A mother and daughter watch a jetliner at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday.

But was I impressed? Yes and no.

Though it's undeniable that the airport looks futuristic and impressive, when it comes to real traveller satisfaction, a lot of improvement is needed. Bosses will have to work much harder to ensure satisfaction beyond the huge and attention-grabbing structures and sculptures.

Signage for the airport remains confusing at best. My taxi driver got lost trying to get to Rama IX and wasted some 20 minutes as a result. Luckily, it was just before 6am, so the traffic wasn't that bad - otherwise I might have missed the flight.

By the time the taxi arrived at the departure hall, I got out at the wrong check-in entrance. Again, the sign was too small, and, by the time you recognise it, it's probably too late.

Then comes the new queuing method of having all Thai Airways passengers form a maze-like line, as at London's Heathrow Airport. This takes more time than having all queues open to all passengers at the same time.

"Please make a suggestion [to management]," said a gentle female THAI worker, whose new duty was to remind passengers which check-in counter was available.

By the time I got to the Siam Commercial Bank counter at 6.40am, they had only 179 US dollars left. And no Singaporean dollars. "It was our first day," a female cashier told a displeased Indian customer.

An immigration officer was complaining while processing my passport. "The counter is beautiful but the keyboard is blocking my working space," said Jakraphan Champamuang. "The Airport Authority of Thailand (AOT) knew about this but didn't do anything."

Passing through immigration, I had to search for my flight gate. Apparently, THAI didn't know either when I got my boarding pass. It was to be E1a. Then I had to walk back on the 10-degree slippery slope just in front of the impressive sculpture of the "Scene of the Churning of the Milk Ocean". Many tourists were eager to be photographed near that impressive piece of religious artwork.

There was a sign warning "Caution! Slippery Floor". Why AOT would construct a slippery floor then be forced to put up a warning sign is beyond my comprehension. I told an AOT member of staff that perhaps a rough non-slippery floor should be installed. He agreed.

The duty-free and shopping area is much larger and more comprehensive than at Don Muang. The Museum Shop is the most impressive part of King Power's sprawling duty-free empire. It offers real gold and silver replicas of Dharavati period pieces made into cuff-links, necklaces and more - impressive but pricey, of course.

The history of some of the original pieces has been beautifully presented alongside the items, along with authentication from AOT that the information is correct.

As I continued my unusually long journey towards gate E1a, I checked out the wine lists at two places, Cafe Palomar and Light Bar. While they are extensive and generally reasonable (Bt250 for a glass of Stonewall Marborough's Sauvignon Blanc 2005!), the two establishments offered exactly the same menu. King Power, which owns both places, obviously prefers efficiency over diversity and customer satisfaction.

The Light Bar offers Kilkenny beer at Bt480 a pint. Seven in the morning may be too early even for half a pint (Bt260) but a barman told me the beer is not available just yet. In fact, he didn't even know when it would be available.

Fast-forward through the security check and on to gate E1a on the third floor, a floor down from the departure hall. I was delighted to find a restroom, but it was quite a mess - dusty, wet and quite dirty. I could not find any paper towels after washing my hands and one wash basin was flooded and clogged. Plus, no janitor was to be seen.

When I looked for a public phone, there was a sign but no phone. I went up to the fourth floor, looked all the way along all 10 'E' gates and saw not a single public phone. In Singapore's Changi Airport - the world's best - you get free local phones. Plus free Internet access.

Drinking-water fountains - one for adults and another lower one for children - were dusty and not functioning. And messy construction materials still lay next to the wall.

Bigger piles of litter, including cigarette butts and coffee cans, greeted us as we boarded a shuttle bus to the Airbus 300. There as no proper announcement made. People just rushed to the back end of the hall when they saw others running.

An elderly Australian gentleman complained about the long walk he had made and how THAI had changed its departure gate for a Sydney flight without announcing the change to passengers.

Benson, a Singaporean passenger, also complained about the long walk - some 25 to 30 per cent longer than those at Don Muang - through the huge mega-hall and terminals, which appear to have been built more to impress passengers than serve them conveniently.

He also complained about the lack of proper signs but was kind enough to say: "Well, this is day one for Suvarnabhumi. And isn't the place grand?"

Yes, it may be grand, and even more impressive than Seoul's Inchon. And it may make Singapore's Changi look rather dated, but what about customer satisfaction and real convenience?