TeakDoor.com - The Thailand Forum - View Single Post

Wallace · 09-10-2006, 05:55 PM

Well, I had the fortune (or misfortune) to use the new airport yesterday and simply couldn't wait to share my experiences so here they are:

From my home in Phra Kanong it took only 20 minutes in a METERED cab!! Yes, despite all my attempts during the week to find a taxi driver who would take me to the airport on a meter instead of coming out with the mantra of '500 baht, farang, airport, fixed cost', I simply wandered out of the apartment at 5.00 in the morning and the first cab just put his meter on and went. It does feel like you're driving round the place about 3 times before you stop outside the entrance, but of course at that time in the morning the roads are free.

During the week I realised that the state railway line runs about 100m north of the airport perimeter. I asked myself why they didn't just upgrade the tracks (or build a new one alongside) and then use this route into the airport. Seems silly to build an extension to the skytrain when there's a railway line already there. Thai logic I guess.

Check-in procedures are pretty quick and the building does have a nice open, airy feel. Anyone who's used Stansted will feel at home. So far, so good. I walked right past the guard before passport control, who was fast asleep so didn't ask me for the 500 baht departure tax coupon (it's still 500 baht, goes up next February, I believe), so I didn't bother paying for it. No one else asked me to show proof so my tip is: look bewildered, have lots of pieces of paper in your hand, hide behind some even more looking confused asians, and simply walk through to passport control. There didn't seem to be a single sign suggesting that you had to pay departure tax, so why bother?

After that the airport is a real let down. I thought I was in Emporium. They must have bought all the leftover floor tiles (those brilliant white marble ones), so you have to put your sunglasses on to cut down on the glare and reflected light. From gates D down to C it's just boutique after boutique and nothing you can't buy in town for a lot less money. What's the point? I don't think I saw any shop with more than 2 people in. And other than the two overpriced, swanky coffee bars, The Reef and another one, they've decided to put all 6 of the coffee and snack outlets together right at the end of the departure lounge in area C. There may be others but quite frankly I couldn't be arsed walking any more. Typically bloody Thai and so stupid. I had to walk about 3 km just to find out that a cappuccino goes for 120 baht. And that's a small one!!! Yes, there's Coffee World, next door to Doitung, and across from Black Canyon, etc., etc. You get the picture. I settled for Doitung cos I'm a cheapskate and they have the cheapest coffee. Total rip off by any standards. And again, all the outlets seem hastily put together with not enough seating.

The lack of toilets is not just a myth. They are so short that they've opened up some staff ones behind the shops. You get to see behind the scenes and believe me, it's not pretty. Not only that, the signs in the main lounge on the toilet entrances look like a kid's just printed them out at home on his first PC. The whole thing looks and feels cheap. There are not many public phones, because everyone has a mobile. Really? Well, check out any UK airport and there are phones everywhere. This is another area that needs to be sorted. I found 2 public phones altogether and 1 was out of order! Appalling.

But it wasn't until my transfer in Singapore that it really hit me how cheaply finished the Thai airport is. So they have lots of expensive shops, but this doesn't really add to customer service. As soon as I arrived in the departure lounge at Singapore I realised just how easy it would have been to place the coffee bars at regular intervals throughout the building, turn more of the crappy shops into toilets, remove the thousands of signs advertising King Power Duty Free and replace them with signposts, maps and more toilets and snack bars and generally turn the airport into what it should be instead of an extension of Emporium or Paragon.

Yes, indeed. Faced with the prospect of showing the world just how brilliant Thailand is and how switched on they are when challenged to exemplify their excellent customer service skills, they open another bloody expensive shopping centre, which has dirty toilets, staff sleeping in the corridor, and nowhere for the average person to get a decent drink and a snack without using a credit card.

And as for that monstrosity of a sculpture as you go through passport control? Well, you'll have to take a look for yourself..........

