Yesterday I started my Guide for Suvarnabhumi Airport. I already told you some tips for leaving Thailand. Now for flying into the new airport. When you get off your airplane, there is always a mad rush for the people to get to immigration first. No-one wants to wait ages in a long queue after a tiring flight. So, here is a tip for you. There are in fact three immigration halls for arriving passengers. When I flew back from England the other month, I noticed that the immigration hall was full to capacity. So, I just kept on walking while my fellow passengers joined the long queue. The next hall was still full so I kept on walking. Finally, the last hall was practically empty. Now another tip for choosing which immigration queue to join. Sometimes there are two people on duty on the desk but only one queue. So obviously if that is the case don’t join the shortest queue, go for the one with two officers on duty! When you get there, stand on the spot marked on the floor. Then face forward as they will take your photo. Don’t expect them to smile or say “Welcome to Thailand”. According to the Bangkok Post, they have to sleep on the floor between shifts so they are understandably grumpy.
Once you pass through here you are now in baggage claim. There are 22 baggage conveyor belts altogether and you can easily walk between them all. So, that is why it didn’t matter which immigration hall you went through. Usually your baggage conveyor is the one nearest to your arrival gate. So, when I arrived the other month I had to walk five minutes back to the other end. However, I was the only person there as the bags started to come out. My fellow passengers were still lining up in Immigration. From here you pass through customs and out into the arrivals lounge. There are three exits labeled A, B and C. You can see “C” on the arrival board in the picture below. Exit “A” is Domestic and the other two are International. If you have someone waiting for you, tell them to look on the board as it says which gate is nearest for each flight. But, you can actually leave by any gate. If you want some tourist information, then exit through Gate C because there you will find the official Tourist Authority of Thailand. However, don’t expect much help from them. Many times there is no-one on duty and they don’t always have the tourist brochure that you need.
Arrivals at Exit C
The good news is that taxis are now on the same floor as arrivals. As you come out, ignore the people asking you if you want a taxi. They really mean limousine service which is double the price of public taxi. This service belongs to AOT who also run the airport. Obviously they want you to use their services as they like to make lots of money. Just smile and wave as you walk by. Follow the small, and partially hidden signs for the public taxi, to the exit doors and go outside. You will see a taxi queue. It is not usually long. If it is, just walk down to next taxi stand as there are three in total outside this building. The new system they have is to crack down on scams. You tell the first person where you are going and she will then give you a piece of paper. Give this to the next person five metres away who is waiting with the taxi drivers. He will exchange your slip of paper for a form that gives you details of who your taxi driver is. You can use this form later to complain about service. Also note that there is a 50 baht surcharge on top of the meter charge and any toll fares. A trip to city center would be about 200–250 baht.
Many people complain about these taxi drivers but so far I have never had any bad experiences. I always speak English to them when I first get into the taxi just to see if they will try and cheat me and not turn on the meter. But they always do without me asking. However, there are always rotten apples in most apple barrels around the world. We have received one firsthand report from a friend who said that after leaving the airport with the meter turned on that the driver drove for five minutes and then stopped in the middle of nowhere. He then turned off the meter. He told them that they had a choice. Either get out or pay 500 baht to get into the city! Obviously they were scared and agreed to pay. But really you have the law on your side and the taxi drivers know this. If you are not alone then call his bluff. Say you want to be taken to the nearest police station. By law he must turn on the meter. He knows that.
Wheelchair access for the Airport Shuttle Bus
Really, I feel sympathetic towards most taxi drivers. The starting rate for the meter is only 35 baht (US$1) and has been like that for many years despite the price of petrol going up so much. In addition, these taxi drives are members of the airport taxi pool. This means they can only operate from the airport. The taxi driver I had the other week said he had been waiting nearly three hours in the queue. He said he was hoping I would go to Pattaya as he would get at least 1,500 baht. He would then wait there for a foreigner who wanted to go back to the airport. He said for my local trip he probably wouldn’t find anyone for the return journey to the airport. He said that in one day he probably would only have 3 or 4 passengers at the most. As he was a honest driver, I made sure I gave him a good tip once we arrived at my destination.
