Arrived in Style!

Prepare to get bombarded with updates from me as I am away from home and arrived in Koh Samui!!!  And arrived in style I did.  I have read about reviewers and visitors claiming the airport in Samui has a distinctive style of its own and will provide a shock and awe when you have arrived.  I was a bit skeptical until I saw it with my own eyes and Yes I was awed.  Its a bloody airport built in a beautiful garden cum resort like structure.   There are no passenger cranes to a big transit hall.  We have to climb down the stairs to board the little beautiful carts that you see in the photo.  The carts will ferry us to the arrival hall is like a little hut like building.  I have no time and more importantly "space" to take photos as it was crowded with tourists.  There is only 1 baggage belt and 2 flights arrived almost at the same time.  Imagine the chaos!   Another funny thing is that it seems I am the only Asian fella among the whole group.  I feel like I am in Europe (heard people speak in French and German).  hehe

Took a mini-van to my resort.  A small nice cosy hut.  Called wife and the kids to report I'm here and told my wife about the journey.  She already a bit worried about the expenses (quite true as the living standards is about the same or more than in Bkk.)

Anyway, Signing off for the night.  There's wifi in my room but its pretty unstable.  Think its being jammed by other users..  Have to post this using my tethered mobile :P

The new airport railway to Suvarnabhumi Airport

Life Size Paper Board Cut out!! :)My last trip in Thailand gave me a chance to test out the new airport rail link to the city in BKK.  My flight back to Singapore was late at night and I had 5 hours to wait for my tranist.  So bored I am I decided to just try out this new rail link to see how fast it was.

The entrance to the station is actually at the basement level of the airport.  Its actually was there for quite some time.  Actually I should say its there since the airport was opened but the railway tracks were not finished yet.  (Remember the coup and everything??)  The delays were massive and only recently they managed to complete it.

I was a bit lost at first because the sation is actually has 2 platforms and 2 different entrances for 2 different services.  One is the normal train and the other is actually an Express train.

I took the wrong turn and end up at the normal service.  Which stops at every station in between the air port and Makkasan station.  So blur blur I bought the ticket... 15B !!! Wa... bloody cheap!!! I thought I heard wrongly so I gave a 100B note.. the change was 75B...

So off I go and hit the platform to wait for my train...

Suvarnabhumi has very confusing signboardsThe platform is actually quite short.. Definitely has less carriages then SingaporeThe train was preparing to leave when I went down the platform and the security stopped me from boarding the train.  The waiting time is about 7 to 8 minutes for the next train.  Its actually a bit crowded for the normal service as it stops at every stops.  Total of 4 stations in between the next interchange Makkasan(for MRT) and 2 more at Phaya Tai (for BTS).  So basically if you stay near Nana and MBK.. you can take this train all the way to Phaya Thai and changed to the BTS light rail. 

Inside the standard normal train carriage.Outside the window of the train... The expressway that links the airport to the cityBy the 3rd Stop the train was packed like Sardines. It was about 4pm and people seems to be knocking off. Took this lady without her noticing me.. She's engrossed in her messages. By the time I reached Makkasan.  Its actually over 40minutes of travelling time.  Pretty slow compared to the Taxi but at this price.. no complains.  And its actually quite a good way to enjoy the atmosphere of the locals on how they commute.  It's a really good experience if you enjoy people watching :)

I got out of the Makkasan station as I was a bit afraid I could get delayed and I saw on the board that the express service starts from this station.  I want to try the express service so naturally I got out here.

The station is very new and looks too sterile for my liking...

The roof of the station is pretty well desinged internally... Not sure how it looks on the outside though

Ticket counter for the Express train,I followed the directions and got to the ticket counter and entrance of the Express service.  Its 100Baht per pax!! Hahaha.. almost 6x more than the Normal service.  I paid and went into the empty platform.  At first I felt a bit stupid like Kena con liao.  Until the train arrives.....

Interior of the express train... kind of explain the price differenceThe train was fully carpeted and there are places for you to store your luggages.  The seats were also nicer of course.  REALLY very big difference so kind of justify the huge price difference.  The express train departs every 15mins or so and it takes only less than 20 mins to hit Suvarnabhumi.  So for those in a rush, its quite worth it.

I'm already planning that if I could actually take this express service and drop off at Makkasan then changed to a taxi.. It should be cheaper and you should be able to avoid some jams.. A metered taxi with toll normally costs aroun 200B to 350B (depending on your locations and traffic) so I guess this is actually quite a good alternative way to get into the city :)

And finally, just for the record, here's the route and the stations in this line.

Getting Cheap food in Suvarnabhumi Airport.

A friend recently complained to me that the food at the airport is bloody expensive.  Especially true in the transit lounge or at the waiting areas in between the depature and arrival hall.. (not too sure what they called it though).  If you have not checked in or you have plenty of time after checking in to your flight.  Then you may try this option.  I always do so as I fly budget and dinner is not served on the plane. :P

Since I am waiting for my flight,  I decided to compile this little FAQ (I have bloody 5 hours to wait).  First you need to get to the ground floor.  There are multiple ways to get there but this is by far the shortest path to the Magic Food Point.  No, The food is not MAGICally tasty and good. Its up to standard but defintely not the best in town.  Not sure why they called it that, maybe its because the price is "Magically" cheap compared to the 120baht Kway Teow in the depature hall restaurants. :P

Just go to arrival hall level and walk along the gates till you see gate 7 (beside the DTAC shop).  (See Pic.)  Take the escalator down  and viola, you get to the public buses area. And on your left is the entrance to Magic Food Point.  Price range from 30Baht to 60Baht.  Its like our Singapore's Food Court except you need to purchase coupons.  Normally I would change 100baht which is more than enough for food and drink.  They Hor Fun Here is pretty good.  So is the Pork Knuckle Rice (Teochew Style)  Noddle and Kway Tiao So so.  The fried chicken hidden at the corner is not too shabby too.  Don't worry if you can't speak thai.  All the food are labeled in numbers and have english translations, so just shout out in english the number you want and pay the person with the coupons you bought. 

Utencils stations are located along the center columns and you can dip them in the hot water to "sterilise" it.  (Like it will really help... :P) Do eat fast and don't hog the seats as the working Thai people are having their quick breaks there and they might give you a dirty look if you do so. (Speaking from my own personal experience :P)
 
And for your info.  Taking a cab at this level sometimes is cheaper then those above.  For those on free and easy trip, you can also walk out to get the airport express buses which will go to Sukumvit, MBK, Central World (or what;s left of it since it got burned down) and other various tourist hotspots (just check at the bus counter) Bloody cheap 150 baht one way if I remember correctly and its as fast as the taxis.  It also stops at some major hotels on the way and you can tell the driver where you want to drop off.

So if you get stuck at the airport while waiting, do try this little spot where you get to see the locals eat and chat.  Time to board my plane....... 



Budget Terminal

Nothing to do at the airport... so post a quickie here. I'm currently at the Singapore budget terminal departure hall. I have to say that the facilities and shops here has improved a lot since my last visit (think about more than a year ago). They finally made some common sense by putting the Internet connection somewhere nearer to the entrance to the gates. (about time too). Not at an obscure corner it used to be. But I see some ungracious Chinese and Korean taking a seat without using the facilities. Have to tell them off. (why always the Asians that are the bunch that makes us look bad??)

Still got an hour to go.....sighs...