Robsons-Adventures_Thailand_Holiday Reports-Outline

The first thing to say about Thailand is that it is the land of great beauty (and that includes the ladies) but it is also the land of great contrasts. The land of Smiles is perhaps losing some of the smiles and starting to get too many tourists; so don't go expecting to see unspoiled tropical paradise beaches, you will not be on your own on the beach! The country seems to have largely recovered from the Tsunamis of 26th December 2004 and they are cashing in on the disaster, by selling T-shirts and DVDs on the Tsunami - it's all money money!

Bangkok or should I say Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit to give it its real name (locals just call it Krung Thep though) is now largely a modern city with an efficient Skytrain train system (BTS) and also a Metro (MRT), the Metro being the newest and still with only one line, but more planned. There are plenty sky scrappers, modern shopping malls and the latest place to open on 9th December 2005 was the Siam Paragon Centre, a massive department store with all the expensive names, but the complex has much much more, including Ocean World, an aquarium.

My advise would be to use taxi's or the Skytrain/Metro when trying to get around the city, at least they are air-conditioned. Taxi's are metered, but they may try and say it is broken and then charge you more. A great way to get to the Grand Palace is to catch the BTS to Saphan Taksin and then catch the tourist boat (100baht Dec.05) but this lets you jump on and off as much as you like and they give you running commentary and advise. One thing they don't tell you though is that after the tourist boat stops for the day (approx 16:30) you can use the locals boats, very simple to use and good fun. Don't jump off though and leave your partner behind like I did! it was okay though I just walked to the next pier and met her their.

Another key point about Bangkok is the airport. The new Bangkok International Airport (Suvarnabhumi - pronounced su-wan-na-poom) opened September 2006 which is located to the NE of the city. Designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects, the airport has the tallest control tower (132 m.) and the largest single building (563,000 m²) in the world at the time of its completion. The terminal size surpasses that of Hong Kong International Airport making it the largest terminal building in the world. The old Don Muang airport will no longer be Bangkok’s primary airport, although low-cost carriers, small private jets, chartered flights, military aircraft and aircraft maintenance will continue to use the old airport. One final point to note is that the Departure Tax goes up on the 1st February 2007. International Departure Tax will be 700 Baht, with 100 Baht for Domestic flights.