Bangkok Hotels

There are hotels to fit every budget, from the plush 5 star hotel down to the cheap and cheerful guest houses of Khao San Road, a backpackers’ paradise. You might even be surprised to find that you can afford to go five star! I would highly recommend that you choose one close to a Skytrain stop. Bangkok is not really a city where a taxi is first choice of transport. To get anywhere quickly, take the Skytrain, the metro or a boat on the Chao Phraya river. Buy a day pass ticket on Skytrain.

At the time of writing, it costs 130 baht, which is about £2.50. The Skytrain is easy to use. Just look at the maps at the entrance to see which platform you need and which stop you want to get off at.

You may have to change trains at Siam interchange, but this takes a couple of minutes at most.

If you only have a short time in Bangkok you may prefer to go on an organised tour of the main sights. However, it is easy enough to do this on your own. Take the Skytrain to Saphan Taksin, where you will find the Chao Phraya tourist boat. The ticket costs about £3 and is valid for the day.

The boat has eight stops and along the way, you will learn about the history of Bangkok, and what to find at each stop. Must sees include the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, China Town and Khao San Road. I would recommend Khao San as a good place for lunch and people watching.

If you like shopping, you will love Bangkok. From designer store malls to the night markets, Bangkok has it all. The main ones are on the Skytrain route. If you are in Bangkok over the weekend, you might want to visit Chatuchak Market, which is one of the largest weekend markets in the world. It is popular with tourists and locals alike. You can easily get lost exploring over 15,000 booths, so take note of which entrance you used and take a map of the market. We didn’t do this on our first visit and it took us an hour to find the way out! Patpong is the famous night market where you may find some bargains but beware of anything claiming to be designer. The market is in the middle of the red-light district with its Go Go bars and ladyboys.

Bangkok is a foodie paradise. There are too many places to eat to give recommendations in this short review but if you want somewhere completely different, visit Cabbages and Condoms. We last visited it at Christmas time and the decorations were somewhat unusual. You had to look very closely at the life sized Santa and the Christmas Tree before you realised what they had been made from, let’s just say it wasn’t cabbages! All profits go to a range of charities.

It is impossible in a short review to cover the full range of things to see and do. Visit our Thailand forum for more information and to ask any questions.

Some tips

• Wear loose clothing as Bangkok is hot and humid.

• The Grand Palace - ideally visit as early in the day as you can. It is a huge complex and is always busy and very hot. You must be wearing something that covers your shoulders and knees and if you are wearing sandals, they must have straps at the back. No flip flops.

• Establish the taxi driver knows where you are going, before getting into one. Have the name of a well known landmark it is next to- for instance, when we stayed at the Landmark, if they looked vague we said Nana station, which is the Skytrain stop.

• If anyone tells you the Grand Palace is closed for the day, don’t believe them or you will end up in a gem store!

• The red light districts are quite safe, just have your wits about you, as you would anywhere else. The bar girls won’t pester couples. Most just give a friendly wave.

• Be sensible but don’t over worry. The vast majority of local people are friendly and polite. There is a reason why Thailand is called the Land of Smiles.

• Finally, if you are visiting Bangkok and a beach resort, I strongly recommend that you do Bangkok second. It can be a bit overwhelming when you are jet lagged.