It’s time for another sibling trip! This time we are heading to Vietnam and Japan! But we have a long day(s) of travel ahead of us and part of the excitement are our flights to Asia. We have some aspirational flights out of Seattle so need to make our way south of our home in Vancouver.
Quick Shuttle to Seattle
To get down we had looked into flying and training down. However both options were either cost or time prohibitive. We did find a very good option with Quick Shuttle which offers an affordable bus service that drops us off right at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. So bright and early, the Sister and I meet at the bus pickup point and settle in for the 4 hour journey down. The bus makes a few stops along the way to pick up passengers on the Canada side and drop off passengers on the US side. There is also a stop at the border where everyone needs to get off with their luggage and go through US Customs and Immigration. Overall, everything goes very smoothly and we even arrive at SeaTac Airport an hour early!
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
After checking in and passing through security, we have some time to kill. As we head towards the Alaska Lounge we’re quickly side tracked by two cute dogs in the middle of the concourse. They are part of the SEA Pups program, which helps to calm the nerves of anxious travellers. But for the Sister and I we were just there for pets and the cuddles! Henry is the dog I take a liking too and he even has similar tastes in treats to me: watermelon and bananas! We reluctantly pull ourselves away from the doggos and make our way to the lounge. We partake in some beverages and light snacks and enjoy some great views of the tarmac.
Qatar Airways Business class to Doha
When its time for boarding we make our way to the gate. The Sister and I are looking forward to our upcoming flights. As part of our sibling trip we made bookings on Qatar Airway’s business class from Seattle to Doha and then onward to Bangkok in First class. Some consider the Business class Qsuite to be one of the best in the sky and so we’re both very excited to try it. For me not only is it a new airline and premium product to try. But it’s also an opportunity to share in the experience with a loved one. Having the Sister onboard and experiencing the same joys of travel makes this whole thing that much better.
The Food
It’s roughly a 14 hour flight from Seattle to Doha and after reaching cruising the crew starts their dinner service. You can’t go wrong with some fine dining in the air. I will say though that while the food is pretty good. The choices felt a bit limited. Especially near the latter half of the trip they started running out of options and for a fourteen hour flight you would hope that they would be better stocked. Perhaps its because they are departing from an outstation rather from their home base, but it is something I noticed when a few of my choices were no longer available when I asked for them.
Sleeping
Another cool thing about Qatar airways is they are an official sponsor of Formula 1. And so the provided pajamas have formula 1 livery on it which is pretty cool for a fan like me! The Qsuite bed is also quite nice and private with the addition of a door. This allows your “pod” to be completely closed off. I did catch a few hours of sleep here and there. Even though the pods are comfortable, I find that as I get older, it gets harder and harder to sleep on airplanes. Regardless it’s still an excellent way to get to the other side of the world and am very happy to get to do it! And after a smooth journey across the Atlantic we touch down in Hamad International Airport in Doha!
Hamad International Airport
We have an eight hour layover and while the option to go into the city did pop up, the Sister and I decided to stay in the airport. The airport itself is regularly voted one of the top airports in the world and we want to explore and see why. Being a bit of an air travel nerd, my first stop in this airport is the iconic yellow Lamp Bear. Beyond the Lamp Bear, scattered around the airport are numerous unique art pieces that gives the different terminals a lot of character!
The Orchard
Another standout feature of this airport is The Orchard. It’s an indoor greenspace that has a curved glass roof with a massive space that offers transiting passengers a relaxing space. It’s very Singapore Changi Jewel‘esque. And given that these two airports compete for the top two airports in the world every year, I can see why this is here. It’s a wonderful space that travellers can go to to get away from hectic travel and find some calm. Lining the orchard are open air coffee shops that people can sit at and take in the beautiful scene.
Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
Our next stop is to hit up the Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge. The cool thing about this lounge is that it overlooks the Orchard so it has a very open and relaxing atmosphere. Because we arrive on a business class flight and depart on a first class flight, we want to allot time to check out both business and first lounges. So the Sister and I spend a few hours at this massive lounge. We opt to freshen up a little with a shower and partake in a few light snacks.
Al Safwa First lounge
Next we make our way to the Al Safwa First Lounge. The vibe here is very different to the business lounge. I think the best way I can describe it is its much more sterile and serene. It’s very quiet and very cavernous. It almost feels like a museum in some cases but still very fancy. We spend some time exploring this massive lounge before settling down to rest a little.
Dining
One of the cool features of this lounge is the a la carte dining option. They have some fairly high end dining options which the Sister and I decide to indulge in. For drinks I opt for a watermelon cooler (how could I not!) and a Lanson brut. We get two appetizers in the Arabic mezze and Seared scallops. For my main I order the Sea bass. All the food is actually really good! In fact we liked the scallops so much we end up ordering it again, so have two helpings of the scallops!
Qatar Airways First Class to Bangkok
Eventually its time for us to take our next flight to Bangkok. So we head to the gate and get ready to board. The Qatar First class product is a little bit older than the Qsuite product we flew over from Seattle on. But it’s still very exclusive as there is only 8 seats in the cabin. As this is on one of their A380 double decker planes, we also get the unique ability to board from a separate jet bridge that takes us directly to the second floor and to our seats.
The Qatar first class seat is a slightly older than the QSuite seats that we flew over from Seattle on. It’s a bit less private but its extremely spacious and there are only 8 seats in the cabin. So it makes for a very exclusive environment. The bathroom is also huge and extremely well appointment. The only other bathroom that I’ve seen that’s larger is the Emirates First Class bathroom with the shower. All in all it’s a very comfortable cabin and both the Sister and I agree far more enjoyable than the business class flight.
Qatar A380 Lounge
Another unique feature of the Qatar A380 is the onboard lounge for their premium class passengers. It’s similar to the Emirates bar in the sky and a place the Sister and I go to check out soon after take off. Fortunately, it isn’t too busy and we seemingly get the whole bar to ourselves. The staff are even nice enough to take a few photos of us behind the bar.
Dining together!
After getting a few hours of sleep the flight attendants wake us up for breakfast prior to landing. A unique feature to Qatar’s seats is the ability to have a meal with a companion. It’s something the Sister and I couldn’t pass up and so we end up having breakfast “together” before landing. After all the rich food in the past day, I opt for some comfort food in an abalone congee and fruit. It’s good and tasty, that’s made even better by the novelty of sitting across from a travel companion having a meal together while in the air!
Soon after breakfast we start to make our preparation for landing and eventually we touch down in Bangkok after a very memorable set of flights to kick off our Sibling trip!
Bangkok
After making it to our hotel and freshening up a little, we set out to explore Bangkok. We only have the evening in Bangkok before head off to our destination. Since this is the Sister’s first time we simply want explore and wander so she can get a sense of what this city is like. We walk around one of the big malls and stop to snack on some very yummy snacks too! I’m sure you can tell which smoothie drew my attention!
Ros’niyom
Eventually our thoughts turn to dinner and we decide on a small cafe restaurant called Ros’niyom. We order a few Thai dishes to share. All the food really hit the spot and I think at this point the past two days of travel are really starting to take its toll on the both of us. So after enjoying dinner we make our way back to the hotel.
It’s been a long few days of travel but one already filled with some wonderful memories. Our sibling trip is starting with a big bang and we haven’t even reached our destination yet. Tomorrow we have one more short flight to Vietnam where we’ll actually start our Sibling trip!
Wow! Beautiful airports & lounges!