# BANGKOK I need your help.



## Tom_Green (Sep 4, 2004)

Hi,

is it a good idea to travel to Bangkok at the end of February?

What do you think about Bangkok as a destination for a toruist? How bad is the polution? What can you tell me about the safety in that city? What`s the crime rate comperad to other cities? How big is the danger of a civil war? Military vs goverment? 
Did your enjoyed your trip? 
Anything else important i have missed?


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## [email protected] (Jan 17, 2004)

Tom_Green said:


> Hi,
> 
> is it a good idea to travel to Bangkok at the end of February?


IMO January to March is the best time for travelling around Southeast-Asia, especially because it is dry season then.



Tom_Green said:


> What do you think about Bangkok as a destination for a toruist?


If you like cities and don't mind chaotic traffic, noise and pollution Bangkok is a fantastic experience, especially because of its mix of beautiful temples and the modern megacity.

The Wat Phra Kaeo and the Grand Palace are some of the most fascinating buildings I've seen. Other temples worth visiting are the Wat Po, the Golden Mount, Wat Benjarmaporbit and Loha Prasad. Then you got the modern districts with all the shiny skyscrapers, especially Sukhumvit and Satorn. Also, make sure that you don't miss going up to the top of the Baiyoke Sky Tower.

Bangkok is also a great destination for Asian food, however Thai food is probably the world's hottest so be prepared for that. No other city in the world has that many street stalls selling exotic food like Bangkok.

As a small side trip I would recommend heading north to Ayuthaya (about 1.5 hours by train), the former capital of Siam, with its impressive ruins. Or you can book a one-day tour to the Khao Yai National Park, with its spectacular rainforest (about 2-2.5 hours each way).

Another great thing about Bangkok is also that it is really inexpensive compared to many other world cities. Last time I slept in a 4-star hotel for 20Euro/night and two full bags with groceries from the supermarket will probably cost you someting like 2-3 Euros.

Seeing that you are primarily interested in big cities, you can also combine a trip to Bangkok with visits to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, as the airfares are really cheap.



Tom_Green said:


> How bad is the polution?


Quite bad as in most other developing Asian countries. Expect to see for about 3-4km from the Baiyoke observation deck on an average day.



Tom_Green said:


> What can you tell me about the safety in that city? What`s the crime rate comperad to other cities? How big is the danger of a civil war? Military vs goverment?


The danger of a civil war is zero and the only region which is unsafe is along the southern border with Malaysia.

When it comes to violent crimes, Bangkok is as safe as any European city, however the number of scams played on tourists are probably the highest anywhere in the world. As far as I know you became the victim of scams twice in Beijing...trust me Bangkok is 10 times as worse as Beijing in that matter. However as long as you observe some basic rules, you'll be fine:

The one basic rule to not getting scammed in Bangkok is simply DON'T TRUST ANYBODY, no matter how friendly they might appear.
Thais are usually really reserved and quiet and wouldn't just start a conversation with a foreigner on the street, so if someone wants to start a conversation with you, especially near a tourist site you can be sure they want to scam you, so simply ignore them and keep on walking.
And don't believe anybody who tells you that someting is closed (all major attractions are just closed on like 2 or so days during the year and neither is in February).
Another source of constant annoyment are taxi drivers and tuk tuk drivers. If possible avoid the tuk tuks at all and stuck with taxis, but make sure that they'll use the taximeter before you enter them.



Tom_Green said:


> Did your enjoyed your trip?


I visited Bangkok twice so far. In 2000 and a 4-day stopover on my way to Australia in March 2005 and had a great time each visit, one of the reasons why I will visit Bangkok for the third time this July during my 7-week trip through Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.


Hope that helps.


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## DenverDane (Sep 10, 2003)

It seemed perfectly safe when I was there in November. Of course, I had a Thai friend, who showed me around and made sure I avoided the troublesome areas, but Bangkok is a major tourist destination, so you should be fine.

The pollution wasn't so bad when I was there, but I guess it may depend a lot on the weather too.

I recommend you check out www.virtualtourist.com.


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## Ursyn (Jun 20, 2003)

I was there in October and can tell you sth about Bangkok. Here http://thailandforvisitors.com/central/bangkok/general/weather.html you can check useful information about weather.
In my opinion Bangkok is good only for few days. City is crowded and messy. I think that smog is something normal there. 
I don't have any data about crimes but I felt safe all the time. 
There are a lot of interesting and beautiful places worth to see but I really relaxed on Phuket Island.

Thailand is worth to visit. You won't regret.


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## phillybud (Jul 22, 2007)

*The City of Angeles*

I first visited Bangkok about 11 years ago and have been back 5 times, most recently last year. It is a truly great city, fantastic, interesting, crowded, noisy, historic, smoggy, exciting and unforgetable. It's very much like Hong Kong, New York, London, New Delhi, Los Angeles in that it is a very big city with about 6.5 million people in the city proper.

The food is fantastic. 

The nightlife is ... er ... well, exotic! (are you a single guy?)

Don't miss the Spectacle show "Siam Niramit" ... with dancers in golden costumes, a panorama of differant scenes of opulent sumptuousness of the ancient court of Siam, live elephants, beautiful music ... you can get a glimpse of this show on YouTube.

Gorgeous, glorious temples and palaces ... in this aspect Krung Thep (the City of Angeles, Bangkok's real name!) beats out Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Tokyo! A few are: Wat Phra Keao (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha), Wat Po (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha), Wat Benjimabopit (the Marble Temple), Wat Arun (the Temple of the Dawn), the Golden Mount, the Grand Royal Palace, etc etc.

