Thailand

[LittleBoPeep]

I'm visiting Thailand for the first time in a couple of months. Anyone have any advice or tips they'd like to share? If so, they would be gratefully appreciated!! Thank you X :-)

[luckystrike]

Where abouts are you going to LittleBoPeep?  It might help us answer your question a little better for you!

[LittleBoPeep]

Its Bangkok where I'm starting my Thailand adventure Luckystrike. Thanks :-)

[luckystrike]

Bangkok is a brilliant city!  The old city is full of temples (wats), palaces and Buddhas.  The newer areas around Rama I, Silom and Sukhumvit Roads are where the shops, bars and restaurants can be found.

On your first day I would recommend spending the morning visiting the Grand Palace, The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha and possibly Chinatown.  It would probably be best to take a guided tour rather than struggle to do this on your own.  When you�re at Wat Pho, book a massage in your hotel room for later in the day from one of the massage teachers.  They will come to your hotel, give you a full massage for one hour, all for the bargain price of 400 baht (so you can afford to tip well!).

Afterwards the temples and palaces, you could take a taxi for ten minutes to Khao San Road, where you could have drinks and a late lunch.  This is the area where all the backpackers go to, and it�s full to the brim of fake CDs, t-shirts, sunglasses, etc.

For a night out with a difference, head to Bed Supperclub, but book now!  It�s a very different dining experience, and it�s expensive for Bangkok, but well worth the experience!  Check out the website.

The night market at Patpong is also worth a visit.  It�s very busy and touristy and is perfectly safe.  It�ll also give you a glimpse into the �sleazier� side of the Original City of Sin, and there are plenty of shows if that�s you thing.  As another Answerbanker said, once you�ve see it, it stays seen!

[luckystrike]

Cont....

I would also recommend taking a day trip to Ayutthaya � the ancient capital city of Siam which was destroyed by the Burmese.  For this trip you could contact the Shangri-La Hotel, and make a booking on their trip.  You take a coach for 75 minutes to Ayutthaya, spend about three hours getting a guided tour of the ruins, and of the royal summer palace at Bang Pa-In, before boarding the hotel�s own luxury boat for a beautiful buffet lunch and a relaxing 4 hour river cruise back to Bangkok.  The whole day is a bargain at about �25.

The Skytrain is a fast, efficient, clean and safe way to travel about the newer side of the city.  It will take you to the shops, bars and restaurants, as well as to the Shangri-La Hotel, Patpong and Bed Supperclub.  Unfortunately to does not serve the main temple areas.

Here is a link to a question which I asked a couple of months ago, which has some very useful answers.

Have fun it Thailand!  It's a beautiful country, with the most kind and helpful people I have ever met.

[LittleBoPeep]

Thanks SO much Luckystrike, that's brilliant! xxx :-)

[Bslicknaz7]

1) Watch out for getting ripped of, dont buy the first thing you see , try to haggle to price down?

2) Have safe sex

3) Be aware that you will get a culture shock

4) There lovely people and i can understand that that its named ' the land of smiles' ( and i don't intend to wipe that off their faces ) Be aware of your personal prossesions.

5) Dont hang around that arn't in the toristy areas late at night .

Follow this and you'll love the place ,.