Krabi Airport

Thailand is a wonderful country to either visit for a short holiday or to stay in on a more long term basis. The country is famed for its hospitality being nicknamed 'the land of smiles' and this can be seen up and down the country. 

Long term expats and regular travellers will be aware however that this mentality doesn't always spread the Thai borders, in particular the immigration staff who man them. I am going to write a post in the future talking more about the land border crossings but today I want to actually take the time to praise the immigration staff and their hospitality for once!

Krabi Airport is a fairly small international airport situated in the popular southern Thai province of Krabi. The airport is situated outside of town but most people will be heading to an island or off to Ao Nang anyway. The airport offers a shuttle bus service which goes to Krabi Town for 80 baht and to Ao Nang for 150 baht. The bus is air conditioned, white in colour and has all it''s destinations clearly stated in English. I would highly recommend the bus service although private taxis and car rental services are also available at the airport. If you're really looking to save money there is a songthaew which passes the airport and goes directly into town. The problem is that you have to exit the airport and then cross the very busy road and wait for an indeterminate amount of time at the side of the road for the songthaew to arrive and even then there is no guarantee that it will. 

Krabi Airport itself is very small and easy to navigate which makes both the check in and the arrival process extremely easy. The airports international services are mainly from Malaysia and Singapore although there are also services to mainland China as well as a large number of domestic services. I imagine Krabi is seen as a really nice local getaway for Singaporeans & Malaysians with beautiful beaches and cheap seafood found in abundance. 

There was one extraordinary thing I witnessed at Krabi airport though that I have witnessed at no other border crossing either by land or air. The immigration staff were polite and courteous and not just polite and courteous they were actually welcoming, friendly. They engaged with travellers and spoke amazing English. The immigration staff at a lot borders speak in grunts, gaze through your passport as though it was something from a magical far off fairy land and then begrudgingly stamp you through. When I went through Krabi Airport recently there were three desks open to stamp passport and two officers acting as 'greeters'. They were wandering between the lines checking everybody had the correct arrival cards, lending pens and chatting with the tourists. I would have assumed they were airline staff if they hadn't been dressed in immigration uniforms. 

I would highly recommend flying into Krabi Airport if you want an easy stress free immigration experience. I think the reason the staff are so moody at the other crossing is the sheer number of people they have to deal with each day. Krabi Airport only sees a handful of international flights a day which appear to be fairly spaced out. This gives the immigration staff plenty of time to eat, sleep, watch lakorns or whatever they do. A right little easy number!