There is such a contrast between the countries of Brunei and Thailand and nowhere is this more evident than at their respective airports. Usually for International flights I allow about 2 hours to get to the gate and with some extra time but in Brunei the airport is so small, quiet, and there are not so many flights that even 40 minutes is usually enough time to check in, go through security, get to the gate and still have time left over!
Arriving in Bangkok mid-day is another world – people were lined up 50+ deep in all queues going through security. Fortunately I was seated in the 2nd row in the plane and ran out passing other arriving passengers – reached the middle lines (always the longest) and then quickly moved to one of the sides where the lines are always shorter. Still, 30+ minutes is the norm – and when I went up to the departures hall the line was past the custom gates and 3 long rows outside into the main terminal. With a line like that, those folks were goin to wait at least an hour or more to get through customs.
Nothing like doing International business! A friend from Hong Kong just happened to have a 9 hour layover in Bangkok so we tried out the fairly new Express Skytrain link from the airport to downtown. It reaches speeds of 160km/hour and gets you into central Bangkok in 15 minutes. From there we navigated the maze of Bangkok’s public transporation and finally arrived at MBK (Bangkok’s crazily busy mall) where we sat down and discussed wine business for the next 2 hours! I’ll be back in the village in Eastern Thailand soon 🙂
I’ve decided to make it my January mission to wherever possible visit my followers both old and new.
A great post. Part of me envies this but on the other hand I swear I get jetlag on the two hour flight to Germany.
I so envy you! 🙂 Wow…
Petty Writer – thanks for stopping by – thats quite a mission 🙂
Yea the jet lag is just no fun and no way around it, even when you fly quite a bit.