Bangkok -- Pre-mortem

When getting a kilogram of laundry done costs as much (or as little) as an hour of internet usage (30baht) or three minutes of a phone call back home on an advertised “good line” (I could barely hear them say hello) or even a meal, it may be hard to decide what best to spend your baht on. 

So for the benefit and convenience of self and others, here’s a lowdown on the prices in Bangkok (July 2005):

(If you plan on spending some time in Bangkok, get Nancy Chandler's map before you go. Just US$9.95 inclusive of international delivery)
Getting around

• Airport bus - 100THB from the airport, regardless of distance (with some places in Banglumphu/Khaosan offering 60 – 80THB). If there’s two or more of you, a metered taxi would be a better choice but not from the airport taxi stand (surcharge applies). Just a 2–minute walk will bring you outside of the airport grounds and you can avoid having to pay the surcharge. To provide a rough estimate, metered fare through a moderate jam from the Airport to Banglumphu/Khaosan area will cost you about 165 THB
• Non-A/C public buses – 3.5 THB onwards depending on distance
• A/C public buses – 12 -14 THB onwards
• Chao Phraya Express Riverboat – 7 to 11 THB (Separate daypasses can be bought Chao Phraya Express and the BTS skytrain for 100baht per pax but you wouldn’t really need it unless you plan to transport yourself all over Bangkok within a day.)
• Tuktuk – 20 THB for short distances up to 40 THB. Anything further it is advised that you take a metered taxi (unless you love breathing exhaust)
• Metered taxi – Request before boarding that the driver uses the meter just by saying “Meter?” or if you want to in Thai, “Buet meter noi”. 35THB for flagfall and 4.5baht/km for 2km – 12km, 5baht/km for 13km onwards. 1.25baht/min in a traffic jam.
• Saamlaew/Saangtaew – anything from 2 to 5 THB for short distances
• Train tickets _{[Train schedules and prices here]} – 3rd class Ayutthaya: 20THB 1hr40min to 2hrs  |   3rd class Kanchanaburi: 25THB 3hrs. (3rd class train tickets can be bought from 20 minutes before the train is scheduled to depart. 1st and 2nd class tickets have to be booked in advance)

Other notes:

Coins: Keep small change like 10baht coins handy, when you negotiate fares with tuktuks, the tuktukman will often tell you he has no change so you’re forced to pay more than you bargained for if you haven’t the exact change.

Touts: Tuktuk drivers (more so than taxi drivers) may try to bring you to places like jewellery shops etc. where they get “tea money” just for bringing tourists. They’ll tell you that your destination is closed for the day because the monks are praying, or that the temple is closed or there’s some government meeting at some place yadda yadda. “Grandpalace close today, but standing buddha open, I bring you see standing buddha?” Don’t be taken in by those scams, just reiterate that you wish to go to your original destination and they’ll give up after a few seconds.

Munchies

Food ought to be secondary (who needs food when beer goes for 30baht per can?! Like a friend said, it’s a beautiful country already upon hearing the beer prices), but here’s some of their prices anyway:

• Mineral water – 5baht from grocery stores, 6–7baht from 7–eleven and 30baht from the airport.
• Roadside BBQ corn slapped on with sinful amount of butter and salt – 10baht
• Bottled coke – 10–20baht depending on which restaurants you have them at. Smaller bottles at 7–eleven for 9baht
• Phad Thai (fried noodles) – 15baht, 20baht (with egg)
• Singha beer, Chang beer – 30baht (7eleven), 45–60baht at pubs/cafes/guesthouses. (Chang beer tends to be slightly cheaper at pubs than Singha)
• Rice with stir-fried chicken/beef/pork/squid/prawns on the side (I recommend beef with garlic and pepper) – 30–40baht
• Western cuisine: pasta – 55–75baht, steak – 125baht onwards
• Fruit shakes (along Soi Chakkrabong and Soi Rambutri just behind Phra Athit (Banglamphu area, walking distance from KhaoSan). Enjoy a big bag of fruit shake created before your very eyes for only 15–20baht. A really refreshing choice on a hot day.
• Cup noodles – Back at home when you are running low on cash, we resort to Maggi, what we’ve affectionately come to use as an umbrella term for all brands of instant noodles. Abroad it’s not much different. Try the Mama Cup Pork flavour if you need a quick breakfast and haven’t got much money left. 9baht for a small cup and 12baht for the usual size.

7–eleven also retails mini-bottles of shampoo, bath foam, powder, moisturiser, facial wash, mini-toothpaste and every other thing imaginable that a travelling soul might need.

More to come.