"City of Angels in The Land of Smiles" a Bangkok Travel Page by alvis

The populaion of Bangkok and it's surrounding provences is estimated at 10,000,000. Coming from Northern Ireland where the population is 1,702,600 this means Bangkok's population is 5 times the population of my entire country.

My 1st time arriving in Bangkok I did not know much about where to go and stay. I have now spent 8 months of my life in Bangkok and know how to survive on a budget as a tourist or back packer. My 1st trip I stayed 5 months in Bangkok with my Thai girlfriend. As most tourists that come to Thailand end up on Kha Sarn Road I was fortunatly not led this direction as I already knew people from Thailand who led me about showing me and teaching me the best places to go and best things to see.

Staying near the skytrain is a must in Bangkok or you will find yourself paying out for taxis anytime you want to see something or go somewhere. The skytrain runs through all the main areas and the CBD of Bangkok and consists of the Sukhumvit line and the Silom line. The interchange point of the 2 lines is Siam which is 1 of the more touristy areas of Bangkok. The most expensive / furthest journey on the skytrain is 40 baht (£0.60) and the cheapest is 10 baht (£0.15)

The Sukhumvit line I used nearly everyday and it runs from "On Nut" to "Mo Chit". The main stops I used were Phrom Pong (Emporium), On Nut (Tescos), Mo Chit (JJ or Chatuchak weekend market.) There are some other stops which I would sometimes use Chit Lom and Siam (lot of shopping centres.) Each time I stayed in Bangkok I stayed near the BTS where I found decent places close to Nana, Phrom Pong and Thong Lo stations. The hotel I would recommend when visiting Bangkok is the Asia Hotel which is located at Ratchateri BTS station and is well worth 1400 baht a night (£20). There is also an interchange with the MRT at Asok and Chit Lom.

The Silom line runs from the National Stadium to Saphan Taksin. I seldom used this line and have only ever visited 2 of the stops which are the terminal stations National Stadium and Saphan Taksin. These will probably be used on any visit to Bangkok as the Saphan Taksin station is at the Chao Phraya river where all the boat trips and boat taxis leave to favourit spots like Wat Pho, Temple of Dawn, and the Grand Palace. The National Stadium station is situated at the famous shopping centre MBK where you will find plenty of cheap and dodgy goods.

The MRT is new to Bangkok and is still relatively cheap. I seldom used the MRT as the BTS did the job for getting from place to place but i will probably explore it sometime soon. I would sometimes get the MRT back from Chatuchak station where the weekend market is and get off at the Petchburi stop where the main Petchburi road passes.

Taxis are cheap in Bangkok but because of the traffic it is hard to get from place to place and you can find yourself in taxi for a couple of hours for short journeys. 35 baht is the meter start price and make sure the driver puts the meter on as soon as you get in the taxi or he will try rip you off when you have to pay. On the express way you will have to pay an extra 40 baht at toll boths and you will pass 1 on the way from the airport on arrival to Bangkok

Motorbikes are also a common way to travel and are a lot more fun than the other ways. They only do short journeys and cost around 10 - 20 baht for wherever you want to go. They are also very dangerous and you will not be given a helmet so be warned. Just look out for a bunch of thais on motorbikes wearing normally orange jackets.

The buses are quite hard to work out so if you are visiting for a short time you will probably never use them. Victory monument on the BTS is where you can get a bus to more or less annywhere in Bangkok. For buses outside Bangkok there is the North Bus terminal which I used to go to Cambodia near Chatuchak (Mo Chit) and for the East and South you can get buses from Ekkamai beside the Ekkamai BTS station. For VIP more expensive coaches Kha Sarn Road will have these.

On your way from the airport on the express way to Bangkok you will pass a number of temples. On your 1st visit to a Buddhist country this may be quite surreal and I still love seeing them as it is always the 1st thing to see on my arrival. There are numerous ammounts of temples (Wats) to see in Bangkok so don't get too excited and stop at the 1st 1 you see. Going by the most touristy and the ones I have visited personnally you should go see the following. Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn or Dawn Temple) which is located on the side of the Chao Phraya river. Also nearby you can go see Wat Pho which is famous for holding the reclining Buddha and is definitly worth a look. The Grand Palace is also a must where you will see the emerald buddha and plenty more. There is a fee and dress code for the grand palace so be prepared before arrival. To see all three of these in the same day is quite easy as they are all within walking distance of each other. Arrive to them via the Chao Phraya River is probably your best option.

