The first sight people sometimes get when landing at Don Muang airport – code BKK - is the strange sight of people playing golf in between the runways. This is just the first of many quirks you will either love or hate about Thailand and Bangkok.
The golf course is actually owned ... Read review
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Advantages: Clear direction signs, unique sight of a golf course in the middle of the runways Disadvantages: Long walks, uncomfortable seats
The first sight people sometimes get when landing at Don Muang airport – code BKK - is the strange sight of people playing golf in between the runways. This is just the first of many quirks you will either love or hate about Thailand and Bangkok.
The golf course is actually owned by the Air Force which shares the airport. Depending on your taxi route to / from the runway you will see the military planes and hangers. The airport ... ...- Suvarnabhumi - being built to the north east of Bangkok which is due to open in 2004. Well, the Prime Minister said it would, so it must be true!
Transport
The airport itself is about 25km north from the “centre” of Bangkok. It is easily reached by car, bus or train. There is no link to the BTS Skytrain but the new one supposedly will have a link to it or the new underground system, they just haven’t made ... more
The first sight people sometimes get when landing at Don Muang airport – code BKK - is the strange sight of people playing golf in between the runways. This is just the first of many quirks you will either love or hate about Thailand and Bangkok.
The golf course is actually owned by the Air Force which shares the airport. Depending on your taxi route to / from the runway you will see the military planes and hangers. The airport is actually due to be replaced by a new airport - Suvarnabhumi - being built to the north east of Bangkok which is due to open in 2004. Well, the Prime Minister said it would, so it must be true!
Transport The airport itself is about 25km north from the “centre” of Bangkok. It is easily reached by car, bus or train. There is no link to the BTS Skytrain but the new one supposedly will have a link to it or the new underground system, they just haven’t made up their minds what it will be yet.
There is a railway station accessed by a sky bridge that can take you into town – Hualampong Station – or to further afield. It will take around 80-90 minutes though, the trains are not quick. There is a special Airport Bus, costing 100Baht flat fare, which has 3 routes covering the majority of tourist hotels – Silom, Sukhimwit and Khao San areas- perhaps taking between 30 – 60 minutes depending on traffic. Numerous taxis are available in the ranks outside the airport. It will cost around 190Baht to get to Silom, if you take the expressway, you will be expected to pay the tolls – 70 Baht. It is worth it as it is far quicker. If you are taking a taxi from the airport, make sure you avoid all the touts and only go to the taxi queue. At the front of the queue there is an official desk which will ask you where you are going and give you a receipt to give to the driver - this is also your destination written in Thai. You can also hire a Thai Airways Limousine to take you where you want to go. There is a desk outside of customs, this does cost more and will obviously depend on your destination. The cars are usually Mercedes C class.
Layout There are two separate buildings for International and Domestic departures, so make sure your driver knows which one you want. If there is a mistake, it’s only about another 2 km to go. The International building is long and flat – it is also split into two, so again, tell your driver which airline you are on. It could save you a 1km walk! There are quite prominent signs outside with the airline logos so if he drives slowly you won’t have too much bother finding the right place. For those on a late arrival or early departure who don’t want to stray too far, there is an Amari hotel attached to the airport.
Departure Procedure Check in. On entering the building, first thing of course is to check if you are leaving on time. There are plenty of information screens around. Next step is to have your bag screened by security, after this they put a sticker on it ( not as good as the old plastic strap that was bound around your case ) and you proceed to check in. These are islands in the main floor space and produce average check in speed. Then you have to go and pay your departure tax of 500Baht – you did leave enough Baht, didn’t you? If not, it’s a trip to the currency exchange. They do not accept plastic. There are booths next to the entrance to passport control and they will give you the receipt, which you give to immigration. No receipt and they send you back out. A couple of stamps and you are in the main departure lounge. Again there are plenty of information screens to announce boarding. The departure gate numbers are clearly visible from afar, so you should really get lost. On boarding, you go to your gate where you go through the security check and they are removing all objects like scissors, pen knives, tweezers etc and putting them in a bin. Just make sure things like that are in your main luggage. Then to the final holding area and boarding card check and onto the plane and home – booo hisss!
Arrival Procedures Arrival is fairly straightforward, if a bit of a long walk. You walk from your arrival pier following the clear signs to immigration; give them your passport and arrival card, then go immediately downstairs to pick up your bags. Reclaim is usually quick and no more than 15-20 minutes. You then proceed through customs, giving them your customs declaration, which you got on the plane and into the arrivals hall where you will be picked up by your tour company or proceed to your preferred method of transport. This is where the signs become a little bit confusing for some people. But take a breath, get your bearings, put your warm clothes into your bag and go out into the sauna that is Thailand.
Facilities Airside
The customer areas of the airport are split over 3 floors. The ground floor is the main shopping area with duty free, restaurants, frequent flyer rooms etc, upstairs are more restaurants, short time hotel rooms, prayer rooms and frequent flyer rooms, downstairs are only frequent flyer rooms. The restaurants range from KFC to a high class restaurant, there are also many separate snack trolleys selling various hot dogs, sandwiches and so on. As is common with other airports though, you do pay more for the privilege. There is also internet access at an outrageous price of 5 Baht per minute compared to the 20 Baht per hour you can pay in town. For those feeling tires and want refreshed, you can also have a massage or a wife of pure O2 at an Oxygen bar at US$7.
