From: bipin@iastate.edu (Bipin K Dalmia)
Subject: Info regarding stay in Bangkok.
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 04:46:21 GMT

here is some information which might help travelers to india via
bangkok. 

i went to calcutta via bangkok last december and had a
overnight stay in bangkok. first of all, the thai embassy will tell you
that you need a visa if your layover is more than three hours,
ignore that. basically you have two choices in bangkok:

1. go out of the airport and stay in a hotel: 
there are plenty of cheap hotels around the
airport. the ones closest (airport hotel, within walking distance) are
pretty expensive, about 3000 baht per night ($120). there are others
about 10-15 kms from the airport as cheap as 800 baht ($32) and pretty
good (i stayed in one). but traffic is a VERY big problem in bangkok. if
your flight arrives in bangkok at night (or late evening) and leaves the
next morning then you should be ok. otherwise it's not a very good idea
to go too much away from the airport. plenty of pre-paid and other taxis
are available at the airport. it's 300 baht per trip to downtown (600
for roundtrip). be sure to settle the fare BEFORE you take the ride.
also, to go out of the airport you'll have to go thru immigration.
transit visas are easily available at the airport. take a couple of
passport photographs of each person (or get some at the instant photo
machine at the airport). transit visas are 300 baht ($12) per person.
you'll need either cash dollars or travelers cheques to convert them
into local currency at the exchange counter. i did all that but then
someone told me that immigration would just let me go out with an entry
stamp without a visa, if i showed them my continuing ticket. i never
could verify that but you can try, it would save you some money
and a lot of time.

2. you could stay in the departure lounge: one pre-requisite for this is
that your baggage is checked thru to calcutta (or your final
destination), which shouldn't be a
problem if you're travelling thai thruout. if your baggage is not checked
thru then you will have to go out to baggage claim. don't trust the
airlines to get it for you the next morning. they might do it if
requested but i found the customer service kinda sluggish at bangkok.
anyway, if your baggage is checked thru then you can forget about
everything i said above and go straight to the departure lounge and wait
till your next flight. the departure lounge is one floor up from the
arrival lounge. the arrival lounge is very boring with long lines at
immigration, visa on arrival etc. make sure to GO UP ONE FLOOR. the
departure lounge is very nice and comfortable and there are always a
whole lot of indians there also waiting for their flights. there are
nice snack bars, a restaurant, televisions, duty free shopping etc. then
about three hours before your flight you can go to the transit counter
number 1 (for thai airways) and check-in as usual. it might be a good
idea to check-in with the transit counter when you arrive in bangkok,
juts to make sure your flight is re-confirmed etc. i had a little problem
with my reconfirmation but that was because i changed from northwest to
thai in bangkok. 

that should about cover it. if you have any further questions or
concerns, feel free to write to me.

bon voyage......bip
-- 
bipin k. dalmia               the other night i was lying on my bed, looking
bipin@iastate.edu             up at the beautiful stars, and i said to myself, 
n2.bkd@isumvs.iastate.edu     'where the F*CK is my ROOF !!'
--
Xref: sparky soc.culture.indian:32675 soc.culture.pakistan:15367