Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)

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 ... more

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 greeted us was still a surprise. Within 20 minutes I was soaked through. Thankfully baggage trolleys are in plentiful supply because there is ... more

This review does not concentrate on the big questions. There are a couple of great reviews which explain the vagaries of Bangkok airport and a few of the things an intrepid traveller will encounter there. This review concentrates on the little things - the insider info which will put you one step ahead of the game. 1. The coffee in the coffee shop on the ground floor at departures has to be seen to be believed. It arrives in an evil plastic mug which was probably white in the seventies, but has been chemically bonded to a permanent sludge by the Thai Nescafe. Dandruff would constitute a more ... more

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 last I got through the lane marked ASEAN countries only even though I hold a UK passport. Once through its a fairly straight forward route to the exit ... more

Bangkok (Don Muang) 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 there; although Thai is a non-English script language English signs predominate and most people speak some English. Check-in ... more