Bangkok Tourist Trap Tips by sgtowns

Just this past weekend I went to the Seafood Market and Restaurant on Sukumvit Soi 24. The place was overwhelming at first -- it's huge with big bright plastic fish swimming overhead. The back of the restaurant looks like the seafood section of a giant .

The premise is this: You shop for your food and then you have them prepare it to-order. Our three person meal cost us 2,000 baht -- outrageous considering I can live very well on 200 baht for food per day.

The bottom line: interesting concept, high prices, decent food (fresh at least). I won't be going back.

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At Least Do This: Forget about the price and try not to let the florecent lights bother you, and just concentrate on the food.
Alternative: There are SOOO many good seafood restaurants in Bangkok I couldn't ever list them all here.

Tuk-Tuks, the small three wheeled taxis are all over Bangkok, but there is a relationship where the number of tourists in an area are directly proportional to the number and the aggressiveness of the tuk-tuk drivers there.

Just yesterday I was touring around Bangkok and was shocked at just how agressive the drivers were. One driver struck up a converstation in very good English and eventually told me that the place I was going was closed in the morning (it wasn't) and I should go to another site now that was closed in the afternoon (it wasn't). Of coruse the only way to see everything, he suggested, was in his tuk-tuk. All of this was done with a smile on his face and in a very friendly helpful manner.

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At Least Do This: Riding in a tuk-tuk is not a HORRIBLE experience; even the locals do it. But I guarantee that the price you are charged is at least double or triple what the locals pay.

So, if you must ride in one, negotiate and bargain very hard. Don't worry about ripping off the tuk-tuk driver; he will never let that happen. So, go low low low.
Alternative: Bangkok has excellent public transportation: buses, canal boats, and the skytrain. Mingle with the locals for a truely Thai experience.