U-TAPAO, Thailand (Reuters) --- Having spent days reporting on the woes of foreign tourists trying to leave Thailand in the wake of the airport blockades by anti-government protesters (in November and December of last year), it was my turn to experience the hassles first hand. My long-panned trip to Indonesia vis Singapore was looking increasingly unlikely after People's Alliance for Democracy(PAD) supporters seized control of Bangkok's main airports, cutting off air traffic and leaving tens of thousands stranded. Then a window of opportunity opened.

As costs mounted, Thai authorities opened a aleepy Vietnam war-era military base around 150 km southeast of the capital. U-Tapao suddenly became Thailand's main international gateway, so I decided to head there.

The first thing that struck me after the three-hour drive to U-Tapao was the crowd --- there were thousands of people crammed into small complex that just a week ago was handling only a few charter flights a day. People were everywhere --- businessmen, backpackers, holidaying families, taxi drivers, airport officials, solidiers, hotel staff, buyers, sellers, brokers and volunteers --- all primarily engaged in ... queuing.

They were quenuing for food, for the toilet, to check in. In fact, it seemed many people were queuing without really knowing why or what for. By the time I found a queue for Singapore Airlines at around 2:30 p.m., more than 100 people were in front of me ---waiting for the check-in counter to open for a flight scheduled to leave at 7 p.m. Despite the heat, the crowds and the general slow pace, people were in a good mood, perhaps excited at the prospect of finally going home.

Passengers compared noted on how long they had been stranded and tried to out-do each other with tales of hardship and woe. All the while, airline staff plied us with water to keep us hydrated, and other staff checked and rechecked ouur details.

The check-in opened, but with only two counters and no computers, it was slow going. By the time it was my turn, another 90 minutes had passed. The process itself took only a few minutes, showing how low-tech can still be efficient. My boarding pass was filled in by hand, a bathroom scale was used to weigh my luggage and an old-style scanner checked my bags.

Formalities complete, my stomach rumbled and I approached a free food stand set up in a corner of the car park. On offer was ice-cold water, steamed rice with stir-fried chicken or fried rice. The food was simple but delicious. At the front of the terminal, a local brewery had set up tents and was giving away bottled water. Small beer and snack shops were doing brisk business.

We went back to check-in at 5:30 p.m. for immigration and boarding. Here again, low-tech won the day. Two friendly policemen looked through immigration forms and stamped passports. It took about 30 seconds to get the stamp before I was waved through to security.

There was more queuing as we waited for our bags to be checked and then more queues and waiting for the bus to take us to the plane. Our tickets were scrutinized again before we were allowed on the plane, which was delayed a further 20 minutes from our scheduled departure before finally taking off.

I finally made it to Singapore at 10:30 p.m. --- eight hours after arriving at U-Tapao. As the plane stopped at the gate, I could almost hear a collective sigh from everyone on the plane. All I could think of, however, was how I would get back to Bangkok in a week's time.