Transit in Thailand
So you’re a Desi used to taking Singapore airlines to travel to India via Singapore. But you just happen to pass through Thailand this time and hoping to do the things you’re used to doing in Singapore. Well, I did just that earlier this week.
Pitfalls:
- 1000 Baht ($33) per person in visa fee.
- 700 Baht per person in departure fee
- The tours are not free. Watch out for cab companies trying to sell you trips for 4700 Baht
Since I had only 7 hours and 2-3 hours were spent standing in various lines to get a visa, I had very limited time and couldn’t visit the city. Instead, I ended up taking a cab (230 Baht + 60 Baht in tolls) to visit a place called “Erawan Shrine” located next to a few western looking shopping malls and high end hotels (Four seasons, Grand Hyatt etc) cluster.
The experience at the airport was a bit mixed. There are of course nice people who are very polite and some in high pressure jobs (eg: visa desk, immigration on departure) who were unusually stern. The flight from Bangkok to Bangalore was a lot more disorganized compared to the one originating in Singapore. I had to checkin my carry baggage because space was limited. Boarding the plane was a huge mess. No pre-boarding announcement, no boarding by row. Not sure if the over-eager passengers are to blame or the ground staff.
And make sure that you ask for mild curries. It took me a couple of days to recover from the Green curry.
Gautam Said,
April 13, 2008 @ 11:27 pm
No boarding by row????
AM I imagining a scene at a local bus stand in India :o)
thaths Said,
June 30, 2008 @ 1:06 pm
If you decide to do this again another time, let me know. The Erawan shrine is not very good. You are much better off going to Wat Pho and Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok. You could do both of them (they are next to each other) in a couple of hours.