Guest Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Guys, Whats thai inbound and outbound customs like, ie: Inbound Flight arrives at 1:30am and I wanna hit the hotel aSap. will a little grease slide me through or are they gonna dump all my shit out like they did on my first trip to Cartagena Columbia.(after that I put a 10 spot in my passport and my bags never hit ground until the sidewalk next to my taxi.. Out bound, I want to take some Bhudda back home, as i kind of like Im, again a little grease or no, Dont want to end up as a guest of the Kingdom at the local slammer, Thanks in advance for the replys Boys, you guys have been great with timely, excellent advice... Seamus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Customs will not be a problem, assuming you are a reasonably dressed white guy (sorry, not PC I know, but seems to me the facts of life). Just walk through the green line, you will not be stopped. You can end up waiting quite a while to get through Immigration. Most of the time, it is only 15 minutes or so, but I have waited over an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Thai customs is a very "loose" thing for inboud flights. Assuming that you are clean and "smartly" dressed. You'll be waived thru with little more than a passing glance. However, if you have large new-looking boxes with you, then your chances of an "inspect" goes up. (duh) As far as outbound, if you buddah articles are of a "mass produced" status and are taken with you on your person or in your immediate luggage, then it is very, very unlikley that any issue will be made of it. Other than that, a permit is required for the export of these items. --UPSer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 22, 2002 Report Share Posted March 22, 2002 "You can end up waiting quite a while to get through Immigration. Most of the time, it is only 15 minutes or so, but I have waited over an hour." My strategy is to get a seat assignment as close to the plane's exit door as possible, so I can be among the first off the plane. Then walk briskly to the immigration counter. This will get you to the front of the line (well, to the front of the line for passengers from *your* flight, anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 22, 2002 Report Share Posted March 22, 2002 Thai immigration is a disaster. You have to line up in 'your' row, but: They have 500 lines for Thai nationals. They have 300 lines for ASEAN countries. They have 200 lines for VIP's and Crew and there are also a few lines for foreigners. Since 1 year I line up in the line for Thai nationals. If someone complains then I state that I have a Thai job, pay Thai taxes, have a Thai wife, a house in Thailand, a Thai workpermit etc. Mostly (only kicked out once in 14 flights) it works. Then you're quickly through. But then: Waiting for the suitcases. I'm flying business so my suitcases are labeled with 'priority'. But I always have to wait for my suitcases! Maybe because normally I arrive mid-day in Thailand. Don't remember how it is at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted March 22, 2002 Report Share Posted March 22, 2002 Hi! I will normaly arrive very early in the morning, eg 6:30 AM. At this time most of the lanes for Thai nationals will accept any passport and I don't even speak passable Thai. I to sometimes have a priority tag on my luggage. I have never noticed any difference with this contra without. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 22, 2002 Report Share Posted March 22, 2002 Much Thanx Gents,It's info like this that smoothes out the wrinkels, as far as budda, it will hold a place of respect in my hooch, I have great respect for the teachings Good luck Boys Seamus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted March 22, 2002 Report Share Posted March 22, 2002 DB is right, this is not a fair comment. If you want to see something like that, go to KLIA. They always have twice as many Malaysian/ASEAN lines as foreign passport lines. I have found BKK to have a lot of foreign passport lines, but if you happen to land just about the time a couple of 747 have landed, you are stuck. If my wife is with me, I too go to the Thai line. Never tried without her though. Going to Singapore next week, will try when I come back. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phiketpete Posted March 22, 2002 Report Share Posted March 22, 2002 My experience has also been that it is not a question of whether the lines are Thai/ non-Thai. It is more a question as to how many flights arriving at the same time . I have on more than one occaison used the Thai line and had no problems so far. Thai lines tend to be a bit quicker. Non-Thai lines can often be very slow. Often the fault of the incomong passenger incorrectly filling out form or in the case of the chinese, who in my mind are the worst offenders, not even having forms and in any event not understanding what to do with them. Travelling in groups of 50+ it sometimes becomes a circus I also agree that if you are white and well presented the process is a little faster. It also depends on the officials. I have singled out one guy who always takes twice as long as his colleagues to process a passenger and will always avoid his line even if it is much smaller. At the end of the day it is no different than picking a line at the supermarket checkout. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose. I would not recommend using a Thai line all the time as it could result in the officials becoming more strict. Just use them when the other lines are incredibly long which happens from time to time. Remember in many cases you are just swapping a wait at immigration for a wait at the baggage carousel However I have found it is not the norm. although it does happen, for the lines to be controlled/monitored whatever by officials though towards the end of last year i noticed that they were becoming much keener on passengers using the correct terminal for immigration procedures. I often used to pass through the quieter terminal for immigration then make the short walk to the other terminal after immigration to pick up baggage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted March 22, 2002 Report Share Posted March 22, 2002 Hi! In reply to: but if you happen to land just about the time a couple of 747 have landed, you are stuck. Spot on mate. I once (10+ years ago) landed just after two 747's from Lagos Nigeria. This was at a time when Thai authorities said that about half of the Nigerian citizens entering the country were drug mules. It took about 1.5 hours to clear immigration. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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