5 hours at BKK airport - can I get a massage?

[fbf]

I'll be arriving at Suvarnabhumi on an international flight, then heading off to Chiang Mai 5 hours later.

I know there's a massage place in the airport (but haven't used it before), I believe in the international departures area.

So to kill all this time (aside from immigration/baggage, check in for next flight and eating), I thought a massage would do the trick.

But! Can I get there?

When I arrive at BKK, if I don't go to passport control/baggage claim, will I be in the right area so I can walk to the massage place (in departures zone C, airside)? Or are departing/arriving passengers segregated?

Is it a big risk of losing my bag if its circulating on the carousel for 90 minutes while I relax & unwind?

Has anyone done this before? (If not massage, then staying in this area for a long time for whatever reason before clearing immigration).

TIA!

[IMA_FARANG]

If you leave your bag in the carousel for 90 minutes it will very likely be removed and taken to the lost luggage area by the staff in the baggage arrival area.

The carousels are reused for incoming flights, and after 15 minutes or so unclaimed bags will be taken off the carousel and taken to the lost baggage area.

These days, they may also trigger a security alert as a terrorist threat.

For that reason, it's a bad idea.

Secondly, you will probably be questioned by security for not checking your luggage on to your onward flight in the normal time.

You are probably not, but it is at least possible that you area drug "mule" using the airport to deliver drugs to your contact through a swap in the airport.

It is the security's job to be suspicious of such things, and they WILL be until you can prove that you are NOT one.

So at best you will get some probing questions from them.

For those two reasons alone, I would not do what you're thinking of doing.

Edited October 10, 2014 by IMA_FARANG

[Rumblecat]

There's a massage shop land side for all passengers and airport visitors (travelling or not)- so you don't have to stay in international departures. 3rd floor- Chang Massage. At least it was still open a year or so ago.

[Dublin]

There is a place next door to the Boots Pharmacy on air side,,,

[tinhead]

New massage place on basement floor near entrance for Airport Link and Subway Sandwiches... etc. small private booths.

[cbluck58]

If I had 5 hours , I'd use left luggage and head for town for a bit of R & R ....

[sometimewoodworker]

When I arrive at BKK, if I don't go to passport control/baggage claim, will I be in the right area so I can walk to the massage place (in departures zone C, airside)? Or are departing/arriving passengers segregated?

They are segregated.

There are very few airports where departing/arriving passengers are not segregated, I think that Changi is one.

[ggt]

Just take out a 1000 baht note...lightly wet the back of it...paste it to your forehead...and smile...

It should not be more than a few moments before someone will ask what they need to do to get the baht note...

Just be careful...some ladies...are actually boys...and for the untrained eye...difficult to discern...

Enjoy your travel and experiences in the Land of curfew...

[JacChang]

Does the massage come with the ending I expected?

[AhFarangJa]

Does the massage come with the ending I expected?

Is that a sort of Spoonerism?

[petermik]

Does the massage come with the ending I expected?

It all depends on your expectations......................or not

[fbf]

Very helpful, thanks all.

@IMA_FARANG - very good point; plus I don't think I'll relax and enjoy the massage if I'm wondering where my bag got to. Think I'll give it a miss then.

@tinhead - thanks, I'll see if I can find it. It's not essential anyway, but now I know where to look.

@sometimewoodworker - yes, I think segregation is more common post 9/11, and airports without it tend to have security scanners at the gate areas instead of for the whole of departures. I think Amsterdam's Schiphol is also unsegregated. But despite travelling through BKK a few times, I never thought to look around and see.

Oh, and I don't suppose any of the lounges listed on Airport Angel (https://www.airportangel.co.uk) are reachable from domestic departures? Not worth paying for but I get it free with my Barclays account.

O/T but I really can't get multiquote to work - it dumps JavaScript code into the replies, then 'More reply options' gives a screen just showing the word "data;".

[sometimewoodworker]

Louis Tavern CIP First Class Lounge (Concourse F – Level 3 - West Side)

fbf

Concourse F – Level 3 (West Side), Bangkok - Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand

Is not listed as international. Did you look!!

[fbf]

Yes I looked, but I don't trust the quality of the Airport Angel website/database. Did they omit the word international from the description?