These days, with the opening of the new airport, people no longer need to go into Bangkok for their first night in Thailand. Both the Motorway to Pattaya and the Outer Ring Road have access ramps near the airport. So you can quickly go to the beach either in Pattaya or Rayong, or go the other way to Cha-am or Hua Hin. In addition, from the airport you can take a free shuttle bus for five minutes to the airport bus terminal. From here you can catch long distance buses to many places around Thailand. With the opening of the Airport Train Link next year to the city, you can see that transportation in and out of the airport is much more convenient. When I used to go to Don Muang we always got stuck in local traffic. But Suvarnabhumi Airport is situated alongside some major highways which connect you to destinations all over the country. A holiday on the beach in Pattaya has never been nearer.
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Guide for Bangkok's New Airport
by Richard Barrow
Wed Dec 12, 2007 at 19:16:17 Words: 857 words Category: Suvarnabhumi Airport 7 feedbacks »
The Garden at Suvarnabhumi Airport
Suvarnabhumi Airport, on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, has been open for just over a year now. During the first six months there was some intense scrutiny by both the press and the general public. Although it probably deserved a certain amount of the criticism, I think many people were just attacking the airport because it was a pet project of the deposed Prime Minister. Speaking personally, I actually like the airport a lot. Sure, it had a few teething problems, but overall it is much better than what we had before at Don Muang. I also think that it lives up to its slogan of “The Pride of Thailand”. I asked some friends, who had just flown to Thailand for the first time, what they thought and they said that they weren’t expecting such a modern and spacious looking airport. Like many people, they thought Thailand was more like a Third World country, and seeing the airport they were just bowled over. They said they changed their impression of Thailand for the better straight away.
Bags waiting at the check-in counter
I have flown in and out of the new airport half a dozen times now. I also visited the airport before it opened, the day it opened, and then a dozen or so times since to either pick someone up or to drop them off. I also go there sometimes to check it our for our guidebook websites and the Bangkok Scams website. So, what I thought I would do today, is to give you an overview and perhaps some useful tips for using the airport. To start with, departing Thailand. Unlike the old airport, the new one only has one terminal building. So, you no longer need to know which terminal you will be leaving from. As your taxi arrives, you will see signs outside each of the entrances with the names of the airlines. However, you can get out anywhere you like. Get one of the free trolleys and enter the building. They normally say for international flights to be there two hours beforehand. I would say these days that 180 minutes would be better so that you don’t need to rush. When I flew to Luang Prabang recently there was no-one waiting at check-in and I was processed within a few minutes. However, it can take thirty minutes or more.
The Immigration counters
Once you have finished, and if you think you have enough time, then you can go down one floor to eat at one of the restaurants. I usually do that if someone has come to see me off. It also helps to pass the time. If you like, before you go down, you can check to see how long the lines are in the Immigration Hall. If it is full, then expect to take 30 minutes to pass through here. A little tip, if you are running short of time you might be interested to know that there are in fact two Immigration Halls. Check them both out. Officially you are supposed to go to the one nearest to your gate, but they both exit to the same wide corridor on the other side. If the guard on duty tries to stop you, just walk around the block and come back again. Hold your passport and departure card in your hand and just walk in quickly without making eye contact. The immigration Hall in the center has the desk for applying for re-entry permit. Even if there is no queue, this will take them at least 30 minutes so make sure that you leave plenty of time. If you overstayed your visa, you have to speak to the officer on the other side of the Immigration counters. I don’t think you need to queue up if you need to pay the fine. Just walk to the front and say “overstay visa”.
On the other side, you will find all the usual shops and restaurants. Don’t buy anything just window shop. Even though it is duty free it is more expensive than the shops in Bangkok. Also be careful not to mistakenly take something without paying. Even if you say it was a mistake and you are willing to pay, they will prosecute. Trust me. I have visited enough foreigners doing 6 months at Samut Prakan Prison to know this for sure. Once I have finished window shopping I usually find a quiet restaurant with comfortable chairs and just order whatever is the cheapest! It is far more comfortable to wait here than at the departure gate. Only go there AFTER they announce boarding. The metal seats in departure are cold and uncomfortable. However, do check how far it is away first as the airport departure gates are spread out. You might need a 10–15 minute walk. No big deal if you have plenty of time.
Click here for part two of this airport guide >>>I have written many blogs already about Suvarnabhumi Airport. Click here to see some of the blogs at thai-blogs.com.Please leave a comment: 7 feedbacks »All stories and photos are copyright and cannot be reproduced.
