We were travelling to Philippines last Nov and we had our 8-hour layover in Bangkok, we thought it would be much much better if we can go outside rather siting in Suvarnabhumi Airport. As Indians, it’s kinda our duty to visit Thailand once in our lifetimes, isn’t it? And now that our plan was sorted, we had to arrange all the required things to get our smooth entry and exit from the Megacity in stipulated time.
Getting Visa:
As Indians, we get free Visa On Arrival (VOA) to travel in Thailand (dates extended upto 31st Mar, 2020 currently), but there’s actually a cost…the cost of time. If you have enough time, you can definitely queue up and get the visa, which may take up to 5 hours on a busy day. Also, I have heard that you are supposed to show 10K Baht/person or 20K Baht/family (no plastic money i.e. cards) or USD equivalent to same, but they never asked me for the same.
We however, didn’t had that much of time and hence we opted out for eVOA via VFS which costed us 600 Bhat/person. You can just visit the website, fill the required details, pay the amount and get a eVOA. Make sure you carry a printed copy it individually.
Getting out of Airport:
Even though you have a eVOA, you are supposed to fill and arrival card. The card consists of another section as well which you’ll be needing at time of departure, so make sure to keep it safe. For us, it took a total of half an hour in the queue to for immigration, with no questions asked. We took Airport Rail Link to get out of the airport. Also, make sure you NEVER take exchange in Suvarnabhumi Airport, the rates are miserably low. We took some, felt ditched and then further went to LH Bank near Lumphini Park (our next destination) where we got better rates.
Lumphini Park:
A great place to visit in the morning which offers fresh air and vibes of purity. The time we reached there, it quite morning and people jogging around with lakes having duck swimming and birds chirping o trees. It was a mesmerizing scene was a much needed time for us after a long flight. We had some breakfast there (which we kept with us, it’s hard to fines shops near the park, especially at that time) and relaxed for an hour in the peaceful environment. The park has no entry fees and just couple of metro stations from the Airport.
Wat Pho:
The legend and a must visit when you are in the City. The scared place is known to be the resting place pf Lord Buddha and is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It has its links with the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India. The 80,000 sq mtrs of temple is believed to be at least 300-year-old and have one thousand Buddha images with a 190-year-old 46-meter long Reclining Buddha which represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. This is the largest Buddha statue in Thailand made up of gold-copper alloy. The temple has entry fee of 200 Baht/person which offer free water bottles.
One can go to Grand Palace as well, just north to Wat Pho of you have enough time with you. We had to do the re check-ins and the immigration as well, we had to leave back for the airport now. We took back the same path and reached Suvarnabhumi Airport via the metro. The Check-in and immigration in that grand airport didn’t took that long and we reached out boarding gates before planned time.
Bangkok is a rapidly growing city with amazing infra. The city can offer a varieties of fun activities, obviously if you have enough time in your pocket. People in Bangkok are very friendly, but surprisingly, they are not pretty much fluent in English (the locals). So if you plane to visit the place, make sure you have your communication done right.
Best of luck for your trip! Keep traveling, keep exploring!
