So I'm finally going back to Thailand for the first time in over 30 years in November. The last time i was there i was still in diapers. I already have places to stay since I'll be visiting my cousins, aunts and uncles that i've never met. I'm sure they'll show me the great places to see also. My question is, what is the best way to get there? Should I just purchase tickets through an online broker like Vayama or go through a travel agent? What airlines should i avoid? I've seen flights by Asiana, Qatar, and Emirates in my price range. What kind of time should i expect to spend at customs. Any help is appreciated. TIA.
Emirates will be the nicest one. back the the day, I used to fly Cathy Pacific, and Singapore Airlines. Always give yourself a few hrs for customs (minimum of 3hrs).
Glad to hear that Emirates is nice. the flight available for my date has one 4 hour layover in Dubai. would i be going through customs twice, once in Houston and the other in Dubai?
No since your just changing flights you will not need to go through customs again in Dubai, and you will not go through customs leaving Houston. You will need to go through customs once you arrive in Thailand.
asian??? Also, "You're NEXT!" would have worked... jk! Enjoy your trip and have a safe one and take plenty of photos for us to see, most distinguished sir.
i see. i thought you had to pass customs BEFORE getting on the plane. I'll be visiting Cambodia also. Definitely gonna max out the SD card.
Have fun man, might be taking a trip out there sometime in the next 2 years as my brother is moving out there for a 2 year project.
Business class to Thailand runs about 6-8 grand. I go to Thailand about 2 times a year. I would fly Thai Airways if you have a choice. Its a direct flight from LA to BKK. Asian airlines generally have better service than US based airlines. Customs doesn't take long because you just walk through. They only stop you if you look like a drug dealer or someone who is smuggling food. Immigration can take up to 30-45 minutes depending on how many flights are coming in at the same time. There are actually two immigration points at the BKK airport about 100 yards away from each. If one is busy, the other is usually not. Figure one 45 minutes after you arrive on getting out of the airport. Taxis are the easiest way to get to the city. It should cost you about 10-15 dollars to get to the city. If you have a lot of people coming with you. I would recommend hiring a car and driver. You can get a van and driver for about 50 bucks a day plus gas and tolls. They will pick you up, drop you off and wait for you wherever. You can even get them to drive you to places a hundred miles away and spend the night there in the van. To get the best prices, I would just go to www.bing.com/travel. Look for the lowest price and then go directly to the airlines website and purchase the tickets there. Most airlines guarantee the lowest tickets prices when purchasing direct through them. Do not buy through a broker because if anything goes wrong during your flight, you have to arrange changes with the broker instead of the airline directly.
Na its just standard airport security whenever you are leaving a country, you will only go through customs when you are entering a country.
This has probably already been discussed but always check "cough cough" down there... Thais are notorious for trickery in the companion department...
This should be shipped well ahead of your departure, sir: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...556&cm_re=sd_card_16gb-_-20-208-556-_-Product Fry's has a 16GB card for $29 good until today, I believe. What do you shoot in, RAW, high JPG, or low JPG? Model? You should get around 300 shots with a 16GB in high JPG for 15mp photos.
ok, so i haven't bought tickets yet. thinking about flying singapore airlines. they've got flights from houston to singapore which are 21+ hours! then it's to thailand for a few more. anyone ever been in a plane that long? i've heard great things about the airline, including comfort and entertainment, but how does one not go crazy being in an airplane that long? i've read about a lot of complaints about emirates and how uncomfortable their seats are so i don't think i want to fly them. qatar is my other option. this will be economy, btw.
Ive flown Qatar and Emirates, both have very nice Economy seats on international flights to and from the US. Qatar has a new fleet of planes, and Emirates has a few of those huge Airbus'... The only Emirates flights I would avoid would be the Dubai - South Asian sector... Besides that, Emirates and Qatar are both great choices with the tip going to Emirates because it has a world class airport in Dubai, whereas Doha's is mediocre at best. One point tho, Qatar flights are more likely to be empty meaning you can spread out for your whole 16 hour flight (or fall sleep across 3 seats like I did )
The longest I have been on a flight was 18 hours (Houston to Tokyo right after 9/11, we had to fly along the coast the whole way at the time). It was Continental and was fine. I really don't mind long flights, they go by pretty fast. You watch a lot of movies, sleep and eat, the entire time. My Dad took the flight from Houston to Singapore this summer on Singapore Airlines and said it was great
Most of the big foreign airlines are comparable, so whichever one you pick will be good. I've flown Emirates and didn't have any problems other than being on a plane for so long, and I've heard good things about Qatar. As far as not going crazy in concerned, sleep if you can, getting sleeping pills can help if you have trouble falling asleep. And bring plenty of entertainment (books, magazines, PSP). The planes should have personal tv's with a bunch of movies/tv shows to watch which is nice but 21 hours of it can get tiresome.
