Japanese man shaming Suvarnabhumi in Thai goes viral

[lemonjelly]

Of all the issues raised by the OP, the taxi issue is the most credible. The airport can remedy this issue quite easily if they wanted. All they would have to do is implement fares by zones to be paid in advance with a receipt.

That's either humor or an insane idea........... pay a taxi in advance....... lol.

[Oceanbat]

Too few and stinky toilets, personell can't speak english, too crowded at the check-inn, not enough smoking area's, no "good day sir" or smile, very long qeueu's, crappy dirty taxi's and driversmentality, restaurants can't speak english, restaurants can't speak english, no free wifi, too few seats for the A380 plane's, and airline groundstaff can't speak english

"Too few and stinky toilets".

Plenty of toilets and I've never come across a "stinky" one.

"personell can't speak english".

People that travellers need do speak enough English. Don't you speak Thai?

"too crowded at the check-inn"

Check in earlier.

"not enough smoking area's".

That only be a good thing, but who really cares and is it that important?

" very long qeueu's".

Is there one airport anywhere that doesn't have queues?

"crappy dirty taxi's and driversmentality".

Definitely not the responsibility of the airport.

"restaurants can't speak english".

The airport doesn't run the restaurants? This is not an English speaking country, you know.

"no free wifi".

It's an airport, do your internet stuff before or after you get there, or use your phone for contact.

"too few seats for the A380 plane's".

Which was there first, the airport or the A380s?

"airline groundstaff can't speak english".

All the staff speak enough English to do their job.

So, are you agreeing that airport does kinda suck? Anyone who flies in the region knows what a good airport is and what facilities and services are valued by a traveler.

OB

[AZBill]

Thais don't care what foreigners think. You should all know that. The only thing they react to is low numbers. Stop going there and they may change but no guarantee.

[Wilsonandson]

The show of anti-Thainess is evident in all your replies, if you don't like Thailand or Thais why not go back home. I'm British and Heathrow and Gatwick also have many problems and inconveniences, look on the bright side people, I saw they tried hard to celebrate Christmas and New Year, with performances, songs and parades. Thanks for making me and my family wecome during the holidays Suvarnabhumi staff. Happy New Year!

[lemonjelly]

The show of anti-Thainess is evident in all your replies, if you don't like Thailand or Thais why not go back home. I'm British and Heathrow and Gatwick also have many problems and inconveniences, look on the bright side people, I saw they tried hard to celebrate Christmas and New Year, with performances, songs and parades. Thanks for making me and my family wecome during the holidays Suvarnabhumi staff. Happy New Year!

fair play..... you're right..... too much Thai bashing on this forum from the Victor Meldrews here...and..... just to cheer you all up, a joke from the great Les Dawson:..... "I went to the chemists for some sleeping tablets for the mother in-law, he asked "why does she need them?', I told him "she's woken up again".

Edited January 19, 2015 by lemonjelly

[pookiki]

Of all the issues raised by the OP, the taxi issue is the most credible. The airport can remedy this issue quite easily if they wanted. All they would have to do is implement fares by zones to be paid in advance with a receipt.

That's either humor or an insane idea........... pay a taxi in advance....... lol.

Your post shows that you have not done much traveling in the region as this is a common method used at many airports. lol

[lemonjelly]

Of all the issues raised by the OP, the taxi issue is the most credible. The airport can remedy this issue quite easily if they wanted. All they would have to do is implement fares by zones to be paid in advance with a receipt.

That's either humor or an insane idea........... pay a taxi in advance....... lol.

Your post shows that you have not done much traveling in the region as this is a common method used at many airports. lol

I've seen it with the airport limo taxis...but not with the standard BKK taxis..... maybe I'm wrong, but it seems so open to the chance of being dropped off nowhere near where you paid to go by some dodgy yabaa'd nutjob...

[Jeremy50]

Good on him, tell it how it is.

It is as King Power designed this airport. Domestic fully serviced by moving walkways and no Duty free. International a 2km. hike through shops controlled by King Power and No moving walkways. A disgrace !

