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Transportation |
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How to get to Thailand |
Travel within Thailand |
Travel inside Bangkok |
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How to
get to Thailand |
>> By Air
 Bangkok is Thailand's
major gateway. Most visitors arrive through Bangkok's Don Muang
International Airport which is connected by daily flights to Europe, North America, Asia and Australia aboard the
world's major airlines. Further international flights, mostly from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Hong Kong, land
on a less regular basis at the southern airports of Phuket and Hat Yai and Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Charter
flights from Europe and the Orient sometimes land in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and at U-Taphao for Pattaya.
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>>By Rail
Regular rail services link Singapore and Bangkok. Intermediary
stops include Kuala Lumpur, Butterworth and major southern Thai towns.
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>>By Road
Overland entrance to
Thailand is restricted to three road crossings on the Thai-Malaysian border in Songkhla, Yala and Narathiwat.
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>>By Sea
There are no regular
steamship connections with Thailand. Cargo ships calling at Bangkok's Klong Toey port sometimes have passenger cabin
facilities. Cruise ships, such as Cunard's Queen Elizabeth II, Royal Viking, or Pearl of Scandinavia periodically visit
Pattaya.
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Travel within Thailand |
Domestic air, rail and road transport in Thailand is surprisingly
inexpensive.
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>>By Air
Thai Airways International, Thailand's national airline, flies to
five destinations in the North, five in the Northeast, and seven in the South. Bangkok Airways (Tel: (02) 5237116,
25340'I4-6, 5352497) flies to Samui Island and Phuket. Reservations can be made through any authorised Thai Inter Travel
Agent. Thai Airways International's Lan Luang Office is on 6 Lan Luang Road, Tel: 2800070,2800080. The airline also
organises 'Royal Orchid Holidays' tours to every destination it flies to.
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>>By Rail
An efficient rail system links major northern and north-eastern
towns with the capital. A southern route permits the visitor to travel by train into IV1alaysia and Singapore. Domestic
express trains comprise first, second and third-class carriages. Slower trains may have only third-class seats. The
State Railway of Thailand organises one- day, two-day economy tours to various destinations on Saturdays, Sundays and
official holidays. Other tours include trips to SuratThani (for Koh Samui), Chumphon and Chiang Mai. Railway schedules
can be obtained from Bangkok Railway Station, Tel: 223- 7010, 223-7020.
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>>By Road
A modern highway system reaches into all corners of the kingdom.
Domestic bus services offer fast means of travel. Airconditioned tour coaches offer more comfort. Bangkok's Northern /
North-eastern Bus Terminal is on Phahonyothin Road, Tel: 2794484-7 (airconditioned) and 2710101-5 (regular) Bangkok's
Southern Bus Terminal is on Pinklao-Nakhon Chaisri Road, Tel: 4351190, 4351200 (air-conditioned) and 4345558 (regular).
Bangkok's Eastern Bus terminal is on Sukhumvit Road, Tel: 3929227, 3919829 (airconditioned) and 3912504, 3922521
(regular)
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Travel inside Bangkok |
>>Public Transportation
Public buses are
plentiful and cheap, with 3.50 baht minimum and 5 baht maximum fares to most destinations within metropolitan Bangkok.
Air- conditioned buses within Bangkok have minimum and maximum fares of 6 and 16 baht respectively. Red and grey
Micro-Buses, also air conditioned, cost 25 baht for single journey. A Bus Route Map is available at most hotels,
bookshops and the TAT head office for 35 Baht.
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>>Taxis and Tuk
Tuks
Hotel taxis have fixed tariffs. Taxis cruising the streets of
Bangkok, and designated "taxi-meters" charge 35 baht for the first 3 kilometres and approximately s baht for every
kilometre thereafter. Tuk-Tuk or three wheel taxis are quite popular among the tourists for short journeys inside
Bangkok. Fares range from a minimum of 30 baht to a maximum of 150 baht. Fares must be bargained for.
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>>River Taxis
There are many boats plying the Chao Phraya River. Some criss-cross
between landings on opposite banks while the Chao Phraya Express boats travel upstream and downstream within the
metropolis. Fares range between 5 and 15 baht.
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