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Suvarnabhumi Airport to Bangkok
by Richard Barrow
Sat Jun 9, 2007 at 22:58:44 Words: 866 words Category: Suvarnabhumi Airport 11 feedbacks »
Whenever you arrive in any new country, your first problem is how to get from the airport to the city. Unfortunately, like many other airports around the world, your quest will be hampered by people who won’t be that honest with you. They will be trying to get you to use their mode of transport which might not be the cheapest or even most convenient method. However, in recent weeks, the Airport Authority of Thailand and the Royal Thai Police have made some remarkable efforts in clearing the arrival lounge of these taxi touts who are trying to scam incoming tourists. I have already told you how to go from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya. Today I will give you some options on how to get into the city. However, having said that, as the new airport is situated close to the motorway and the outer ring road, seasoned travellers don’t really need to waste time by starting their trip in Bangkok. They can catch a shuttle bus to the nearby bus terminal and then a coache to many destinations in Thailand.
For most people heading to Bangkok, the easiest and most convenient method is by public taxi. Don’t be fooled by the people that come up to you asking where you are going. They are more often than not private limousine companies. On average, they will charge about 900 baht for a trip into Central Bangkok. It will be cheaper for you if you take the escalater down one floor and then out to where the public meter taxis are waiting. There is more than one taxi rank, and if the nearest one has a long queue, then just walk a few minutes to the next one. There is a desk here where you are expected to pay a 50 baht surcharge. Tell them where you want to go. If you want to go into Bangkok, then insist that the taxi uses the meter. Say to the taxi driver in Thai “bert meter”. For longer distances, it is common to negotiate a price. For example, to Pattaya it is about 1,400 baht. Some taxis into Bangkok don’t want to put on the meter. They might ask for something like 500 baht. It is actually against the law for them to carry a passenger without using the meter. They have been fined by the police in the past. A trip into Bangkok would cost you at least 250 baht on the meter – this includes the surcharge and the 40 baht tollway if you go that way. It shouldn’t be more than 350 baht. Though that depends a lot on the traffic.
Another alternative from the same floor are the Airport Express buses. These run on four set routes for a fare of 150 baht per person. This is alright if you are alone and the bus passes near your hotel. But, two or three people with not a lot of luggage are advised to share costs of using a public taxi. The three Airport Express Routes are as follows:
AE1 Suvarnabhumi – Silom Rd. (by expressway)AE2 Suvarnabhumi – Khao San Rd.(by expressway)AE3 Suvarnabhumi – Central World via Sukhumvit Rd.AE4 Suvarnabhumi – Hua Lamphong Train Station via Victory Monument
The final method is by normal public buses. It is the cheapest method at only 35 baht ($1) however, it is more inconvenient. You will need to catch a free shuttle bus back up on the arrival lounge floor. This then takes you the short distance to the bus terminal in the airport. Here you will find regular buses into Bangkok. One of them even goes past my house in Samut Prakan. The bus routes are as follows:
549 Suvarnabhumi-Minburi-Bangkapi via Seri Thai Rd.550 Suvarnabhumi-Happy Land551 Suvarnabhumi-Victory Monument (by expressway)552 Suvarnabhumi-Khlong Toei (Customs Dept.) via Onnut BTS station552A Suvarnabhumi-Samut Prakarn (Praeksa Garage)553 Suvarnabhumi-Samut Prakarn (Crocodile Farm Garage)554 Suvarnabhumi-Rangsit via Don Mueang and Ram Indra Rd. (by expressway)555 Suvarnabhumi-Rangsit via Don Mueang and Central Plaza LadPhrao (by expressway)556 Suvarnabhumi-Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal via Democracy Monument and Khaosan Rd.(by expressway)557 Suvarnabhumi-Wong Wian Yai (The Great Circle)558 Suvarnabhumi-Central Plaza Rama II559 Suvarnabhumi-Future Park Rangsit via Dream World (by expressway)
Unless you are familiar with bus routes, I would advise you to go by public meter taxi. Just make sure you make a note of the details of the taxi driver. To the left of the front windscreen, on the inside, is the name of the driver in English and Thai and also his registration number. This could be useful later if you forget something in the taxi or you have a dispute with the driver regarding the fare.If you can wait two years, there will also be an Airport Link train with its own station in the basement of the airport.
If anyone has any tips that you think others might find useful then please post a comment below. However, if you have a general question, then please post them on our ThailandQA.com forums. If you do a search there, you might find that your question has already been answered by our panel of experts.
Please leave a comment: 11 feedbacks »All stories and photos are copyright and cannot be reproduced.
