Suvarnabhumi Airport / Bangkok International Airport / BKK
I flew into BKK with Thai Airways as they're part of Star Alliance and I can accumulate points with my usual local carrier. This was a short 2.5 hour flight from HKG. Lunch meal (curry pork and rice) was even included in this short flight which wouldn't happen at all with the North American carriers which I'm used to. Touchdown to reaching the gate was an easy 10 minutes. Disembarking and walking towards the immigration counters was easy as the signs were clear and people kept a good pace on the moving escalators. This was mid afternoon at 4 PM. Little would I actually know though.
Upon reaching the immigration counters, the lines were... long. There were signs saying that it was a 45 minute wait and this was accurate. In hindsight this should've been obvious. Midday tends to be the favourite flight arrival time anywhere and the flight I was on reflected this in being completely full. So while I was waiting in line I got online with my iPhone (I already had roaming data plan). Got on Tinder to see what matches I could get. Got on Smooci to see which escorts were available later. After having my passport stamped, I still had to wait for my checked luggage to come out. Definitely not one of the more efficient major airports out there.
Finally with my luggage in hand I exited and headed towards the basement level where the foreign currency exchange counters are and the Airport Rail Link station. I chose the recommended SuperRich forex booth as they had the best rates for USD to THB. I can't speak for HKD to THB as I have a USD account I use specifically for travel. Many others had also seen the rates as the SuperRich booth was the only one with a line and it was long. I ended up spending close to 30 minutes in line. Forex requires your passport so have that ready. Depending on your currency, you get a better rate if your cash denominations are higher. When I was there, SuperRich gave 33.20 THB for 1 USD (for $100 denominations, or 33.15 THB for $50 denominations and less for $20 denominations of USD) -- which was actually the market rate when I did a live check on XE.com.
Money taken care of, I headed over to the Airport Rail Link machines to purchase my token. The ARL, BTS and MRT are easy to use when buying a token or ticket. On the touchscreen you select English, then your destination, and then just insert payment via cash or coins. A token (for ARL and MRT) or ticket (BTS) will dispense and you collect your change. Upon entry to the gates, you tap your token or insert your ticket (and collect your ticket back) and then walk through the gates. Upon exit you insert your token or ticket at the gate and then walk through. It was about a 15 minute wait for the Airport Rail Link. There's no express line anymore and it's about 30 minutes into the city to Praya Thai BTS. I was looking to get to Asok so I had the option of switching to either the BTS or MRT. I chose the MRT as Google Maps said it would be faster so I got off at Makkasan, walked to Phetchaburi MRT and down one stop to Sukhumvit MRT. The cost was 60 baht compared to taking a taxi which would've been 400 baht and the same amount of time. However, traffic, crowds and the fact that I still had to walk from Asok to my hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22 made the commute over an hour long.
Later when I was leaving I went the BTS route at Phraya Thai to the airport and this way was easier. The walking distance from Phraya Thai BTS to Phraya Thai ARL is much shorter and easier than the Makkasan ARL to Phetchaburi MRT route.
The lines at BKK security check were also long when I was leaving. Arriving 2 hours before flight time actually made sense at this airport. BKK was very serious about security. Belts off. Shoes off. Computers and tablets out of their cases. I saw some people being photographed at the exit and passport check though I wasn't. Though I did get to the airport 2 hours early, it took over an hour before I got past all the security and exit checks. By this time I had about 30 minutes before boarding at the gate began.
I've never found any airport to have good prices at their shops. Does anyone ever actually find any shopping deals at airports? I've transited through BKK before and don't think there's much to look at here. I got myself a latte and headed towards my gate.
Overall thoughts: The lines at BKK are long. In the future I may chose either an early morning or late night arrival if it'll avoid the crowds. A lot of time was wasted at the airport. Taking the ARL instead of a taxi or Uber saved me over 300 THB.
[ Last edited by Freelancer at 13-8-2017 10:55 ] | |
