Our red-eye flight from Tokyo Haneda was smooth. We tried to rest as much as we could. There was a meal service onboard.
Thailand had recently made entry for Indian passport holders visa-free. We told the immigration officer that we had a long layover and were flying out later the same evening. We cleared immigration, collected our bags, and reached the departure area.
We were not able to check in our bags for the next flight until 12 hours before the scheduled departure time. This was probably why the United gate agent in Saipan had not been able to check our bags all the way to Mumbai, even though we were technically on a connecting flight.
We waited around in the departure area for the right time to drop off our bags again. Our initial plan was to try and squeeze in a visit to Ayutthaya, or at least spend the day in Bangkok. However, we were quite tired from being on this trip for more than 10 days and decided to skip that, opting to head to the lounge to relax for the day before our evening flight.
Once we were able to drop off our bags, we went back through immigration and cleared the security check to get airside again. We tried to visit The Coral First Class Lounge, which was listed as accessible for our DreamFolks cards, but we were denied entry. Instead, they asked us to use the entrance of The Coral Finest Business Class Lounge right next door. It appeared there was a small section reserved for First Class Lounge visitors, but the rest of the facilities for both lounges were shared.
The Coral Finest Business Class Lounge was spacious and spread out, featuring ample seating areas of different types and configurations.
The bathrooms in the Coral Finest Business Class Lounge were impeccably clean.
There was a full-service bar at the Coral Lounge serving alcoholic drinks, cocktails, and mocktails. I decided to have my favorite cocktail: a Margarita.
The buffet was extensive, featuring a wide spread of food items ranging from Western to Oriental and Thai cuisines.
We had a leisurely lunch and enjoyed the variety of offerings.
We used the time after lunch to relax, and in the afternoon, we had some coffee from the tea and coffee stations.
We left the lounge shortly before our flight and took the underground train to the SAT-1 Airport terminal for our departure gate.
The SAT-1 Airport terminal was bright and airy, featuring a huge metal installation of the “Himmapan Elephant.”
We waited around the boarding area for a while until it was time to board. The flight had a very light load, with very few passengers today.
The flight itself was comfortable. We were each able to get a row of three seats to lie down after dinner. We landed in Mumbai on time and made our way home to Pune by road.
