Bangkok Basics - 101 Tips

This short book consists of 101 tips (actually, a lot more than 101 – we’re generous like that) to help travellers to Bangkok make the most of their visit.

It’s written by two people who have spent a lot of time in Thailand as tourists and also lived there for several years, and based on their personal experience and on-the-ground research. This is your insider’s guide for where to go and what to do.

It’s NOT a guide book. If you want to find about about visiting the temples or other sights, then you’ll be better off with a Lonely Planet or a Rough Guide. What it does cover is things like:

• Getting from the airport to the city, getting around, and getting out of town. There are comfortable ways to travel, cheap ways to travel, and tourist traps, and it's not always easy to separate one from the other.

• Money - where to get it, where to exchange it, and how to make sure you don't get swindled.

• Places to stay. As a major tourist destination, Bangkok has a staggering amount of choice - we mention a couple of our favourites, and one place to avoid.

• What to eat and drink, and where. Thai cuisine is justly famous, but there's something for all tastes in Bangkok, from the Western to the downright weird! What's more, the Thais themselves often have strange ideas of what visitors will and won't eat.

• Shopping. Bangkok is South East Asia's shopping Mecca, with shopping malls seemingly everywhere. We look at the major malls, the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market and the street vendors.

• Keeping in touch - telecoms and the Internet, post and courier services.

• Staying out of trouble. Keeping on the right side of the law and on good terms with the Thais isn't that hard, but there are a few things to be aware of. The same goes for health issues.

And much more!

Bangkok is a large city, and this book lays no claim to being comprehensive - you’d need a much larger book to cover all the different places to go in all the different areas of the city. It naturally centres on the places where we like to go and on the areas where we like to hang out when we’re there - and we see enough other people going to those places to be confident that others find them as attractive as we do. We hope you'll agree!