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Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya
by Richard Barrow
Sun Jun 3, 2007 at 20:52:34 Words: 1362 words Category: Suvarnabhumi Airport 11 feedbacks »
Observation platform at the airport
One of the most common questions we have been receiving recently in our mailbox and at the ThailandQA.com forums is how to go from the new airport at Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya. I had been planning to pay a return visit to the airport ever since people have been telling us about the limousine scams. Basically, what happens is that when you pass through Immigration and Customs and come out into the arrival lounge, you are accosted by this mob of people who want you to take their so called taxi to your destination. If you ask about public taxis they often say that there isn’t any. Back in April, the Airport Authority of Thailand announced that they will move the public taxis up to the second floor so that it is on the same level as the arrival lounge.Also in the newspaper recently, there were reports of security cracking down on unauthorized tour agents at the airport. I decided to head over there this afternoon to do some undercover work for our sister blogs at BangkokScams.com. I wanted to know whether the situation had improved.
I dressed up to look like a passenger who had just gotten off the plane. I even took along a small backpack to complete the image of a tourist. When you come out of customs you have a choice of turning left or right. On both sides you will pass through crowds of waiting people. My plan was to go in one of these exits, walk around and then walk out the other exit to make it look like I had just arrived in Thailand. They have security at these exits and you are not really supposed to walk through. However, I avoided eye contact and just kept walking. Usually works. In this no-man’s-land I saw some new signs which clearly said which direction to go for public taxi, airport express and shuttle bus. I then walked out the opposite exit. To my surprise, there wasn’t one single taxi tout. There only people waiting were people holding signs with names on and members of the public. Looks like there had been a clean up after all.
There a number of different ways to go to Pattaya. I first wanted to check out the taxi. The newspaper had said that the public taxi would be moved to the second floor by now so I made my way outside. Straight away it was “Hello sir. Where do you want to go?” I said Pattaya and they replied, “No problem sir. Only 2,600 baht!” I told him that was expensive. I asked about the public taxis but he wasn’t interested to help. So, I just kept walking. The problem is, once you stop for one tout, then the rest of the vultures start to circle and swoop. The average price for the limousine service to Pattaya seemed to be about 1,400 baht. However, one shady guy went as far as 800 baht as I was walking away. I asked him why so cheap and he said that Pattaya was his home town and he wanted to go home!
Back inside the arrival lounge, I decided to ask for help. I knew of course that the public taxis were on the level below. But, I wanted to see how much help I would get. I went up to a security guard and asked him where the public taxis were. He correctly told me to keep walking towards the escalators and then go down to level one. At least one honest person. There were a few signs around pointing the way, but I still saw other tourists looking lost and trying to find their way. Downstairs I went up to the official counter for the public taxis. This is the place where you have to pay a 50 baht surcharge. I asked if I could go to Pattaya by taxi. He said yes and that it would be 1,400 baht. I said that was a bit expensive and could I go to Pattaya by bus. He said yes, but I would have to take a taxi into Bangkok first. I asked him if there was any buses to Pattaya from the airport. He again said no and that I need to go to Ekamai bus station. Of course that was a complete lie.
Private Bus to Pattaya from the Airport
Again, I knew very well how to get to the bus terminal at the airport. But, I wanted to pretend I was a tourist fresh off the boat. Up in the arrivals lounge there were two signs for buses. One said “Airport Express” and the other “Airport Shuttle”. Not too clear which one is which. So, I went to the desk for Airport Express which is next to the taxi rank. They provide a bus service into Bangkok for 150 baht each. I asked the lady on duty where I can catch a bus to Pattaya. She said she didn’t know and suggested I asked the security guard. Which I did and he said I needed to get on the Shuttle Bus back up on level 2 to the bus terminal at the airport. So, up I went to the arrival lounge again and then outside where I had to deal with the limousine drivers again. At first they didn’t want to help me find the shuttle bus stop, but in the end they did help me. Actually, they are easy to find. There are stops at each end of level 2 and also in the middle.