They don't understand the concept of duty free, it's supposed to be cheaper, but at Suvanabhumi goods are more expensive than in town. It also looks shabby compared to Heathrow's new terminal 2, which is a smooth, efficient and stress free experience, and I bought a pair of Oakleys at two thirds of the retail price.

[Bluespunk]

BBC are about to run one of those fly on the wall documentaries/reality shows about Suvarnabhumi and the tourist experience there.

From the trailers i've seen it's not going to be complimentary.

I don't think the authorities who okayed the filming quite realise just how bad it could make them look.

Edited January 19, 2015 by Bluespunk

[Gweiloman]

Of all the issues raised by the OP, the taxi issue is the most credible. The airport can remedy this issue quite easily if they wanted. All they would have to do is implement fares by zones to be paid in advance with a receipt.

That's either humor or an insane idea........... pay a taxi in advance....... lol.

Your post shows that you have not done much traveling in the region as this is a common method used at many airports. lol

I've seen it with the airport limo taxis...but not with the standard BKK taxis..... maybe I'm wrong, but it seems so open to the chance of being dropped off nowhere near where you paid to go by some dodgy yabaa'd nutjob...

So you agree that the taxi service at the airport sucks?

[djjamie]

My job takes me all around the world so I have spent a lot of times in immigration queues.

At Brisbane and Melbourne airports I have witnessed 20 to 30 minute queue times while I have witnessed queue times of 1 hour and over at Charles De Gaulle and Joberg. I was in Bali 2 months ago and regrettably didn't use the express service people were offering when I entered the large immigration hall. Suffice to say I waited over 2 hours to get through. Don't even ask about Central and West Africa!

As for Suvarnabhumi airport it is no different from a lot of airports. I have heard people grumbling in lines all over the world while waiting with their passport in one hand and a bag in the other. These people had no choice, but to wait. No express services were offered. In Bangkok this option is offered and in fact I use it costing me 850 baht. 850 baht! The price of a meal. The price of a nice glass of Merlot. A small price to pay to see my kids 1 hour earlier than I normally would. I don't get that choice in most airports. At Suvarnabhumi I do.

Standing in the line won't speed up the waiting time. Complaining about it won't speed up the waiting time. You know what will speed up the waiting time? Paying 850 baht.

If you don't like it pay the money to bypass it.

Edited January 19, 2015 by djjamie

[Gweiloman]

From a professional / business standpoint, this country has little to no hope. It starts with very poor education, censorship and inaccurate reporting of facts. Creativity is not encouraged nor is challenging the status quo. Thailand is and always will be a 3rd world country.

From a retirement perspective, all the above points makes it one of the best places in the world.

[GiantFan]

I flew in and Immigration had 10 lines for foreigners and 10 for locals. Foreign line was 50 deep. Most local lines had a few people. Even if empty, nobody called over. About 1 hr to get through. BTW, this was Narita.

[Noi657]

BBC are about to run one of those fly on the wall documentaries/reality shows about Suvarnabhumi and the tourist experience there.

From the trailers i've seen it's not going to be complimentary.

I don't think the authorities who okayed the filming quite realise just how bad it could make them look.

That'll be the BBC banned aswell as the daily mail then!

Does anybody else have the urge sometimes to pinch the immigration officers on the cheek and say... "C'mon, give us a smile"

To be fair, Heathrow passport control ain't a bundle of belly laughs either!

Agree with a previous poster about the new terminal 2 at heathrow, we moved 5 months ago and they were unbelievably good and very efficient, let's just see what happens when their at full capacity though.

[Gweiloman]

My job takes me all around the world so I have spent a lot of times in immigration queues.

At Brisbane and Melbourne airports I have witnessed 20 to 30 minute queue times while I have witnessed queue times of 1 hour and over at Charles De Gaulle and Joberg. I was in Bali 2 months ago and regrettably didn't use the express service people were offering when I entered the large immigration hall. Suffice to say I waited over 2 hours to get through. Don't even ask about Central and West Africa!

