In transit at Bangkok for 8 hours

[Errajane]

I arrive Bangkok at 10am and have a connecting international flight later in the evening at 6pm. So I intend to go downtown and do some shopping to kill time. Can this be done without too much hassle in BKK? I assume I won't need to check-in again since I would already have been issued with a boarding pass for my connecting flight and my luggage would be transferred automagically too.

So what's the latest time I should leave downtown to Don Muang? What's the traffic like to the airport in the afternoon on a Sunday? And how much should I expect to pay for the taxi ride from town? And do all taxis use their meters or do I have to ask for them to use it? Sorry for all the questions; although I've been to Chiang Mai countless times, this is actually my first trip into Bangkok (away from the airport, that is).

[Wisarut]

For the case of Transit shopping, I would advise YOU to head North to Rangsit area (Northern BKK Suburbs) ... Otherwise, You can head into
Central Lad Prhao as the farest place to go shopping.

Any further distance beyond my advise is NOT Recommended ....

Sunday Afternoon? Quite hectic ... even though not the same level as
the arrival at night or during rush hours ....

Usign Taxi toll way ... . Going to Central palaza would cost you about 100-120 Baht (for taxi alone) and you are expected to pay about 40 Baht for tollway and 50 baht for taxi surcharge collected by AOT ....

Going to Future Park Rangsit, expect to pay about 80-100 Baht (for taxy alone) -> 10 Baht tollway and 50 Baht surcharge ...

[Errajane]

Thanks for your reply. So, the journey from downtown to the airport on a Sunday afternoon ..shall I leave myself about 1 hour for this?