"Thailand" a Bangkok Travel Page by PeterStart

I lived and worked in North Bangkok for 3 months in 2002. I lived in a hotel on Ngram Wong Wan road in Nonthanburi. I worked about 5 - 10 miles away in a town called Bang Bua Thong.

During the 3 months I spent most of my time in Bangkok, and used some of the weekends to explore nearby towns and attractions. I visited the popular beach resort of Pattaya, for a weekend, as well as the old capital of Ayutthaya. I ended my stay in Thailand with a 4 day break on Koh Samui.

I loved living there. The people are amazing, they are so helpful and friendly. Things seem to be so easy there - for example, if you want to get a bus from Bangkok to Pattaya you just turn up at the bus station, by a ticket, get on the bus and go. There's no need to check a timetable, as there seemed to be a bus leaving every 30mins. Similarly, when I arrived in Pattaya, I just walked into the first nice looking hotel, I found, and checked in. There was no problem with check times as we have in the west - I could get into the room straight away.

Bangkok is great. It's crowded, dirty, and smelly. But the people make it the great place that it is. They are the best salesmen I've met - be prepared for some lighthearted haggling. The transport into and around the city is superb. The skytrain is a good clean way to get around the city. There are only two routes, so it's easy to use. Then there are the taxis. As you will get from other advice sites - only use taxis with a meter. I was told by a Thai work mate to stay "Chah" (char) to the driver if he is driving too fast. This translates to "slow down". The tuk tuks, are good fun, although I never seemed to get a good deal from the drivers - others seemed to have found then quite cheap.
Lastly there are the motorbike taxis - not for the faint hearted. Basically you ride pillion while the rider gets you through the traffic - remember to keep your knees tucked in so you don't hit the car wing mirrors. These are a cheap way of getting from one end of a street to the other.