Just a quick write up on my flight and entry experiences into Thailand today. Took Qatar flight 08 from LHR to DOH for first leg. Even with online check in it took me an hour to drop off my bags, due to checking of all the required forms and certificates. There seemed to be people having “issues” with the paperwork and it’ll be interesting to see if the newly required “declaration for travel form” slows the process down even further. It was a VERY busy flight, I’d say 75% occupied, almost like pre-Covid flights!

Doha has a fine international airport, but it was rammed last night. If any of you are nervous of international travel at this time, this could be unnerving as it’s a real melting pot of people flying off to places over the world. The great thing is that there was no transit re-checking; it was straight off the arriving plane to the departure gates. But it was a VERY long walk to get from A to E gate for my onward flight QR836 to Bangkok. This flight combo gives you around a 2 hour transfer which was perfectly fine. In sharp contrast to the first flight, this one was sheer bliss, with only around 10% occupancy. A great opportunity to stretch out on the vacant seats for a few 😴

The entry process was surprisingly quick and I got through the immigration and health checks and escorted to my hotel taxi in only 40 minutes! This was due to our quiet flight and no backlog of prior arrivals. The paperwork was checked twice before getting to immigration then in the immigration control area itself there was a further pre-check before you were allowed to go to the desk to present the passport for stamping. It’s tedious and frustrating with so many checks but just have all the docx in good order and keep in good humour for a stress free entry.

A final comment. There were no currency exchange facilities today and only a few ATMs in the baggage collection area. If you need cash use these ATMs as once through customs you’ll be escorted out of the terminal building and straight to a hotel taxi.

Now I have 14 and not 1 night in Bangkok!