Facts | Shopping | Places of Interest | Nightlife | Eating Out | Your Comments

 

 

Bangkok is the capital and also the largest city in Thailand. The official currency in Thailand is the Baht, which exchanges at about 34 to the US dollar. More than 10 million tourists go to Thailand every year, but this number fell sharply after its tsunami disaster at the end of 2004.

 

BTS Skytrain is fast, safe and most reliable. With 23 stations, they are conveniently located along Sukhumvit and Silom lines which operate daily from 0600 to 2400 hrs. One Day Pass and 3-Day Tourists Pass make exploring Bangkok easy and economical. Tuk-Tuk, three-wheeled, open air, motorized taxis are popular for short journeys. You are expected to bargain the fare cost. Pay one of the drivers 500- 1000 THB and he will take you around the city, down back streets it's a prefect and cheap way of seeing the city sights. Their name comes from the noise their clattering engines make. better at dodging through the traffic than Metered Taxis, however better suited for your health but far less fun, also can be less expensive than Tuk-Tuks; reason you can easily be taken for a ride with the cost of a journey with the three-wheelers. When entering the metered taxis check to make sure that the meter is used and that the fare starts at 35 baht. If not, simply get out and take the next taxi. Motorcycle Taxis quickest and most dangerous form of travel in Bangkok, not for the faint of heart. Motorcycle taxis are the quickest way of getting through rush hour traffic, when the daring drivers manage to squeeze through the tiniest of gaps, often narrowly avoiding heads-on collisions.

 

 

Shopping in Bangkok is a wonderful and exciting experience. During your layover crew will be able to buy almost anything, from the very best leather copy handbags stamped with all the lastest brand names, replica watches like 'Rolexes' that should last for at least a few weeks (unless you're going for the pricey 'super-copies') to having a tailored suit made in a few hours. It is very rare for any crew not to have spent all their allowances.

 

PATPONG

 

'The Patpong Night Market' in Soi 1 has always been one of the 'must-do' night shopping destinations for crew and tourists. The place comes alive as soon as the sun sets, so if you get the chance go and watch the commotion made by the market traders hurrying around putting together their stalls, its busy and chaotic. Because of its popularity, the prices are usually quite inflated. Bargaining is the norm and if you maintain a friendly and assertive approach, you'll be thrilled with the deals you'd be able to clinch. Some tourists and crew will pretend to look interested in the fake Gucci handbags before temptation gets the better of them and they venture inside to witness one of the famous shows they've heard so much about.

 

Shopping tip: Don't ever make an offer for something if you're not prepared to pay the price, the traders can get very upset and sometimes even aggressive. A good place to start negotiations is for half the asking price (except CD's and DVD's, of which the prices are pretty much fixed - unless you're really stocking up).

 

Silom Road, very close to most aircrew hotels 40 - 80 THB by taxi

 

 

KHAO SAN ROAD

 

Khao San Road is literally bursting with things for you to spend your baht on. The popular book 'The Beach' called it "the centre of the backpacking universe". The area's tailors (some of the best in bangkok) will give you that cutting edge suit. Also there are several of the city's best second hand-book shops scattered around where you can trade in your old books or buy a new one. With its carefree, anything-goes vibe it's quite unlike anywhere else in Bangkok and, probably, the world.

 

Check with your crew hotel, but easy and safest is via metered taxis

 

 

MBK SHOPPING MALL [MAH BOON KRONG]

 

This is a very popular shopping mall for crew. Located just across from Siam Square. If you are looking for any electronic goods this is the place to go as MBK is by far the cheapest place for Panasonic, Sony, Aiwa, etc. A good selection of copied video CDs, DVDs, and the premier place for PlayStation game copies. If you need a new or anything related to mobile phones then head to the 4th floor. The ground floor has a lot of fake designer goods and clothes at prices you won't see from street traders. Prices are mainly set.

 

Taxi or Skytrain

 

 

PANTHIP PLAZA

 

The best place to go for any type of computer shopping is Panthip Plaza on Phetburi / Petchburi Rd in Pratunam district (not far from the Amari Watergate hotel). Prices are very cheap and the range extensive. Panthip is most (in)famous for the huge amount of pirated software available with everything from the latest computer games, to versions of all of the top Hollywood movies on DVD.

Directions: Air-con buses 5, 11 and 12 all pass outside of Panthip Plaza, or ask any taxi driver (it's pronounced as pan-tip, say it quickly and then repeat seems to work best).

