JBR First timer in BKK

I am just back from Bangkok my firts time and certianly it won%26#39;t be the last! I absoluteley loved everything in Thailand and aftre the November airport fiasco (I had to cancel my trip) I finally made it and had a brilliant time.

I won%26#39;t bother you with detail;s fo everything we did (we stayed about 7 days in BKK) but here are a few useful pointers:

1. Don%26#39;t chnage money in your homecountry, it really is a lot chepaer to do it in Thailand. I was totally ripped off in Dubai (thnak God I only changed a little bit fro the taxi) and it was almost half of what I would have got here. And anyway, there are plenty of Exchange boots, no lines, so no problem changing here.

2. Taxis at the airport, go to Gate 10 (turn left) to the mettered taxis and ignore all the friendly people offering taxis and limos.

3.I managed to walk a lot, although BKK is not necessarily a walking friendly place. Beware of motorbikes driving on sidewalks!

4.Go to Suan Lum Night Bazaar before it closes down, it has such a great atmosphere! Lots of stuff to do, street stalls, beer garden, more iupscale restaurants (there si a very European like kidn of square, very nice vibe!), the market, lots of massage parlours...it was brillaint, one of my favourite places.

5.As everyone said, the Gran Palace is infested by sharks trying to rip you off. I was of course told the place was closed, etc...juts ignore them. More troubling is that even inside, the people who work in the place, seem to want to con you too. I had read that there is a free English speaking tour at 10, 10.30 am, 1 and 1.30 pm...of course they said that was not so and thta I had to pay for a guide. Luckily I didn%26#39;t, and fair enough, as soon as you pass the ticket booth, turn left (where the murals are) and there is a woman ina desk, where you can write your name down for the free guide.

6.Do not use this travel agent OM Holiday Tours on 735 Silom Road. I was stood up by them to go to the Floating Market, it was my last day, I was awake since 5 am (not easy trying to be ready for 6.30 am with 2 small kids) and she didn%26#39;t show up! So I had to get a taxi last minute...very stressful!

7. If you are going to Chatuchack Market do not stop in Chatuchack Park station, but at Kamphaeng Phet, where the entry of the market actually is.

8. Do NOT go to Phuket Zoo..the worts place ever! Expensive, dated, dingy and an animal concentration camp. Also a big rip off with the taxis, as there is no other way of leaving and it charged the earth.

8. The Floating Market was a very ncie experince..as lomg as you didn%26#39;t buy anything! We went on our lats day, and by then we knew quite well the prices of everything, so very shocked to see everything was 3 or 4 times more expenisve than in BKK. So don%26#39;t bother...but nice to experiemce nonetheless.

9. Don%26#39;t bother eating in restaurants in BKK, stick to the street stalls of MBK food court. I was a little wary about eating on the street stalls...I amgald I did, I didn%26#39;t get sick once and loved it . And I ate seafood most of the time, yummy and cheap!

10. We were very disappointed at the outrageous fees of a babysitter in the Banyan Tree Hotel, We expeted it to be expensive, but being set back alost 2000 bht before even going to be ripped off at Vertigo, was a little too much. They wanted to charge per child, per hour plus taxi, plus a minimum of 2 hours...ludicrous! Needless to say, we didn%26#39;t go...we didn%26#39;t fancy those drinks that much!

11. At the Floating Market, we took a taxi, so we had to find a boat. As soon as you arrive, there are people/con artists telling you you can%26#39;t go through, or that it was the entrance. They wanted to charge us 3000 bths per 2 hours...ridiculous!!! We got 1.5 h for 1000 bht in the next one. So don%26#39;t be fooled and keep going further and haggle!

12. At MBK, we entered through the Japanse department store. Tried looking for the Food court and they have avery limited one inside the store. It wa sonly afterwards that we realised that we were only in a shop, and that the big one is further insie, at the 6th floor. Worth the walk, it was brilliant!

Well, that%26#39;s all I can think about!

And last but not least, a big thank you to everybody in the forum who helped me prepare this fab trip. All your useful tips made a big difference, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer all my questions. I am gald I did my homework, as this was the best holdiay ever.

I hope that someone find this useful too. Enjoy BKK, I certainly did!

JBR First timer in BKK

About #7, this is true when taking the MRT subway. If taking the BTS skytrain, Mo Chit is the stop.

JBR First timer in BKK

thanks for your JBR Jujuhaha!

We also love Suan Lum, it has a great atmosphere.

Glad to hear you good a great time

Izzy

Hi glad you had a great holiday...it is an addictive place isn%26#39;t it. We have been twice now and will be back in August. So much to still see and do!!

It doesn%26#39;t matter how many times you have been or how much you research...you will still be conned!!! But better to be aware of as much stuff as you can before you go....

hope you get to return!!

cheers

karin

Yes Curt, absolutely right, I should have mentioned I was talking about the Metro.

Karin, you are right, I guess that being conned is part of the experienc e! Although I think we did pretty well and all the advice I got form here was unvaluable.

But you really have to make your homework and research and research. It%26#39;s the firts time I am using TA to prepare for a trip and it made such a difference. It%26#39;s fab to see that there are so many nice and generous people who offer advice, take time to reply to queries and to write a review.

Thanks to all!

And yes, I am certainly going back to BKK, no doubt about it!

Thanks for your report jujuhaha. It has made me really excited about my trip back next month!

Thanks for the trip report.

We missed out due to the Bangkok Closure.

Hope to get there soon.

wow

an informative and excellent report which i find extremly useful i had just sent a posting regarding hol money exchange then read your post strange that. thankyou

You welcome. I am happy that people do learn with other people%26#39;s heads!

Edwinlizard, I do feel for you...I was on the same boat and had to cancel my trip last November too. I am glad that I didn%26#39;t just changed my trip to wahtever destination was available at the time (I had my heart set in Thailand so much that nothing anywhere would make for it..so why bother?) It was worth all the waiting and more! I really hope that you%26#39;ll be able to go soon.

Ska64, I am glad it was of use to you. Have agreat trip (oh, the envy!!!!)