The ride to the bus terminal only took about ten minutes. Make sure you take the express bus and not the ordinary one. The former is not only quicker but has room for your luggage too. At the bus terminal there were buses for destinations inside Bangkok and also other cities. Walk to the far end where you will see bilingual signs above the coaches. The orange ones are for other cities in the country. The ticket office there has a big sign for a company called The Transport Ltd. I asked about Pattaya and they told me there was a bus about to go in ten minutes. How much? Only 106 baht! A big difference to my first quoted price of 2,600 baht for a limo. They have buses going at 6.30 a.m., 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. I was about to walk away when I noticed another sign in the same window for a different company called Pattaya Bus. These had buses at 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. There is a 7–Eleven here if you arrive at the wrong time. I bought some hot dogs and sat and waited to see if the Pattaya bus would leave on time. While I waited, some public buses from Bangkok came and went. They were going to other destinations like Chonburi but I guess there would be some for Pattaya too. The disadvantage about these buses is that they all looked full. However, the private buses I mentioned before started at the airport and were empty. I think if you have a two hour wait then don’t rush to buy your ticket from the private company. Wait and see if a public bus comes and then pay the driver.
So, not too many scams after all. To summarize, when you come out of customs and enter the arrival lounge, follow the sign to the lower level if you want to go to Pattaya by taxi for about 1,200 – 1,400 baht. Or go outside and take the shuttle bus to the airport bus terminal for the private buses to Pattaya for only 106 baht. The third alternative are the limousines for 2,400 – 2,600 baht. I will do another blog on how to get into Bangkok from the new airport soon. If you have any questions then please DO NOT post them here as a comment. They will not be answered. Please use our forums at ThailandQA.com for questions. Please leave a comment: 11 feedbacks »All stories and photos are copyright and cannot be reproduced.
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Buses and Taxis at Suvarnabhumi Airport
by Richard Barrow
Mon Oct 2, 2006 at 15:34:16 Words: 1465 words Category: Suvarnabhumi Airport 37 feedbacks »
On Sunday I went to the new Suvarnabhumi Airport (click here for part one) in order to find out how people could catch local transport from the airport to their destination. I found Gate C first on Level Two but was curious to find the other gates. This is where people would exit after collecting their baggage. So, I went for a walk looking for B and A. I found Gate B in the middle of the main terminal building. It was packed with waiting people and it was very difficult to walk around them. Bad planning here. Upstairs there is so much space for departing passengers, but on the arrival level, there wasn’t enough space.
I checked the big board above Gate B. I was guessing that I wouldn’t find my fictitious inbound flight from Singapore. At the old airport, there were two terminals and you had to know which terminal the flight was landing at in order to meet your friends. The board would tell you which terminal. However, to my surprise, this board was exactly the same as the one above Gate C. So, it looked like the passengers would come out of either Gate B or Gate C depending on which was the nearest exit to their baggage claim. Good for the arriving passengers, but not so good for people coming to meet you.
I squeezed my way through the crowd looking for Gate A. “Do you want a taxi sir?” and “Where are you going?” I quickly realised that these touts thought I had just got off a plane. (My camera bag is a rucksack.) So, I backtracked and tried to put myself into the shoes of a passenger arriving for the first time. Confusion again. There was a sign saying to go down to Level One for the taxis but it was blocked by people standing around. Other people must have complained as officials had stuck up A4 pieces of paper on pillars saying about taxis on the first floor. I asked one of the touts how much for a taxi to Pattaya. He said 1,100 baht. Rayong is a little bit more expensive and Hua Hin 2,000 baht. and don’t have a meter.
I never liked the touts at the old airport. They try to pressure you to booking their taxi into Bangkok or beyond. But really, it is far cheaper if you go by public taxi into Bangkok. These people own private taxis which don’t have a meter. They are only good for going to places outside Bangkok. I decided I would go down to the lower level to find out the situation about the public taxis. But first, I continued walking to the far end, as I still didn’t know about Gate A. But, this turned out to be the arrival entrance for domestic passengers. So, if you fly into Thailand you will either pass through Gate B or Gate C.
From Level Two, I went down the stairs to the lower level to look for the public taxis. There are lifts here so there is no worry about your baggage. Outside the front door there was a reception desk for the taxi queue. You have to pay a 50 baht surcharge here before you can get into a taxi. Apparently this is paid to the taxi driver as a “reward” for waiting for passengers inside the terminal. There were about 15 people in the queue and more than enough taxis waiting for them. Originally the plan was for people to take a free shuttle bus to the nearby bus terminal in order to catch a taxi. But, too many people complained and they brought them here.
As I was looking around, I noticed a shuttle bus arriving. I wanted to check out the bus terminal so I decided to hop on. This is free. The sign on the bus said “Ordinary Bus 1”. As we drove along the front of the passenger building, I noticed another taxi rank in the middle and then another at the far end. I also spotted what looked like an Airport Bus to the city. As the shuttle was stopping here I decided to hop out for a quick look. Incidentally, there were a lot of taxis here but no-one waiting in a queue. So, if you want to catch a taxi and there are too many people waiting, just walk a few minutes to the next exit.
