Blah blah blah
Sights, sounds and smells
The vibe, etc...
Getting there
It really couldn’t be much easier. Bangkok is served by around 90 airlines operating flights to and from well over 100 domestic and international airports. The new Suvarnabhumi Airport (opened in 2006) is spacious and clean with efficient baggage handling and check-in, although clearing immigration on arrival can be slow.
Taxis from the airport should cost no more than 400 Baht (including tolls) but watch out for drivers offering you an inflated ‘discount fare’ – if in doubt, insist on the meter. When it's busy, avoid the queue by heading upstairs to departures and nabbing a taxi as the driver is dropping someone else off. Be warned though, that although you will avoid queuing and paying the 50 Baht airport surcharge, you will lose what protection is afforded by the taxi registration process downstairs.
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Traditional stone statue in the grounds of Bangkok's Temple of the Emerald Buddah
The Loy Nava: rice barge converted into a dinner cruise ship (Photo: loynava.com) and below, traditional dancers entertain diners between courses
The welcoming committee at Cabbages and Condoms wearing Christmas outfits with an AIDS awareness theme and below, Bangkok's Soi Patpong, where you'll find a surprisingly relaxed conjunction of girlie bars and market stalls.
Bangkok street vendors: everything from fast takeaway food to makeshift sit-down meals and below, open-air aerobics classes in Lumpini Park
Recommended reading
Bangkok (LP City Guide)
Hey, this is the Backpacker's Diary website, so I'm hardly likely to recommend any other title. I've tried other guide publishers but for clear, concise and complete information, you can't beat a Lonely Planet. I'm so convinced of this that I'm going to recommend a second title:
Thailand (LP Country Guide)
You weren't seriously going to fly all the way to Bangkok and then not venture beyond the city limits were you? Even the sex tourists make detours to Phucket and Pattaya. From the cool rice paddies around Chiang Mai in the north to the sun kissed islands and beaches in the south...
Garlands for sale outside the gates of a temple
All images © Jon Bigg. All rights reserved.