Living Like A Queen in Bangkok! Part 1 – Introduction

The Elephant Junction

On the last 3 days of March, I was in Bangkok for a short trip. As usual, I get lazy to start writing, but I need to do this before I’m leaving for HongKong next week!

So here is the first installation of the Bangkok series. I took Air Asia to Bangkok from Singapore, and I was surprised that the flight was on time (despite it being a night flight) and reached Bangkok on time as well. I guess I was just too used to being delayed when taking a budget airline, so I didn’t expect it to be on time. For AirAsia, we arrived at Don Mueang airport, instead of the bigger newer Suwarnabhumi. It was a culture shock when I arrived, as the airport looks like it really need a major renovation. There was nothing fancy nor attractive there. It was a functional airport. Period.

We managed to clear the immigration within 30 minutes, and since we didn’t bring any luggage, we immediately headed to the taxi line.

The taxi counter is located outside the building (signs are aplenty and in English too). You simply tell the person behind the counter where you are heading to, the person will scribble the address to you, and you will be directed to one of the taxi drivers, and zoom you go.

The journey from Don Mueang to our hotel at PloenChid took about 20 minutes, and it cost us around 200 bahts (S$9). There is no surcharge for night fare, and taxi fare starts at 35 baht ($1.50). The taxi driver will ask if you’re okay taking the tollway/highway, and you have to pay for the toll fee (the driver will return the change if there is any).

My suggestion is to ensure you have the name and address of the hotel in Thai, and also ensure you have the hotel’s phone number. The taxi drivers in Bangkok has very limited English vocabulary, and it’s best to let them contact the hotel and let the hotel reception gives him the direction to the hotel.

Next post will be on my home for the 3 nights in Bangkok: Arcadia Suites.