Saigon from Bangkok
We all know those hop, skip & a jump flights in the United States and Europe, i.e. San Francisco to Los Angeles, London to Munich, etc. and to my surprise Bangkok to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) was no exception. I’ll be honest, I’m a pretty poor mathemitician when it comes to figuring out how long flights take when any time zone changes are involved. I saw the flight times on my E-Ticket for my sub $50 Air Asia flight and I remember it being maybe 2 hours but I didn’t mind to look into it any further.
Soo – ah – na – poom
Suvarnabhumi airport which is impossible to pronounce (pronunciation above) by English speakers using the phonetic spelling may seem like a big problem to get to, but if your flight is not at a rush hour, getting to and through the airport to your flight is truly a breeze. Unlike the horrific US airports and their ludicrous extra security checks, inept employees and downright horrendous layouts Suvarnabhumi is laid out very simply and takes only 30 minutes to get through for most Air Asia international flights which depart from the same terminal. Of course we headed to the airport for a 3:55 international flight to Saigon after 2pm and got there right at the closing time for the check-in counter 3:10 which is not recommended, but it can be done. Note, there were also people behind us in line at the check in counter and there was time for a rest room visit as well as to grab a highly overpriced sandwich.
Actual Flight from BKK to SGN
I noticed the small size of the Airbus A3xx we were flying next to a 747 at the next terminal which reminded me how fast it would board compared to the jumbo jet next to it. As with most flights I’ve on outside the US, the plane boarded quickly, there was no absolute horse shit things done to waste time and before we knew it the plane was up and away. Apart from this Eurotrash douchebag sitting behind me who complained that I put my seat back, the flight was over before we knew it. It took just around an hour and I noticed that Saigon was right next to the airport with the snaking river that you saw in all the Vietnam war movies. Upon landing I had to test the online visa agency for its worth…
Last 5 posts by Mike Behnken
- Places to Visit in Thailand: Sukhothai - January 15th, 2011
- Part III: Places to visit from Pokhara: Sarangkot - January 15th, 2011
- Things to do from Pokhara: Part II - Sunrise at World Peace Stupa - January 8th, 2011
- Places to visit in Nepal: Pokhara - Part I - January 8th, 2011
- Places to Visit from Kathmandu- Nagarkot: Part II - November 19th, 2010
