Travel News

On the off chance that you haven’t heard about this already, the grand Rachaphruek Royal Flora Expo opened today near Chiang Mai, and runs until the end of January The flower and plant exposition is being held in commemoration of the King’s 60th anniversary on the throne. It covers 80 hectares and has more than seven kilometers of walking paths through it (bring comfortable shoes!!!!)

In addition to the displays of Thai flowers, there are other gardens representing many other countries of the world. There are a total of 108 "exhibits" in all.

Admission is 100 Baht if purchased in advance, or 200 Baht at the door. Given the size of the place, a multiple entry ticket for 400 Baht advance purchase may be a good deal.

I probably won’t get a chance to visit until January, but I’ll post photos when and if I do.

I’m just back from my first trip out of the new Bangkok airport. As you may have heard, the opening was accomplished with only a few minor glitches, most of which were cleared up by the end of the first day. I found out a few things that those of you familiar with the old airport may want to know, so here they are:

Thai check-in is handled a bit differently than at the old airport. Instead of separate queues for each counter position, they now have just one queue for the entire row (H & J for international economy). This makes the queue look rather long, but I’ve seen more people waiting at the old airport. It did seem like they could have had more people working the counters, but they probably are still short staffed.

If you want to avoid the queue entirely, then use the internet to check in 2 to 24 hours before your flight at Thai Airways’ web site. Then you can walk up to the "Internet Check-in" counter, check your luggage and get your boarding pass.

One thing to note is that at present there’s no queue for ROP/Star Alliance gold card members. I asked and they said there wasn’t. That may change, but for now there’s no way to avoid standing in line except to use the internet.

Check-in, immigration and duty free shopping are all on level 4. This level only extends a short way up the concourses, then you have to go through security and down to level three to access the gates. There can be a big line at the security checkpoint, but I found that there are escalators at the intersections of the concourses that allow you to go down to level three - where there are a few more duty free shops as well as the airline lounges. You can go through security on level three and there’s almost no queue going that way.

On returning, immigration and baggage claim were no problem. After getting your bag, they unfortunately still allow people to crowd around the exits from customs, sometimes blocking the exit. Immigration, baggage claim and customs are on level 2. I went down to level one to get a taxi, where there were certainly a lot waiting. There was a bit of a line at the first queue, but then one of the Thais working for the airport pointed out there was another queue just a short walk away. There are in fact at least three taxi queues (essentially, one domestic and two international) at the airport. The next one down was no waiting, and I arrived at a time that’s usually difficult to get a taxi from the old airport.

A few other notes: Driving up to the airport is quite an experience at night, with the blue lights in the roof enhancing the gem-like quality of the main terminal.

There’s a lot more food in the airside departure area than at the old airport, but it is pricey, since the duty free operator takes 25% of the sales price for rent. Land-side, most of the restaurants are on the third floor.

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.

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.

The makeover of Bangkok's main shopping district is nearly completed, now that Central World - formerly the World Trade Center - officially reopened last week.  Since work began on Siam Paragon nearly three years ago, most of the shopping centers in the Siam Square area of Bangkok undertook major rennovations to compete with the new luxury shopping center, which officially opened in December 2005.  Most centers managed to remain open during their rennovations, but Central World effectively closed in March 2006 while major work was done on its facade.  Only the Isetan department store and the duty free shop remained open.

The reworking of Central World was quite a bit more radical than that of other shopping centers in the area, since it was combined with new additions that in all have nearly doubled the floor space inside the mall.  As a result of all the changes, the shopping mall finally has a main entrance, which is off of Rama I Road and connects to the elevated walkway which runs under the Skytrain.  This means that Central World is now just a short walk away from Siam Paragon and the other Siam Square malls.

The new entry definitely makes a statement.  Where the "old" Central World really had no main entry, and was rather dim inside with no natural light, the new entry is quite grand, as is the light filled shopping street ot open onto.  Inside the new entrance, which sits between the old part of the shopping center and the newer office building completed last year, you find yourself in a long atrium space that soars four stories up to a glass roof.  Either side is lined with shops, many of which are appearing in Bangkok for the first time.

While Central World officially re-opened on 21 July, many of the shops inside have not completed their own rennovations.  Only about 50% were ready as of this date, and the Zen department store at the south end of the old mall is not scheduled to re-open until December 2006.