The Airport Express is a small bus that will take you into the city for a fixed fee of 150 baht per person. This is cheaper if you are by yourself. But, if there are at least two of you then it will work out cheaper to go by taxi. The Airport Express has four routes. Silom, Banglumphu (Khao San Road), Ploenchit/Wittayu and Hua Lumphong station. Obviously very good if your hotel is along one of these routes. If you want to do it cheaper than a public taxi or Airport Express, then you will need to catch an ordinary bus. To do this, you need to take the free shuttle bus to the nearby bus station.
While I was waiting for the shuttle bus, a tax that had just dropped a passenger off slow down near me and asked if I wanted to get in! Officially they are not supposed to do that, But, if you have a small bag and can get in quickly, then you will save on the 50 baht surcharge. Anyway, I didn’t have to wait too long for the next shuttle bus. And then it was a quick ten minute journey to the bus terminal. This is where the taxis will first go before being called to go to the airport terminal. There must have been a thousand taxis waiting there. Unbelievable. Certainly no shortage here. At the bus terminal, there was a sign above each of the bus bays with the destination written in both Thai and English. However, the big board with details of each route was only written in Thai. I asked an official and he said that there was no English available. He told me to look on the front of the bus as that gave details of the route. These buses will get you into Bangkok for no more than 35 baht.
One of the best things about the transportation is that you can catch Inter-province buses here. This means that you don’t have to go into Bangkok first. You will find buses here for places like Chonburi, Pattaya, Rayong, Chantaburi, Trat, Sa Kaeo, Khorat, Khon Kaen, Udonthani and Nongkhai. The bus for Pattaya is only 106 baht. You can also catch a bus to the bus stations at Mo Chit and Ekamai if you cannot see your destination listed.
For the people who arrive at the bus terminal and want to catch a flight the next step is quite easy. I came here on the Ordinary Bus Shuttle. However, I now could see that there were also Express Shuttle buses which are slightly quicker. These are white and have much larger storage areas for your luggage. My only complaint is that there was a piece of paper on the door that said in Thai “chan 2” and ‘chan 4”. This is saying the destination. Floor 2 is for arrivals and Floor 4 is for departures. They really need more English around this airport. After all, it is an international airport for people from all around the world. Not for just Thai people to use.
So to summarize. When you fly into Suvarnabhumi Airport you will exit the baggage claim area on Level Two. Your first choice of transport here is the private taxis for a fixed rate. The advantage of these cars is that they will take you outside Bangkok. There are also counters here for you to rent a car. If you want to catch an ordinary bus into Bangkok or to another province, then exit the building on this same floor. Outside you should find a white Express Shuttle Bus to the bus terminal. If you want a public taxi or to catch the Airport Express into the city then go down to level one. You will find public taxis at each exit. However, the Airport Express city bus is the same end as Gate C. You can also catch a shuttle bus here to the nearby bus station but it doesn’t have so much room for your luggage.
Overall I was impressed with the new airport. Sure there are teething problems but that was only to be expected. After all, this place is the size of a small city!
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Sightseeing at Suvarnabhumi Airport
by Richard Barrow
Sun Oct 1, 2006 at 23:09:02 Words: 1304 words Category: Suvarnabhumi Airport 3 feedbacks »
With the withdrawal of the tanks from the Royal Plaza at the weekend, people of Bangkok had to look for another new attraction. They found one with the newly opened Suvarnabhumi Airport. The latest and biggest tourist attraction in neighbouring Samut Prakan. According to a television report that I saw early Sunday morning, officials were pleading with the public to delay visits to the airport. The number of sightseers were outnumbering the passengers. Traffic jams were being reported on the spacious airport roads and families had been spotted inside the terminal having a picnic of som tam! I just had to go and see the chaos for myself.
I left home at 9.20 a.m. and headed for the airport. This was my second visit. (Please read A Tour of Suvarnabhumi Airport). This time I wanted to go a slightly different way. I think one of the good things about this new airport is that you can approach it from many different ways. This should help to cut down on traffic. However, although the new airport is in my home province of Samut Prakan, I still had to struggle through local traffic before I could get to the main highway. Hopefully, once they have opened the Outer Ring Road, things will speed up.