As for Suvarnabhumi airport it is no different from a lot of airports. I have heard people grumbling in lines all over the world while waiting with their passport in one hand and a bag in the other. These people had no choice, but to wait. No express services were offered. In Bangkok this option is offered and in fact I use it costing me 850 baht. 850 baht! The price of a meal. The price of a nice glass of Merlot. A small price to pay to see my kids 1 hour earlier than I normally would. I don't get that choice in most airports. At Suvarnabhumi I do.

Standing in the line won't speed up the waiting time. Complaining about it won't speed up the waiting time. You know what will speed up the waiting time? Paying 850 baht.

If you don't like it pay the money to bypass it.

Like you, my job also takes me all over the world, but more often than not, Europe and Asia.

Why compare with the bottom of the barrel places like Indonesia and Africa? Why not compare with models of efficiency like Singapore, Switzerland and Germany?

Fact is, Thailand is a 3rd world country and travellers coming here need to understand and accept accordingly.

[Prbkk]

With Singapore and Hong Kong as potential models, Thailand ended up with the disaster that is BKK....very poor design, not passenger friendly, hopelessly slow both in respect of passenger movement and baggage services, a public transport link that is farcical, a taxi system notorious for its rip-offs as well as violence against passengers. It derives the same income, or close to it, as Singapore and Hong Kong but provides an infinitely inferior experience....more akin to Jakarts or Manila.

Sure, it wouldn't really matter were it not for the economy's reliance on tourism. Woeful.

[DiamondKing]

We have all be saying this for years, but with little change from the powers in control.

As Thailand is all about saving face, will be interesting if this Japanese man's rant gains

some traction in social media, and forces the junta to make some changes. Japan carries

a LOT of financial clout here in Thailand, so will be interesting to see what happens...

More like he will be sued for Defamation and making Thailand look Bad LOL

[tingtongfarang]

Too few and stinky toilets, personell can't speak english, too crowded at the check-inn, not enough smoking area's, no "good day sir" or smile, very long qeueu's, crappy dirty taxi's and driversmentality, restaurants can't speak english, restaurants can't speak english, no free wifi, too few seats for the A380 plane's, and airline groundstaff can't speak english

"Too few and stinky toilets".

Plenty of toilets and I've never come across a "stinky" one.

"personell can't speak english".

People that travellers need do speak enough English. Don't you speak Thai?

"too crowded at the check-inn"

Check in earlier.

"not enough smoking area's".

That only be a good thing, but who really cares and is it that important?

" very long qeueu's".

Is there one airport anywhere that doesn't have queues?

"crappy dirty taxi's and driversmentality".

Definitely not the responsibility of the airport.

"restaurants can't speak english".

The airport doesn't run the restaurants? This is not an English speaking country, you know.

"no free wifi".

It's an airport, do your internet stuff before or after you get there, or use your phone for contact.

"too few seats for the A380 plane's".

Which was there first, the airport or the A380s?

"airline groundstaff can't speak english".

All the staff speak enough English to do their job.

Just as a for instance, i am a very regular flyer here in the region, the difference between the airport in question and HK international is chalk and cheese, previously in hk the immigration always gave a smile and were very careful when stamping the passport trying to save space on the pages, these days on entry to hk i dont have to stand in any queue or even accept a smile and a carefully placed stamp, infact i just stick my finger in a hole which reads my print and walk through, no forms to fill out to be able to use the wi fi available throughout the airport and its fast and stable,

Going through immigration in bkk entering or exiting the kingdom i have to deal with a hateful stare as the officer randomly stamps in my passport often in the middle of an empty page then closes it forcing me to do a frantic search through the passport for the stamp to check if he stamped the correct date as he gestures me to move away,

I gave up with the wi fi in bkk as filling out forms to get internet access which does,nt work for longer than a few minutes is too much hassle,

As for the taxis, myself and a few other expats gave up with those years ago after learning to hate them with a passion, we just arrange a system where we pick each other up outside right ontime without having to hunt around for a parking space,

Suvarnabhumi is just an unwelcoming mess in my opinion.