If you or someone here knows that Concourse F is domestic, that will be very helpful thanks.

[scottyinthai]

I am reasonably confident that only A and B are domestic. F concourse is international. There is no lounge in domestic that accepts Barclays card for free entry.

You could always jump in a taxi and ask for the nearest massage place. I'm sure there would be one within 10 mins of the airport.

[misterphil]

5 Hours is enough time for a taxi in to town for a proper massage.

[fbf]

You could always jump in a taxi and ask for the nearest massage place. I'm sure there would be one within 10 mins of the airport.

Ah, didn't think of that because although the city centre is reachable, I don't fancy spending ages in traffic (especially coming back). But there's a cluster of massage shops nearby according to Google maps: http://bit.ly/ZyAnKm

Probably basic, extremely cheap and likely to be the brutal Thai massage variety that I'm already used to, but could be a way to kill time if I can't find massage in the arrivals hall.

Edited October 10, 2014 by fbf

[Chivas]

If you leave your bag in the carousel for 90 minutes it will very likely be removed and taken to the lost luggage area by the staff in the baggage arrival area.

The carousels are reused for incoming flights, and after 15 minutes or so unclaimed bags will be taken off the carousel and taken to the lost baggage area.

These days, they may also trigger a security alert as a terrorist threat.

For that reason, it's a bad idea.

Secondly, you will probably be questioned by security for not checking your luggage on to your onward flight in the normal time.

You are probably not, but it is at least possible that you area drug "mule" using the airport to deliver drugs to your contact through a swap in the airport.

It is the security's job to be suspicious of such things, and they WILL be until you can prove that you are NOT one.

So at best you will get some probing questions from them.

For those two reasons alone, I would not do what you're thinking of doing.

Agree entirely a ludicrous idea. Amazing how some people cant wait....

[gk10002000]

I don't see a problem with picking up the luggage and going for a the massage, walking around and then later checking in for the Chaing Mai flight. Once you clear the baggage area you will be just like any of the other people that are entering the airport from the street. Now you just head to the Chiang Mai checkin, gate etc. With 5 hours, plenty of time and not much worry about lines anywhere

[KhunBENQ]

Confusing thread and infos...

If you arrive internationally, get out through immigration as soon as possible!

All international area is top of the rip off.

Grab your baggage and check in at the domestic counter (if its Thai airways you can do anytime before the flight).

So now you are in Thailand!

And then check out the place in the basement as described by @tinhead in post #5.

This is the only one I am aware of.

Still expensive, about double the price in the city.

5 hours is probably not enough for an excursion with the airport railway.

----

Another option: walk to the Novotel airport hotel.

They have a massage place.

http://www.novotelairportbkk.com/press-releases/year-2012/a-luxurious-body-massage-experience-at-vous-spa-novotel-airport/

2 hour body and head massage, 2600 !!!! Baht. Wow thats a price

If I remember right the massage at the basement was 600 per hour?

Edited November 3, 2014 by KhunBENQ

[fbf]

Update: we found the place on the basement floor (after forgetting to note down the exact location from this thread, but well we weren't short of time!) This airport really does have a lot of levels... anyway, yes, it's a small, unassuming massage place near the south end (I think it's south; it's to the right as you stand in front of the entrance to the terminal building). Definitely on the lowest possible level anyway.

I didn't bother mentioning before but I was travelling with my girlfriend (now fiancée), so it's amusing to see some people assume I was looking for more than just massage. Not saying I've never done that, but if I was in the market for sex then a cab ride into town would be easy to justify. Instead, I just wanted to kill time.

Anyway the place is a bit cramped, being tall my feet stuck out of the "private" booth - basically a bed with a curtain around it. The foot massage chairs are barely a metre away, and the two full body massage booths are even closer to each other. Yeah, illicit stuff could happen there if you're very quiet, but I wouldn't bother.

Massage itself was pricey in the 650 region I think, pretty average, perfectly acceptable massage but as I say the environment isn't the best. There's a certain amount of background noise from outside. Sure, it's in an airport terminal, but it's not in a proper room with walls, more like a market stall setup. Not complaining, just setting expectations...

Edited February 5, 2015 by fbf

[rocketboybkk]

Are you looking for happy ending? You'll have plenty of time to pop into the city.

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