Bangkok Things to Do Tips by Mattison

We booked a tour through our hotel that took a tour bus to the Bang-Pa In Summer Palace and then to the ruins at Ayuthaya and returned to Bangkok via a cruise down the River of Kings, the Chao Phrya. The tour was okay - not our favorite because we prefer to travel at our own pace, and the tour guide was somewhat repetitive. (I think we heard that the Burmese destroyed the capital in 1767 a few too many times.) All in all, the tour was good with the definite highlight being the old ruins. One of the coolest things about the ruins at Ayuthaya is that there is basically no security around the ruins. You are trusted to respect these ruins. Gated areas and guards are unnecessary because problems that we have in America, like vandalism and graffitti would never happen here. Anyway, for any history buffs or tourists, the old ruins are definitely a must-see activity!

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Address: Ayuthaya
Directions: Take a train from Bangkok, the train goes frequently. It is about 90km from Bangkok, take a tour like us, or hire a driver for the day.
Website: http://www.thaitravel.info/Ayuthaya/

The thing that sets Bang Pa-In Summer Palace apart is its use of two distinctly seperate styles of architecture. Some buildings were built in the Neo-Classical style, while others are Thai. It was interesting to see the great European influence on this summer palace. Make sure that you respect the palace and have at least knee-length shorts or skirts and no tank tops. Mom and Nicole learned this the hard way - Mom had to wear a sarong, for her shorts were too short, and Nicole had to wear an extremely tacky Hawaiian print shirt over her sleeveless one. Luckily the tour guide was prepared for us silly American tourists.

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Chatuchuk market was one of my, Nicole's favorite things. It was sooooooo hot, and I sweated soooooooooo much, but it was okay because it was sooooooooooo much fun, and I got soooooooo many great deals. This market is indescribable - you really can't understand the enormity of it until you see it yourself. Essentially, it's just a bunch of stalls that you can find good deals at (if you know how to bargain), but really it was so much more because you shop with the locals. It isn't like shopping at MBK or at the souvenir stalls on the street. I expected to see many more tourists at the market, but really, the locals seemed to outnumber us by far. You will see things that are so odd and quite hilarious and unexpected. For example, the owner of a popular shop selling karaoke cds was karaokeing himself to promote his products or the two elderly men playing chess with bottlecaps on a makeshift board. My advice: Buy Nancy Chandler's map - it has a very useful insert that shows the general areas of stalls and is good if you want to avoid the parts that sell live animals and such; Arrive fairly early - it'll be less busy and slightly cooler; Drink lots of water; Don't be afraid to bargain, but if that's not your thing, you'll still get a reasonable deal; Have fun!

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Address: Mo Chit Station, Bangkok
Directions: Simply take the Skytrain to the end terminal called Morchit which is exactly where the market is located, or you can now take the new subway to the Chatuchak.
Website: http://www.discoverthailand.com

Spend an afternoon at the Rose Garden. Located about an hour east of Bangkok, it's your typical tourist spot that includes restaurants, a hotel and a lake. It also boastes a live show featuring Thai dancers, kick-boxers,and elephants. Just outside the show is a place where for $1 you (or your children) can ride elephants. For another $1 you can have your picture taken with a baby elephant that just happens to enjoy giving kisses! A Mattison Christmas card picture is born !!!

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On the way back from Ayuthaya our tour included a boat trip (including a buffet lunch) down the river back to Bangkok. The lunch was quite satisfactory and the ride back to Bangkok was great. Life along the river is quite interesting. In some places there are modern factories (such as Pepsi and Singha) and in other spots people live, do laundry and bath right on the river. You also got a great view of the Grand Palace from the river. The tour dropped us off at the River City Mall, instead of riding the bus back to the hotel we chose to take the Oriental river taxi to the Oriental Hotel and have a snack. Can't beat the Oriental for afternoon refreshments.

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Address: Saphan Taksin Stn., Bangkok

About 2 hours from Bangkok is the floating market. We chose to have our driver take us there rather than an tour, but many tours travel to the floating market. Once there the Mattisons filed into a long narrow boat along with our driver and a Thai woman boat driver. We rode along the canals where Thais were selling hats, Thai handicrafts and food. Our driver had us try the fried bananas, pomeloes, and of course mangos. It was a treat......

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Address: Damnernsaduak
Directions: About 2 hours by car outside Bangkok city center