This will be the first in a series of posts aimed at anyone travelling to these destinations. It’ll mainly centre around advice for budget travel, useful information for navigating the city of Bangkok and any lessons we have learned along the way.
1. Get a taxi from either airport. It’s £10 but it’s quite a distance and public transport is poor, especially to the Khao San Road area.
HOWEVER
2. Once in Bangkok only get a taxi who will put the meter on – this will cut each journey from about 100-200+b to 50-100b. Given the shoddy public transport this makes taxis the best way to get about, apart from…
3. The Chaophraya Tourist/Express Boats: definitely the best way to get around for seeing most of the major sights. Cheap and much more leisurely than using the roads. Not to mention a brief escape from the fumes & smells! The 150b day pass may seem good value but single trips at 40/15b (depending on which boat) will probably work out cheaper.
Oh and here is the timetable for the Tourist Boat. (As of Jan 2015)
4. Tuk-tuks are a massive rip off/scam. As much of a novelty as it may seem, the drivers constantly quote much more than a taxi and are constantly out to pull a fast one. We negotiated a trip to Victory Monument and got dropped at the much closer Democracy Monument. When I challenged the driver he just kicked us out (although we didn’t pay him). If you are going anywhere else in SE Asia its highly likely you’ll be able to get a much better, cheaper tuk-tuk elsewhere.
5. Go modestly dressed to all temples. That tends to mean full-length pants (or skirt) and t-shirt. A shawl over vest isn’t allowed, but open-toed shoes aren’t a problem. See below for the Grand Palace regulations (although the ‘no short top’ rule didn’t seem to be being enforced).
6. Eating. The small pad-thai/fried rice stalls on the street are a great bargain for a cheap lunch, usually 50-60b and cooked fresh (unlike some of the food stalls which have piles pre-cooked food which could be hours old).
7. Eating. For cheap, delicious breakfast pastries, tea & coffee. We’d highly recommend Konnichipan, a Japanese bakery close to the western end of Khao San Rd. Amazing and unusual food!
8. For a bargain dinner we’d recommend Jenny’s Restaurant & Jok Phochana, just North of Khao San, over the canal, off Samsen Rd. Jenny’s does amazing Massaman and Penang Curries and everything we tried from Jok Phochana was excellent.
9. At Chatachuk Market (JJ Market) all the stuff on the inside is a bit cheaper than on the outer stalls, so have a good look before buying anything.
10. If you go to the Grand Palace, be sure to redeem your free tickets to the Dusit Palace museums. Well worth a visit!
11. Never let a ladyboy come up and hug you. Apparently you’ll end up with no wallet faster than you can blink!