Bangkok

One can’t help but fall in love with the capital of Thailand. Bangkok is a top travel destination where the food is truly wonderful, the cost of living is cheap, and there’s no lack of ancient cultural wonders to marvel at.

Tourists may land on one of the city’s two airports, namely Don Muang Airport and the newer Suvarnabhumi Airport. Both airports offer eateries, convenience stores, currency exchange service, free Wi-Fi and booths for buying local network sim cards. To get to the city, one can take the Airport Rail Link, buses or taxis. Take note that there are limousine taxis that will charge much higher than the meter price and passengers will also be asked to take care of the highway toll fees.

Once in the city, the city Skytrain is the best option to get around. Maps are conveniently posted at the back of a Skytrain ticket and all around a train station. Prepare coins to purchase a ticket from a vending machine as there are times when there will be no attendant at the ticket booth. Make sure you’ll check how names are enunciated as Thais have a different way of pronouncing the alphabet. This can be challenge when giving instructions to the taxi driver so it’s advisable to carry along with you the calling card of your hotel. To avoid the traffic, you can also take the ferry that runs along the Chao Phraya River. There’s also the tuktuk, the Thai tricycle. But some tuktuk drivers will take advantage of the tourists and charge more than the usual fare. If you’re the adventurous type, try taking the motorbike taxi which can weave through the traffic quickly. The motorbike drivers are easy to spot on the street as they wear bright orange vests.

The streets are littered with food vendors that sell a wide variety of Thai delicacies from amazingly sweet fruits and spicy barbeques. Tourists can always have an authentic Thai feast at food courts in shopping malls. Speaking of shopping, Thailand is famed for the cheap clothing that the night market stalls sell. The Chatuchak Night Market is a famous everything-under-the-sun market which can also be a treat for the food adventurer. The most visited tourist spot in Thailand is the Golden Palace. But it’s important to know that there is a dress code for the religious place. Shawls and pajama-looking pants can be rented at the entrance of the palace for a small fee. The entrance for the Grand Palace costs 400 Baht ($14) and the ticket includes entrance tickets to the Vimanmeck Mansion and two other temples.

Photo Credit: Demio_Elegance @flickr