Edited January 19, 2015 by tingtongfarang

[tubby johnson]

Suvarnabhumi Airport looks like it was designed as a massive King Power shopping mall with an airport terminal strapped onto it.

[KED]

It would be interesting for some investigative reporting to hire undercover foreigners to join the taxi queue and see how often they were given a fixed price versus the meter.

Probably not as often as you'd like to be able to report.

What makes you think I have a preferred outcome? I just think it would be a good exercise to see exactly how often this occurs. You, on the other-hand, seem to be a big apologist for the airport and the problems that exist there. Of course, no place is perfect but there are certain expectations that travelers have - if these problems are identified and corrected - then everyone would benefit - how can you really think that Suvarnabhumi is competitive with Singapore Changi or Hong Kong International or Tokyo Narita ?

[DaveeeDave]

I've lurked this site since 2010. I learned alot from all of you. This is the first time I felt the need to post.

I have arrived at this airport twice, 2010 Feb 1, 10am and 2014 April 4, 11pm.

10am was about 20 mins to get through immigration then grab my bag and a brisk walk through customs and out the door.. about 40 mins from the time I left the aircraft till I hit the open air.

11pm was almost the same.. except this time I stopped at customs because I was carrying smoked salmon and fresh canned salmon.. I though I had to stop.. told the guy what I had and he smiled and said go on through.

Each time arriving they were polite.. no smiling or anything but hell if I had to sit there all day I wouldn't be smiling for long either. First time I filled my card out wrong and the guy asked about the address.. he chuckled.. then stamped away.

Leaving.. they were equally polite. no smiling bla bla bla, but last April.. the guy went about stamping me out and hardly acknowledged me till I moved my bag a bit and he seen my tee shirt.. Thailand kick boxing type shirt.. got a big smile, he tugged at his shirt and pointed to my shirt and got a friendly goodbye in english.

Now going back to Vancouver.. even through the "Canadians" immigration line was a 45 min ordeal. I mistakenly claimed a small tool being a businesses purchase because I wasn't sure if I had to do it this way.. it could be used in business or personal use.. they tell you if your not sure, claim it. Well geez.. the custom guy gave me nothing but attitude for it. Like I should no better. I through it back at him with a "You guys say if your not sure then claim it" with all kinds of attitude and looks.. so after customs was done.. it was one and a half hours. The second time was even longer.

So I would say compared to my home airport BKK is way faster.. more friendlier. I got free wifi there but I don't know if it was the airport or some other company. Dont know about taxis as I had a ride waiting.. Other then a little more smiling I dont see what there is to complain about.. except the chick at the True outlet.. she was bitchy lol.

[Just1Voice]

I live in Chiang Mai, and learned REAL QUICK, to totally avoid Swampy when traveling back and forth from the states. CNX to Singapore, and Singapore to CNX. Cuts out 95% of the b.s. encountered at Swampy.

[moe666]

He sounds like his first trip to Thailand, waiting 30 min. for immigration is just a drop in the bucket start complaining when it runs over an hour. The taxi bit never had a problem with a taxi in all my years coming to Thailand. Grow up guys we all know no place is perfect you have to ask yourself why you stay here if it is so bad.

[metisdead]

A trolling nonsense post has been removed as well as a reply. Another post in which the reply was made within the quoted content has been removed as well.

[Oceanbat]

I've lurked this site since 2010. I learned alot from all of you. This is the first time I felt the need to post.

I have arrived at this airport twice, 2010 Feb 1, 10am and 2014 April 4, 11pm.

10am was about 20 mins to get through immigration then grab my bag and a brisk walk through customs and out the door.. about 40 mins from the time I left the aircraft till I hit the open air.

11pm was almost the same.. except this time I stopped at customs because I was carrying smoked salmon and fresh canned salmon.. I though I had to stop.. told the guy what I had and he smiled and said go on through.

