Be an urban explorer! Do something different for your Bangkok trip today!!!
I believe this place no longer a secret anymore. It is one of the Instagram worthy places in Bangkok, Airplane Graveyard.
Getting here is quite troublesome by public transport. That is why a lot of visitors would rather pay for taxi to visit this place. Of course, if you have 3-4 people sharing the cost with you, you will not feel the pain. But imagine if you have lesser people to share the fare and beating the traffic in Bangkok is also another headache.
So, I am here to guide you to visit this place with cheap and most exciting way like a local!
We follow the guides on http://www.kathmanduandbeyond.com/visiting-bangkok-airplane-graveyard/
Which was really useful for us. We were very excited to experience our first Bangkok canal boat, Khlong Saen Saep Express boat!
It was only a short walk (11 minutes walk) from our hotel, Klub Hotel to Pratunam canal boat station.
A busy morning.
It was a weekday and during peak hour. The platform was filled with people going for work and students. If you want me to put into words to describe Khlong Saen Saep express boat,
I would describe the boat as a bowl and we were like the food being scoop into a bowl.
HAHAHA!
OK~ that was really the first thought came to my mind when I saw the whole boarding process!
The express boat or I would it call a bigger Sampan (wooden boat in Malay) arrived the platform, the attendants will pulled the boat to get closer to the platform with a string for a few seconds ( I am not kidding). Passengers have to quickly step into the boat and the boat will leave the platform. The whole process was within a minute or 2 minutes! No wonder I did not see any old people taking this public transport here or maybe at this hour because it was really dangerous! People who is not a fast mover might trip and fall into the canal.
It was ironic that I told my partner I would not want to get close to the canal because the canal is so dirty and polluted by rubbish. In the end, I have to take the boat for 40 minutes per trip. *Faint* But it was really interesting!
We took from Pratunam to Bangkapi. Total of 23 stops, 40 minutes boat ride.
I will put a link of Khlang Saen Saep express boat at the end of the post.
Destination: Wat Sribooreung, the last and first stop of Khlang Saen Saep express boat line.
From there, you will have to walk for 10 minutes (follow your google map) then you will see the planes.
The gate was lock. But we were approached by a small boy and asked us to pay 200 Baht per person. Based on the review by Mark from Katmandu&Beyond.com . Some people encountered different entrance fees. If you are travelling alone, they might ask for 300 Baht.
They are 4 aircrafts wreckages including McDonnell Douglas MD-82s and a Boeing 747.
Inside the wreckage of McDonnell Douglas MD-82s
Inside the wreckage of Boeing -747
I strongly suggest you to wear covered shoes and long pants!
I was wearing Adidas skirt. I am glad that my skirts are long enough to helped me wipe off all the plants with thorns! If not, it would have sting all over my legs.
Climbing on the wreckages are actually challenging and dangerous. We had to climb up to get into McDonnell Douglas MD-82s and for Boeing 747, we had to climb in from the cargo hole filled with all the unwanted parts from the aircraft.
The entrance where you climb into the wreckage of Boeing 747.
We spent about an hour here. Because after we finished taking pictures inside of the wreckage, we saw a lady who live here was praying with joss sticks on the ground. We took a few more shots and paid our respect ( in case we intruded any spirits) and we left.
Is it worth coming?
I will give 3.5 stars out of 5 stars for different kind of experience.
The entrance fee is expensive. But maybe because of that, there is lesser people visiting. If you have spare time in Bangkok, want to get Instagram worthy photos, why not?
But, I will advise ladies to have male companions. It is safer in case of anything happen. Do respect the area as well!
What is the best time to visit?
When the weather is good. Morning to afternoon. When we arrived, sky was blue but after an hour later, they sky was grey.
Which transportation is more convenient?
Khlang Saen Saep express boat. It is cheap even though you might get splashed by the dirty canal water. ( I got splashed a few times). But you will get your ways to avoid getting splash. haha!
You also get to experience different transportation experience in Bangkok.
If you are taking cab, you definitely need to pay a lot more and spend more time, (at least an hour or an hour and the half) to reach your destination. Because the traffic in Bangkok is very bad and the highway to the airplane graveyards are constantly in heavy jam. Avoid rush hour if taking cab.
Visiting time:
One hour is enough for exploring. Some reviews said the family will even chase you out and ask for more money if you stay for too long.
So I will summarise the itinerary here:
Google Map: Airplane Graveyard
Address: 594 Ramkhamhaeng Road/Ramkamahaeng soi 103
Entrance Fee: 200 Baht per person/ SGD 8.40.
How to get there by public transport: Khlang Saen Saep express boat via Bangkapi to Wat Sribooreung.
Boat ride: 40 minutes
Boat fare (one way): 19 Baht per person/ SGD 0.79
Website and express boat map: http://khlongsaensaep.com/lines-route-map.html
Duration: One hour
Total spending of the day: 238 Baht / SGD 9.99 / MYR 29.57