on safari

After having complained so many times on twitter about immigration at Bangkok international airport, they have finally heard my prayers. I have even missed my flight to Phnom Penh because of the long queue at immigration. I have, however, learnt from my mistakes and I now show up over two hours bevor the flight leaves at the airport.

According to this article in the Bangkok Post, Suvarnabhumi airport has admitted that “that a shortage of staff was forcing foreign visitors and returning Thais to wait in extremely long queues”:

‘Concerned about mounting complaints, the Royal Thai Police are considering requesting immigration officers on assignment with other agencies be returned to immigration.
In addition, the bureau will recruit “a number” of new immigration officers for duty at the airport, said Pol Lt Gen Chatchaval. The Police are in charge of immigration offices and border checks.
In the meantime, he recommended passengers arrive at check-in at least two hours before their departure time.
“Many passengers have missed flights after showing up at check-in less than one hour before scheduled departure. There isn’t enough time for check-in and immigration procedures. In fact, after the check-in, about 45 to 60 minutes should be kept for immigration procedures,” Pol Lt Gen Chatchaval advised.’

I finally made it to Beijing! I could hardly believe it. China has been so much of a fascination for me in the last couple of years and every time I enter the country I do so with a lot of respect.

Beijing was great, however, as I went there for a conference and to meet IT people, I hardly found time to do much sightseeing. I therefore, didn’t get to see the great wall and some of the other stuff. Though I really enjoyed that fact that you can get on a bike and go anywhere in the city. This is absolutely cool for someone who has been living in Bangkok for a while.

See the full flickr photoset here.

Fabian was in Thailand for a week and we made a trip to the beach in Ko Samed and enjoyed the sun, the breakfast pancakes and the great Thai seafood.

View the full photoset on flickr.

Phnom Penh was great! So nice to eat tasty french food and to meet Malin and Johan who currently live in Sihanoukville. Cambodia has finally hit the road to modernisation with a real airconditioned shopping mall in Phnom Penh and plenty of construction work going on. However, sidestreets still tend not to be paved and the city has not yet lost it’s slow-paced lifestyle. Even motorbikes run really slow on the streets.

Her a few pics from my trip to Phnom Penh:

See the full photoset on flickr.