I forgot to post a few more photos of my recent trip to Bangkok where I was able to explore its large Suvarnabhumi International Airport. I will write more about the airport in installments to describe the airports features in more detail. For this post, the following photos show the entrance, check-in and pre-immigration areas. Taking photos at the immigration areas is not allowed so I didn’t take a chance to take photos there as I might be accosted by authorities.

Entrance to the airport from the driveway – we took a taxi from our hotel. There were four of us and some had a little shopping so it wasn’t convenient to take the train to the airport.

Greetings from His Royal Majesty, the King of Thailand – the Thais are proud and very respectful of their king.

Check-in counters for the full service airlines – we traveled via Thai Airways, which is currently one of the best airlines in the world.

Ticketing counters for budget airlines – I found it quite unusual that the ticketing counters for some budget airlines like AirAsia was along what should have been a wide corridor leading from the entrance to the check-in counters.

Thai Airways check-in – I had already checked-in prior to arriving at the airport for my return trip, thanks to the online check-in feature of the airline, so I just had to drop off my luggage for tagging. Others who were just checking-in to get their seats and drop off their luggage had to go through the usual procedure.

Information board for departing passengers provide directions

After checking-in, people have the option to shop, eat or proceed to immigration to enter the pre-departure area where there are more shops, restaurants and the airline lounges.

Sentinel? – among the things I like about Suvarnabhumi are the features such as this that define the airport in as far as character is concerned. It is a modern airport and yet they were able to infuse Thai culture wherever its possible. A similar case may be found in Bali and I hope they’re able to retain that airport’s character with their new terminal (under construction when I was in Bali last February 2012).

More on Suvarnabhumi Airport later!

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