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| I need help for a 7 hour stay in Bangkok. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trev and Rie Trevor Post Count: 2 Msg: #1 157 days ago, August 5th 2008 | My plane arrives in Bangkok at 3pm and leaves at 10pm. Where is a good place to go in the city during that time? I want to got to a place that is fun but not too difficult to get from the airport and back. | Any help would be great! Thanks!  Mell Mel Fla Post Count: 5517 Msg: #2 157 days ago, August 5th 2008 | Hello Trev and Rie :) | You could hang out at the Khao San Road for a while. It is a big backpackers community with lots of guesthouses and cafes and bars where backpackers hang out. It is very easy to get to from the airport(I am presuming you are flying into Suvarnabhumi airport. ). The quickest way to get there without taking a taxi would be to take the tourist bus from outside the international airport. The English speaking staff will let you know when to get out. It costs around 4 Euros in comparison to 10 Euros for a taxi. If you do decide to take a taxi then ask the driver to turn on the meter. Otherwise you will be charged what they call a fixed price which is way more than the meter would tot up. A 10 minute walk from the Khao San road is a pier where your can take the passanger boat along the river if you prefer to do something more active than sitting in a bar or cafe. It costs only 50 cents to get all the way down or up the river. Change money at the airport. You will get a better rate than in the city. Mel Mell Mel Fla Post Count: 5517 Msg: #3 157 days ago, August 5th 2008 | BTW I forgot to mention. You have 2 to 3 hours in the city. The immigration queue can be long both entering and leaving Thailand. Also the journey into the city from the airport is quite long. When you are entering Thailand it may be worth explaining how little time your have in the city to those standing in front of you in the immigration queue and asking if you can go before them. | kathy50 Kathy Post Count: 2 Msg: #4 156 days ago, August 6th 2008 | As Mell said you have less time than you think. Traffic at that time of day .... from airport to Khao San can take 1hr min could even be 2 hrs on the tourist bus. And not much less in time by taxi, the traffic is the issue as the Airport Express bus only stops a few times. Remember the taxi touts will do there best to keep you away from the Airport Express Desk. You could also ask the staff at the Airport Express Desk how long a return will take. Be kind when discussing such things with the Thais. They will go quiet; get busy doing something else if the interaction is not going well. I may be telling you stuff you already know, however......In Asia they will avoid giving negative opinions. EG when asking "We need to be back at the Airport by ______ .Do you think we/I have enough time?" I would say 'We need to be back @ the Airport by _____! Do you think we/I have enough time OR shall we stay at the airport?" Try to give them a positive way to say NO! If going into town by taxi and what a meter taxi, go up to the Dep drop off. As the taxi rank down stairs is pre-paid, Aprox 450-500Bt. A tip someone gave me was check the driver has fuel in the tank, this save time and money on the meter. http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/55 The boat along the river stops at about 6pm. http://www.bangkok-city.com/canals.htm I enjoy BKK & the Khao San area.. but a tip if you are asked "How long you been in BKK?" say anything apart from I/we arrived today..... 2 weeks, a mth, a year anything but arrived today! 'Your 1st time in Thailand' No No I love T/land.... been many many times AND WALK ON. If you end up staying in the Airport there are plenty of quiet place, if you explore, that you can just sit off to the side read a book, watch the world go by or have a nap. Not sure if you will have to pay a tax if you leave the airport apposed to staying in the Transit lounge! Mell Mel Fla Post Count: 5517 Msg: #5 156 days ago, August 6th 2008 | Take one of the taxis outside the airport building rather than booking one inside the building. The ones you book inside the building are expensive. |  Sir Halberd Hal Post Count: 99 Msg: #6 155 days ago, August 7th 2008 | You didn't mention if you are flying into Don Muang from a local Thai destination or from overseas at the Suvarnabhumi International airport. Make sure you know where your connecting flight leaves from. DMK is Don Muang and BKK is Suvarnabhumi. These airports are on different sides of Bangkok. | If you are arriving on an international flight, Suvarnabhumi International Airport is not that close to the city. If you are arriving at Don Muang from a local Thai destination you are a little closer to town. Both airports serve Bangkok and they are not that close together. At Suvarnabhumi the meter taxi sign up desks are outside the arrivals hall, near the curb. There are two meter taxi sign up desks. There are some other taxi sign up desks out there too that want a flat fee - ignore them. Ignore all of the touts in the arrivals hall offering rides into town too! You want the meter taxi desk outside, tell the clerk you want to pay meter only. The clerk will take your destination information and write it down for the taxi driver. You will have a 50 baht surcharge, possibly 2 tolls coming to 65 baht and meter fare. The toll money may be paid during trip at toll booth (price is posted on signs) and the rest of the charges paid when you get to your final stop. For the return trip to the airport - wave a moving taxi down and tell the driver which airport you want, Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang airport. No surcharge for a taxi ride from the city to the airport. Have an exact address and street - not just a name, also make sure you have some small bills for paying the taxi fare or you won't get any change back from a driver. It is safer to take a meter taxi from the meter taxi desk than flagging one down at departures. The clerk at the meter desk records the taxi number for your safety. The price is only a 50 baht difference using the meter sign up desk. You don't have as much time as you think. On arrival figure at least 20 to 40 minutes to clear customs. Another 5 - 10 minutes to change money over to Thai baht. A ride into town will take around 30 - 40 minutes depending on traffic. If your next flight is a an international flight you have to be at the airport at least 2 hours before. You will need some time changing Thai baht back to your currency and to clear immigration to get back into the terminal for your next flight. You could stay around the airport and save Bangkok for another day when you have more time. There is a small bus station at the airport, called the transportation center on maps, where there are a few cheap restaurants and a Seven Eleven type store. (The airport also has several places to eat too.) A free shuttle bus takes you to that area, maybe an 8 minute ride. In town I would go to MBK to kill some time. http://jy-s.blogspot.com/2008/01/mbk-shopping-mall.html MBK is pretty big, don't get lost too! Good luck. [Edited: 03:43 - Sir Halberd ] Trev and Rie Trevor Post Count: 2 Msg: #7 155 days ago, August 7th 2008 | Thanks alot for the all the info! | We are arriving and leaving from Suvarnabhumi and I re-read our ticket and saw that we leave at 22:40. We have been to Bangkok 1 other time a few years, so I have a good idea of the layout but not too much experience to be very confident about the city. Also we'll be flying domestic when we leave so we should only have to deal with immigration once. I stayed a couple nights at Khoa San Rd before and it was nice. Maybe that's a good spot to relax for a bit. If you have anymore ideas or more specifics thanks! Great with all the taxi info too! 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