Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Bangkok is a major travel hub, so it has plenty of direct flights from capital cities in Asia, Australia, Canada, Continental Europe, the UK and USA. Bangkok is one of the cheapest cities in the world to fly out of, due to the Thai government's loose restrictions on air fares and close competition between airlines and travel agencies.

Bus and train services to southeast Asian countries are not so reliable, direct or fast.

Getting around

Getting around Bangkok may be difficult for the uninitiated, but once you're familiar with the transport system the whole city is accessible. The main obstacle is traffic, which moves at a snail's pace during the day. This means advance planning is a must when you're attending scheduled events or making appointments. If you can, avoid the traffic and travel by river, canal or Skytrain.

Bangkok was once called the 'Venice of the East', but much of the original canal system has been filled in for road construction. Many smaller canals are hopelessly polluted and would probably have been filled in by now if it weren't for their important drainage function. Fortunately, in recent years several canal-boat services have been revived on the medium-sized canals.