There are many means of transportation as we all know. Lets assume you are a seasoned traveler, so you can setup a flight inbound. Airport is a great place to start, and lets save some headache, cash, and raise the safety bar from transport experts just waiting at the exit like hungry sharks. Get through the immigration point, you have your bags in hand, running shoes on, a bit jet lagged, this will help. Head right out the front, look for the sign Sky Train, the first safe and low cost way direct into Bangkok, and no traffic problems at all. It is scheduled to open 100% by this August 2010.

By Sky Train you will go downtown Bangkok to near Sukumvit road. You can get off just about anywhere desired. Find your destination point, hotel location or other. Plot a course, and look up the Sky train stop nearest your destination. You can also e-mail your hotel in advance, ask the right questions, away you go, almost a seasoned expert at this point, and a survivor. Taxis are every where. They start at 35 baht/ approximate 1 us dollar for about 5 minutes, or 2 kilometers. Sometimes just nice to take an air conditioned break. He will ask you in Thai Ba-Ni’, which means where do you want to go. Best to have a hotel name, or card with a map on the back.

Inner City travel. My favorite is the Sky Train, built back about year 2000. From the upper level, not only is it cheap around the main city, but good for the budget, one way about $1.50 US Dollar, or 50 baht. Not only do you stay above the city and traffic, you get a bit of a view, and notice tall buildings which will help get your bearing straight for next time. Also within the city, you can take a 3 wheeled Tuk-Tuk. Now they are not cheap, start at 40 baht, but you have to experience this once in Bangkok, night is best, much cooler, a short distance is advised.

General safety tips, passports are worth gold, there are serious pick pocket folks about in the crowded malls. Be smart. Gold necklace also a nice grab and go item, easy to change to baht, just use common sense. Food is great, every where you go there is food. The best, is the wide range of travel cost from simple guest houses, to 5 star hotels located everywhere. You can travel extremely reasonable for those on a tight budget. Enjoy your travels to Bangkok, be smart be safe.

Bangkok is one of the most vibrant cities in the world. It’s loud, it’s noisy, it’s modern and fast-moving, and at the same time it’s quiet, slow and old-fashioned. It’s a fusion city, a city where tradition and modernity not just meet, but mix and create something new. It’s a fascinating place. Many people who make a stopover in Bangkok for a couple of days before heading to one of the many beautiful beaches Thailand has to offer do not like it at all. All they see are decadent red-light districts, annoying traffic jams and nosy tuktuk-drivers.

But that’s really just Bangkok’s most outer layer – that’s what is the easiest to find for a tourist who comes here. If you peel that first layer away, you will find the many other faces of Bangkok: the gentle, the kind, the cultural, the culinary, the religious and more. There are so many temples in Bangkok, if you have an interest in Buddhism or religious architecture, you will love it here. The temples are built in many different styles, and the “must see” temples are the Wat Pho which features the 46 meter long reclining Buddha image and Wat Arun, which is just across the river.

Wat Trai Mit is another impressive place to see, as it houses the golden Buddha. It’s the largest Buddha statue in the world made out of solid gold. And it has an mysterious history. Nobody knows for sure how old this Buddha statue is. And in fact, nobody even knew it existed until a couple of decades ago. It was once covered in plaster, probably to hide it from invading armies who where known to melt down the gold from Buddha statues. Accidentally a monk discovered that under the plaster, there was a golden Buddha, when a piece of the plaster chipped of.

If you want to know more about the history of Thailand and gain a better understanding of Thai culture, the National Museum is a great place to visit. Many people also like to visit the Grand Palace, which is a huge compound that mixes architectural influences from different regions of the world. Seasoned shoppers love Bangkok. It’s a true shoppers paradise. Do you have cash to spend? Modern shopping palaces like the Siam Paragon or Central World offer you ample opportunity to buy pretty much all the material things that one can crave for. Almost every luxury brand of the world has a flagstore at Siam Paragon, and in case you want to buy a new Lamborghini, just head to the second floor.