The Khao-San Road
Khao-San and its surrounding streets (see Map) are the tourist backpackers area. If you are on low budget, you should definitely search your guest house here. Even if you don't intend to stay, you should visit the KhaoSan road because of its unique atmosphere, especially at night.You will find in the Khaosan area: Budget Hotels, Restaurants, Street food, Travel agencies, Massages, small Shops, Bars, Dancing clubs and a lot of young travellers. Video KhaoSan in the afternoon, Video Khaosan at night, Video Rambuttri street
Pad-Thai stands
The Pad-Thai stands at the Khao San road are for tourists (Thai people are eating much more interesting things). If you want to eat for cheap (30 baht), you can take away a Pad-Thai which is basically noodles with vegetables. You can choose to have it with eggs, chicken or prawns. Other popular fast food stands at the Khaosan road:Mango with sticky rice, Corn, Shawarma, Spring rolls, Fruit stands, Natural juices and the very loved Pancakes with chocolate and banana.
Bugs Stands
If you prefer, you can try the bugs stand. Don't ask me about that, I
am vegetarian. Some tourists like to be taken in photo while
tasting them.
Eateries at the Khao-San road
If you like to sit, you can eat in one of the many eateries around the Khao San road, the food is usually excellent.
Vegetarians
Vegetarians can eat quite well around the Khao-San road. There is even a small street (behind Tanao road - see Map) with several vegetarian restaurants, among them the famous May Kaidee's where you can participate in a cooking course.Otherwise it can be tough to be vegetarian in remote places in Thailand (and in Asia in general), you will find yourself eating a lot of "fried rice with vegetables" luckily without creatures inside.
(The funniest part is to make yourself understood in non vegetarian restaurants in Asia.)
Drinks
If you wonder what to drink in Thailand, there are lots of fruits and especially Coconuts. Pineapple and watermelon juice are especially popular with tourists. Fruit shakes vendors are everywhere.
The Durian Fruit
Difficult to ignore this special fruit in Thailand.
It has a very unique look, taste and smell. In fact, the odour is so
strong that it is prohibited in some
public places. Some adore the taste, so you'll have to judge by yourself.
Look at the sign, the Durian fruit is not allowed in the metro...
This is a typical Thai fruit stand, the vendor gives you the sliced fruit in a small plastic bag with a wooden chopstick:
Western Food
Thai food is excellent, but if you are like most western tourists, after a while you will find yourself looking for pizzas and milk products everywhere, in case you don't know: traditional Asian diet excludes milk and bread products. In other Asian countries or in small places in Thailand it could be a problem, but not so in Bangkok, it is a big city with plenty of restaurants of all kinds. The big malls have restaurants for all tastes. Still, cheese is not so popular as in the west and it is relatively expensive.
Sawasdee-kap
There are two words in Thai that you will not be able to ignore during
your
visit: - Sawasdee-kap - which means hello, welcome.
- Kapunka - which means thank-you.
Massages
This is one of the favourite activities of tourists in Thailand and for
a good reason: It is very professional and not expensive. Three main
types of massages are offered in Thailand: Thai Traditional
massage, Oil massage and Foot massage. In the traditional Thai massage
you stay fully dressed and the massagist is streching and bending you
during one hour (or half an hour). Not everyone like this type of
massage, it can be stressful. Oil massage, is with oil on the body and
is very
relaxing and foot massage seems to be the favourite of tourists,
especially after a long day of walking in the sites of Bangkok. 
Fish Massage
Another popular massage is the fish massage. It is mostly fun,
especially when you are with friends with a Singha beer in the
hand. The little fishes are eating dead skin on the foot and it makes a
pleasant tickling sensation.
Weather
It is very hot and humid in Bangkok during all year, you will be happy to enter an air-conditioned space. Thailand is close to the equator and so it has a tropical climate. At day time temperatures are around 32 Celcius and at night it doesn't drop much (around 25 Celcius). There are two main seasons: the dry season (highly touristic) from November to May and the rainy season in which there are showers of rain and sometimes big thunderstorms but it is also hot when it rains. See Bangkok average temperatures.
Hotels
There are mainly two options as to where to stay in Bangkok: - The town center, around Sukhumvit road, Nana skytrain station for
example (Map).