There is not one duty free shop but several spread out over the concourse – like Amsterdam Schipol – the prices though are not great. You can do better in town. Warning, the prices in the Duty Free shop in the World Trade Centre are just the same as the airport. Toilets are numerous and clean. The building is a no smoking one apart from small designated smoking rooms. The decoration is a mix of Thai and western which only has the effect of blanding it out.
For those wanting to have a look, there is a web site that is clear and in English
www.bangkok-bkk.com
Complaints? Well, if you have time to kill, the seats are not comfortable. If you want to wander from one end to the other or come in the wrong entrance, it is a long walk – especially if you have kids or a walking difficulty.
Summary To sum up, it’s not bad as airports go, the direction signs are clear, baggage reclaim is quite fast, transport links are quite good but it’s the little details that make it only good.
Advantages: Surprisingly Hassle Free. Disadvantages: High Season Could Be The Opposite.
Bangkok International Airport is situated 25km from downtown Bangkok. It has 2 terminals which are housed within the same building. When you fly in from London, you enter via terminal 1 but in order to reclaim baggage and go through passport control you have to make your way to terminal 2. The first thing you notice as you get off the plane is the intense rush of heat. When we arrived the skies were filled with dark clouds but the swirl of heat that ... ...was soaked through. Thankfully baggage trolleys are in plentiful supply because there is about a quarter of an hour walk to baggage reclaim. Passport control couldn't have been more straight forward. Before arrival you must fill out an arrival/departure card. We flew with Qantas and they handed out the cards about 1 hour before landing. The questions on the card are straight forward like name, details and passport number. The other form to be filled ...
indiecater 11.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
Advantages: Air conditioning Disadvantages: Miles from the centre of Bangkok
...I imbibed on arriving in Bangkok, in combination with the amazing wrapper-cheese crustless sarnies which serve as a natural anthaema. If the Emirates goat-curry breakfast has left you a little hungry, then my advice is get straight in a taxi and get some noodles in town. And don't let the taxi driver charge you 900 Baht either.
2. You can't buy a newspaper anywhere in the airport until you have checked in on your return flight. I looked for 45 ... ...said, this review is avbout the little things.
3. The Bangkok Times is a great paper (written in English). It has the English footy results in it too.
4. If you are visiting the islands on the east coast (Koh Tao, Koh Pan Yang, Koh Samui) then spend yourself fifty quid and fly to Koh Samui. It is worth every penny. The night bus (about £15) takes 12 hours and you will get really bored. Flying takes an hour and Koh Samui airport is great. It is ...
sammykipper 06.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
Arriving in any foriegn country can be a daunting expierience for some, particularly somewhere like Thailand, with a completely different culture to what westerners are used to.
But it needn't be a harrowing ordeal and you'll get no such worries at Don Muang.
ARRIVALS
Most of you who read this will probably land at the international terminal, and customs is generally a swift affair. Be sure to queue in the correct line, although when I was there ... ...even though I hold a UK passport.
Once through its a fairly straight forward route to the exit. In times of old, as soon as you reached the public area of the arrivals hall you were besieged by the local taxi mafia, who'd try and get you in an unlicensed cab.
Thankfully these people seem to have dissapeared the last 2 times I've travelled.
Bangkok is about 20k away from the airport and to get there you can use a taxi, bus or train.
There are ...
rj_1973 17.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
...airport is 23km outside of Bangkok, although the city itself is so sprawling these days that you will see no gaps or countryside. It is connected via a tollway to the city.
It is actually a quick and efficient airport although not one where you would wish to spend too many hours in a stopover. If you have three or more hours you can get a taxi into BKK - see below - and find food, rest and T-shirts a plenty!
English travellers will have no problems ... ...ALWAYS use the meter in Bangkok, never barter. This has become the morm there now and if the driver will not use the meter, get out... there will be 50 taxis behind who will! You pay the tolls on the freeway - 40 Baht twice - but should still get tere for around 300 Baht - (£6) all in.
Finally, check-in times at BKK are overstated and you do not need that much time. The taxi out - at high speed! - takes about 30 minutes from Sukhumvit Road. Many ...
APerfectGentleman 23.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
I have been to the airport in Bangkok twice. Even though the place is nice and tidy, I 'd not say it is my best experience. This is mainly due to the language barrier!
The very first time I went to Bangkok on my own, I have no idea what forms I need to fill in to get though the passport control, so I apporach to the help desk by the passport control for help. There is about 5 different forms on the desk, I have no idea which one I need, so I ask ... ...to one of them, and soI fill that in and go and queu for the check out! When it was my turn, i handed my passport and form in, however, the man just shake his head and wave his hand and show me this other form, so I say can I fill it in here? He did not reply, and just keep shake his hand and head to tell me to go! So I go back to the help desk for help and ask which form I need? This time the man point ot a different form, and so I fill that in ...
Mcmug 23.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
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