09-10-2006, 05:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
Wallace Wat Chalong Last Online: 04-09-2007 11:42 AM Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: The Q Continuum Posts: 870	Suvarnabhumi Airport Well, I had the fortune (or misfortune) to use the new airport yesterday and simply couldn't wait to share my experiences so here they are: From my home in Phra Kanong it took only 20 minutes in a METERED cab!! Yes, despite all my attempts during the week to find a taxi driver who would take me to the airport on a meter instead of coming out with the mantra of '500 baht, farang, airport, fixed cost', I simply wandered out of the apartment at 5.00 in the morning and the first cab just put his meter on and went. It does feel like you're driving round the place about 3 times before you stop outside the entrance, but of course at that time in the morning the roads are free. During the week I realised that the state railway line runs about 100m north of the airport perimeter. I asked myself why they didn't just upgrade the tracks (or build a new one alongside) and then use this route into the airport. Seems silly to build an extension to the skytrain when there's a railway line already there. Thai logic I guess. Check-in procedures are pretty quick and the building does have a nice open, airy feel. Anyone who's used Stansted will feel at home. So far, so good. I walked right past the guard before passport control, who was fast asleep so didn't ask me for the 500 baht departure tax coupon (it's still 500 baht, goes up next February, I believe), so I didn't bother paying for it. No one else asked me to show proof so my tip is: look bewildered, have lots of pieces of paper in your hand, hide behind some even more looking confused asians, and simply walk through to passport control. There didn't seem to be a single sign suggesting that you had to pay departure tax, so why bother? After that the airport is a real let down. I thought I was in Emporium. They must have bought all the leftover floor tiles (those brilliant white marble ones), so you have to put your sunglasses on to cut down on the glare and reflected light. From gates D down to C it's just boutique after boutique and nothing you can't buy in town for a lot less money. What's the point? I don't think I saw any shop with more than 2 people in. And other than the two overpriced, swanky coffee bars, The Reef and another one, they've decided to put all 6 of the coffee and snack outlets together right at the end of the departure lounge in area C. There may be others but quite frankly I couldn't be arsed walking any more. Typically bloody Thai and so stupid. I had to walk about 3 km just to find out that a cappuccino goes for 120 baht. And that's a small one!!! Yes, there's Coffee World, next door to Doitung, and across from Black Canyon, etc., etc. You get the picture. I settled for Doitung cos I'm a cheapskate and they have the cheapest coffee. Total rip off by any standards. And again, all the outlets seem hastily put together with not enough seating. The lack of toilets is not just a myth. They are so short that they've opened up some staff ones behind the shops. You get to see behind the scenes and believe me, it's not pretty. Not only that, the signs in the main lounge on the toilet entrances look like a kid's just printed them out at home on his first PC. The whole thing looks and feels cheap. There are not many public phones, because everyone has a mobile. Really? Well, check out any UK airport and there are phones everywhere. This is another area that needs to be sorted. I found 2 public phones altogether and 1 was out of order! Appalling. But it wasn't until my transfer in Singapore that it really hit me how cheaply finished the Thai airport is. So they have lots of expensive shops, but this doesn't really add to customer service. As soon as I arrived in the departure lounge at Singapore I realised just how easy it would have been to place the coffee bars at regular intervals throughout the building, turn more of the crappy shops into toilets, remove the thousands of signs advertising King Power Duty Free and replace them with signposts, maps and more toilets and snack bars and generally turn the airport into what it should be instead of an extension of Emporium or Paragon. Yes, indeed. Faced with the prospect of showing the world just how brilliant Thailand is and how switched on they are when challenged to exemplify their excellent customer service skills, they open another bloody expensive shopping centre, which has dirty toilets, staff sleeping in the corridor, and nowhere for the average person to get a decent drink and a snack without using a credit card. And as for that monstrosity of a sculpture as you go through passport control? Well, you'll have to take a look for yourself.......... __________________ The truth is out there, but then I'm stuck in here.