- Around the KhaoSan road, the backpackers neighborhood (Map).
The
advantage of the first is the central location, it is close to the
big
malls and to nightlife. The advantage of Khaosan is the abundance of
tourist facilities
and good prices but then you have to spend time on travelling to the
center, 45
minutes each way, depending on traffic and the way of transport (on the
other hand Khaosan is in the old city, so the big palace and other
tourist attractions are at a walking distance). Everything is more
expensive
in the center: restaurants, hotels, massages etc.
Most backpackers don't reserve a guest house for the Khao-San area, there are simply a lot of them but if you are looking for hotels of medium and high class you can reserve your hotel at TripAdvisor. There are big hotels like Hilton and Sheraton along the Chao Phraya River.
The Chao Phraya River
Chao Phraya is the big river of Bangkok. There is an efficient public
boat
transportation along the river with many stops, among them the Grand
Palace (pier 8) and a connection to the metro at Saphan Taksin BTS
station (pier 0). The khaosan road is at pier 13.
Video
sail on Chao Phraya river
The Khlong Saen Saeb
Canal
This is a narrow canal going from east to west. You can use the public
transport boat
service in order to arrive from the Khao-San road area (Need to walk 20
minutes) to the center of town. Don't jump
into the water, it is very dirty and there are crocodiles waiting (no
kidding, I saw one). Video
sail on Khlong Saen Saeb Canal
Tuk Tuk
This cool vehicle is called a Tuk-Tuk. Your intuition probably
tells you that it is cheaper than a regular taxi, but if you are a
Tourist, it is
not. There is not a taxi-meter inside and you'll have to negotiate a
price with the driver before the ride, and since you don't have a clue
as to the distances and the common prices, the driver will try to
charge you as much as he
can. An advice: After you have tried this fun way of transport, just
take regular taxis, they are cheaper and safer. And also: Pretend you
don't speak any language unless you want to be persuaded to visit a
"Ping pong show" or a Jewelery.
In case you wonder, it looks like this, from the inside:
Even better, look at the engine. The guy told me it has 3 pistons.
Taxi-Motos
Bangkok is a city with a lot of motos and some of them are taxi-motos
that will take you wherever you want in town (just one
person). It's
easy to recognize them, the driver wears an orange gilet.
There is no
taximeter for the ride. There are some fixed tariffs for the
trajectories but you are a tourist...
Regular Taxis
The service is efficient and relatively
cheap. The only problem is that you are a tourist and more often
than not the driver will try to bypass the
taximeter. For instance, let's say you are in downtown and you want to
go to the Khaosan road. A taxi ride in non rush hours, should cost
around 80 baht, but a typical conversation with
the driver might go like this: "I want to go to the Khaosan road,
please". "Oh,
the khaosan road, very very far, 300 baht". What you have to do is look for another taxi, the third (or fifth) one will usually accept to take you with the taximeter running.
Buses
Get familiar with some lines and you will have no problems using buses in Bangkok. It is cheap, sometimes they don't even charge you in the non air conditioned buses. There is an excellent plasticized bus map (by Thinknet) that you can buy at the main book shops. Here are some bus lines you can take from the Khaosan road:To town center-(National Stadium, MBK mall, Siam center mall), Pat-Pong, Silom and Lumpini park: buses 47 and 15.
To town center (Central World mall, Fashion mall, Computer mall), Sukhumvit street, Nana and Asok: buses 2 and 511.
To Chatuchak Market (week-end market): buses 3 and 524
Video of a bus ride from Khaosan to the center
Bangkok Metro
There are two metro systems in Bangkok: The Sky train with 2 lines and
the
MRT with
one line. They interconnect at Asok station (Sukhumvit). They reach:
the
center of town (Sukhumvit, Phloen Chit), the main train station, the
week-end
market,
the
big river at pier 0. Unfortunately, they don't reach the Khao-San
road and the big palace. Video
of a ride on the Sky-Train of Bangkok , Bangkok
Metro official site
Commercial Centers
Shopping is one of the interesting activities in Bangkok. You
can spend entire days inside the big malls around the Central World
area.
