A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit Bangkok for a few days. As someone who relies heavily on public transport I was a bit confused of how the city connects together especially since the main sights are not well connected to the metro. The following observations are based on the short (and first) time I was there, so feel free to ammend or correct.
The best thing I found was to combine various means of transport depending on where you want to go, how fast and how long the distance is.
Metro and Sky Train
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The underground Metro and above street Sky Train work well, are reliable and air-conditioned.
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When changing from Metro to Sky Train you need to buy a new ticket for a new line.
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Queues at the ticket machines can be long and time-consuming. Keep that in mind for critical journeys like to the airport.
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You can buy a chargable travel card, but you need to have your passport with you to purchase it. It is the law apparently.
Boat
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A surprising essential means of transport especially when you want to go to the main sights in north central of town.
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If you stay in the south part of town, take the train to Saphan Taskin and then work your way up north the river.
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You get to see a few sights from the boat, but the staff will shove you on and off the boat quite quickly which makes this a surprsingly fast way of reaching parts of town, which are not accessible by Metro or Sky Train.
Tuk Tuk
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The famous tuk tuks are ideal for short trips inbetween different sights.
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Always agree on the price beforehand.
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Keep traffic and rush hour in mind to evaluate if it is the quickest way of travel.
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Avoid long journeys and trips during rush hour in order to avoid heavy smog and air pollution.
Grab
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An app like Uber or Lyft which works perfectly and is cheaper than expected.
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Prepare the app and payment system beforehand.
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Payments by card are usually cheaper than cash payments.
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The driver will call or text you, once you booked the ride. The app conveniently translates in-app text messages automatically.
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Usually cars are air-conditioned.
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Drivers don’t speak much English, but are friendly and take you where you need to go.
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Keep traffc in mind.
Walking
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Inbetween the main sights you can do a lot of walking.
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Distances are sometimes further than they seem especially in the heat.
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Keep hydrated and sun screen with you if required.
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Condition of sidewalks is not always good or they are obstructed with vendors so that you need to use the streets.
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Mind the traffic especially when being forced to use the streets or when crossing streets in general.
Bus
I haven’t tried the bus.
As mentioned earlier I found it best to combine different means of transport if you go longer ways. For example, after a long day of sight seeing it might be easiest to take a boat as far south as you can and then take a tuk tuk, taxi or the metro to do the rest of the way.
Safe travels!
I just noticed that now already two of my posts went into spam and not sure how to get them back. The filters seem very off here, which is a bit frustrating when it comes to posting.