HELLO Bangkok – Getting from Don Mueang Airport to the City and filling up on delicious Thai food for less than 2 USD
After spending an awesome week in Khao Lak relaxing on white sandy beaches, playing with baby sea turtles, chasing waterfalls and exploring the jungle while riding a bamboo raft it was time to leave our tropical paradise for some big city fun! (if you want to read more about our scooter tour adventures in Khao Lak have a look here: DIY Scooter Tour around Khao Lak)
We flew from Phuket Airport with Air Asia to Bangkok. At first I was a bit confused as we were not supposed to land at Suvarnabhumi Airport but at Don Mueang instead. Having been to Bangkok in the past, I never knew that there even was a second airport at all. As we later found out Don Mueang Airport is in fact one of the world’s oldest international Airports. With an official end of service in 2006 it was re-opened in 2007 to take pressure of Suvarnabhumi Airport. It is now mainly used by the budget airlines so if you are flying with Air Asia to Bangkok you will most likely end up in Don Mueang Airport. 🙂 However being much smaller arriving here usually is also less trouble and you are out of the terminal building in no time.
How to get from Don Mueng Airport to Bangkok City Center
So after checking the map again and doing some quick research online (yes, there is free WiFi at Don Mueang Airport 😉 ) we decided that it was not worth all the hassle and to simply take an Uber taxi to get from the airport to our hotel which would cost around 350 THB. A normal taxi that you can get outside the terminal building would cost you the same however you would need to pay a 50 THB surcharge for the taxi rank (god knows why) plus go through the highly challenging task of explaining to our super motivated taxi driver (who usually does not understand any English) where you actually want to go.
You can of course also use the public transport however note, that there is still no (!!!) sky train station connecting Don Mueang Airport to the city centre (which was actually due for 2016). So this makes it a bit of a hassle to get to the city. But with a bit of luck they will soon be finished and Don Mueang Airport will be included on the skytrain network. So definitely watch out for that!!!
Currently your only options are either using the bus, wich is probably your cheapest option or to board a train bound for Hua Lamphong (Central Railway Station), which run hourly but are not that reliable. Keep in mind that both busses and trains will take you much, MUCH longer and depending on where you want to get you’ll need to change serval times.
Where to stay in Bangkok
As we were only in Bangkok for a few days we decided to book a hotel via booking.com that was quiet centrally located and close to the Sam Yan MRT station so that we could easily get around on foot or by public transport.
However the closer you are in the centre the higher the price tag and as the public transport is actually really good you should consider booking something a bit further out (as long as it is still within walking distance to a MRT Subway station or the sky train) – you will definitely be getting more bang for your buck.
Luckily our hotel was located right next to a food market which we already spotted from the taxi and as we were starving we just dropped our bags at the hotel and quickly headed over to this market. We found a stall that was like a buffet with tons of dishes to choose from. As we asked for the price she said we’d get a plate with rice plus 3 different toppings for 50 THB! We couldn’t believe our ears – that was less then 2 USD!!! So we didn’t waste any more time and loaded our plates with green curry, fried noodles, spicy basil chicken, steamed veggies and some other (no-idea-what-they-were) dishes which this lovely Thai lady recommended to us.
Thai food buffet in Bangkok
Full and happy we were ready to explore the city!!!