The road signs this time seemed to be better. Obviously someone had been reading about the problems in the local newspaper and decided to stick up a thousand or so new temporary signs. However, as elsewhere in Thailand, these signs don't always tell you the best or quickest route. They just say, "Oh, you can go down this road here and you will eventually end up at the airport". What they don't say is, "Please ignore this sign because if you drive a bit further you will find a more direct route which will save you a lot of time." When I was driving through Bangkok during the coup, I spotted many signs along one road that said "turn left" at just about every intersection. Until finally I saw one that said that you must "Turn left AND right"!
As it turned out, I made a mistake of turning off the highway at the first sign. Looking at the map when I got back home showed me that this road actually sent me away from the airport a bit. Next time I will continue on the highway for the second or maybe third exit sign for the airport. When I eventually arrived at the airport, nearly an hour had passed. Then I got hit by the traffic jam. It wasn't actually that bad as it was still relatively early. However, a number of locals had parked their cars alongside the highway in order to take pictures of the airplanes on the runway. One family was having a picnic in the back of their pick-up. A lone policeman was trying his best to move them on but there were just too many of them.
I must say I was impressed with the surrounding area of the airport despite the confusion. It covers a much larger area than Don Muang and so there is room for growth. However, they do need to work on the signs. I wanted to park my car but was faced with a confusing choice: turn left for "parking lot" and turn right for "car park". I guess they wanted the Americans to go left and the English to go right. Whenever I see a bilingual sign, my eye automatically goes to the English. So, as I was driving, I didn't have time to read the Thai on both. I only managed to see that "car park" in Thai was "building to park your car". So, I went there.
There was a long queue for the first car park, but luckily I could see ahead that there was hardly anyone heading for the other car park building. The first few floors were full but I soon found an empty floor. It is a bit scary parking because there are no walls. Just a wire mesh. You just have to trust the concrete block at the back of your parking space to stop you backing too far. From where I was parked, I had to walk up the stairs two floors to the access bridge. The lift wasn't working. The corner of the stairs on each floor had this one foot gap which would be easy for a child to slip through and fall to their death. On some floors they had put up red tape to try and stop this happening. But, some floors just had the big gap.
Everything about this new airport is big and spacious. It is certainly impressive and you can see why they call it the “Pride of Thailand”. If only they can sot out these teething problems. I arrived on the third level and made my way up to the departure hall on the 4th level. The ceilings were massive and the giant windows let in a lot of light. At the far end I could see people making their way up to an “observation deck” on the 7th level. So, I joined the line and made my way to the top. From the roof of the terminal I had a good view back down to the departure lounge and also to the people lining up in passport control. However, it wasn’t such an unobstructed view looking towards the runway. There was another building in the way. Anyway, there were so many people leaning against the glass that I couldn’t see much. It reminded me of the time I went to the opening weekend for Siam Ocean World in Bangkok. Way too crowded. By this time I badly needed a visit to the rest room so I went back down to the departure hall.
The first toilet block I visited was packed with people. Unbelievably there were only 4 urinals and I think 3 or 4 cubicles. My local petrol station has like 20 in a row and there is hardly anyone there. I walked on to the other end and found a mirror version of this toilet block. Same story. A long queue. I was supposed to be doing a tour of the airport but it was turning into a quest for the rest room. Next I went down one floor to a level that had lots of restaurants. This sounded promising. The first toilet I found only had two urinals and a long queue. I then carried on to look for the mirror version of this toilet block a bit further down. Same number of urinals but less people. I was desperate. I hope they sort this problem out soon.
Having now relieved myself I continued with my tour. I needed to gather information about the airport for people who were intending to fly to Thailand. On our ThailandQA.com forums we were getting a lot of questions that needed to be answered. First and most important question, How do you leave the airport? A very good question. Let me try and answer that with the different options you have. But first, the confusion.
I went down to Level Two as this is the arrival hall. A number of people kept asking me if I wanted help, so as not to look like a tourist, I made up a story that I was coming to pick up a friend who was flying in from Singapore. The information board clearly told me that the plane had already landed. However, I was a little curious why there was a big C on this board. If this was Exit C, where were A and B? And who will come out of those gates? An important question if you are coming to meet someone.
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A Tour of Suvarnabhumi Airport
by Richard Barrow
Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 09:43:32 Words: 1129 words Category: Suvarnabhumi Airport 27 feedbacks »
This afternoon I finally decided I should drive over to the new airport at Suvarnabhumi before it became too late. For the past month, they had been running daily tours of the new airport in preparation for its grand opening at the end of next month. I think the idea was to familiarize people with the new location which covers a much bigger area than the present international airport at Don Muang. Yesterday, I read in the newspaper that today would be the last day for the tours because of security concerns following the failed airplane attacks in the UK. So, I packed my camera and headed out towards Suvarnabhumi Airport.
