On our way to Bangkok, the Boeing 767 we flew from Kiev was full. A lot of Ukrainians were going to holiday in Thailand. Few westerners and even less Thai people were in the plain. What a difference toward our flight to Delhi, in 2010, when the departure terminal in Istanbul was full of Indians, working in Europe and taking advantage on the Christmas holiday to visit their homes!
Our places have been in the middle of the plane, so I couldn’t take photos. We arrived at Suvarnabumi airport at 4.30 in the morning. We changed money firstly in order to pay our on arrival visas. Then, we took our luggage and went to the domestic flights area, as we flew further, to Chiang Mai. A lot of people were there and due to the formalities it was just possible to skip the flight. So, if you have an internal flight, be there more in advance!
We flew Air Asia to Chiang Mai, one and a half hour. The town from Northern Thailand welcomed us with sun and warm weather, so we felt the “summer” has begun for us. After the days we spent there, we moved forward to Sukhotai, by bus.
The two days spent in Sukhotai and Si Sanchanalai went by rapidly and we flew again to Bangkok. This time it was a private company, Bangkok Airways, which is in business since 1968. They built their own airport in Sukhotai from where they operate two flights daily to Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The airport is awesome, I may say. It looks more as a resort than as an airport. The waiting room is open, furniture is Thai, lotus ponds and even a small chedi create a nice atmosphere. The plain is colorful, a real vacation plane!
On our return flight from Bangkok the plane was not so full but the long flight (11 hours) was tiresome. Then, from Kiev again, there have been only one and a half hours to Budapest. On the airport I spent my time looking at the people. From Budapest we still had almost 5 hours driving to Timisoara, my home town. The sunset was beautiful as to say us that our journey came to an end.
Asa cum am scris in postarea anterioara, am calatorit spre Thailanda cu AEROSVIT. Este prima data cand folosesc aceasta companie. Nu ma plang prea mult de serviciile la bord, fiindca toti fac acum economii, unii mai mult decat altii. Intr-o revista aflata la bord am citit chiar ca AEROSVIT se pregateste ca, din acest an, sa renunte la orice masa oferita pe zborurile interne… Se simte deja si la cele externe…De fapt nu am termen de comparatie fiindca n-am mai calatorit cu ei, dar sa oferi numai peste, fara optiune, cand nu toata lumea mananca peste, nu mi se pare normal…Ceea ce lasa de dorit este comportamentul stewardeselor care se adreseaza rastit calatorilor si au niste mutre cam acre, exceptand momentele cand vorbesc intre ele in timp ce ii servesc pe pasageri. Stewarzii (si au multi) sunt mai atenti si mai simpatici.
La dus, in Boeingul 767 care a plecat din Kiev spre Bangkok, nu era loc sa arunci un ac! Era plin ochi de turisti ucrainieni, care plecau la plaja. Mai erau si ceva occidentali, dar putini, iar pe thailandezi i-am numarat pe degetele de la maini. Ma gandesc ca anul trecut, cand am zburat de la Istanbul la Delhi, calatorii erau predominant indieni care mergeau acasa, fiind vacanta Europa in care munceau…Am avut locuri in mijloc, asa ca nu am putut face fotografii din avion.
Am ajuns pe aeroportul Suvarnabumi dimineata, la 4.30. Un aeroport imens, cum ne-au obisnuit deja orasele asiatice vizitate (Beijing, Delhi, Seoul), foarte curat, cu multe flori si foarte bine organizat.
Am mers mai intai sa schimbam bani pentru a putea sa ne platim viza. Cursul de schimb era de 28.95-31.39 baht pentru un dolar si 38.99 baht pentru un euro. La “Visa on Arrival” (viza la sosire) am platit cate 1000 baht pentru o persoana, plus 200 baht “taxa de urgenta”. N-am prea inteles de ce trebuia platita asta, fiindca oricum ti-o dadea pe loc, nu te tinea trei zile pe aeroport si mai ales de ce nu se dadea nici o chitanta pentru aceasta suma?! Ne-am ridicat apoi bagajele si ne-am indreptat spre partea de zboruri interne a aeroportului, intrucat urma sa plecam peste cateva ore la Chiang Mai.
Desi era inca noapte, aeroportul era plin de lume si cu tot check in-ul electronic pe care l-am facut, tot a trebuit sa stam la un rand kilometric ca sa predam bagajul Daca nu esti atent la factorul “aglomeratie”, risti sa pierzi avionul! Bine ca atunci cand se apropie ora plecarii unui avion, niste tinere se plimba cu pancarte printre pasageri pentru a-i scoate din rand pe cei care au bilete la zborul iminent si a-i duce in fata, pentru a urgenta formalitatile.
Spre Chiang Mai am zburat cu Air Asia, cam o ora si jumatate.