While we're waiting to see whether the opening of the new Bangkok airport will be a complete train wreck or the greatest thing since Orville and Wilber stopped playing with bicycles, let's get back to talking about destinations. 

I had a chance to re-visit Phnom Penh a couple weekend's ago, and managed to confirm that the city is definitely worth a stop for those visiting Cambodia.  People often skip the capital and head straight for the ruins at Angkor Wat.  To do so is to miss a rather pleasant place to unwind among beautifully restored colonial buildings set along a wide lazy river.

The sights of Phnom Penh are few, to be sure.  Places like the National Museum and Royal Palace are not to be missed, but these will occupy less than a day of your time.  No, Phnom Penh is not the place to be if you're the type who has to be constantly on the move, and considers your vacation 'wasted' if you have more than a minute or two of down-time.  This is a place to enjoy a casual cup of coffee at some sidewalk cafe in the morning, perhaps do a little shopping in the afternoon, then casually enjoy an early evening drink along the quay as you ponder where to have dinner.  You can wave at Sam Bo, the resident elephant of Wat Phnom, as he strolls along the river on his way home in the evening.  If you wave a banana, Sam will definitely wave back.

Since Phnom Penh is such a relaxing place, I'd suggest you visit it after the ruins of Angkor Wat.  Touring the temples can be a bit exhausting, even if you have good hotel with all the amenities.  Phnom Penh makes the perfect place to unwind and reflect on what you've seen.  Not to mention the fact that many important statues and other artifacts from Angkor are housed in the National Museum in Phnom Penh.  Seeing Angkor first will put many of the exhibits in context.

Our complete travel guide to Phnom Penh has already been updated.

In just five days, “a whole new era” - as the press releases promise – begins with the formal opening of Bangkok’s new international airport, Suwannabum. The airport is already in limited operation, with Thai, Bangkok and Jet Star Airways already operating at least some of their flights from the new location since the 15th of September. So, today I decided to pay a visit and get the lie of the land before my first flight out early in October. Apparently, I’m not the only one curious about the new airport, as there were quite a few other people clearly just visiting.

Since I wasn’t taking a flight, I can’t give you all the details on the ‘airside’ of Suwannabum, but I can give you some help on navigating the new airport. This write-up may be most useful for those who are familiar with the old Don Muang International Airport, as I will highlight some of the differences.

Where is it? Suwannabum is due east of central Bangkok. Technically, the distance is a bit greater than the old airport, but Suwannabum is better served by better roads than Don Muang. While there are three major expressways running past the new airport, the preferred route will be via the Chonburi Motorway, a modern eight lane highway connected to the main expressway running through town. The Motorway is one of the few roads in Thailand with a legal speed limit of 120 kilometers per hour. A three lane exit from the Motorway leads to the new airport. The approach road to the airport is lined with bronze statues of kinaree, a mythical half-woman, half-bird creature.

The terminal. One of the biggest differences at the new airport is that there is just one, very huge, terminal instead of the three terminals at Don Muang. The main terminal building is basically a big glass box with a seven story building inside. The fourth floor is the departure area with 10 entries and 20 rows of check-in counters. Thai Airways’ first class check-in uses row A reached through door one. Business check-in for Thai uses row B. Both business and first class check-in areas have luxurious lounges where passengers wait sipping champagne while Thai staff take care of the dirty business of checking in.Thai economy domestic passengers use row C to check-in. Most other domestic airlines will use rows D and E. Bangkok Airways uses row F to check-in for all flights, both domestic and international. Jet Star Asia is using row L. For other airlines, check the big flat panel color displays at the end of each row for the check-in counters for your flight. After check-in, if you’re early you can head up to the restaurants on the sixth floor or the observation deck on the seventh. The fifth through seventh floors are in a tower at the back of the terminal, leaving a huge space up to the roof over the check-in rows.

The concourses are laid out in the shape of a giant ‘H’ with the main terminal building at the crossbar. The concourses are lettered A through G. Domestic flights use concourses A and B, accessed at the extreme left side of the building, as you face the back. There are two immigration areas for international passengers to exit the country. One is in the middle of the terminal and the second is at the extreme right side. Something missing is the machines to pay the passenger service charge. Instead there will be a couple of counters where you can pay the tax. Note that the PSC will increase from 500 Baht to 700 Baht in February 2007. I’m told that the airports authority wants to get the airlines to include the tax in the ticket price, as it’s done in most other countries, within the next two years.

