My husband and I are flying to Bangkok in April on route to Luang Prabang. We have six hours to kill at the airport, before our connecting flight. Is this long enough to take a quick trip into Bangkok city? Carol Melville, by email

A Sunday Times travel expert responds: Bangkok’s spectacular new Suvarnabhumi Airport (www.airportsuvarnabhumi.com) is packed with good shops and restaurants, but as yet it doesn’t have a dedicated rail connection into the city. For the time being, arriving passengers have to catch a coach into the city, or take a bus to a nearby suburban train station, and continue their journey from there. Although on paper either of these routes should take about an hour, it would be more prudent to allow about 90 minutes each way.

And keeping in mind the extra security measures at airports these days, I’d say that six hours probably isn’t enough time for you to be able to meaningfully get into town, see some sights, and still get back to the airport.

Bangkok traffic is notoriously bad, and stuck in a jam on the way back out to the airport, fretting about whether you’ll make it in time, would be a terrible way to start your journey to Luang Prabang.

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