Hvr

On my last trip I had a small case that was checked in and a small back pack.


45THB is about AUS$1.50, still cheap enough.

dsquared37

I agree completely. My comment was only in response to your post talking about 1) loving the 15B fare and 2) looking forward to your next visit in Jan.

serfty

Who could not love an AUD50¢ fare ...

Dendrite

I took the express train to Makassan today. There were only 8 pax in the 5:56 pm train. I feel so sorry for the train company that only managed to collecte 800 bahts for an express train run from Airport to Makassan.

Makassan Station is like ghost town. Getting taxis is difficult as there are few pax going to Makassan. I took life to the car park and walk out to hail a cab. Hopefully it will be better when it is fully operational.

Definitely beats sitting a in cab from Airport to City.

nkedel

I took the city line to Phaya Thai yesterday; every seat filled at the airport station almost as soon as the trian arrived, and a few standing filled in by the time it left and a fair number added in at intermediate stops. Not crowded, but not bad either. A few got off at Makkasan (and some of the intermediate stops), but most, even with bags, got off at Phaya Thai.

No escalators at the ARL Phaya Thai that I could see and quite a line for the elevator for people with bags. I just hoofed it as my carryon roller was not that heavy. Exchange to BTS was easy, although doing the reverse exchange going up would definitely have wanted to wait for the elevator.

All told it seems like a winner to me, much easier than getting a cab if your eventual destination is near BTS and you don't have a lot of bags. I have an evening departure on my return and unless I acquire a lot to come back will probably return the same way or try the cab-to-Makkasan.

whackyjacky

I took the City Line Fri nite about 10pm. All the seats were taken with a few standing. Most everyone got off before BKK and went home. All I had was a medium sized backpack, so all the stairs and walking were no problem. It was fast by no means. It took me an hour to get to BKK from the Park Plaza, 200 meters from Asoke station and the airport train arrived at Phaya Thai right when I got there. It would be 20 mins. max, that time of night in a taxi. For me it'll only be an option during the nightly gridlock. wj

dsquared37

The train itself is not slow. When you factor the time it takes you to get to the city link it may or may not be beneficial, for you it doesn't like it.

whackyjacky

I'll give it another shot in a week, on the express this time. To me, the taxi is much better. It's door to door. No hassles & plenty cheap. I was covered in sweat when I got to the platform in Phaya Thai. There's certain times of day (Bangkok cluster****), of course when it'll be the only sane option and I'll be using it frequently for that reason. I just didn't want people thinking that they can get from a BTS station to the City Line to BKK in a 1/2 hr like I did. wj

stimpy

I'll be flying in at 5pm on a Wednesday with a bit of baggage, and heading to the Le Meridien Patpong. Would it make more sense to take the train or taxi?

Would it be accurate to guess over 1 hour by taxi even if taking the toll roads?

seanthepilot

That's a tough call. The only reason would be to avoid traffic, obviously.

You'd either take the Express and the walk to the subway, or take the city line and change at Phaya Thai and Siam. The former seems troublesome, the latter seems time consuming. Both have you walking from the respective station, which isn't a big deal, but would likely take an additional 10 minutes at a slow walk.

As irritating as traffic jams are, and as much of a proponent of the train that I am, I'd still suggest a taxi for your situation.

stimpy

OK, is there luggage storage at the airport? It's just an overnight at the LM and then back to the airport. With very minimal baggage maybe the train would be best.

Am I right in guessing about 90 minutes by taxi versus 40 minutes total by train and walking?

dsquared37

Left luggage is 150B per 24 hours per bag. Located on 2nd floor.

whackyjacky

Who knows ! As much as I'm a non-proponent of the train, I'd have to say that at 5PM with a small bag - take the train. 50 mins. all in max. Maybe Sean's right though. I usually stay up Sukhumvit way & maybe the traffic cluster isn't as bad to Patpong. The times I've stayed at the LM, I got in very late with no traffic. Somebody will know. wj

zan5hin

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/14555900-post168.html

I wrote a review in this thread of getting from Le Meridien, and the street I walked down in the day time from the hotel to Sam Yam MRT - I was specifically warned by the concierge that it was a dodgy area at night and to avoid it after dark.

You will have to take a taxi from a station regardless if you catch the train, depends if you want to get off at Makkasan, or catch the BTS or the MRT.

Could be faster and cheaper to catch train as part of your journey.

seanthepilot

If you use the storage at the airport, just make sure that you have no valuables in the item being stored.

The city link leaves every 15 minutes on the quarter hour. It takes exactly 27 minutes to Phaya Thai Station. Seeing as you still have to change to the BTS line and then again at Siam, I'd say more than an hour, but an easy one at that.

The taxi shouldn't be more than one hour, less if you're lucky. Even with an extra 20 minutes built in for traffic, you're about the same time as the train, but even more comfortable.