It is polluted ... no worse than many mega cities like Los Angeles.

There is a thread here in SkyscraperCity that features scores of glorious photos of Bangkok ... check it out!

:cheers:


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## Saigoneseguy (Mar 6, 2005)

Do go there, mate. I live in Vietnam which is quite similar to Thailand but Bangkok is still be soo amazing for me.


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## Skyprince (May 2, 2006)

Just returned from Bangkok ( transit for 7 days en route to Dhaka, Bangladesh ). Bangkok is a great city. Don't miss Baiyoke Tower 2. It's the highest building in Thailand and there is a " hidden " observation lobby at Level 78- 84. Admission fee is just 200 Baht, with complimentary drinks. Lol crime rate in Bangkok ? It's a very safe place to travel to. You must visit Wat Arun also. Food in Bangkok is superb and so cheap.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

It's a few years since I went but I really enjoyed it, it's a buzzing city, the food is great and cheap, there are lots of interesting things to see and do, nightlife is good etc. I never felt unsafe but expect to get pestered by people trying to get money out of you in some places, for example outside railway stations and tuk tuk drivers, get taxis around the city (or skytrain if convenient for your journey) rather than tuk tuks (maybe take one just for the experience), they are usually much better.

The main negative point for me was the pollution, air quality was very bad (worst i've experienced) and the heat and humidity made it quite uncomfortable at times for somebody not used to that climate.


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## Tom_Green (Sep 4, 2004)

Thanks for your help. 
I already reserved the seats in the plane. I would fly on February 1st and stay for 6 nights. 
The flight is the most expensive part. 739€. The hotel would cost 100,5€ with breakfast.
The hotel is the

HOTEL DE MOC
78 PRAJATIPATAI RD., PRANAKORN

Anyone know something about that hotel?


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

Tom_Green said:


> Thanks for your help.
> I already reserved the seats in the plane. I would fly on February 1st and stay for 6 nights.
> The flight is the most expensive part. 739€. The hotel would cost 100,5€ with breakfast.
> The hotel is the
> ...


It inspired the film 'Hostel'... Joke 

I've seen Bangkok properly once (other times just passing through), and enjoyed it. Go on a cruise on the Chao Praya river, it's a nice way to see the city. I did an evening dinner cruise too, very nice. The temples and palaces are great, I can't remeber the names off hand. Didn't do any nightlife, so I can't comment on that.


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## phillybud (Jul 22, 2007)

Tom, how old are you?


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## foadi (Feb 15, 2006)

looks like you'll be a pretty long walk from siam square or sukhumvit (and no good bts or mtr access either) so you'll prolly want to take a taxi when you go check out those areas. you're within walking distance of a lot of teh cewl wats tho.


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## Tom_Green (Sep 4, 2004)

phillybud said:


> Tom, how old are you?


I am 24.


Tubeman: Thanks for the information. 
I am going now to buy a travel guide.

foadi: How far away is the metro or the sky try from my hotel? I had to walk 1.1 km to my subway station in Beijing and that was okay for me. 
I have a free transport to the Khao San Road. Does that help?


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## foadi (Feb 15, 2006)

3 or 4 km from teh nearest skytrain station (could be further, i've never walked it). your maybe 10 minute walk from khao san rd ... not that far at all.


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## Tom_Green (Sep 4, 2004)

foadi said:


> 3 or 4 km from teh nearest skytrain station (could be further, i've never walked it). your maybe 10 minute walk from khao san rd ... not that far at all.


I checked many maps and i used google earth. 
The location of the metro and sky train doesn`t run through the real core of Bangkok doesn`t it? But my hotel is located in the core, am i right?

I have now a tourist guide for Bangkok. The most important sentences are in Englisch. What does the most people speak. Englisch or Thai?


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## Durbsboi (Dec 2, 2005)

Tom_Green said:


> Anything else important i have missed?


Carry lots of money & lots of empty bags, because believe me, you going to do alot of shopping!!!


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## Bentown (Jan 29, 2007)

^^strongly agree....Bkk is paradise for shopping............:cheers:


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## foadi (Feb 15, 2006)

Tom_Green said:


> I checked many maps and i used google earth.
> The location of the metro and sky train doesn`t run through the real core of Bangkok doesn`t it? But my hotel is located in the core, am i right?
> 
> I have now a tourist guide for Bangkok. The most important sentences are in Englisch. What does the most people speak. Englisch or Thai?


i don't know if i would say your hotel is in teh urban core, it's close to some of the tourist spots tho. here's a pano of bkk

http://www.thailandbilder.se/bangkok-thailand_panorama.jpg

your hotel is behind and to the right of prince palace hotel mahanak. just scroll over to the very right of the pano and you'll see the area. you can prolly get a cab to siam square or something for like 60-80 baht or you could take a bus. if you speak english you'll be fine.


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## phillybud (Jul 22, 2007)

Tom_Green said:


> I am 24.



Excellant! You should have a wonderful time (use protection). You will find the nightlife fascinating (use protection). There are so many young and attractive people who want to meet you. Be considerate and polite and generous you will make many friends ... your choice of male or female (but please, behave safely and use protection!)

:banana:


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## foadi (Feb 15, 2006)

phillybud said:


> Excellant! You should have a wonderful time (use protection). You will find the nightlife fascinating (use protection). There are so many young and attractive people who want to meet you. Be considerate and polite and generous you will make many friends ... your choice of male or female (but please, behave safely and use protection!)
> 
> :banana:


lol if thats why hes going hes definitely staying in the wrong part of town.


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