Bangkok

By ship

Not many people come to Bangkok by boat, but there are some cruise ships that attend the city. Large ships must dock at Laem Chabang Port, about 90 minutes southeast of Bangkok and about 30 minutes north of Pattaya. A taxi service desk is available on the wharf, but charges extortionate prices for a trip to Bangkok — a whopping 2,600 baht to charter a taxi 4 passengers, or about 5,000 baht to charter a minibus usually 11 passenger seats. Slightly lower prices can be found by walking out to the main road, about 4,000 baht for a minibus, but even these rates are still almost double the typical rate in the opposite direction. Better deals may be possible for round trips even if returning the following day.

Frequent first and second class bus services directly connect Laem Chabang with Bangkok's Eastern Bus Terminal Ekkamai; less frequent direct services run to the Northern Bus Terminal Mo Chit. A first class air-conditioned bus blue and white to either will take 90 minutes or less; the fare is around 100 baht. A quick way to get into downtown is to board an Ekkamai-bound bus and then disembark early at On Nut, where you can hop onto the Skytrain. The bus will always stop here if a passenger requests it.

Southbound buses en route to Pattaya can be boarded at the traffic lights on Sukhumvit Road in Laem Chabang. These are extremely frequent at least 10 per hour, and charge less than 50 baht.

Modest-sized ships may dock further upriver at Khlong Toei Port, close to Bangkok's city centre. A modest terminal provides processing for passengers who may receive Thai customs and immigration processing on-board, as well as offering "managers" who arrange tours and taxis. Reaching major hotels and other points of interest is much cheaper than from Laem Chabang, but can vary according to the passenger's negotiating skills. The facility is not close to the MRT stop of Khlong Toei, the best way to get there is by metered taxi.

By bus

When buying tickets for buses out of Bangkok, it's best to skip travel agents and their private buses, and get the tickets for public buses directly at Bangkok's three public bus terminals. These buses are cheaper, safer, faster, more comfortable and won't scam you onto a clapped-out minibus halfway along the way or to a bedbug-infested hotel at the end. Each of these long haul bus terminals serve a different direction. They are purposefully located in off-central locations, so the long-haul buses avoid the heavy traffic congestion in the centre of the city.

The largest, busiest, and most modern terminal is the Northern Bus Terminal, ☎ +66 2 936-2841-3, also known as Mo Chit. The upper floor serves the Isaan region in the northeast of Thailand; the ground floor serves Northern Thailand, and shares some destinations with Ekkamai including Pattaya, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat. The bus terminal is a fair hike from BTS station Mo Chit or MRT station Chatuchak Park. Motorbike taxis do the trip for a fixed 30 baht fare bargaining is pointless, while tuk-tuks charge whatever they feel like — when bargaining, remember that a real taxi with air-conditioning will cost you about 45 baht assuming little traffic. You can also take bus 77 and pay the 13-baht flat fare on board (this bus also goes from the terminal via Victory Monument, Pratunam and Silom Road. If you have a considerable amount of luggage, the easiest, if not necessarily fastest, option is to take a taxi directly to or from the bus terminal.

Buying tickets here is reasonably easy; find a window with your destination written on it in friendly Roman letters, pay the fare in big numbers on the same window, and you'll get a ticket on the next available departure. Note that blue writing means 1st class, red means 2nd class avoid on longer trips, and tickets for destinations in Isaan are sold from the third floor. Ask the information desk on the first floor if you need help, or any of the BKS staff, easily identifiable thanks to their natty white shirts with gold buttons. Now just find the departure stall and you're on your way. If you have time to kill, there are two fairly decent air-conditioned food courts at both ends of the main terminal building, plus KFC, Dunkin' Donuts and lots of 7-Eleven outlets.

The Eastern Bus Terminal, ☎ +66 2 391-2504, also known as Ekkamai, is a relatively compact terminal right next to Ekkamai BTS station in Sukhumvit. Ekkamai serves destinations in Eastern Thailand, including Pattaya, Rayong, Ban Phe for Ko Samet, Chanthaburi and Trat. If you're heading for Ko Chang, there is a specifically designated stop for it between Chanthaburi and Trat. You can also get a bus to the Cambodian border crossing at Poipet, look for the bus to Aranyaprathet and tell them you are going to Poipet when you buy the ticket.

Then there's the Southern Bus Terminal, ☎ +66 2 894-6122, also known as Sai Tai, that serves all destinations west and south of Bangkok from its somewhat inconvenient location on the Thonburi side of the river. In December 2007, the terminal moved to a new, even more remote location, at Phutthamonthon Sai 1 Road in northern Thonburi. Long-distance buses leave from here to destinations throughout Western Thailand including Nakhon Pathom and Kanchanaburi and Southern Thailand including Krabi, Phuket, Surat Thani, Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan, Hat Yai, and many others. The new terminal is a fairly pleasant airport-like structure with air-conditioning, electronic departure monitors in English, a few bank offices, and a KFC. Unlike the rip-off operators at Khao San Road, all buses from here are public, well-regulated, cheap, and reasonably safe. Just buy your tickets at the numbered desk with your destination posted on it almost always in English.

