Bangkok help and ideas??

jh2004

Dear all,

just wondering if anyone can shed some light on good things to see and do in bangkok.
We are going there for a 3 night stay before going to bali, at the end of may.

any suggestions would be welcomed, especially good restaurants of all prices.

cheers,

JH

pin

Can make a few quick suggestions. I'm sure you can get more details from what I'll suggest by searching the internet.

Wat Pho: this is where the "sleeping" buddha is. They also have an excellent massage school.

Royal Palace: worth a visit.

Gold Class cinema as Siam Discovery centre.

Watch Mui Thai (thai boxing).

Weekend market at Chatuchak (you can get the BTS there).

Night market at Patpong (I know this is where the seedier side of Bangkok is, but the night market is very good).

Also at Patpong, Radio City. You have Thai Elvis and Tom Jones impersonators, very good!

Cabbage and Condom restaurant. Yes I know the name sounds funny. Good reasonable priced food, lovely setting, and the proceeds go to charity (and you get a free condom with your meal!!)

Try the street vendors for food, great cheap food.

Don't take tuk-tuks, they rip you off. Stick to AC cabs, but make sure you ask for the fare to be metred. Better still use Bangkok's excellent (and cheap) public transport system of buses, river boats, Skytrain and underground.

alison74

I agree with Pin, especially the bit about the taxis. They are a godsend in the heat and be firm with the drivers and tell them to turn the meter on and they will then know you mean business ( and might even think you stay in Bangkok)

Everywhere does good food for really cheap prices, even the street stalls (go to one with a queue and language barrier isnt really a problem)

Dont be afraid to barter at the markets, ask them for 'best price' and if you hear the word 'farang' they are are calling you a Westerner and probably bumping up the price a little, but it's not worth losing out on a bargain anyway for the sake of 20 baht or so (30p)

The Grand Palace is definately worth a visit but you need to have your shoulders covered, full length skirt or trousers and covered shoes. The guards will refuse you if you are not dressed properly and you other option then is to hire out some clothes/shoes that a lot of people have used before (yeeeuuuccch)

Dont be afraid to clasp your hands together and bow, it's a sign of respect and say thank you - prounounced 'kap koon ka ' if you are female. The Thais will love you for it.

3 days is plenty to see the basics and leave lots of room for the many many bargains you will pick up !

have fun

Party_Animal

Grand Parass, Froating Market, Patpong market, and I would take a tuk tuk as its an unforgettable experience.

researcher

Bangkok is wonderful, with great places to see and eat. I'd agree that the Grand Palace is a must - I'd get there via the river boat (normal ones not tourist). As you get off at the pier - look to your right and you'll see a reastaurant. This is the Royal Navy Club restaurant - brilliant value, excellent food with a riverside setting overlooking all the comings and goings on the pier. You find the entrance by wandering around the back and asking with a smile for the reastaurant! Either go to the Grand Palace and then eat or eat and then do the palace.
On one occassion we hired a driver and car for the day (from the hotel) - which was a total waste of time - we spent hours sitting in traffic - which is horrendous. The best way of travelling if it's close to your hotel is the sky train - air conditioned comfort - clean - cheap - safe. You can buy a daily travel pass if you prefer not queueing to buy your ticket each time. At the end of one line is a river pier station with access to all the main sites situated alongside the river.
A restaurant I liked is The Mango Tree - more expensive (our bill was about £35 including cocktails), but this was fine Thai dining.
I love eating on the streets - the food is excellent - and do eat Pad Thai - everywhere does a different version but they're all superb.
Shopping is excellent value - and if you wear glasses you'll save about 75% - mine were ready within an hour although my partners took a day. Clothes can be made within 24 hours - if you need a tailor go for mid range rather than the cheapest. I've a couple of recommendations if you want.
Have you checked out the BBC's website search for 'you call the shot's bangkok' - very good information.

nevh2001

Definately the Grand Palace and get there by the river boat.
I used tuk tuks, you can really barter with the drivers, they can be just as cheap, if not cheaper than taxis. You just have to really barter. They can be quicker as they weave in and out of traffic. One thing to watch out for with tuk tuks, they offer to take you to a "shop" for free to have a look at diamonds (???), keep saying NO, they just want you to buy things in this shop that they have a deal with.

Restaurants - so many to choose from, Koh San Road offered some quality value eats.

PatPong - go for a few beers here for the experience! Seedy but safe and you can check out the market. You can haggle up to 60% off the prices. Be brave, dont be worried of offending the thais, stay polite yet firm and you're in charge

littlereddevil

If you are out and about during the day go into the foodcourts [in some of the shoppin g malls] where you can eat your fiill for about £1 or £1.50

jh2004

thanks to everyone for all their help,
im sure we eill have an amazing time.

Any info on bali would just as helpful,.

cheers in advance

jh

adjests

We went to Bali on honeymoon. I'm not a beach person and thats all i thoguht bali had to offer. I was so wrong. It is one of the best places I have been to. Two years ago we paid for my parents to go for 10 days - they thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

dont take tour organised trips. when you get there, the locals offer personalised days trips to where you want to go. we paid about £20 (7 years ago) a day which included petrol. do your research of all the place you would like to visit and discuss with the guide to work out the best appraoch. We did 3 day trips and the guides were brilliant. They made suggestions and also took us to places not our list but enroute that they thought we shoudl also see. We agreed the day price up front and paid at the end of each day. At the end of the third trip we were so happy with them we gave them a £40 bonus which we had to almost force them to take! The day trips were tiring we usually started at about 8 in the mornign and go back to our hotel between 8-9 at night.

Shopping is good for clothing and wood carvings and don't froget to bargin even in the shops. food is good but make sure you only drink bottle water. Currency exchange rates vary and the hotels and banks offered the worst exchange rates.

The only comments from my parents was that they felt that they could not bargin too much because the people of bali had suffered too much as a result of the nightclub bombing. That was their personal view and I only add this as sometimes we forget how much better off we are to some in this world.