Bangkok and South East Asia Travel Review and tips

Spent four days in Bangkok and that place is HUGE, noisy, and pure chaos. I'm glad I went but it's one of those things that been there done that don't want to do it again. I'm sure there is a ton to see but the general feel I got was that I wouldn't want to go back.

Hotel was Rembrant and it was nice and the staff were great, but it's a little older hotel.

Food and drink, get out of the hotel early and explore places to eat and drink, a beer in the hotel was $4 but just across the street at the Family Mart you could get a double beer for $2. Meals at the hotel were around $10, but I found a street vendor that made some amazing grilled food like a whole chicken breast for like $1.50.

Transportation, if you are thinking about renting a car DON'T until you get there and see what the driving is like, it's pure insanity. There are 5 modes of transportation, hotel car which is very expensive, taxi which is 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of a hotel car, Tuk Tuk which is about half the cost of a taxi and VERY fun to ride in but only good for short distances, moped drivers which I wasn't brave enough to try after seeing them driven but the are very cheap, finally the rail system with is the best if it's close to you. ALWAYS negotiate a price before you get in.

Suits, there are a ton of tailors and many of them offering a suit, shirt, and tie for $100 but I was wary of the cheap option, met a guy that used to work at the US Embassy and he recommended the same place that I had researched Emporium Armani had 3 suits, 6 shirts, and three ties made for around $700.

Currency, I would suggest getting at least a couple hundred dollars worth of Baht from your bank before going, the best place to get currency is from the ATMs not the currency exchange places or the hotel. You will want Baht because transportation and most local shops will not take dollars. 100 Baht is about $3

Tipping, I probably over tipped some places and it isn't always needed or expected, they hotels didn't even have a place to add a tip on the restaurant or bar bills.

Airports, they can be mad houses. Use online check in or the automated kiosks whenever possible, I always left the hotel 3 hours early for the airports just in case, 1/2 to 1 hour to the airport depending on location and two hours to get checked in and through security.

Massages, I had 3 and they range from $7.50 to $10 an hour for a Thai massage. I wasn't a big fan of them because they are very deep tissue to the point of hurting and I didn't walk out feeling relaxed. They hotel massage is about four times the cost of the local places and they are everywhere I had 6 massage parlors within 200 yards of my hotel.

If you are worried about the food there are western places readily available if you aren't adventurous enough to try the local cuisine. 7-11's are all over the place there and have a lot of western snack foods.

It's an amazing part of the world and I had a great trip all together in Bangkok, Phuket, and Siem Reap in Cambodia.

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