(see Map)
For instance, start with the MBK center, continue along Rama1 street to Siam Discovery Center, Siam Paragon, Central World then turn left at Ratchadamn Rd and left again at Phetchaburi Rd and you will find the Fashion mall, the Pratunam market and the Pantip computer mall.
There is also a very nice mall at Asok station called: Terminal 21.
Video of a visit in the big malls of Bangkok.
There are goods for all tastes in Bangkok big malls but I am specially fond of the teddy bears, made in Thailand.
The Computer Mall- Pantip
Even if you don't need anything for your computer, just visit this mall
for its
special
atmoshpere.
The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew
This is probably the first tourist site you will want to
visit in Bangkok (Unless you prefer the malls). This
amazing place was till 150 years ago the
home of the
King and all his administrative government. The Grand Palace (see Map)
is
open every day. (Don't believe Tuk-tuk drivers who will tell you it is
closed today and propose to take you elsewhere).One way to arrive to the Grand Palace is with the public express boats on the Chao Phraya River, get down at pier 8 or 9. If you live at the Khao-San road, just walk to the palace. "Wat" means temple in Thai. Video of a visit in the Grand palace
Wat Pho
Just behind the Grand Palace is the Wat Pho complex. the big reclining Buddha is there. This is also a must visit. The ticket entrance is separate.
Wat Arun
Wat Arun is at the other side of the big river, in front of Wat Po. It is also a very impressive monument. The view on the river from this shrine is great. There is a ferry boat that will pass you to the other side of the river for 3 Baht. Video of a visit at Wat Arun
The Golden Mount - Wat Saket
A nice temple with a panoramic view over the city (see Map), the entrance is free. It is at a walking distance from the Khao-San road and it is right at the first station of the boat public services on the Khlong Saen Saeb Canal. Video of a visit at Wat Saket
Red Light Districts
Bangkok is also known for its famous red
light districts. There are three main centers: Pat-Pong, Nana Plaza and
Soi Cowboy. (see
Map)Pat-Pong street is very touristic. In fact it is so touristic that you will mainly see T-shirts for sale. Between the sellers of clothes there are go-go clubs with loud music and girls dancing on tables. Before you sit down to have a drink, make sure you know the price.
Lady Boys
Talking about the red light districts, Lady boys (called also Kathoey) are socially well accepted in Thailand.Don't be so sure you can differentiate between a real lady and a Kathoey. See this Video
Chatuchak - The Weekend Market
This is a must visit in Bangkok. It operates only on Saturdays and Sundays and it is considered the biggest open market in the world, there are even agencies of the big shipping companies (Fed Ex etc) so you can send your purchases directly home. (see Map) See this video of a visit in Chatuchak market.
There are really strange things sold in this market, it is much better than any museum.
Don't worry the cute dogs you see in the picture are not for eating.
Jim Thompson's house
Jim Thompson was an American who after world war 2 settled in Bangkok and contributed to the silk industry. The house he built for himself represents traditional Thai architecture and also contains nice furniture and art collections. It is very easy to reach this place, it is in the very center of town, close to the MBK mall, so no excuse for not visiting (see Map).
China Town
Situated close to the main Railway station (see Map). You will find there an interesting market, food, restaurants and unique atmosphere. Even more animated and decorated on the Chinese new year. Video walk in China town
Vimanmek Mansion
You receive a free ticket to this site when you visit the Grand Palace but it is situated in another area, near the Dusit zoo, 15 minutes with a taxi from the Khaosan (north). (see Map)Vimanmek is a former royal palace built in 1900 by king Rama V.
The annoying part of the visit is that you will have to take off your shoes, you won't be able to use your camera and there are draconian security measures, even the person who sold me a coconut was a military.
Dusit Zoo
The Zoo is situated near Vimanmek Mansion (see Map) and it is a very nice one (Can you touch the elephants in a European zoo ?). Better to visit the zoo on a week-end when there are many Thai families with kids, it has a more special atmoshpere. Also, there are demonstrations of animal feeding during the week-end. Video of a visit at Dusit Zoo.
Snake Farm
Situated in Silom area near the MRT station Silom (see Map).The best part of this place is the live shows of different snakes and of venom extraction. Video visit snake farm
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