GETTING INTO TOWN

People can go to Bangkok by taxi - but it will take a maximum of 30 minutes to go downtown by highway, probably an hour.

GETTING AROUND

Those motorised rickshaws are fun, but with gridlock threatening (an estimated 1,000 new cars hit the street every day), they’re a lousy way to get anywhere. Far better to rise above the mayhem and take the Skytrain instead. Richard Green took a ride for The Sunday Times.

Finding unspoilt Koh Samui

Veronica Ward wants a luxurious and unfussy hotel on the Thai island

• My island homestay: Thailand without Tescos

• Stay off my secret Thai island

• A five-star tented camp in Thailand

My Thai colonic irrigation

Ten years ago Ian Belcher endured seven days of enemas. On a return visit he lost a stone and wrinkles

• Paradise lost at Chiva Som, Thailand

Related Links

• My Thai colonic irrigation

• My island homestay: Thailand without Tescos

SIGHTSEEING

Rajamangala National Stadium

Times Online reader Rex Freiberger put us onto this when he commented on an article on a stopover in Bangkok. "I live in Huamark area, which isn't that far from the airport, and you could visit Rajamangala: it consists of a soccer field with track and field facilities, but also a huge area where they have large greens and lakes and outdoor fitness programs. It's beautiful and I highly recommend it." Thanks Rex.

Erewan Elephant Museum

"If you get sick of wats and temples, the Erawan Elephant Museum is a different option. It's on the outskirts Bangkok towards the airport. Picture a 150' bronze sculpture of a a three-headed elephant. But its all been hollowed out and there are exhibits of Buddhist art on the inside" - Bangkok travel guide, the New York Times

Jim Thompson's House

Formed from six traditional teak houses and packed full of Asian artefacts, the house was the work of Bangkok's silk guru and larger-than-life expat Jim Thompson. He transported the houses, most of which are over 200 years old, to Bangkok, adding quirky touches like the carved front of a Chinese pawn shop" - STA Travel guide to Bangkok

EATING

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