Thank God for sleeping pods at the basement of the Suvarnabhumi Airport. If not for them, I wouldn’t have been able to drive home today because I would be a wreck. Imagine hanging out at the airport since 6:30 pm until boarding at 4 am the next day.
It was expensive at THB 1,400 for four hours but I was already dropping and the alternative is a THB 700-massage for 60 mins, which would be more expensive if I need a shut-eye for four hours. THB 1,400 = PHP 2,240 and that gets you a double bed, a bathroom for an overnight stay in a Go Hotel or Red Planet in the NAIA vicintity.
Anyway, these sleeping pods are just at the basement of the airport, next to the State Railway of Thailand station. You’re paying for the convenience.
This capsule hotel is cheaper at THB 250 per hour and has a queen bed inside. The problem was I didn’t reserve a slot (because I didn’t know that my flight will be pushed back to three hours later) so walk-ins were not possible last night.
The four hours that I slept were so needed. I say the THB 1400 was well spent.
I was messaging my TV reporter friend who happens to be a transport reporter and he was the one who has been telling me about what was happening back home. Cebu Pacific and PAL had been cancelling flights. I will get back to that later.
So we were talking about sleeping pods and he sent me a photo of the sleeping pod he used at the airport in Zurich, which he said was just bigger than a coffin. It cost him an equivalent of PHP 2,500 a night, which is still cheaper than the Box Hotel I used in Bangkok.
I know that there is a similar sleeping pod in NAIA but I think that’s in Terminal 3…ah yes, The Wings Transit Lounge. I think I would be able to use this now that I need to drive myself to the airport whenever I travel abroad. I can leave my car at ParkNFly or at the Terminal Car Parks and then sleep at these lounges if needed. The capsule is only PHP 1000 for 8 hrs, which is not a bad deal.
I slept for a bit in the plane but once the sunrise hit my face (I always take the window seat because I don’t want to face people), it was impossible to go back to sleep.
There will be a senate inquiry next week about the cancellations that PAL and Cebu Pac had been doing this week. The consortium of conglomerates bidding for the rehab of NAIA will be having a press conference on Monday as well so I think this will be a lobby presscon and I would be able to get dirt on MIAA why the heck are we having this nightmare. I would have to borrow the Toyota Vios again because my car is banned on Mondays in Metro Manila streets.
If I would have to fly to SG next month, I would be booking Singapore Airlines. I checked the fares yesterday, the late returning flight to Manila on a Friday is much cheaper than PAL.
But I just need to double check with my boss if this trip is still on because I just got a rejection email from S&P because the networking event they invited me to didn’t want media people there. 🤷🏻♀️ Well, they were the ones who sent the invite…
It’s just so nice to be back home. My cats had been sleeping in my room for the entire week, my kids told me. Sushi has been missing me so much. Twin A said that cat wouldn’t budge and insists on sleeping on my bed.
