Thailand - Advice sought: Long weekend in Thailand

Hi. I've been all over the place, but never to Thailand. I have a two week business trip to north Asia, and was thinking of going down to Thailand for a long weekend during the trip to do a bit of personal recon in advance of a larger family trip (coming from the States) that's loosely on the boards for the next 2 or so years. I'd also actually quite welcome some R+R myself for a day or so. Been a pretty stressful period for me of late.

My tentative plan is as follows:
1 Fly down from NRT on Friday evening, arriving BKK around 1030pm
2 Spend much of Saturday exploring BKK
3 Saturday evening (perhaps a 6pm departure) fly to HKT
4 Spend two nights at the Aman (or Trisara if Aman is booked)
5 Monday evening - fly HKT-BKK-NRT (with the flight to Tokyo being a redeye)

I know the flights to/from Thailand are circa 6-7 hours. That doesn't phase me.

A few questions:
A--Does this seem reasonable?
B--I've done no research on BKK (this trip is just coming together suddenly), are there two things I "must do/see" there?
C--What else should I be thinking of?
D--Any meaningful safety concerns in BKK (assuming I stay on the beaten path)?

I appreciate any thoughts or guidance.

A--Does this seem reasonable?
B--I've done no research on BKK (this trip is just coming together suddenly), are there two things I "must do/see" there?
C--What else should I be thinking of?
D--Any meaningful safety concerns in BKK (assuming I stay on the beaten path)?

I appreciate any thoughts or guidance.

A yes
B Royal Palace
C I personally love a foot massage
D Stay away from tuk tuks and gem stores

I am sure others have other good suggestions

EmailKid

Yeah, the Grand Palace/Wat Po are the biggies.

Bangkok is a giant city full of all sorts of things to do.

As for safety...you should be fine. Be careful crossing streets, look out for the holes in the sidewalks, stuff like that is probably the most important thing to be on the lookout for.

.....
D--Any meaningful safety concerns in BKK (assuming I stay on the beaten path)?

I appreciate any thoughts or guidance.

I'd recommend getting off the beaten path; it's much more interesting in sights and food. But that's me and it's been shown repetitively my tastes diverge from just about everyone else on this board. :D:D

If you're from NY (edit: or Tri-state-area), as am I, then you have a sense of what is happening around you on the streets as a matter of habit. Use it. But the chance of you having safety concerns are relatively nil.

Bangkok is a wonderful city to traipse (and eat) through.

B--I've done no research on BKK (this trip is just coming together suddenly), are there two things I "must do/see" there?

I appreciate any thoughts or guidance.

What kinds of things do you like to do when you travel? Cultural sites, tourist sites, shopping, eating?

It is relatively easy to see Wat Arun, Wat Pho (one can get a good massage here) and Wat Phra Kaew/Grand Palace over say 08:30 to 14:30 (assumes these are open), and from there to Phu Khao Thong (Golden Mount - Wat Saket), or maybe to Dusit and Vimanmek Mansion, Dusit grounds and the Royal Throne Hall (Ananda Samakhom), eating your way along the various markets.

I sometimes push/pull heartier visitors on these paths quite often. :)

It is relatively easy to see Wat Arun, Wat Pho (one can get a good massage here)....

Foreigners pay 2x the cost of Thai's and IMHO the chances you get a poor massage are better than not.

Otherwise the suggestion was typical for a day's sight seeing.