Visiting Bangkok
Well if you've never been to Thailand, now is the chance to absorb the wonders from the land of smile.
You will probably land at Suvarnabhumi Airport, this being the largest airport in Thailand and within easy travelling distance to the capital, Bangkok.
There are a few way to travel from the airport to the city. The first being the Airport link, a raised railway which takes you to the heart of Bangkok within 30 minutes at a price of 45 Baht. The next way to travel is buy taxi, you will have to pay a little extra for airport fee and toll ways, fare about 400 Baht. The third way to make the journey is by bus, four separate routes depending on which area of the city you will visit or stay. They are AE1 to Silom Road, AE2 to Banglamphu, AE3 to Sukhumvit Road and AE4 to Hua Lamphong. The price of the buses is 150 Baht, so if there are a few of you taking a taxi might work out cheaper.
While in Bangkok the traveling is easy with Either MRT (subway) or BTS (sky train). There are of course other means of transportation such as taxis, tuk-tuks, buses, motorcycle taxis and river taxis. The MRT is incredible, clean and fast. With the new lines just opened traveling is fast and easy. Most forms of transport start at 06.00 and stop at 12.00. River taxis stop about 19.00 but are very reasonably priced and fun to use.
Places to visit in Bangkok are numerous, depending on what you are looking for and your interests. There are museums, temples, markets, floating markets, large computer stores, shopping malls, pleasure parks, nature parks, zoos, restaurants and historical monuments. Most people like to visit Kaosan Road, Some stay there for their whole trip, believing it to be Bangkok, but it's just a small street with clubs and bars. Experience the night life here at the night bazaars or walk along the river bank and enjoy the incredible illuminated city. There are many romantic restaurants in the city with incredible vistas. Ideal if you are traveling with your partner.
During the day you can visit The Ancient City in Samut Prakarn, a huge collection of old Thai tradition and architecture. You can either walk around to see everything or hire a bicycle. To get in is 350 Baht for an extra 230 Baht you can get transport and entrance to The Erawan Museum. This is a 60 Meter high Elephant with three heads. The museum is actually inside the elephant's body. Across the road from this is the crocodile farm and zoo, entrance 300 Baht, where you can see, elephants, tigers, monkeys, birds, snakes and of course the crocodiles.
If you fancy a swim or some amusement rides there is Siam Park. Here there are roller coasters and other pleasant activities like the dinosaur safari. There is also a large swimming area which has the largest wave pool in South East Asia. There are lots to do here and it's easy to spend the day. Entrance fee is 650 Baht.
Going slightly north of Bangkok you can reach Sampran, where you will find the elephant grounds where there are shows most days of historical Thai battles and elephants playing football. There are also live crocodile shows all at a price of 600 Baht, well worth the visit. Just north of the grounds is the Dragon temple. A Chinese temple with a large dragon wrapped around from the bottom to the top. It is quite a sight to behold. As you travel back towards the grounds take a left turn and go to Wat Rai Khing, a beautiful temple, then jump on the boat and travel along the river on a nice river boat, take in the beautiful scenery and eat dinner.
Glossary of term:-
BTS - Bangkok Train System commonly called Sky Train.
MRT - Mass Rapid Transport ( owned by BEM Bangkok Expressway and Metro) Underground system.
Tuk-Tuk - A small open car driven by a motorcycle front end.
