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A Journey In Bangkok’s Airplane Graveyard

by Nov 28, 2016Asia, Thailand8 comments

I’M ALWAYS TRYING TO SEARCH FOR UNIQUE PLACES THAT ARE RARELY SEEN OR DOCUMENTED, ALONG WITH ADHERING TO A BACKPACKER BUDGET.

When I heard there was an airplane graveyard in the middle of Bangkok, I had to see it for myself. Thanks to Jarryd and Alesha from NOMADasaurus for inspiring me to go find this one of kind site!

IT TOOK US FOREVER TO FIND THE SPOT, MOSTLY BECAUSE GOOGLE MAPS DOESN’T WORK WELL OUTSIDE OF THE U.S.

After walking several hours in the Bangkok heat, we finally found the gigantic birds laying in a field that was just beyond a locked gate, but I was warned about this from other travel bloggers. The airplanes have become the homes to a couple of local Thai family squatters.

I noticed a woman and her son just on the other side of the gate, so I said hello and asked if we could go in. “200 baht!” she exclaimed. “for both? I asked. She said “no, each” at this point Teryn was quite over it and wasn’t as excited as I was about taking photos of the wreckage. Teryn told me to go ahead and so I handed the woman the money and she opened the gates. Once inside I was greeted by the woman’s son. The woman said, “this your guide.” “sàwatdee, kun chêu a-rai? “I asked. ( Hello, what is your name?) the little boy answered back with a perfect, ” my name is Tommy.” “holy cow kid, not even my kids at school can say that as good as you just did!” Also, I guarantee your name is not Tommy, but who cares.

“OKAY TOMMY, LET’S GO!” I REPLIED. TOMMY THEN MOTIONED ME TO FOLLOW HIM AROUND TO THE PARTS OF THE PLANES THAT THEY WERE NOT LIVING IN.

BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU STEP AS THERE IS A LOT OF SHARP EDGES AND THE RANDOM NEEDLES LAYING AROUND.

THE COCKPIT TO THE 747

Back of the 747

IT WAS PRETTY SURREAL SEEING THESE PLANES IN A RANDOM BANGKOK FIELD, SOMETHING THAT ONCE TRANSPORTED HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THOUSANDS OF MILES AND NOW THEY LAY HERE IN A FORGOTTEN ABOUT WASTELAND.

Just taking a stroll on the wings

I KNEW MY TIME WAS GETTING SHORT AS THERE WAS A STORM STARTING TO ROLL IN, TERYN WAS STILL WAITING PATIENTLY IN THE BANGKOK HEAT, AND TOMMY WAS DEMANDING THAT I PAY HIM MORE MONEY. I SOON LEARNED THAT TOMMY’S VOCABULARY CONSISTED OF, “MY NAME IS TOMMY AND MISTER MISTER I TAKE PHOTO, YOU PAY ME MONEY.” AFTER ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES OF HIM PESTERING ME, I GAVE HIM A 10 BAHT COIN TO KEEP HIM QUIET FOR ANOTHER TEN MINUTES.

Tommy, my tour guide

IT WAS QUITE INTERESTING TO SEE THESE AIRPLANES IN THIS CONDITION, A RARE LOOK INTO WHAT AN AIRPLANE LOOKS LIKE AFTER IT’S BEEN DISCARDED AND THROWN AWAY.

HOW TO GET THERE: The address is Ramkamahaeng Soi 103. You can take a taxi, bus or even a ferry, because it isn’t far from the canal. We tried the bus route mentioned in other blogs, but we became lost pretty quickly once we were kicked off the bus several blocks before the airplane graveyard. If you do take the bus, the stop you want to go to is Phrakanong BTS Station (exit 3), or from the Airport Link Ramkamhaeng Station.

COST: $200 baht per person or $5.62 USD. This isn’t technically legal, but the families here are just doing their best to survive and it really isn’t that much when you consider the photography gold mine.

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Global Giraffe is a travel blog that is focused on keeping it real. This isn't a fluffy rainbow magical travel blog, here you'll find real life situations, tips and advice for the every day person that wants to know more about places they've never been to. Global Giraffe is led by Dan and Teryn. After leaving Denver, Colorado, they decided to try to take on the world, one odd job at a time. They are currently residing in Asheville, North Carolina. For more updates follow Global Giraffe on FacebookTwitter and Instagram

8 Comments

  1. Sandra D

    These photos are amazing! The airplane graveyard is so cool!!!

    Reply
  2. Rhonda Albom

    Very interesting photos. Some of these planes are huge. I can see why squatters moved in. They probably have more covered living space than most well to do people in Bangkok.

    Reply
    • Dan

      These planes are gigantic in size and yeah I’d say while the planes are very dangerous to live in with all of the sharp metal edges protruding everywhere you step, the space the allow are 10 times the size of most apartments in Thailand.

      Reply
    • Dan

      Thank you and yeah it was a sight to see both the airplane and the families that lived there. I didn’t see many of the families as my little guide made sure that I only stayed to the parts of the planes that they weren’t living in. It is quite sad, but they are doing the best they can with what they can and while it might be illegal for them to live in this place, they are pretty smart to charge an entrance fee to photographers such as myself. Traveling around the world has its ways of letting you know just how truly blessed you are. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

      Reply
  3. Molly

    What a fascinating place to visit and great pictures

    Mollyxxx

    Reply
    • Dan

      It really was a unique spot to walk upon in the middle of Bangkok!

      Reply
  4. Ana

    This is amazing! I just went to Thailand a couple of months ago. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this before.

    Reply

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