When I land in Taipei, I'm a little nervous because I don't know what's going to happen next for me. Where do I have to go to get my onward flight toBangkok organized. But it turns out that all the worries are unfounded. It feels like the entire staff that was missing at Frankfurt Airport for orderly passenger handling is here at Taipei Airport with a sign ready to catch me and let me fly on. I'm offered some apologies, bows, a Christmas present and a meal voucher. I invest the latter in a Chinese noodle soup in an airport restaurant. If I know myself, you will hear more about this dish on my tiger tour through Southeast Asia. Because I am an absolute noodle soup fan.
The first Chinese noodle soup of this trip at Taipei airportAfter this first Far Eastern snack I don't have to wait long for my onward flight and soon I'll take off again. The flight to Bangkok takes only three and a half hours from Taipei. Because I'm flying west, I even gain an hour and land in Bangkok at four o'clock in the afternoon. My suitcase also reached its destination, which relieves me a lot after all this hiccup. I still have a few hundred baht from previous trips and I also exchange a few yen that are left over from a trip to Japan. I want to throw as few fees as possible down the throat of Thai banks and their ATMs. The assurances from my house bank that I can withdraw money abroad free of charge with my VISA card are of little help to me here in Thailand and I always have to pay a decent fee at the ATM.High resolution route map of the local rail transport in Bangkok
Much has changed enormously in local public transport in Thailand's giga-metropolis Bangkok since I was last there. With the Airport Rail Link (ARL), there is now a fast and inexpensive train connection to downtown Bangkok. The subway is finally running in a closed ring system. All local transport connections and the previously confusing bus routes are now stored in Google Maps. With a few taps on your phone, you can now seamlessly move around Bangkok with public transport to the previously inaccessible suburbs.
