http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19251
The Siam Heritage exceeded our expectations. The service was just touching and the rooms are spacious and well-appointed.

The bed was very comfortable and the bathroom was lovely with a good hot shower.

The shuttle boat was fantastic. Navigating Bangkok by foot, train, boat or tuk-tuk is a dizzying experience whichever way you slice it. There is so much going on that you soon succumb to stimulation overload. It was so nice to get on our private boat at the end of an excursion for a leisurely cruise back to the hotel.

The hotel is near all the good shopping areas.

Recommended things to do in Bangkok

- Visit the Grand Palace
- Ride the public river boats
- Dine at The Mango Tree (also Vertigo is amazing but very expensive)
- Shop for trinkets, clothing and fake everything at Night bazaar Lumphini and Patpong (the Exotic one)
- Ride the Skytrain
- Visit the rooftop Sirocco bar on the 76th floor at The State towers. A drink would cost you around eight dollars and the Bangkok view is free.
- Get tired at the biggest weekend market in the world - the Chatuchak market.
- Get a good body massage. The genuine Thai massage and spa.

If you must go to MBK shopping centre do NOT take a taxi or tuk-tuk, take the skytrain. The traffic light to enter the mall stays red for 15 min and then is green for 30 seconds (no exaggeration; we waited 45 min at that light).]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19251 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17087 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17087 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15200
Bungsamran Fishing Resort is the only place I know where you can catch a 40lb fish a cast!

They now also provide fully catered facilities, air conditioned bungalows, restuarants, shops and cafe.

My tip is to visit before demand pushes the prices up.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15200 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11095
For fair skinned girls it would be advisable to take a sun brolly. We found it near impossible to get one in Bangkok but the heat makes it hard to cope with if you don't have one.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11095 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10827 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10827 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10425
Around are traditional houses with orchards, gardens, peace and clean air.

Suit family with children and animals as the place is safe and has a terrace under the elevated on stilts house.

A much better option of staying in Bangkok than the town centre, with its noise, pollution, traffic jams and crowds of tourists.

In a Taling Chan home-stay you will immerse yourself in a traditional lifestyle and learn a little bit about Thai culture and customs. Walks through the fruit orchards and flower groves make a very challenging experience.

You can feel here like living in a traditional thai village - yet five minutes walk is 7/11 shop, cash machine and a daily street market. A short ride there is a famous traditional thai floating market in Taling Chan by the Chakphra Canal.

There are several nice homestays in that area - old thai teak wood houses on stilts just overlooking slowly moving canals. You are in the middle of verdant and vast, lush gardens.

There is nothing comparable to it in the whole of Thailand - a dream student home stay or a holiday accommodation.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10425 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10001 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10001 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5751 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5751 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4204 With the exception of the concierge who gave ridiculous prices for taxi and tickets to Thai boxing]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4204 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4091
It's slightly away from Khao San Road so a bit quieter than some of the other hotels but still convieniently close to the action.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4091 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3769 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3769 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3731
Once there, choose from a range of lovely, cheap family run guesthouses within walking distance of the crumbling golden wats, some over 1000 years old, that dot the canal girt plain. Built by the Khmers and destroyed by the Burmese only a couple of centuries ago, they make an ethereal sight as the dawn lights the mist through the banyans.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3731 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3694 before boarding one of the many river ferries to take you to the sights.

From the hotel's pool and breezy restaurant/bar on the seventh floor you get a sense of what Bangkok is about.

It is set in a garden of peace and tranquillity, shadowed by cloud-touching skyscrapers, lavish Buddhist
temples and gleaming shopping malls. It seems to float above the traffic jams, the crush of people and foodstalls below, but is high enough not to be veiled in fumes.

Arriving straight off an overnight flight the delightful reception staff, face cloths and fruit punch are a refreshing welcome to the country.

The supermarket food bar directly opposite the hotel can be thoroughly recommended and watching your steaming
sweet and sour dish being prepared makes it all the more tasty.

For dessert take a walk around the fruit section and gawp in wonderment at the shapes and colours of the tropical produce. Then select a “pick and mix™” bag of the most exotic and outrageous stuff you see - cheap and healthy.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3694 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3689
Rather than settling for a travel-agent 'package', consider the following options:

1) Use an internet resource, such as Expedia.com, for a flight and hotel deal. These can be extremely good value.

2) Consider booking your flight on the internet and using an internet hotel provider for the hotel.

3) Think about booking the first night's stay in Bangkok and then finding your own accommodation, at a cheaper rate, in the city itself. Don't be afraid to barter for a rate.

4) Rather than automatically booking a room with a hotel chain, consider a small, one-off, boutique hotel: the Tartawan Place, in Surawongse Road, is an excellent example: beautiful rooms and suites for about £35-£45.

Finally, remember that hotels, on their web pages, often have a 'special internet rate', which may be very much under the regular rack rate.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3689 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3676
The transport links are also excellent - Saphan Taksin Skytrain terminal is next door and there's a riverboat station nearby, from where you can get straight to the main temples, the grand palace, Wat Arun and Wat Po.

Take a riverside room in the main building and book through the hotel website as there are usually good value packages.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3676 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3665 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3665 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3609 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3609 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7001 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7001 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4333
The rooms are beautiful and themed. We stayed in the lemongrass room, which had furniture made from reclaimed wood. The hotel even has a green policy.

The homemade breakfasts include Thai porridge and the most amazing array of fresh fruit you can imagine.

Room prices are good compared to bigger hotels and breakfast and all refreshments are included.

On our last night, Joey (the son) even gave us a lift to his favourite restaurant where we had an amazing meal.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4333 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4087 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4087