and came to land on DOHs RWY 34L.
I’ve gotta say, I kind of got deja vu just as we entered final approach as I sort of felt like I was in a cozy, secluded cabin on approach into a colorful and beautiful lit up city and airport before when I was younger even though I hadn’t, I probably was dreaming or something but I’m glad to say that dream came true. Anyways, it’s time to enjoy this hopefully smooth approach into DOHs RWY 34L!
TOUCHDOWN! Welcome back to Doha, Qatar!
where this time I actually can leave the airport and explore the city for 1 day before it’s time to go back home. Qatar Airways delivered on this flight like I expected them to with their great seats, meals, IFE and cabin crew and a bonus factor for this flight from an aviation enthusiast standpoint was FINALLY being able to check off the A380 from the bucket list. Yeah it wasn’t the most luxurious super jumbo experience like you’d see on Emirates or Etihad’s first class/residence suites but I personally didn’t care. Flying the whale even in economy class is still a great experience and even better if you manage to snag a seat on the upper deck. No matter the airline, if I get the chance to fly an A380 again, I will FOR SURE take it!
From Suvarnabhumi airport’s brand new GORGEOUS terminal C opened in 2024 to Doha’s 2014 opened Hamad International Airport, it’s a bit of a downgrade but not a whole lot as DOH is still a very beautiful airport architecture wise. You can’t go wrong with this place it is BEAUTIFUL. The central area home to the famous lamp bear, is the crown jewel of Qatar
and there’s NO convincing me otherwise. I’m just joking around, I’m positive there’s going to be as equally if not more stunning sights across the city of Doha than the central part of Hamad Airport. Passport control took almost no time as I was one of few people actually leaving the airport with majority of people having connecting flights, baggage claim on the other hand wasn’t exactly quick but still not terribly long either and I was soon off to my hotel in the center of Doha to get a goodnight sleep so I can have all the energy I need to explore the city as much as I can tomorrow before it’s time to head back home to Miami
That will be it regarding my flight on Qatar Airway’s super jumbo Airbus A380-800 in economy class from Bangkok, Thailand to Doha, Qatar stay tuned for the finale and longest flight of the 6 back to the 305 and as always between now and the next time, see you in the sky! 
on the second week of July. That is, the week after the Fourth of July.