My advice would be to get up early on a weekend i.e. Saturday morning 7am and get to all of these temples and still have time to get a long boat ride on Chao Phraya river to the floating market in the Khlongs (small rivers off Chao Phraya). If you are early and prepared this would be a great day in Bangkok. There are also a number of other places to visit along the Chao Phraya river like snake farm, orchid farm, National Museum, Barge Museum etc etc.

There are plenty more places worth a visit in Bangkok other than the temples. We went to the zoo which was a decent day out though nothing to spectacular so if you have limited time go to something you won't find at home. A must do, though almost always overlooked by the visitors to Bangkok, is the Ancient City. This is located on the outskirts of Bangkok and will cost around 200 baht to get there by taxi. It will take a whole day to walk around the ancient city so my advice is to rent a push bike and cycle round. Also near by is the crocodile farm which I have not yet been to but is a big atraction for the locals and farang (tourists) alike.

When it comes to nights out you are really spoilt for choice. One option for a decent night out is on Yaoworat Road, China Town. Theres lots of small streets to explore and plenty of street vendors and restaurants selling all sorts of chinese cuisine. You will find a lot of shark fin soup here as it is a chinese delicacy. Also for a club afterwards there is some decent upper class clubs like the Bed Supper Club and Q-Bar which are all located in the Sukhumvit area. There are also plenty of bars and clubs on Kha Sarn Road so if you are here for the day you should stick about for the night life.

If you like the sleaze of Bangkok you should check out Patpong Road. This is the most famous road for go-go bars and is said to have the best hookers in Bangkok though i have never actually been here myself to confirm it. If you are looking for Nana plaza (Bangkoks most famous brothel area) can be found on Sukhumvit Soi 4 a short walk from the Nana BTS station. Soi Cowboy is also an option for those in search of some go-go bars. Maybe worth a look at night even if you are not looking for hookers etc. though I have never made it there as the girlfriend normally arranges the nights out.

Going for something more exotic you could check out the Muay Thai Boxing at Lumpini Stadium. It is easy to get here as it is right beside Lumpini night bazaar and is real close to the Lumpini MRT station. There are also numerous other things going on in Bangkok at night like food markets and cabarets etc etc. just look about and you'll find a decent night out.

Thailand being a buddhist country has a very laid back feel to day to day life, even in the busy city of Bangkok. On meeting people you should Wie which is a small knod of the head with your palms together as if to pray. Sawat di krap (sawat di ka for females) is how to say hello and Khop khun krap (khop khun ka for females) is how to say thanks. The constant 30+ degrees heat has most shop owners etc. lieing or sleeping behind the counters of local shops and stalls. You will also find that there are a lot of stray dogs enjoying a sleep on the streets and you may have to step over a few once in a while.

You can buy all sorts of food from street vendors from beetles insects etc. to local fruits i.e. watermelon, pappaya, pinapple durian etc. I would always grab myself some watermelon and pinapple on the way home at 10 baht per bag and a chicken kebab at 50 baht. Other than the street vendors food is very cheap in Bangkok and you can get a decent meal and drink in a decent Bangkok rastaurant for around 100 baht. The thai food is normally very spicy compared to the bland european tastes. Most dishes have chillies and other flavourings such as oyster and fish sauce. Other than the famous red, yellow, green and massuman curries there are plenty other tasty dishes. Tom Yum Goong (spicy shrimp soup) is a big favourite along with spicy seafood salad or pappaya salad and 1 of my favourites is kapraw kai (Chicken with Holy Basil). You will be able to find all sorts of cuisine in Bangkok so don't be put off by the spicy Thai food. You have to try Jim Jum in JimZup Hut which is a spicy soup where you order and cook your own ingredients in the pot on the table (in photo).

When shopping there are numerous shopping centres but for a proper bargain it is best to go to the markets. While Lumpini night bazaar is now quite expensive due to the ammount of tourists you will still be able to find a proper bargain at weekends if you go to Chatuchak (JJ) market. You will find all your dodgy gear here i.e. Prada bags and Diesel jeans etc. as there are thousands of stalls. Bartering is also used a lot as you will be asked some rediculous prices to start with. Khao Sarn Road you will also find the same items though they are often over twice the price as you will get them at JJ.