Suvarnabhumi Airport

Pronounced “Su-Wana-Poom”, which means “The Golden Land”, Bangkok’s newest airport is located 32 km to the east in Bang Phli District, Samut Prakan province. It covers an area of 8000 acres. It was designed to serve the rapid growth of air traffic volume at the old Bangkok International Airport, which after 9 decades of rapid expansion was filled to its handling capacity at more than 37 million passengers. The new Suvarnabhumi Airport has 2 runways and 120 parking bays, and is equipped to handle 76 flights an hour, 45 million passengers and 3 million tons of cargo a year.

In 2007, Suvarnabhumi Airport handled 41,210,081 passengers, 261,592 commercial flights, 1,209,720 tons of freight and 10,280 tons of mail. read more

Don Mueang International Airport

Don Mueang International Airport is Bangkok's 2nd international airport. Formerly known as Bangkok International Airport, it was closed after it handed over its primary role of air transport network to Suvarnabhumi Airport on 28 September 2006, but was re-opened on 25 March 2007 to serve domestic scheduled flights by Thai Airways and Nok Air, as well as non-scheduled flights, chartered flights and technical flights. It was once the Kingdom's primary commercial airport.

Train

The State Railway of Thailand is the largest state enterprise of Thailand in terms of manpower with more than 26,000 employees. With four main lines and few branch lines and a total length of 4,041 km, Thai train is one of the cheapest and safest ways to explore the Kingdom.

The Northern Line connects Bangkok to Chiang Mai via the ancient cities of Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Lampang and Lamphun.

The Southern Line connects Bangkok to Malaysia and Singapore. It extends down the peninsula to Hat Yai, where it splits into two with one branch continues to Padang Besar, and down to Butterworth, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The other branch continues to Sugai Kolok. The Southern Line also includes the line to the popular Death Railway at Kanchanaburi. It branches out at Nakhon Pathom to Nam Tok on the west visiting the River Kwae Bridge.

The Northeastern Line splits into two beyond Ayutthaya, with one line connecting Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani via Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat), Buri Ram and Surin, and the other branch extending to Nong Khai, near the Laotian border, via Khon Kaen and Udon Thani.

The Eastern Line connects Bangkok with Aranyaprathet, near the Kampuchean border. It splits into two beyond Chachoengsao, with one line going to Aranyaprathet and the other to the eastern deep sea port via Chonburi and Pattaya. Only cargo trains proceed to Mab Tha Phut Station, an industrial estate.

For the latest and free Thai train timetables in English, please click www.railway.co.th

There is also the luxurious 'Eastern & Oriental Express' which runs once a week between Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as between Bangkok and Vientiane. You can experience a panoramic view of the mystical landscapes of Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Laos on sleeping-cars originally built in Japan for the New Zealand Railways Wellington-Auckland sleeper train. A 3 days/2 nights Bangkok-Singapore package starts at US$2218. For more information please visit www.orient-expresstrains.com .

Border Crossings

Malaysia - Thailand

There are as many as seven border crossings between Thailand and Malaysia, but the four most popular crossings are at Padang Besar, Sadao, Sungai Kolok, and the boat crossing at Kuala Perlis.

Cambodia - Thailand

The most popular is the Poipet - Aranyaprathet crossing. The others are the Koh Kong - Hat Lek, and the Pailin - Ban Pakard crossings.

Laos - Thailand

The most popular border crossing is at Nong Khai, where Vientiane is only 20 km away. The Chiang Khong - Huay Xai boat crossing is also very popular because travellers can catch a boat from Luang Prabang and Xieng Kok. Those travelling from Bangkok would prefer the bridge crossing at Mukdahan to Savannakhet. Other border crossings are at Chong Mek to Vang Tao, and Nakhon Phanom to Tha Khaek

Myammar - Thailand

Most travellers prefer to fly from Myammar to Thailand and do not bother to wait 2 weeks for the border crossing permit to be issued by the state travel agency Myanmar Travels and Tours (MTT) in Yangon. Trading posts at Tachileik - Mae Sai and Kawthoung - Ranong are possible entry points.

Ship

There are no regular steamship connection with Thailand. Cargo ships calling at Bangkok's Khlong Toei port sometimes have passenger cabin facilities. Cruise ships, such as Cunard's Queen Elizabeth II, periodically visit Pattaya.