Thailand — Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ, 999 Moo 1 Bang Na-Trat Rd., Bang Phli, Samut Prakan 10540

Arrived in Thailand

September 2015

My first experience of Thailand wasn’t great.

At Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK; ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ), it took a long time to clear immigration. The immigration form was not correct and was missing the telephone number section. This caused all kinds of confusion and delays.

Trying to get a SIM for my phone was problematic. There were two tourist SIMs on offer, and I was told in the phone shop that 'Thailand has special SIMs', and yet they work in standard mobile phones. All very confusing.

There was no taxi counter for pre-paid cabs. I had to get a ticket that told me my allocated taxi (the taxis were parked in numbered bays). In the cab, the driver said the fare would be ‘500 local' (£10 GBP; $15 USD), which was a neat trick as I hadn’t told him where I needed to go.

Two tolls and a 30-minute ride from the airport and I arrived at my hotel in Bangkok — Lohas Suites Sukhumvit by SUPERHOTEL, 75 Sukhumvit 2, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110

Foursquare: Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)