I'd love to hear everyone's suggestions for things to do in Bangkok too...
In mean the meantime, these are mine. I have not done all of these (so no guarantees), but the ones I haven't done are on my list to do...
During the day:
- Go for a walk around Chinatown - lots of great little markets, shops and eateries there.
- Visit Chatuchak Market. World's biggest weekend market. Saturday/Sunday. Better to go there early in the day but it is fine later in the day too (just hotter). You can spend hours walking around. Stuff is also the cheapest here too. For example, while you might pay 180 baht for underwear at the Patpong Night market, here they can be bargained down to 100 baht (rough comparison from memory).
- Visit one of the Floating Markets (have to be up early for this).
- Go for a walk or run in Lumpini Park. Or just laze around there beside one of the lakes. I was sick with a stomach/gastro bug once and was staying in a crappy room at the time so instead of resting in my hotel I went to the park and laid on the grass all day until I got better. Really nice spot.
- Check out Gaysorn Shopping Mall (spelling?). It's near Central World Plaza. It's a high end retail mall and quite spectacular. Worth a walk around even if you don't buy anything. But you might end up buying a few items as they have many brands you would see back home at ordinary prices like Lacoste etc.
- Check out MBK mall... it is huge and very messy.
- Check out Siam Square and all the malls and stuff around there. It's the bustling centre of Bangkok.
- Feast on the breakfast buffet at the Dusit Thani or Le Meridien Hotels. Both pride themselves on their breakfast spreads. I think they're somewhere around the 600-800 baht/person range. But well worth it. Or go higher and have breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental overlooking the river. I've heard this is spectacular.
- Eat lots of street food... I love Bangkok for its streetfood On days where I'm working out of my hotel, there's nothing like ducking downstairs every couple of hours to grab a delicious skewer of meat or a bag of jack fruit to munch on.
- Take a Thai cooking class...
- Have lunch or dinner at one of the Scoozi Pizza restaurants (there are a few of them, one on Surawong Rd in Silom, a few blocks West of Le Meriden, same side of the road). The pizzas and desserts there are to notch and absolutely delicious.
http://www.scoozipizza.com/
At night:
- Obviously, go to DJ Station
- Check out some of the famous straight nightclubs like Bed Supper Club
- There's also another straight club (plenty of gays there too). I can't quite remember the name. It opens very late, until 5 or 6am. Thai style (dancing at tables). It's in a huuuge hall and seems to get packed with over 1,000 people. There are pillars inside and each pillar has a little elevated dancing platform running around it. Had a few crazy nights there. Anyone remember the name of this place?
- Have a drink at the rooftop bar (70+ floors high) at the Lebua State Tower at Sunset. Highly recommend everyone do this at least once. It's probably the most spectacular spot in Bangkok. It opens at 6pm but there is a bar next to it, which opens at 4pm so don't be afraid to arrive early. It's one of the most spectacular bars I've ever been to. Drinks are at Western prices. Martinis are 400-500 baht but very well made and still less than I pay back home. (Dress code applies). Wine is 400-500/glass too.
- Vertigo Bar at the Banyan Tree Hotel is meant to be taller than the Lebua but I don't think it's as spectacular. Felt more crowded too.
- Watch a Thai Kickboxing match at National Stadium in Lumpini.
- See the show at Boys Bangkok in Soi Twilight
- Have dinner at one of the riverside restaurants a the Shangri La or Mandarin Oriental... romantic.
- Have dinner at the Suan Lum Nightmarket at Lumpini. There's a great big food hall with a stage where cover bands of varying talent play. Food stands on one side. Beer stands on the other. Cheap but good food. And walk around the market too, obviously.
- Take a dinner cruise on the river
- Have dinner at this huge restaurant:
http://www.royal-dragon.com/aboutus.htm - Haven't tried it yet but it looks pretty cool. The staff bring the dishes out by rollerblading, "walking on water" or flying through the air (attached to wires).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZucdpkOyis ... The food is meant to be ok/normal... but looks like a good experience.
- Try and get some sleep. I hardly sleep at all when I'm in Bangkok. On my last trip I was there for over a week and think I had less then 3-4 hrs of sleep each night. Yet I feel more awake than ever in that city...
Might think of more later... Hungry now.