Transit at the Golden Land

15th July - 21st July 2010. Written by Xin Li.

The Suvarnabhumi Airport which means “The Golden Land” was officially opened on the 28th of September 2006. It is quite a young airport. The structure adopts a contemporary style of architecture that resembles lotus petals.

The airport was quite dimly lit in some areas particularly the lower levels and the non duty-free shopping areas, which creates a very gloomy and depressing atmosphere when I arrived at the airport. My brother commented that the exposed cement structure only adds on to the depressing feel. On top of that, parts of the airport seemed unready. the transit counters looked rather untidy.

The duty-free shopping area is much livelier, more attention was given to lighting and there were brighter colours to lift up the mood and hence where most of the crowds are.

I read that the stuff you find in Suvarnabhumi Airport is at least twelve times more expensive than Bangkok itself. I haven’t been to Bangkok before, but my brother agrees. For a preview into the kind of prices you will encounter here:

Packet of Dried Mango Slices: 130 THB
One Bar of van Houten Mixed Fruit Chocolate: 60 THB
Jim Thompson Handkerchief: 400 THB
Packet of Valrhona Chocolate: 250 THB
A Small Ornament: 400 THB – 1480 THB
Elephant Soft Toy: 600 THB
Small Pewter Ware with Average Workmanship: 400 THB

Currently, if you are heading to Thailand or having a transit, there is a Grand Sale going on, something similar to Singapore’s Great Singapore Sale. For every 5000 THB spent, you get a 500 cash voucher and there are other perks for Visa Card holders too (non-Thai citizens).

Instead of boarding the plane through those mobile connecting bridges, one has to board a bus to where the plane was being parked and board it (the budget terminal style). I have no complaints about that because it gives you the opportunity to see the planes and the airport on ground up and close, it will be awesome if it is during the sunrise and sunset hours.

Amenities wise, some of the facilities you will find are plenty of airline lounges around (for Business Class and First Class passengers), one whole level of duty free shopping by King Power and makan places (quite a few Japanese food venues) and two internet terminals per gate where you could do your last minute facebook updates.

While at the airport, we had to settle our dinner before our flight to Osaka, so we decided to have a small meal at the Silom Village Restaurant located near Gates F.

I have a craving for the Thai Mango Sticky Rice dessert which I ordered for about 150-160 THB. It came with a serving of sticky glutinous rice, half a mango and a small cup of coconut milk. While my brother finds it a little too sweet, I like it, it satisfied my mango dessert craving. The only flaw I had with this dessert is that the rice is not sticky enough, it was slightly too dry.

My brother and his girlfriend had a platter of French Fries and Calamari for around 300 THB. The dish came with a dip for the calamari and fries as well. It was brown and has a mustard-like taste. It didn’t seem to go well with both the fries and calamari as it was too sour. The calamari and French fries were ordinary.

Water is not complimentary, so we had to order another bottle of mineral water. I can’t remember the price though. I only knew it was from Singha.

The airport plans to be one of the top 10 airports in the world and a high speed rail is in the works to connect it to central Bangkok (for quite some time already), providing another alternative to the airport limousines and taxis etc. They also provide short tour packages for transit passengers or long stopovers which include a Dinner Cruise or Thai Cooking Class at the Blue Elephant.

Website:
Suvarnabhumi Airport