One of the most exciting prospects for us about the new international airport is that it is located in our backyard in Samut Prakan. The old international airport (funny how I am saying that even though it hasn’t closed down yet) is located north of Bangkok which is the opposite end to us. Now, we didn’t have to pass through the traffic in Bangkok. However, we would have to contend with local traffic. I was curious to see which airport we could reach quicker. The first part of my journey was from Paknam to the Bang-Na Trad Highway. The traffic was slow moving and it took us about 30 minutes to reach Central City Bang Na. However, the highway was much faster going. There has been signs on this road for a year or so now. This was the first time I would follow them. It was quite easy, though at one point an airport sign said turn left and another said go straight on!
It only took about 15 minutes to reach the turning for the airport. This was a relatively new road now and the signs suddenly stopped. At one point there was some road construction and we soon found ourselves on a gravel road. It didn’t look like we were going the correct way any more but we kept going. About five minutes later the road was getting very rough and we decided finally that we were indeed going the wrong way. I slowed down to do a u-turn at an open gate. It was the entrance to the runway. I contemplated whether to drive up the runway and park under the control tower but decided against it. I had heard that cracks had been found on the edge of the runway and I didn’t want to damage my car. So, I did the u-turn and drove back to look for the correct road.
I found it at last. It wasn’t really that difficult as the 132 metre high control tower did stand out quite a bit. We ended up driving up the east side of the runway. This side had a proper wired security fence separating the road from the runway. However, I hope that they will do a better job with security before the airport opens in 30 days. What is stopping someone parking a utility van here and getting out a bazooka? A 747–400 airplane is quite a big target at this distance. The same goes for the control tower and terminal. About an hour after leaving home, we finally reached the bus terminal where the tours were scheduled to begin. Not bad going considering we got lost at one point and that we had to enter the airport at the southern end and the terminal is about 5 kms to the north!
The newspaper had said there were 400 visitors per day. I think they miscalculated. There were thousands. We had to queue up for over an hour just to register. Then another 30 minutes waiting for the shuttle bus. So far we were quite impressed. Partly by the big open spaces, but also by all the new bus routes that had already started running from Bangkok to the airport. We even have our own bus route that passes by my house. Which is obviously great. As we left the bus terminal, our tour guide pointed out the car park for the limousines and taxis. I am not sure what the story is here. At the old terminal you could walk out of departures to the taxi rank or to the private hire cars. If you didn’t want to pay the 50 baht surcharge for taxis, you could even walk down to the main road. But, not here. The arrival lounge is just over 10 minutes away by shuttle bus. And you would have to walk much further to reach the main road. As long as the shuttle bus is free then it shouldn’t be a problem. A bonus is the well organized bus terminal. (The train link probably won’t be finished for another year or so.)
Before we entered the departure lounge, we had to go through security. This involved sniffer dogs, x-rays and body searches. Nothing too serious as I think it was mainly for show. As soon as we entered the building, I told myself that no way would this place be finished in time for an early opening on September 15th. That is the latest date announced for selected domestic flights. There were workmen every where. The sounds of drills and industrial machinery was really loud and it was hard at times to hear our tour guide. The paint and the dust was at times also very overpowering. But, having said all of that, the huge departure lounge with the high ceilings was pretty impressive. The tour guide told us that this main building covered an area of 563,000 square metres. As we walked around we passed some mythical demon giants similar to the ones at the Grand Palace. Also a 48 million baht sculpture depicting demons tugging on the tail of a naga snake (top picture). Now that is a lot of money. I think it could have been put to better use with more subtle displays of Thai arts and crafts around the airport. But, maybe more will come later.
Suvarnabhumi Airport is being rushed to open for 28th September 2006. It has been a long time coming (more than 40 years from conception) and many people cannot understand what all the rush is. Surely a few more months wouldn’t hurt anyone as Don Muang airport is still functioning perfectly. Wouldn’t it be better to wait for the paint to dry or at least wait for the public transport links to the capital to be finished? But no. The common belief is that Thaksin is rushing to have the airport opened before the national elections due in October. Let’s hope that nothing serious will go wrong that will lead to a tragic accident
