If there’s one thing I can say to someone visiting Thailand, it’s this: Walk. Walk as much as you can. We’ve been here almost 10 days and we have only taken 2 taxi rides, one from the airport on the first night and one back to Banglamphoo district from the train station–after walking from the former to the latter.
Walking around Bangkok, we’ve found more interesting things than we imagined. The hidden bangkok is really not far from the tourist streets but there are no tourists there. It would seem that all tourists take a taxi or a Tuk-Tuk to get anywhere. Just a couple blocks from the main roads, we found rows of market stalls and restaurants with more authentic foods, people and goods than the tourist traps held.
On the flip side, now that we are on Koh Samui, we’ve found walking on the beach a wonderful way to spend the day but trying to get anywhere is pretty tough on foot. But again, just a couple blocks inland from the tourist resorts we found flea markets and food centers and even a really awesome Thai style BBQ buffet for 89 Baht (US $2.62). It’s the best food we’ve had so far.