 

Taxi or Skytrain

 

 

LUMPINI PARK

Huge park in the city of Bangkok that provides a nice and relaxing experience. Perfect place to wonder around then relaxing spending your time admiring the scenery of this beautiful park. Entrance is free it is mostly overlooked by travelers..... and crew. Man made park which has artificial lakes where you can hire pedal boats, small playgounds, huge concrete paths winding through the park, and lots and lots of grass...

 

Entrances on Rama IV Road, Sarasin Road, Wireless Road and Ratchadamri Road, Bangkok, 10330 Thailand

 

 

 

THE AUYTTAHA

Old ruined city in the Bangkok area. There are palaces and Budhist temples for you to explore and admire, its a wonderful sight seeing escapade.

 

86 kilometers north of Bangkok, Ayutthaya
13000 Thailand

 

 

 

SAMUT PRAKARN CROCODILE FARM & ZOO

The Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo is another place you will definitely want to see. There are over 60,000 crocodiles in this zoo, which makes it the world’s largest crocodile farm.

 

555 Moo 7 Taiban Road, Taiban Sub-District, Amphur Muang, Samutprakarn
Bangkok, 10270 Thailand
+66 2 703 4891-5; 703 5144-8

 

 

DAMNOEN SADUAK FLOATING MARKET

The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is a must see. Such a beautiful place and you will enjoy spending hours on it. Enjoy all the food and fun and the nice people you will meet along the way and you will be glad you took the time to go to it.

 

Bang Phae-Damnoen Saduak Road, Off Highway 4 (80 kilometers west of Bangkok), Damnoen Saduak, Samut Songkhram 70120 Thailand

 

 

THE ANCIENT CITY

The Ancient City is another wonderful place to visit where you will see all the cultures, history and arts of the Thai people. Do take your time and garner as much information as you can while you are there visiting this place. It is well worth a couple hours of your time while you are in the area.

 

Sukhumvit Road, Kilometer 33, Bangpoo, Samut Prakan
Bangkok, 10400 Thailand
+66 02 323 9253

 

 

Bangkok's nightlife has a reputation for being wild and rowdy. But at the same time it's relaxed, safe, enjoyable and great fun! Nightlife scene features everything from excellent live music and good jazz clubs to ultra cool bars, trendy clubs and great restaurants.

Admission to clubs is generally free, with a few exceptions some higher end places ask entry fees of up to 600 baht, this will include one or two free drinks. Most places are fairly relaxed and impose no strict dress codes. Some will not let you in if you are wearing flip flops or shorts, and require ID, so make sure you find out before to avoid disappointment.

 

 

BED SUPPERCLUB

Bed Supperclub is also a restaurant. DJs play house and electro music and is one of Bangkok's trendiest clubs. The dining area on the left side of the club, or rather dining lounge, has tables with matresses and oversized pillows, inviting guests to relax and use ones imagination. Take your airline ID you will get in free and also recieve 15% of drinks.

 

Open: 20:00 - 01:00 daily. Restaurant: 19:00 - 24:00 (Monday - Thursday), 19:30 - 01:00 (Friday and Saturday)
Location: 26 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Contact: +66 (0)2 651 3557
Skytrain: Nana

 

 

Nacy (USA) Sept 2007
Lots of expats smaller than I thought but the music was big and brill. I could'nt stop dancing.

 

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Q BAR

This New York style bar and club attracts a cosmopolitan crowd and is a running favourite among locals and expats. With over 50 different international brands of Vodka in their impressive vodka freezers, 20 different types of tequilas and 50 whiskey brands. This is one of the few bars in Thailand to feature a full line of cigars from Cuba and the D.P.

Entrance is 500 baht weeknights, 600 baht on the weekends, and a bit higher when guest (international) DJs are playing.

 

Open: 20:00 - 01:00
Location: 34 Sukhumvit Soi 11
Contact: +66 (0)2 252 3274

 

 

Cafè Democ

Dance music - house, electro, pop, new rave, breakbeat, progressive house, trance, hip-hop and drum & bass. Located on Ratchadamnoen Road smack-bang next to the famous Democracy Monument (a ten minute walk from Khao San Road).

 

Open: 11:00 - 01:00 Tuesday - Sunday
Location: Next to the Democracy monument, Ratchadamnoen Road
Contact: +66 (0)2 622 2571

 

 

Immortal

A legendary player in the Khao San music scene, Immortal has cracked the secret for longevity: play the music you love, and crank it very, very loud. With drum & bass, punk, rock, metal and nu-metal sometimes played, the music policy has a distinct alternative, industrial edge. However, this is a hip-hop club at heart. Has various Happy Hour offers, and the price of entry (which varies according to the night) includes a drink. Dark, shady and unglamorous, but often very fun.

