I’ve been to BKK a few times now and seen most of the basics, the manor temples (Wat pho, grand palace, Wat Arun, and even Wat Mahathat where I did a free course in insight meditation with a monk. Also went to the “crocodile temple.” What are some other good temples in and around BKK? I’ve also been to Chinatown and seen the “big Buddha” and a Taoist temple (I think) in the way; but I haven’t eaten in Chinatown since I didn’t know where was good and had an accessible menu for farang.

Looking for other cool things to do; I may visit Ayutthaya or Khao Yai this week but I asked about those in another thread.

I’m not generally into shopping. But I like nature and cultural things. Would like to learn even more about Thai Buddhism and also Thai animism / spirit houses.

Been to two museums, the main history one (didn’t care for it) and a more “fun” one focused on Thai culture and what it means to be Thai; forget the name but it was so-so.

Been to Lumphini Park. Looking for different ideas in town and maybe even a couple of hours away by train.

I’d love to visit a mountainous region since I love to hike and love the aesthetics, but I’m not sure where it would be easy to go without a car; I won’t drive here so please don’t suggest that I drive.

I’m also on a budget, so nothing too costly please.

Spent a little time on the river to get to the various temples; someone told me to take a river boat up as far as it went, but I got a bit confused with the schedules and so I failed. I read that there’s a canal system in BKK, but I don’t know the details.

It’s getting late in the day, so I’m going to Khaosan Rd out of curiosity. I know it’s mostly a backpacker area; but hell, I was a backpacker too—30 years ago. Going to take the bus there from Sukhmuvit Soi 18. That will be an experience since I’ve never taken a bus in Thailand before. Cheap too.

The nearest MRT station is a 30 min walk it seems? May take the MRT home back to Soi 23. Anything good to see near the MRT stations closest to Khaosan.

Google maps seems to be steering me wrong. Says to take any 3-1 bus from the stop at Soi 18, but both supposedly stopped here 6 mins ago and I’ve been here for 15 mins. What’s wrong? I don’t actually see a 3-1 Saphan Phut bus listed on the sign here so that concerned me.

Could it be traffic and the buses are just late? I don’t mind a slow pace once I’m on the bus; would allow me to see more of the city than from the MRT.

UPDATE: I got on bus #2. It had 3-1 written on parentheses so maybe I didn’t look close enough. Ticket is 20 baht, not 10 as reported by Google Maps. This is why I often still like to ask questions for directions. Some people worship google maps S gospel truth but it’s not alway correct / can be incomplete or not tell you all you need to know.

Is it impolite to sit next to a monk on a bus? I know monks get priority seating on the BTS/MRT, but is it bad manners to sit next to one on a bus? Busy bus and no one is sitting next to him, but there are still a few seats available.

if you are male, no problem...if you are female, a terrible offense

reading your multiple posts i wonder whether you are really exploring Bangkok or rather exploring FT...

You can do a snorkle trip to Nemo Island from Bangkok in 1 day.

Yes I posted more than once. Thank you.

Bang Krachao, Ancient City (Samut Prakarn), sunflowers in Lopburi, Khao Yai, etc......

...Ayutthaya, River Kwai Bridge and WW II cemetery in Kanchanaburi, any of the Floating Markets...there are also theme parks if you are interested like Dream world, Safari etc.

Thanks, I will research those. I would love to see Khao Yai but I don’t know if it’s possible without a car. The other places I have not heard of. Thanks again.

Thanks BinSabai. Yes actually, I’m a theme park enthusiast; mostly Disney parks. On my way home from Thailand I have a 1.5 day stopover in HK and I’m going to see HK Disney. After I do that, I will have seen every Disney theme park in the world except for the one in Shanghai.

BinSabai Dream World looks pretty cool. I may do that tomorrow. Public transport is almost 3 hours but a grab ride is only around 1 hour / ~600 baht, so that’s the clear winner for transport. Might be really fun to experience a Thai theme park. I see they have a few Disney knock-off rides like Haunted Mansion. (my favorite) and Space Mountain.

Looks like there are some combo tickets to Dream World that include admission, lunch, and shared transport for cheaper than I would pay using Grab. But they are sold out for the transportation ones on the official website.

I see Klook, Trip.com and some other companies sell the same combo tickets. Is any one of them more reliable than the others?

Klook seems a little sketch, but I remember having to use Klook in Japan to buy Shinkansen tickets because the official website/app wouldn’t take foreign credit cards. And it worked out fine.

I decided to book a tour to Ayutthaya today and will leave theme parks to visiting Hong Kong Disneyland. I have two days left after today. May try to book tours to Kanchanburi (sp) / Erawan NP and Khao Yai; though I’m still not certain Khao Yai is doable in a day. But I’d really like to visit the mountains somewhere in Thailand before I depart.

Khao Yai is doable in a long day but better with a private tour and with some knowledge of where you want to go if it is somewhere different to tours. Monday to Thursday is quiet, but maybe busier than other times of year due to sunflower time. Weekend better than weekdays from a traffic point of view.

Going direct to Khao Yai from Ayutthaya would save signiifcant time.

Bang Pa-in near Ayutthaya is worth visiting.

I can recommend Amphawa Floating Market‏, Samut Sakhon, Thailand - which I wrote about on this flyertalk page: Sightseeing in and around Bangkok with the specific flyertalk post here.