Bangkok is the most visited city in the world. On arrival, it can feel a little intimidating. This page gives information on what to expect when you arrive at Bangkok International Airport.
There is a good chance that, when you arrive in Bangkok, you will be very tired after a long flight. We had shortened the flight a little by flying from the UK to Milan for one night and then took a flight to Bangkok the next day. We were able to actually save money doing this, including a night in a decent hotel. The flight from Milan was still 11 hours and we arrived in Bangkok in the morning, just as it was starting to heat up!
Arriving In Bangkok Airport
Bangkok airport is huge so expect a long walk before you reach the passport control area. Once there, expect a stern looking employee to give you the eye before, hopefully, stamping your visa and letting you in. Hurray!
Thai Visa
For UK residents, you can enter Thailand for up to 30 days, without need of a visa. This can be extended by another 30 days but this needs arranging before the end of the initial 30 days. Longer visas can be obtained in advance.
Buying A Sim Card In Thailand
As we have done a fair bit of travelling and always organise our trips independently, we expected no problems leaving the airport and reaching our hostel. But before leaving Bangkok airport, we wanted to sort out a phone network.
Our research had found that we could buy a Thai sim card in the airport and, sure enough, we found all the major Thai companies were there, selling sims and data deals. We decided to go with AIS. We were a little put off by the ‘tourist’ package and asked for the regular deal, which we were told we could only buy in the malls in Bangkok. So, we had to make our way to our hostel, using public transport, without the use of google maps!
Getting Into Bangkok City Centre
Luckily, we managed to pick up enough wifi to find out that we needed to take the SRT (sky train) and then transfer on to the MRT (metro). These are both extremely useful and quick ways to get around Bangkok and we would be using them again over the next couple of weeks. You can buy separate daily/weekly/monthly tickets for both the MRT and the SRT but, unfortunately, there is no one ticket that allows you to use both.
We left the MRT at Hua Lamphong station, which we later discovered is also the main train station for travelling to all other cities in Thailand from Bangkok. From here, we had a 10 minute walk to our hostel. Along the way, we passed many tuktuks and street food vendors. Seeing the street food for the first time after watching it repeatedly on youtube vlogs was a great thrill and the food looked varied and interesting. Finally, we reached our hostel.
Welcome to Bangkok!
