Visiting Bangkok in Feb 2015, would like to make new friends!

I live in Bangkok and was just in Vietnam (Ha Noi); beautiful there.  But that's a different subject.

I'm married here and a bit busy so I probably can't meet anyone, and I don't get to bars much, but I could help say a little about Bangkok in general.  It would probably be a lot like what any travel site would say so maybe not much help but I can add question responses to it if you like.

The main things people see in Bangkok are either bars, temples, or shopping malls.  A lot of bars emphasize the sex industry, which is a lot more open here than just about anywhere, so you'd want to be careful about where you go.  It's not that it would be unsafe almost anywhere, maybe just not appealing.  Of course there are lots of different sorts of bars here as well, pubs, clubs, hotel bars, music venues, and so on.

As for temples the main stop is the Grand Palace, a temple (Wat Pra Kaew) and the former center of the Thai Monarchy.  You really should see Wat Pho at the same time since it's nearby and also worth a look.  After that there are countless others, maybe with Wat Arun as the main third site across the river.

As for malls you could get a feel for all the different range in one stop in the "Siam" area, next to the BTS (skytrain) stop of the same name.  Central World and Paragon are upscale versions, interesting for size and scale, and MBK is a bit further down the BTS line (one stop, or close enough to walk over) for value shopping, for less expensive clothes or electronics or whatever.  There are countless other options; if shopping is your interest you could ask more.  Due to import taxes and overheads (a little high for the region, at least) there isn't much in Bangkok you couldn't get in Vietnam for slightly less, so shopping should either be about wider selection or just the activity.  Since you've mentioned bars in your opening I won't go into other tourist outlets like a floating market and such.

Where to stay is always a main concern.  Anywhere along Sukhumvit gives access to the BTS line, the easiest way around crowded Bangkok traffic.  A lot of backpacker level visitors choose the Kao San road area (not that close to the BTS) because it's ground zero for related business:  less expensive tourist restaurants and bars, travel businesses, etc.  There would really be no need to seek out tourist theme restaurants because there are so many levels of Thai restaurants that could all work around you ordering in English.  Western food isn't worth even trying here, in general, but there are different types of Thai foods, and a lot of Japanese options. 

Hope that helps  --  John

Hi John,

Thank you very much for your kind advice. Could you please also let me know what is the best transportation in Bangkok for tourist? I am thinking of going to Phuket as well but struggling to book flight from Bangkok to Phuket from Vietnam. I have 7 days so how many days do you think it is enough to be in Bangkok?

That's an excellent question.  The answer depends on what you want to do, of course.  From my perspective two days is enough in Bangkok if you have other interests and temples, city bars, and shopping aren't a huge draw.

Typically people fly into Bangkok and use it as a travel point of departure, usually taking a second flight to go to another place.  If you wanted to go to a place that is accessible by a train the night trains are a convenient and inexpensive way to travel, since roughly 1000 baht covers both the trip cost and lodging for that night (sleeper car version).  But a train wouldn't go directly all the way to Phuket, and adding a bus section to a train section might be troublesome, so it would be more typical to fly a second round trip for that.

There are two airports in Bangkok, Suvarnibhumi for international flights and Don Meuang for domestic travel.  Of course there is potential for that to be a problem for trying to connect immediately since the two are roughly two hours drive from each other, in opposite parts of the city.  Domestic flights should be relatively inexpensive through budget oriented carriers like Asia Air or Nok Air, you just probably wouldn't get even a snack on those and would want to check luggage weight or bag count restrictions.

I've just talked to two other sets of tourists in Vietnam about where to go in Thailand in almost the same conversation, and the conclusion was very different for both depending on their prior plans and interests.  One group was already going to Phuket and asked which islands to travel on to from there, and my wife suggested Phi Phi island (which I've not been to, although I have been to Phuket, Samui, Hua Hin, Cha Am, Pattaya, and Krabi).  The other said they only had a limited time traveling directly out of Bangkok, and conversation led to suggesting Hua Hin, a Gulf of Thailand land-based resort (versus Phi Phi on the East in the Andaman Sea, Part of the Indian Ocean).

At work people have suggested both islands of Koh Chang and Koh Sumet, (Koh means island), both not that far from Bangkok, so a bus trip of some sort would work (roughly 2+ hours for Sumet and 3+ hours for Chang, maybe, plus a bit of ferry transport).  Or Hua Hin is ok, not as nice as an island I'd expect but a decent resort town, just a little plain (to me).  I'm not a big fan of Phuket but maybe that's just me, and I'd hope the other islands are nicer than Samui. 

If actually going in the sea (snorkeling, etc.) is the goal then that changes things.  I've never seen sea water clear enough for me to see anything if I had went in it in Thailand but the best bet is probably the Phi Phi vicinity.  Just don't go to Pataya; it's for a different type of tourist.