My preferred method would be to take the Klong (canal) Ferry. You will want to catch the bus on the same side of the street as the Airport Link station is on (opposite the Nasa Vegas Hotel). You can also take the Airport Link and exit at Ramkamhaeng station. The cost is about 9 THB for this bus (though it may vary depending on the bus company you get on). It will take you almost the entire journey, though you’ll need to walk about 5-10 mins at the end. Walk up towards the bus station and wait for bus 40ร. If coming from the BTS, go to the Phrakanong station, exit 3. If you get to soi 105, you’ve gone too far (and somehow missed these giant flightless birds nesting next to you. The lot is on the left, next to an auto body repair shop. To catch a glimpse of this unexpected sight, head to Ramkhamhaeng Road Soi 101 and continue for roughly 100 meters. It was an ironic twist of fate that these planes became homes to those who could never have afforded to fly in them – and who can now charge an admission for you to board them. Of course, you must be respectful of the families living there, and if you see a curtain up, no photographs or exploring should be happening in that person’s home. In the field, there’s several bodies of airliners you can wander through and explore. It felt reminiscent of the Hunter S Thompson quote ““Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”. The cockpit, with all its levers and buttons curiously seemed the most in tact.
#Plane graveyard tv
Most electronics, such as the TV displays, had been stripped as well. All the seats were torn out, many of the overhead compartments had their doors removed. It was incredible just thinking how far those vessels must have travelled in their lifetime to wind up stripped clean, ripped apart, and inadvertently repurposed.
We entered the first plane, very careful about where we put our hands and feet, as there was several sharp, jagged edges inside the old scrapped planes. However, the main giant fuselage, and several of the other smaller ones still were open and possible to explore. Clearly ‘no fly zones’ – as in, please do not disturb. The bribe would go to buy the families a little extra food that day – not bad being able to charge admission on somewhere you squat!Īs we moved around, there was a couple planes (or at least what was left of them) which had curtains up. He had found asylum inside this abandoned airplane graveyard, along with several other families. Coming around the corner, we soon realized he must be a refugee, or at least impoverished. Was he a corrupt security, I thought? No, of course not. We handed him the 600 baht for the 2 of us, though he may have been expecting 600 each, he made no further mention, smiled and waved us along. He was alone, shirtless, and carried a wide grinned smile with him. It was exciting and a bit nerve racking as we quickly realized we weren’t alone in what is surely some kind of private property.Īs we cautiously approached the nest of these huge dormant giant metallic birds, a man appeared from behind one of them. A vast field with several old aircrafts bodies, semi dismantled, strewn across the tall grass.Īs we got off the bus, we had to backtrack just a little bit, crossing over a small bridge over a klong (one of Bangkok’s stinky canals), and then through an opening in a fence surrounding the airplane graveyard. I watched patiently out the window for a glimpse to these old airplanes, maybe even expecting to see their wings stuck upright like a monolithic tombstone.
#Plane graveyard series
What would an airplane graveyard look like? Was it a big parking lot with some rusty old planes? Would it look like the opening scene to the TV series LOST? As I rode the city bus down the busy street of Ramkamhaeng, my excitement grew.
#Plane graveyard how to
I had just heard about this, but my mind didn’t know how to imagine the surroundings. Bangkok has one of these Airplane Graveyards just outside of town! Some end up all but forgotten in an open field for earth to reclaim. Not all planes get to be reincarnated though. Many airlines send in the old fuselages of their planes to be recycled, and salvage any components which may be reused again – be it for a new plane, or something completely different. It’s a valid question! Any vehicle owner knows you can only service your car/bike/boat so many times before it’s just not road or sea worthy any more. The last thing you want to be thinking about while you’re flying to your vacation spot is “I wonder where this plane will end up when it eventually stops working?”.
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