Bangkok Travel Tips

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Bangkok Travel Guide (27 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Bangkok Travel Tips is a website I created to help people get to know Bangkok from the comfort of their computer. Come, let's visit all the places in Bangkok, get to know its many temples, tourist attractions, and more. Through this site, you will get to visit more of Bangkok than people who are there themselves. And you will do it directly from your desk!

This website is not a travelogue. While I've been to Bangkok a number of times, this website is not based on my travels, rather it is a compilation based on my research. It is a reflection of my desire to know everything about Bangkok, and to share my discovery with like-minded enthusiasts.

Bangkok is the capital and biggest urban area in Thailand. The city covers an area of 1,568 sq km (606 sq mi) within a metropolitan are of 7,761 sq km (2,997 sq mi). The city has a population of 9.2 million people (2011 estimate) while the metropolitan area 12 million people. Bangkok is far and away larger than any other city in Thailand. With so much to do and see, make sure you stay for at least a few days in one of the many cheap Bangkok hotels to get the most out this amazing city. And if you're into it, you can find in Bangkok casinos with luxurious atmosphere offering a wide variety of games such as the American roulette, Poker texas holdem, slot machines and more.

Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, popularly called Wat Phra Kaew
Author: Aimaimyi (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 Generic)

The Chao Phraya River, the biggest river in Thailand, flows right through Bangkok towards the Gulf of Thailand, splitting the city into two parts. Present-day Bangkok is on the eastern bank of the river, although Bangkok itself began on the west bank, in the Bangkok district of Thonburi. To the Thais, Bangkok is called Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, which translates roughly as "City of Angels". The name Bangkok, which in English refers to the entire metropolis, comes from the Bangkok neighbourhood on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River.

My mission in writing Bangkok Travel Tips is to provide visitors with useful information for exploring Bangkok on their own. To accomplish this, I will be providing you with details on how to take the public tranport, primarily the elevated trains, the subway and the taxis.

Pathumwan area in downtown Bangkok
Author: Paolobon140 (Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication)

I will describe all the tourist places of Bangkok, along with all the 50 districts of the city. That way, regardless where in Bangkok you are going to visit, you will have at least some information in hand. You can find these listed on the right hand column of this page.

Going to Bangkok

Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) is the main airport serving Bangkok. It handles all the international flights to the city. The old Don Muang Airport is now used by only two local budget carriers, Nok Air and Orient Thai, for domestic flights.

From Suvarnabhumi Airport, you can reach Bangkok by metered taxi, limousine taxi or the new Airport Rail Link.

Suvarnabhumi Airport Terminal Building (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye using this photo using this photo

The metered taxis are on Level 1, the floor below Arrivals. You will see the taxi counter. Tell the person manning the desk where you are going. He will write down your destination on a two-part slip of paper. Pass the smaller portion to the driver and retain the bigger portion for yourself. A ride to the city will cost you between ฿300 to ฿500, excluding expressway toll charges.

The limousine taxis are on Level 2, just outside Arrivals. A trip to the Sukhumvit area will cost you ฿800. The area is filled with touts trying to get you to board their vehicle. Ignore them.

The Airport Rail Link is a express transit train that links the airport with Bangkok. It operates daily from 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight. There are two services: the Express Line (trains in white and red) and the City Line (trains in white and blue).

The Express Line is a direct non-stop service connecting the airport with the Bangkok City Air Terminal at Makkasan. The journey takes just 15 minutes and costs ฿150 per person. If you are departing Bangkok, you can check-in your luggage at Makkasan if you are flying on Thai, Bangkok Airway and Lufthansa.

Suvarnabhumi Express Line
Author: Wiki05 (public domain)

The City Line makes stops at every station on the line, namely Suvarnabhumi Airport, Lak Krabang, Bang Thap Chang, Hua Mak, Ramkhamhaeng, Makkasan (City Air Terminal), Ratchaprarop and Phaya Thai. The City Line is much cheaper than the Express Line. A trip from the airport all the way to the Phaya Thai Station only costs ฿45. From there, you can take the BTS Skytrain to elsewhere in Bangkok.

Getting around in Bangkok

The easiest and safest way to move about in Bangkok is to take its rapid transit trains. There are two types, the elevated BTS Skytrains and the underground Bangkok Metro. Of the two, the elevated trains cover more areas than the single-line subway. Click here for more details on Bangkok Mass Transit System.

In my opinion, in Bangkok at least, it is not encouraged to take the tuk tuk, which I find to be just as expensive as taking the taxi, and you are exposed to the dust and elements of Bangkok traffic.