I'll be travelling to Thailand and thought this time I would fly to Singapore first, do some business, and then grab a budget flight to Thailand. Without even thinking I started checking flights from Singapore to BKK, but I then thought to myself "Why fly to BKK?" There are many places in Thailand I can fly to from Singapore. So I was thinking of doing Singapore to Chiang Mai, and then exploring around the north of Thailand.

What are your thoughts on this? It seems everybody just flies into BKK. Are there any customs issues? I would think I would eliminate all the walking and line waiting of BKK.



UPDATE : Page 2, post #18

Why not? You can clear customs/immigration at CNX. You might still have to wait in line, though.

Man, I love that view of CNX from atop Doi Suthep!!

Flying into somewhere other than BKK is a fine idea. The first time I visited Thailand, I flew into Phuket, and it was terrific. Any time I am heading anywhere else in the country and I can avoid Suvarnabhumi, I do it.

Sounds like a great idea. Haven't had a chance to explore Chiang Mai, but Chiang Rai was :cool:.

From Singapore, you can fly direct to Phuket, Samui, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Krabi and Udon.

This is along the lines of a thread I started a while back...
Non-Suvarnabhumi Thailand Flights (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=653193) Will update soon

Chiang Mai is fun, was just there two weeks ago (again). Go to BaanTawai craft village, it was neat (for me) to see a village of 7,000 people doing crafts like carvings. Could walk into their home area and see them do the actual work. Avoid Imperial Mae Ping Hotel it was bad. Had dinner at Old Chiangmai Cultural Center which was OK for the show and the meal was acceptable. For a more of a western style buffett the La Gritta Italian Restaurant in the AMARI Rincome Hotel had a good Buffet with a variety of dishes from Thai to Italian to American.

Only two gates are open due to construction or were open two weeks ago so the arrivals was simple and the departure was even simplier due to the lack of gates available the flights boarded up easily without ANY wait or lines

Sean it was your thread that got me thinking about it in the first place! Thanks

I clear immigration at CNX almost every time I enter/leave the Kingdom. Much less stressful than BKK - hardly ever any wait at all.

It's do-able, but it just depends on where you want to allocate your time. BKK or any of the other spots have plenty of possibilities, depending on interests. I find the new BKK airport amazingly like the old, only farther away from the city. You can catch it at a bad time when lots of other flights have arrived, but you can also find plenty worse as far as waits or taxi fares (once flew GUM-CNS on CO and it arrived at 11:30 p.m. and every single passenger got the full luggage search with an understaffed customs, even at 90 minute to 2 hour delays).

I'll be a contrarian on Chiang Mai and say I think it's overrated, though there's plenty for a good day or two. The hilltribe experience is much more authentic in Laos.

Also don't forget that Angkor Wat in Cambodia is often cheaper to reach by air from SIN or KUL than from BKK.

If you like archaeology definitely go to Sukothai.
If you like Thai food definitely do a cooking class in Chiang Mai.
Even if transiting BKK you can clear customs in Chiang Mai (or Phuket, etc), they give you a sticker to wear and "sterile" and "unsterile" passengers are on the same flight. Same goes when departing Thailand.

If you like archaeology definitely go to Sukothai.

Yeah the plan is Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Phitsanoluk, then over to Khon Kaen, possibly Ubon (that bus ride sucked last time) then fly to BKK.

Yeah the plan is Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Phitsanoluk, then over to Khon Kaen, possibly Ubon (that bus ride sucked last time) then fly to BKK.

If you are looking for a better quality bus journey I can recommend Nakhon Chai Air - www.nca.co.th/web/timetable/timetable.php - they are far superior to the Government buses. Unfortunately for your itinerary there is not a direct route from Khon Kaen to Ubon, but you can get a connection via Khorat.

If you are looking for a better quality bus journey I can recommend Nakhon Chai Air - www.nca.co.th/web/timetable/timetable.php - they are far superior to the Government buses. Unfortunately for your itinerary there is not a direct route from Khon Kaen to Ubon, but you can get a connection via Khorat.

It sucked because I was told it would be 3-4 hours, but the driver stopped A LOT and it ended taking 6 hours. It was a route I never experienced, so I was a little worried. Also only farang on the bus, deep in the heart of Isaan, I knew the communication gap would be bad.

So yeah Khorat might be a more comfortable ride, but that route would take even longer (I think).

I say you can't miss seeing Bangkok.

It sucked because I was told it would be 3-4 hours, but the driver stopped A LOT and it ended taking 6 hours. It was a route I never experienced, so I was a little worried.
You probably boarded a second-class bus by mistake -- it pays to double-check.

Also only farang on the bus, deep in the heart of Isaan, I knew the communication gap would be bad.
What gap? I've had excellent charades conversations with Isaan farmers on third-class trains, assisted by a dictionary and a big bottle of Mae Khong :p

What gap? I've had excellent charades conversations with Isaan farmers on third-class trains, assisted by a dictionary and a big bottle of Mae Khong :p

:D :D :D

I did this trip about 5 months ago. I ended up flying Tiger airways from Singapore to Chiang Mai. I'm VERY happy I ended up doing that. Immigration was a breeze in Chiang Mai, and my hotel driver was there waiting for me. I took a bus to Sukhothai, saw the sights, and made the flight from Sukhothai to Bangkok.

Only negative was that I didn't get to see the famous Changi airport. There is a whole separate building for budget airlines (it's called the Budget Terminal) and it was pretty ghetto.

Good idea. I typically do all my South East Asia trips using Bangkok as a hub because it's just so darn convenient. If you have to go to Singapore anyway, it's definitely worth flying to where you want to go.

I'll offer another suggestion for getting to Chiang Mai, take the train. I've taken it out of Bangkok a few times. It leaves in the late afternoon and arrives the next morning. The price for a roomette cabin was less than a budget hotel room and you're travelin' in style!

Agree taking the overnight train if there's a chance. Even now still a friendly cultural experience and the countryside near CM in the early AM is lovely from the train window.

China Airlines has flight to Chiang Mai from the USA with a short change of planes (about 1 hour) in Taiwan. The flight is even cheaper than flying to Bangkok.

Enjoy,
Randy and Ning