In transit in Bangkok

On our journey eastwards our Qatar flight, paid very little because it was booked a few months in advance, "drops" us in Bangkok, from where we will continue the next morning towards our destination. Having spent practically only a few hours in this Asian megalopolis, we saw very little, indeed of monuments practically only the Golden Mountain, both because of the little time and because the closing times of the temples were not in our favour. I would nevertheless like to give some information or advice somewhat in a hit-and-run style. First, the international airports are two and far apart from each other. Suvarnabhumi, which is truly gigantic and is the most recent, is a hub-type sorting centre, with the big intercontinental flights; Don Mueang operates connections with closer countries and also with Thailand itself.

So, on the outward journey, because of the impossibility of finding good times, we had to sleep in the city to leave again first thing the next morning; on the return we had about 8 hours of stopover and therefore thought we could go back into the city, have dinner, get a massage and off to the other airport, but then it was literally impossible because the times would have been incredibly short! First, if all goes well, it takes about an hour from the airports to reach the centre by taxi, and if it goes badly even twice that..we saw kilometres of these endless urban ring roads with the cars completely stationary! Then, for any international journey you must be at the airport at least two hours before departure and, believe me, especially at Don Mueang, despite it being 5 in the morning, the queues for check-in were hallucinatory: long and chaotic, with queue-jumpers of every kind! The ot

her airport is so large and with flights 24 hours a day that it takes you time to get your bearings and reach the gates! When you arrive at Suvarnabhumi there is a metro line that takes you to the centre, or a desk with a long queue to book a taxi. We chose a third possibility: we went up to departures where every single taxi driver dropping off tourists asked you where you wanted to go..and in zero time! The taxis are very numerous and always competing with each other.

We managed to negotiate the fare at 500 Baht, which we knew to be the right price despite there being five of us...all crammed into a normal-sized car with the boot open and the suitcases wedged in any old way! To go to Don Mueang, the next morning, we had 10 minutes of panic, because the taxi driver we had an appointment with didn't show up, and we had to be at the airport within 50 minutes at most..but, despite it being 4:10 in the morning, we were surrounded by at least 4 new taxis all for us, paying another 500 baht! On the return, we made enquiries and discovered that there is a shuttle that connects the two airports free of charge. On the website there are the times and the directions on where to find it; you just need to show the ticket of the flight you are taking.

The time taken was, as always, an hour, and on the opposite lane the cars were truly stationary, while on ours the situation was slightly more fluid. But since we were going from one outskirts of the city to the other, the reasons for that traffic remained obscure to us. In Bangkok we stayed at the Thanabhumi hotel, a small, recently opened family-run guesthouse that I warmly recommend for its central position and excellent value for money. Breakfast was not included, but in reality there was food, snacks, fruit and drinks available to take at all hours and free of charge! So before leaving at dawn we also refreshed ourselves well. As always happens, at the airport the exchange rate is unfavourable, especially if it is further from the exit! So we took the minimum and then got more money in the centre.

I confirm, as I knew, that eating also costs very little and that with eight euro, always right in the centre, you can get fantastic massages. To tell the truth, in those few hours I didn't like the city at all: traffic, dirt and buildings..buildings..buildings and big buildings. But we reserve the right to return!