As soon as the seat belt sign dings, get up out of your seat, grab your carry-on articles and get as close to the exit as you can. You will be competing with experts – so move quickly.
Once out of the plane – speed-walk in the direction of Passport Control – DO NOT stop for anything – especially the bathroom. At Passport Control, you will see numerous lines – look for the ones that say “foreigners" and walk a bit to find the shortest line. You may have to walk past 10 or 20 lines to find a short one.
Get in line and have your documentation ready. You will need your passport, and the form they had you fill out on the plane. Don’t do like my son did once and forget to fill it out. He had to go all the way back to the gate he arrived at to get the form. It wasted about 30 minutes.
The lines move relatively quick, the uniformed officers are generally friendly, and you will get through in no time. Once you have cleared Passport Control, head down the escalator to your baggage carousel. Hopefully, they told you which one on the plane. If not, just look at the signs.
Once you have your luggage, head for the sign that says “Nothing to Declare" and hand in your embarkation form. Enter the terminal area and turn LEFT. You will see numerous money exchange booths where you can exchange your local currency. Select any – they all change at the same rate. You can also bypass these and go to the ATM machines or the machines that take currency and return Baht.
It is now time to head through the gauntlet of waiting friends, limo drivers, touts and others. If you have booked your ride in advance – the driver should be here waiting for you with a sign with your name on it. If you have not booked a ride – you have a few options.
1.You can deal with the taxi touts – the guys and gals with clipboards asking “Where you go?"
2.You can walk to the little booth and book your ride and pay a bit extra for the privilege
3.You can go upstairs to departures and get a taxi that is just dropping off someone and may take you where you want to go. The local security guards frown upon this – but it happens all the time.
4.You can take a bus – personally I think this is crazy after such a long flight – but some like bus rides.
If you have been in Bangkok for a few days and are going somewhere else, you can travel by these means
1.Rent a “limo" (actually a car) through the service in your hotel lobby
2.Sign up to share a 12-15 passenger van (not recommended as you will spend an extra hour or two driving all over Bangkok picking up passengers from various hotels and then do the same upon arrival.
3.Bus – already discussed
4.Train – Also not recommended – slow and not convenient
The way I look at it is – I have just traveled halfway around the world, spent a good chunk of cash on a plane ticket, I am on vacation – I am not going to worry about spending $40 - $50 dollars to ride in comfort to me final destination. Get the car/limo – preferably book in advance and save a few dollars over the taxi touts.
