I don’t know about most of you but to me, I think the hardest thing about travelling is actually going home. Going back to reality. Back to our daily obligations. Back to our usual old routine.
When it was time to say goodbye to the Land of Smiles, I still felt kinda sad. Even though I had been here many times before in the last 13 years, there would always be things to see, stuffs to buy and eats to try.
To round up my last Bangkok trip, I decided to go on the Bangkok Airport Rail Link for the first time. Ditching the usual taxi ride and lugging my luggage and shopping loot down several streets to the train station. Not too much of a hassle. I stayed at the Patra Boutique Hotel in Pratunam and it only took around 10 minutes to get to the nearest train station, Ratchaprarop.
Image source: Bangkok.com
One good reason for this choice of transport was really to avoid any traffic jam. We all know how bad the traffic can be in Bangkok and I really don’t fancy getting stuck in traffic for 1-2 hours when I could have used that time to enjoy some street food or do some last minute shopping before I leave.
The Bangkok Airport Rail Link operates an Express Line and a City Line. If you look at the map above, the Express Line is a direct non-stop service consisting of two routes – the yellow one from Phaya Thai Station to Suvarnabhumi Airport (18 minutes journey) and the red one from Makkasan Station to Suvarnabhumi Airport (15 minutes journey). You can connect to the BTS transport network at Phaya Thai (nearest BTS station is Phaya Thai) or MRT at Makkasan (nearest MRT station is Phetchaburi). The Express Line has a flat fee of 150 baht.
Since the station I was at wasn’t part of the Express Line service, I took the regular City Line. Paid 40 baht for the fare.
You’ll get this red token instead of a train ticket.
Railway Platform
One last look of downtown Bangkok while waiting for the train
The train arrived perfectly on time as scheduled.
Even though I boarded the train from the second last station, it was already quite packed with people from the previous station. Be prepared to stand all the way.
The whole journey only took about 30 minutes. Not much of a big difference compared to the Express Line, really. The ride was very smooth and pleasant.
Flat fare of 40 baht is really cheap. No tolls or jumping taxi meter fare. And most importantly, the train service is reliable so we can arrive at the airport on time without worrying about bad traffic conditions or delays. ????
Upon arriving at the airport, I was thrilled to see a Cha Tra Mue kiosk. Nothing beats having a last cup of my favourite Thai Iced Tea before leaving.
Satisfying as always. Well, even if you’re not going to the airport via the Bangkok Airport Rail Link, you can still proceed to the Basement Level to grab a cup of delicious Iced Tea. Definitely no regrets! ?
Ok, this post marks the end of my latest Bangkok trip. However I will be sharing a Bangkok Food Guide post very soon. Just so you know what and where to find some of the most amazing eats in Bangkok. Stay tuned.