More than one site mentions the Sirocco restaurant at the top of the State Tower - Times Online is among them

Expat Andrew Hicks, who retired to Thailand, recommends The Atlanta on Sukhumvit soi 2 - "it has the oldest hotel lobby in Thailand (1950s) and its 60-page menu is a fascinating treatise on Thai cuisine." About £5 for two courses with a beer.

SHOPPING

"An informal poll of my female friends suggests that Naria Phad shopping centre is the best place to go for Thai souvenir arts and crafts and leather goods," says a reader's tip on Travbuddy's Bangkok section.

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

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• My Thai colonic irrigation

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The Thai capital still has some of the best tailors in Asia, says Sarah Turner in The Times - and Sophia on Oriental Avenue can run up everything from silk evening dresses from £60 to fully lined trousers.

SLEEPING

Rated the best of 467 Bangkok hotels by Tripadvisor users, the Phranakorn-Nornlen Hotel costs justs £40 a night and describes itself as a "small green hotel with the concept of slow life, serving organic breakfast" - top scores for service and cleanliness.

MASSAGE

We've two recent reviews of spas in Bangkok - author Kathy Lette (and user Suzy from Washington) raves about the spa at The Oriental Hotel while Ginny McGrath went weak at the knees at the Banyon Tree Spa.

SAFETY

There has been simmering trouble in Thailand for months - as Ginny McGrath reported for Times Online in September.

GET OUT OF TOWN

How about a top beach close to the city? You need flop no further than Koh Samet, a golf tee shaped slither of land, a national park since 1981, just 20 minutes by boat from the mainland, and about 2.5 hours drive from Bangkok. Richard Green revealed all to Times Online - it so inspired Steve Bleach that he subsequently visited the resort and dubbed it the sexiest beach in Thailand

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