International flights will use concourses C through G, although most of concourse G is reserved for VIP use. Concourse G is where you’ll also find the transit hotel (’day rooms’) for those with long layovers but not enough to justify leaving the airport. There is of course lots of duty free shopping along the international concourses, as well as a few restaurants.

The arrivals hall is on the second floor. The area closest to concourses A and B is for domestic baggage claim, while most of the rest of the floor is for international arrivals. Immigration is here on the same level, just before baggage claim.
It’s once you exit baggage claim that things are still a little bit fuzzy. Originally, it was announced that if you wanted a regular taxi, you would have to take a free bus to the public transportation center on the outskirts of the airport. Only recently was it realized that this might prove a bit difficult for people with lots of baggage. So the new plan is that you can proceed from baggage claim on the second floor down to the first floor where there will be a public taxi queue. There were indeed at least 20 taxis waiting when I visited. Note that there are cart-friendly moving ramps for you to move between floors, as well as elevators.

The public transportation center will have special airport buses into Bangkok, as well as long distance service to Pattaya and other points along Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard. As early as 2007, there will also be train service into Bangkok from the airport. The new line’s structure appears to be about 50% complete at this point. The train station at the airport will be accessed through the basement level of the terminal, as is the Novotel Airport Hotel.

Some of you may have noticed that I don't say much about politics in the "Life in Thailand" section of my journal.  That's partly because, even after nearly 20 years, I can't say I understand the complex structures of money and patronage that seems to run this country, and partly because it generally has nothing to do with travel, tourism or understanding the rest of Thailand.  Like just about everywhere else, politicians are a different breed of people, practically a different species.

But I can't let the events of Tuesday night go by without saying anything.  First and foremost, if you had plans to visit Thailand in the near future, there is absolutely no reason to cancel them.  Things are already pretty much back to normal, and there is no reason they won't be completely back to the way they were within a week or two.  People generally seem to be relieved that "something" has finally given and are happily trying to get on with their lives.

Why did it happen?  Well, that's complicated and I can't say I know for certain.  In a very general sense, while Thais sort of expect their politicians to be greedy and corrupt, they also expect a certain amount of "equality" about it all.  While it's "natural" for rich people to lie, cheat and steal to get even richer, they shouldn't prevent other people from doing the same thing.  It seems that the former prime minister got a little too greedy, and then comitted the ultimate sin of trying to mess with the balance of power in the military.

So, the army did what it's done for the last 75 years and stepped in to restore the balance of power.  It's the way they do things here, and "Life in Thailand" goes on with barely a notice.

Okay, I haven’t written in a while, but I’ve been busy on an all new project. I’ll share that with you later. Last night (Sunday) I just got back from Phnom Penh (more on that later as well). Barring any last minute change of plans, this was probably my last trip out and back through Bangkok’s old Don Muang International Airport. My next trip should be through the new Suwannabum airport.

It's been almost 20 years since I first came to Thailand. I can’t say I remember much about that first trip. After nearly 24 hours of traveling, I barely had enough of my wits about me to get through immigration. I do remember that back then there was only one international terminal, and when I flew to Phuket a few days later, the domestic terminal didn’t have any jetways. You had to take a bus out to the plane.

A lot has changed since then, mostly for the better, but I have to admit that Don Muang was always pretty ugly as airports go. The new airport, which I’ve already seen, is certainly much more visually interesting than the old. The new airport officially opens on in the morning on 28 September. The last flight out of Don Muang will be at around 2:30 a.m. that morning. After that all hell breaks loose as they shift equipment from the old airport to Suwannabum.

Thai has already started some domestic flights out of the new airport, and Jet Star Asia has moved its entire schedule there as of 15 September. Bangkok Airways also starts limited service on the 21st. You can see some pictures of the new airport in our online gallery, and of course the travel guides will be completely updated as things progress at the new airport.

In case you hadn't heard, the annual World Bank and IMF meetings will be held simultaneously in Singapore later this month.  This major meeting will have a huge impact on the little city-state.  Firstly, most of the hotels in town are booked solid, so if you were planning a trip to Singapore around mid-September and haven't booked your room, you can just about forget it, or expect to pay top dollar.

Even if you have already made arrangements, you may find it a bit tricky to get around Singapore during the conference.  The streets and highway around Suntec city, where the event is being held, will be closed from 10 to 20 September.  That's going to mean some major traffic jams.  Of course, the great thing about Singapore is that you can easily get around by subway.