 

Location: 1st floor of the Bayon Building, 249 Khao San Road
Contact: +66 (0)5 812 9111

 

 

 

 

SUAN LUM NIGHT BAZAAR

A fun place to shop and dine

The Suan Lum Night Bazaar is a great place for an inexpensive night out that offers fabulous shopping, restaurant or food court dining, live entertainment and a superb choice of beers.

The shopping area is well laid out with neat streets lined on both sides with shops selling clothes, handicrafts, souvenirs, and a myriad of other items. There are alleyways between the main streets, which are crammed with smaller stalls offering great bargains. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you might find here.
Spread throughout the complex, are many restaurants and bars. The range of cuisine is quite extensive including Thai and Chinese seafood, Indian, Japanese and German.

As you wander along the main street, you'll see The Joe Louis Puppet Theatre. This is truly unique. This is a puppet theatre presenting performances of the Ramakien. With three puppeteers manipulating each puppet. They are in full view of the audience and even come off the stage.

The main attraction at Suan Lum Night Bazaar is the huge beer garden and food court covering an area about the size of two football fields. On three sides there are stall selling a delicious variety of food cooked before your eyes. There are also beer stalls on the right hand side offering all the local beers, many imported brands and some local brews from micro breweries in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
The center piece is a large stage where the latest local and foreign hit songs are performed by a variety of singers with their back up dancers. Great entertainment for free. All the food and drink stalls operate on a coupon system so it is easy to keep track of your spending.

 

Suan Lum Night Bazaar is on the corner of Wireless and RamaIV Roads. There is a Subway Station at Lumpini and the nearest BTS Skytrain station is Saladaeng.
Bus routes 4, 13, 14, 17, 22, 43, 45, 46, 47, 50, 62, 76, 109, 115, 116, 149, 173

 

 

SUKHUMVIT ROAD

Where the foreigners live and hang out. Sukhumvit Road runs all the way from the railway crossing at Ploenchit to the Cambodian Border in Trat. But the section from the first soi to Soi 55 is the one relevant to this presentation as it has much to offer visitors and locals alike. There are restaurants all the way along Sukhumvit Road and in just about every side street. These cover just about every cuisine known to man. The area around Soi Nana at the beginning of Sukhumvit Road has many restaurants, particularly those serving Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine. This area is also well-known for its lively bar scene.
There are many hotels ranging from 5-star to cheaper establishment in the area from Soi Nana to Asoke Road. There are also a variety of international fast food restaurants as well as those serving French, Italian, Japanese and Korean in addition to Thai and Thai-Chinese meals. Another street of bars, Soi Cowboy, is just past Asoke Road.

The restaurants and hotels continue up Sukhumvit Road and all the side streets. There is a beautiful park, Benchasiri Park, just before you reach The Emporium, yet another high class shopping center. The condominiums in this area have a high number of expatriate Japanese families residing here, so there are more Japanese restaurants and bars in this locale. Some call it Little Tokyo.
Soi 55, also known as Soi Thonglor, is another street of restaurants and shops catering to the well-to-do. Opposite the entrance to Soi Thonglor on Sukhumvit Road, is a small soi that fills up at night with a multitude of food vendors and their carts serving supper into the early morning.

 

How to get there: BTS Skytrain has many stations. Subway Sukhumvit Station Bus routes 2, 23, 25, 38, 40, 48, 71, 98, 501, 508, 511, 513

 

 

 

CHINA TOWN

The largest outside of China. Chinatown is a bustling, crowded area where you can buy just about anything day or night. The main thoroughfare through Chinatown is Yaowarat Road, which is approximately 1.5 kilometres in length. It was built during the reign of King Rama V. On each side of the road, there is a network of streets and alleys lined with shops selling all sorts of things. In many of these streets, you'll find shops side by side selling the same items.

There is an old fresh food market called Trok Isarnuphap where leading chefs from all over Bangkok shop for the finest and freshest ingredients for their restaurant menus.

There is an old fresh food market called Trok Isarnuphap where leading chefs from all over Bangkok shop for the finest and freshest ingredients for their restaurant menus. A visit at night will take you to a food street where you sit on stools watching your meal being prepared, then enjoying the delicious cuisine washed down by tea or a cold beer.

 

How to get there: Subway to Hua Lamphong station
Bus routes 1, 4, 7, 25, 53, 501

 

 

Living or been on layover in Bangkok? Please share information about what2do. You can recommend places of interest, restaurants, clubs and much more we will do the rest.

 

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