Each time arriving they were polite.. no smiling or anything but hell if I had to sit there all day I wouldn't be smiling for long either. First time I filled my card out wrong and the guy asked about the address.. he chuckled.. then stamped away.

Leaving.. they were equally polite. no smiling bla bla bla, but last April.. the guy went about stamping me out and hardly acknowledged me till I moved my bag a bit and he seen my tee shirt.. Thailand kick boxing type shirt.. got a big smile, he tugged at his shirt and pointed to my shirt and got a friendly goodbye in english.

Now going back to Vancouver.. even through the "Canadians" immigration line was a 45 min ordeal. I mistakenly claimed a small tool being a businesses purchase because I wasn't sure if I had to do it this way.. it could be used in business or personal use.. they tell you if your not sure, claim it. Well geez.. the custom guy gave me nothing but attitude for it. Like I should no better. I through it back at him with a "You guys say if your not sure then claim it" with all kinds of attitude and looks.. so after customs was done.. it was one and a half hours. The second time was even longer.

So I would say compared to my home airport BKK is way faster.. more friendlier. I got free wifi there but I don't know if it was the airport or some other company. Dont know about taxis as I had a ride waiting.. Other then a little more smiling I dont see what there is to complain about.. except the chick at the True outlet.. she was bitchy lol.

All relative. A one off flight once a year wouldn't bother me either. But my work means I travel the region on a very regular basis. There is a huge difference between flying into or out of changi or Hk and Bangkok. Some airports provide a hassle free and almost pleasant experience and some don't. Bangkok is in the latter group for mine.

OB

[KED]

Wanting the airport to be a more hospitable, honest place does not mean people hate Thailand or Thai people. Just as the Japanese traveler posted on his FB, people just want the airport to be more passenger-friendly and want honest, metered taxi. Is that so difficult to understand? Why do some call this Thai bashing?

Edited January 19, 2015 by KED

[ikke]

Too few and stinky toilets, personell can't speak english, too crowded at the check-inn, not enough smoking area's, no "good day sir" or smile, very long qeueu's, crappy dirty taxi's and driversmentality, restaurants can't speak english, restaurants can't speak english, no free wifi, too few seats for the A380 plane's, and airline groundstaff can't speak english

"Too few and stinky toilets".

Plenty of toilets and I've never come across a "stinky" one.

"personell can't speak english".

People that travellers need do speak enough English. Don't you speak Thai?

"too crowded at the check-inn"

Check in earlier.

"not enough smoking area's".

That only be a good thing, but who really cares and is it that important?

" very long qeueu's".

Is there one airport anywhere that doesn't have queues?

"crappy dirty taxi's and driversmentality".

Definitely not the responsibility of the airport.

"restaurants can't speak english".

The airport doesn't run the restaurants? This is not an English speaking country, you know.

"no free wifi".

It's an airport, do your internet stuff before or after you get there, or use your phone for contact.

"too few seats for the A380 plane's".

Which was there first, the airport or the A380s?

"airline groundstaff can't speak english".

All the staff speak enough English to do their job.

Sviss Geez, correct me if I am wrong, but I think you are over 65 and not in international business ....

[taony]

The design of airport mimics the crap 'design' of everything outside the airport. Its like one long dead end soi. You walk 1k at least from exiting your flight to immigration for no reason other than the design was cut and paste of the nonsense outside. Then, in true Thai fashion, we all get spit out into the same tiny area despite the massive size of the airport. Only one area for in and out. Then the idiotic bts inspired zig zag to get from one floor to another.

Edited January 19, 2015 by taony

[surangw]

ineptness shown by the number of vacant gates verses the number if buss gates

[copa8]

This cursed airport is the first point of entry into Thailand for most tourists, and the rip-offs, long queues, surly officials and thuggish taxi drivers create an ominous foretaste of what's in store for the remainder of your Amazing Thai vacation. Enjoy your stay, but leave us all your money!

I thought you were describing NYC's JFK.

rip-offs...check.

long queues...check.

surly officials...check.

thuggish taxi drivers...check.

in addition...

overall fugly airport...check.