Getting to the terminal is a bit of headache, as public transport is limited. The easiest option is to take a metered taxi, but if you're going there in the evening, especially during workdays, be prepared to fight a serious traffic jam — getting there can take 30 minutes or a full hour from the city centre. A taxi ride from Khao San Road should end up around 120 baht in favourable traffic conditions. Ignore touts — unlike what they might say, there really is no "faster" way when all the roads are congested.

From Victory Monument BTS station, the terminal can be reached with pale orange air-conditioned bus 515 17 baht. When approached by an onboard bus attendant ticketer, just say "Sai Tai". After quite a ride, the large bus terminal will be on the left side about 9 km 5.5 mi after crossing the river you won't miss it and probably will be told as well. Getting there by bus actually does not take much more time than taxi it's almost the same in the likely case of a traffic jam, but the ride is much cheaper, especially if alone. Bus 556 no longer goes from Suvarnabhumi Airport, but from Makkasan Airport Rail Link ARL station. There are also white minibuses 30 baht from various points around Bangkok, eg. from Ramkhamhaeng near Rajamangala National Stadium. There are inexpensive shuttle buses and slightly more expensive but quicker loading and a bit faster minibuses to and from the Northern Bus Terminal as well.

By train

The State Railway of Thailand (http://www.railway.co.th/...), ☎ +66 2 222-0175, serves Bangkok with railway lines from all four directions of Thailand. Hualamphong Train Station is the most important station, located close to Yaowarat and served by its own MRT station. It is a big and surprisingly convenient station built during the reign of King Rama VI. It was spared from bombing in World War II at the request of the Thai resistance movement.

Tickets for trains leaving the same or the next day can be bought on the counters under the big screens. The Advance Booking Office is located to the right of the platforms as you walk towards them and is quite well-organised. You can select your seat/berth from a plan of the train, and payments by credit card are accepted. Also, finally you can book an e-ticket (http://thairailwayticket.com/); the price is the same, however, the quota reserved for e-booking is limited, and there are only first and second class air-conditioned sleeper tickets available.

A word of advice is to only listen to the people at the information desk — anyone else walking around offering to help you "find" a hotel or taxi is just a tout, even if they are wearing official-looking badges. Likewise, the second floor shops offering "Tourist Information" are just agents in disguise. The taxi pick up and drop off point is to the left of the platforms as you walk towards them, and is generally chaotic at busy periods with scant regard for any queue. The left luggage facility is at the opposite end of the concourse, on the far right as you walk away from the platforms.

If coming by train from the north or north-east, connecting to the metro at Bang Sue Train Station can shave the last half-hour off your train trip. This is not a very good place to board trains though, as there is practically no information or signage in English. However, this situation will doubtlessly improve as more and more long-distance departures are switched to here from Hualamphong Train Station to ease congestion in the inner city.

The Thonburi Train Station, formerly known as the Bangkok Noi Station, is on the west side of the river in Thonburi. It is the terminus for twice-daily trains to Kanchanaburi via Nakhon Pathom. Just to keep things confusing, the previous Thonburi Train Station right next to the river accessible by the Chao Phraya Express Boat pier Railway Station is now mothballed and turned into a museum, but it's only 800 m away from the new station. Note that the weekend-only second class air-conditioned "tourist" trains to Kanchanaburi and Nam Tok depart from Hualamphong Train Station.

Wongwien Yai Train Station only serves the rustic Mae Klong commuter line to the fishing village of Maha Chai. Trains run roughly hourly and the trip takes about one hour. The ride is of little interest if you want to get there fast, but is an experience for rail fans and an attraction in itself, with a nice view on the countryside's orchards, vegetable plantations and coconut groves. Maha Chai is a nice seafood destination, and if you feel like it, you can cross the Tha Chin river by ferry and continue by rail to Samut Songkhram. Wongwien Yai Train Station is about 800 m from the Skytrain station of the same name; to get there, take a metered taxi for 35-50 baht, or walk using a map.

By car

Getting into Bangkok by car is not a good idea, as you can easily waste half a day waiting in traffic just to get to the other side of the city. Three major highways lead to Bangkok from all directions of Thailand. The best way to get to Bangkok from Northern Thailand is driving on Phahonyothin Road Route 1, which comes from Mae Sai near the Myanmarese border. Sukhumvit Road Route 3 comes from cities in Eastern Thailand, such as Trat, Pattaya and Chonburi. Phetkasem Road Route 4 must be one of the longest roads in the world, as it comes all the way from the Malaysian border serving Southern Thailand.

To ease congestion on these highways, a new system of motorways has emerged which will be extended in the future. The New Bangkok-Chonburi Motorway Motorway 7 is covering the trip from Chonburi and Pattaya. Then there's the Kanchanaphisek National Highway Motorway 9 or "Outer Ring Road" which makes a giant loop around Bangkok serving most satellite towns around it, such as Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan.