Anyone gone to Thailand without a ticket home? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!



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Old 06-22-2005, 07:17 PM   #1
bethanie_k
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I've heard that you can get awesome deals on flights flying back home from Bangkok. I know backpacking is all about adventure but the idea of leaving to somewhere without a ticket home is a little nerve-wrecking... Also scared of paying more than I would've just paid for a round-trip in the first place.... Help!

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Old 06-24-2005, 09:44 AM   #2
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Bethany, not sure where you are traveling from, but I do know that Thai Airways, for instance, offers much cheaper tickets for flying from Thailand to the U.S., versus the U.S. to Thailand. However, I have only seen these prices in a round trip format. For example, if you book a R/T ticket that goes Bangkok - New York - Bangkok, often it is about 35% cheaper than if you book a ticket that goes NY - BKK - NY. (Also, if your a Thai national you get a further discount, but that is another story).

I do not know if these prices translate into one way ticket savings. You might want to be careful because often times international one way tickets are almost as much as the R/T tickets. I would suggest doing some research on the internet at some of the international carrier's websites to price one ways from BKK back to your home country. I would also suggest trying this with non-U.S. airlines that fly internationally. You could start with the following (I believe they all fly from BKK back to the U.S. - usually through their home country hub first). If you are not from the U.S. or Canada, you could also try some European carriers as well.

Thai Airways
EVA Airways (Taiwanese)
Korean Airlines
Cathay Pacific
Singapore Airlines
China Air
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Old 06-24-2005, 11:26 AM   #3
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If you are flying the same carrier...you should be able to get the same deals as at home. I'm not sure if you'll find them cheaper in Thailand...but I doubt you'll get screwed on the prices. Travel agents access the same network for commerical airline tickets....so prices shouldn't vary too much.

Buy your return ticket home in Thailand if you feel ball-sy. Keep in mind that round trip tickets are MUCH cheaper than two one-ways.....and that most airlines will let you extend your return flight for up to 6+ months. When I went to Thailand...we extended our stay over a week with no charge and no problem.
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Old 06-24-2005, 01:31 PM   #4
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Actually, there is a large disparity in pricing when booking air travel from a country outside the U.S. versus from inside the U.S. I disagree strongly with the above post regarding prices. I will not go into all of the details, but below is a link to a FAQ that discusses in detail how international airfare pricing works, and how different coutnries can offer different pricing on international airfares, in spite of an international treaty on pricing. Pay attention particularly to #5 through #9 which explains how international airfares work and also explains how bucket shops work (ultimately this explains how one way ticketing can vary tremdnously depending on where you book the ticket). Good luck...as mentioned in this article, Bangkok is a good hub for bucketshops which offer discounted international tickets not avaialble in other countries.

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Old 06-24-2005, 08:37 PM   #5
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I did it and lived. You'll be very tempted to not go home when you're supposed to. And its kind of scary if you start running out of money and dont have a ticket. But you're right- its backpacking, its all about adventure, hell yeah do it.


edit- I didnt go to thailand that way. never been to thailand. would like to go sometime.
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Old 06-25-2005, 01:00 AM   #6
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Quote:
I did it and lived. You'll be very tempted to not go home when you're supposed to. And its kind of scary if you start running out of money and dont have a ticket. But you're right- its backpacking, its all about adventure, hell yeah do it.
Yeah I did it too. I went from Perth - Bangkok - London on a one way, travelled around Europe for a while and went back to London to find work.

I decided against working and lived the high life on the islands of Malaysia on the way back home with the remaining money!

I loved the freedom of deciding when I wanted to call it quits. That freedom is worth the extra money you may have to spend on two one way tickets.

ev
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Old 06-26-2005, 02:20 AM   #7
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And remember: When in Thailand, you can book it as a return trip if you find it's cheaper, but just don't let on that you're not planning on using the portion of the flight that returns you to BKK!

As for what LiveFree and the others were talking about, many travel agents and "bucket shops" get deeply discounted tickets ahead of time for resale. That's why they can have better prices than the airline itself may currently have.

They're right...do some research, figure out about how much you'll need to come home, add a chunk to it in case currency fluctuates or prices change, and go and be FREE!

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