After 2 years of living on the beautiful tropical island of Koh Samui, my pawrents decided it was time to move on. Having only originally planned to stay in Samui for 2 months, they wanted to get back to a big city. With international travel still pretty difficult, we decided to move up from Samui to Bangkok. As I’ve already been on a plane before and the journey was short, my pawrents decided it would be easiest to take the plane up rather than a long drive.
Bangkok Airways are the only airline to fly from Samui to Bangkok. As I have flown with them before when I came to Samui, I know they are very good and experienced. My pawrents booked their flight, which was 2,000 baht each (they have a Samui Resident card for discounted tickets). They then sent a message to the reservations team to add me onto the booking.
Due to the covid situation, Bangkok Airways told us that they only had a limited number of flights from Samui to Bangkok that were able to take doggos these days. This is because capacity is reduced and they aren’t pressurising the cargo on most flights any more. So there was only 1 flight available that day I could go on. This was the last flight PG174 from Samui to Bangkok at 19:25. That meant we wouldn’t get to Bangkok until late but we had no choice. It also meant that we’d be flying on the ATR42 which is the smaller propellor plane. It seemed a bit strange to be on the small plane but the reason was made clear later on.
On the day we were leaving we had some lunch with some friends at Copper Art & Eat. I got to say goodbye to my friend Rocky the Chihuaha who is the resident pooch here. We headed to the airport at 5pm to give us plenty of time in case there were any extra checks either for me or covid.
Everything went smoothly at the check in desk. The normal luggage was checked in first and then I had to get into my crate to be weighed. Bangkok Airways charges per kg rather than per dog, so the price isn’t known until final weigh in. You pay sparately at the excess baggage desk. The cost is 180 baht per kg. I am 8.5kg and my crate is 7.5k so in total we were 16kg. The lady was kind and we ended up paying for 15kg only, so a total cost of 2,700 baht. Even more expensive for me than the humans! But I am worth it of course.
We still had plenty of time before we were due to go to the boarding gate so I was allowed to get back out of my crate and have a sniff around. If you haven’t been to Samui airport, you are missing out. It is one of the most beautiful airports in the world. So I took full advantage of the time and went for lots of sniffs. Most shops there are closed now but there’s a lovely garden area to sit and relax in, great for nervous flyers like me!
We headed back to the check in area for 18:15 to give the staff enough time to do their checks. I was such a good boy and went into my crate with no complaints. My pillow was inside with my favourite Scoot blanket (sorry Bangkok Airways) and 2 of my favourite toys to make me comfortable. I also had some water in case I got thirsty (this is a mandatory requirement from the airline also) .
The staff then cable tied the crate shut in many places so that no one could get to me. Also so that I could not escape. They also put some stickers on the outside of the crate to let people know that I was a live animal inside and which way up to keep me. They then put me on the trolley and I was wheeled away for the security checks.
Daddy was sneaky and attached a GoPro into my crate so he could watch me zooming around the airport. Unfortunately, the battery didn’t last long enough to see me getting onto the plane but it was interesting to see my little journey through the airport. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see the full journey from Samui to Bangkok though.
Mammy and daddy had some time to grab a quick beer after they passed through security before boarding. As they are Premier members of Bangkok Airways frequent flyer programme, they got to board first on the special bus. The buses at Samui airport are super cool, not like any normal bus, more like a big tuk tuk. When they got to the plane, they could see me in my crate waiting to go onto the plane! They were so happy to see I was ready and waiting for them.
Imagine mammy’s surprise when she walked up the stairs onto the plane and who did she see? Yes, it was me!!! As we were on the small prop plane, all of the luggage goes into a back section. This is right next to the galley and the toilets. That meant there was no hold under the plane like usual, so I got to sit right there. It made mammy so happy to know I was just right there but it also made her worried in case I started to bark real loud.
Mammy and daddy were sat right at the front of the plane so they were far away from me but it made them feel more relaxed that I was at the same level as them. If they had known I would be just there, they would have booked the seats at the back so they could keep an eye on me too.
After take off, all of the humans were given a small snack and some water. I didn’t get any but that’s OK as I already had my water. Then the best thing ever, daddy came to say hello, it was so nice to see him. Flying alone is a bit scary but getting to lick his fingers through the crate was so cool. It was much better than my first flight when I was on my own.
The cabin crew all said I was such a good boy too. They sat next to me the whole way. They said that usually dogs will bark a lot and cause quite a nuisance. Even though my pawrents sometimes say I am a naughty boy, I am a good boy deep down. I didn’t bark once and I bet noone even knew I was there.
We landed from Samui to Bangkok at about 9pm and I was first off the plane. I was put on a special truck with the pilot and cabin crews luggage and zoomed away before anyone else even got off the plane. Mammy told me later she saw me get carried off and put on the special truck. It meant that when they got to the terminal I was already waiting for them at the oversized luggage area.
When I arrived in Samui, I was put on the luggage belt along with all of the other luggage. In Bangkok, the belt is on an angle so that wouldn’t have worked. Instead they took me to the oversized luggage area where the staff kindly waited for the pawrents to arrive and collect me. They didn’t have to show any proof I was theirs before they took me away but I think it was pretty obvious when they let me out and I jumped all over them to give them some big sloppy kisses!!
I was allowed out of the crate straight away. As it was a domestic flight there were no checks to be done. So we got all of the other luggage and then headed straight for the taxi. I couldn’t wait to get out and into the freedom so I took charge and stormed through to the exit. We had pre arranged for a taxi so we wouldn’t have any issues with accepting me.
I am super happy to be in Bangkok now. I will miss Samui and the beautiful beaches, but I have lots of streets to sniff now and many fabulous smells to get up my nose. For sure I will be busy for the next few weeks and will keep you all posted on my adventures.
Speak soon woof woof, Wylie x