Bangkok - Useful Info

So let's talk traffic. To be honest when talking about Bangkok, one always ends up somehow talking about the traffic. The truth is, on the first glance, it looks like a total chaos. Ten cars on a five line highway, supported by thousand of tuk tuks and motorbike riders probably attemting suicide, all of that controlled by obsolete traffic lights and city police. But once you get used to it a bit, you will start to discover the tiny details that together form the living mosaic of Bangkok's daily life. Let me help you see it through:

Getting to
Well I believe that the vast majority of you will be arriving in Bangkok by plane. While there is railway (that goes like 20km/h, so have fun) and many buses to and from various Thai cities and towns, i believe that while being the usual first point of entry to Thailand, most tourists and visitors arrived to Bangkok by plane.
There are two airport in the city - main international hub Suvarnabhumi and smaller hub for budget airlines (mainly Air Asia) Don Muang.
Getting to and from the airport is rather complex - at least if you wanna use some general public transportation. There are buses going to and from both airports, usually connecting it to Dusit, Siam Square or Khaosan Road, but honestly, unless you really wanna save every penny, just get a taxi. And btw, there will be others trying to get to the city, so don't wait up and do it like us - share the taxi. The more people, the less money each one pays, right? The trip takes about an hour, especially in the rush hours.
There is also a free shuttle bus providing transfer from one airport to the other. You just need to show the fllight ticket or boarding pass of the upcoming flight.
Btw, once you are at the airport, especially the one in Suvarnabhumi, save yourself enough time for all the necessary procedures. It is one of the busiest airports in the world and flights depart and arrive the whole night. The passport control, security check, customs and check-in, it all can take up to three hours... Just saying :) We were really glad that our flight was delayed :)

Getting around
There are so many ways how to get around Bangkok. First of course, I would like to mention tuk tuks. These motorised rikhshas are a symbol of the city. As such, be also aware that riding them can be actually more expensive than a taxi. But while traveling around the inner outskirts of the city nothing enhances the atmosphere of the city more than these tricky little things. Just be sure to negotiate the price before and don't get scammed.

If you wanna get around the city, another option are two lines of the so called Skytrain (BTS) and two lines of metro (MRT). The systems are not exchangeble, so you need the ticket for each separately. You can buy tokens from the machines at the stations. Just don't lose them, you will need them while leaving the area. Btw, as crazy as the rest of the city is, the metro is actually fairly modern, western like with signs and conductor in english. So don't worry :)
Saying that, the bus network is something completely different. There are several types of buses, varying in quality from the tourist buses with air conditiong to these old yellow buses without windows, that can transport you very cheaply throughout the whole city. Unfortunately, thanks to many traffic jams and large number of accidents, this is not a really reliable way of transportation. It never comes on time and usually it is impossible to determine where and when it goes... But for an adventurer, this is THE thing to definitely do in Bangkok!

However, saying all that, if you really want to save money and time, here is my last tip.
Go to the App Store (or Google play) on your smartphone and download an App called Grab. It is quite similar to Uber, however here (and in the rest of the South East Asia) this is how locals order their taxis. You can choose from various levels of "luxury" - just pick the lowest one, the quality is not so different - and you can also decide whether you want to order a private driver like in Uber, or a standard Taxi cab. And you will see your price beforehand. Incredible, especially if your bargaining skills are as horrble as mine. :)
Just have some cash, it is not customary to pay by card here.

Additional info
As in the rest of Thailand, cars drive on the left side of the road, so beware while crossing. Tap water is usually not drinkable, but you can buy bottled water literarilly everywhere for as little as 20 baht. That said, the currency is Thai bah (THB) which is divided into 100 satang, but trust me, you will never use these.
And they use A, B, C, F and O plug outlets, so... Bring your adapter. :)

And that's all for today, hopefully this was helpful and see you next time :)

Lex