[diverdan]

Lucky guy:

Wish I was headed that way soon.

The train gets you within a mile of your hotel from the airport for just a couple of bucks. Checkout the BTS routes and subway that get you to the Grand Palace and Temples. A great way to get an overview is to take the BTS to the river and then get on one of the taxi boats mentioned and go up river and get the lay of the land and see the sights or get off at places like the Wat Arun. Avoid the tuk tuks as the drivers want to take you shopping so they can get their cut. Sizzler Steak at Silom (Pat Pong) and Siam Center area off great salad bars. I love the old Portuguese area around the Oriental Hotel. Local expats are treated well at the Safari Bar or the Madrid on Pat Pong. Madrid is a lunch place with decent pizza. My favorite is Lumpini Park at 6 a.m. for healthy local flavor with hundres of joggers, Tai Chi, sword dancers, outdoor aerobics classes etc. Your hotel is in the middle of the red light district on Sukhumvit so night life in the bars and sidewalks will offer very interesting, if a bit scruffy walking, but its safe if you are careful in the darker areas and avoid overly aggressive ladyboys. There's good jazz at the Saxophon3 Bar near Victory Monument and on the north side of Lumpin