Bangkok Airport in the Small Hours of the Morning

[SeaWolf]

Hi All,
I'm after some general advice here. I'm looking at going to the US for a few weeks via Bangkok. Basically I'll get seperate tickets from PER-BKK-PER and from BKK-US.

At the moment I'm looking at the UA flight that leaves BKK at 6:05am, which is an awful, awful time for any international flight to leave. I'd obviously have to be at the airport at about 4:30am, which could mean leaving the city at about 3:30am. Massively disrupted sleep just before a huge timezone change is kinda undesirable. So I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for making it a bit less traumatic? Anyone tried the Novotel at BKK Airport?

However, there's an alternative. I don't absolutely have to take the UA flight. There are a few other options. I've got a lot of flexibility in that I want to visit SFO, LAX, BOS, YTO and NYC, but don't really care which order I do it in. So I was thinking I'd get an open-jaw ticket, fly into SFO/LAX from BKK and out of NYC/BOS/YTO back to BKK or something similar and sort out the flights in the US seperately. I'm a Star Alliance flyer and I'm looking at buying J for this trip. Any thoughts, suggestions, experiences?

 

[Grooba]

I can only comment on the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport. Great new/modern property with excellent F&B and service.

Highly recommended for an over night stay while transiting.

 

[proskyneo]

Not sure why you are considering the UA flight at that time when you say you can take another flight to the US.

It sounds like you're transiting but you've decided to stay in the city - obviously what vec has said makes sense for a transit, but if you're not transiting, surely you could catch any flight maybe the day before you were looking at UA or the day of that UA flight.

My only experience and recommendation would be to take Thai Airways ex-BKK. In J especially, you could relax at the airport with a 30 min massage Always an interesting story to tell or you could try more than one of their lounges.

Quick dummy booking shows TG leaving at 1930 to LAX - that's on a Saturday.

 

[Paul_PER]

Taxis in BKK are plentiful and dirt cheap and at 3.30am there isn't going to be any traffic jams. From the centre of town to the airport will cost THB 200-250 plus THB 70 in tolls i.e. AUD 10-12.

I did this trip last Thursday at about 6.45-7.00am. Traffic wasn't too bad and I think I got to the airport by about 7.30am.

Drivers may try to scam you by offering a fixed fare of THB 500. Just say no and request the "meter".

So depending on when your PER-BKK flight arrives I'd stay in town and cab it out in the morning. If your flight arrives only the day before flying out and during the evening peak then the airport hotel sounds good.

Thai cabbies can drive eye-openingly fast.

During peak hours and if travelling light the train options are OK (to avoid the traffic jams). The 15 minute express is THB 150. The ordinary 30 minute train is THB 45 (or 50?).

Enjoy - but beware it's hot at the moment - 37 degrees and over 80% humidity.

 

[sergeyvzn]

I stayed at Novotel 2 years ago - fantastic! Great modern rooms, fantastic F&B and loved the pool - very much recommended

 

[JohnK]

I have been at BKK airport both very late at night and very early in the morning and it is still a good airport to wait for a flight. Lounge or no lounge.

Taxis in BKK are plentiful and dirt cheap and at 3.30am there isn't going to be any traffic jams. From the centre of town to the airport will cost THB 200-250 plus THB 70 in tolls i.e. AUD 10-12.

I did this trip last Thursday at about 6.45-7.00am. Traffic wasn't too bad and I think I got to the airport by about 7.30am.

Drivers may try to scam you by offering a fixed fare of THB 500. Just say no and request the "meter".

LOL! Unless you end up getting the psycho taxi drivers that follow me around. They always want to charge me a fixed price and then they start to drop their prices and I maintain I want the meter until I give in.

Last trip was interesting as I got into the taxi at Holiday Inn Silom. The driver did not turn on meter and starting driving down ramp.

- I asked for meter and he said 600 baht
- I said no, meter
- He then said 500 baht
- I said meter
- He then went down to 400 baht + I pay tolls of 70 baht
- I then said 350 baht + tolls (I really wanted to get to the airport as I was running a little behind time) and he pulled out his little chart asking for 50 baht surcharge to airport
- I laughed and said there is no surcharge going to airport. He then put on music and told me about it that he put on the music for me. I just laugh at all the tricks they pull.

Anyway ended up giving him 350 baht + 70 baht for tolls I paid as we went. He look at the money and queried why I did not give the extra 50 baht. I told him it was more than enough. I should have given him the extra 50 baht.

I know I paid too much but I am a big softie.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I know of a JQ CSM who always manages to get upgraded on TG by paying some baht to the checkin person & has had some comfy trips BKK/LHR & BKK/LAX.

I don't think it was a lot of money in our terms either.

I remember one trip to BKK when I was about 19 I took a cab from the airport to the hotel & the cabbie had a TV where most of us have a rear vision mirror. He also warned me about Patpong saying "many many gangster, many many Saudi".

My all time favourite saying was "you like you buy, you don't like you don't buy" - advice I've followed dilligently ever since.

 

[SeaWolf]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Bangkok is sort of a transit, but I've decided to stop several days there each way anyway. The purpose of the trip is North America, but I dearly love Bangkok, so I figure I may as well.

The reason I'm looking closely at UA is because it's one of a small number of carriers that offer services from both US coasts. I like the idea of the TG flight direct to LAX, but I don't really want to have to cross the US a second time and go back to LA to get my return flight. Also, UA is quite competative in terms of price and if I pick the right flights I can get fully lie-flat beds the whole way, obviously a major perk.

After much fiddling around I've also figured out that I can take the UA codeshare on a NH flight that leaves at the more civilised hour of 08:15am and get to NRT with time to spare to make the UA flight onwards to LAX. The NH flight is only regional, recliner style seats, but since it's a day flight I'm not too fussed about that. Then after my time in the US I take a CO flight out of EWR and connect in NRT to a UA flight back to BKK. Easy. Well, that's what I thought till I showed the whole plan to my mother who said, "You're nuts" and shoved the proposed itinerary back at me. She just doesn't get it...