Chronicals of… a developer in Johannesburg

May
31
2010

Bangkok, Thailand

Information on where to go and what to do in Bangkok, from a South African who has been there.

Finally I am getting around to posting on our Thailand trip, we went there at the end of March. Our first 3 nights were in Bangkok. We stayed in the Narai Hotel Silom. Silom is a quite a central district and it is very easy to get around from our Hotel. Just a few steps down the road and there is a little alleyway with all sorts of little Thai restaurants.

The first thing we noticed is the heat. Thailand is very hot! When packing to go there, the only long pants you will need are the ones you wear on the aeroplane. The only long sleeve top you will need is some sort of waterproof item for when you take a boat and get soaked by the rain (but more on that later).

The second thing you will notice is the traffic – at all hours of the day the roads are packed. Tuk-Tuk drivers will offer you a lift from anywhere, to anywhere, but be careful. They often give you a “discount” if you visit a specific shop (usually silk and jewellery), which is way out of your way and very time consuming. Taxis are cheap, but be sure to ask them if they will use the meter, otherwise dont bother. I personally found the fastest and best way to get around was the Sky Train. Cheap, fast, and no traffic. From way up there in the sky you can also see a lot of the city below you as you rush past. The last form of transport we tried were the boats, also cheap and fast, and definitely an experience! There is also a scooter taxi that we didn’t try out.

The prices you should be paying for transport in Bangkok:

Taxi: 35B – there after it is metered
Tuk-Tuk: 40 – 50B for two per trip anywhere.
Sky Train: 20 – 40B one way depending on number of stations.
Boat: 20B per person

Patpong night market is madness. Every 2 steps you will get an invite to a “live show”, asked to buy a pair of jeans, t-shirt and any other kind of “made in Thailand” merchandise. It is a great experience, but I don’t recommend going alone.

Check out the huge malls (easily accessible by Sky Train) MBK and Central World are rigth next to each other, and they are huge!

There are plenty of temples to see, we only went to the ones in Bangkok, but our friends did a tour to some huge palaces outside the city. Remember the heat, and temples don’t have aircon.

The floating market is over rated.