We have a 16 hour (4:30PM to 8:30AM) layover in Bangkok in September, and will be staying near the airport. Any suggestions for what we can do in this short time? We would like to at least sample the cuisine, if possible catch a glimpse of the city without spending too much time in their infamous traffic. Please advise!

...makes a hard man humble. Not much between despair and ecstasy.

A very short time, Laura, Here my advice. <BR>I suppose that you will be able to leave your hotel around 6pm, then you need a taxi to MoChit, the terminal of BTS, elevated rail system, from there, I think you can enjoy a train ride to get an idea how Bangkok by night is. The total length is 27 Km, but not so long. I would suggest you to have dinner around Democracy Monument, there are 2 nice restaurants, and 1 McDonalds. After your dinner, take another cap, or Tuk-Tuk to Sanam Luang, to see the Grand Palace by night, before heading back for your morning flight. <BR>

If you want to wrap sightseeing, Thai culture and Thai cuisine into a compact package, I would strongly recommend one of the rice barge dinner cruises. As most of the important historic sites are by the river you get to see all of them, while doing this in an authentic old style Thai atmosphere, dining on Thai cuisine. <BR> <BR>I would avoid the international style boats and go for either of the old style rice barges: <BR>Loy Nava Dinner Cruises - 6pm and 8pm <BR>Marriott Manohra - 7.30pm <BR> <BR>Loy Nava operates from beside the Royal Orchid Sheraton, while the Manohra is a few kilometers further down on the other side of the river at the Marriott Riverside. <BR> <BR>If you are going in the next few months, there is an added bonus, since both boats stop at the Sound & Light Show at Wat Arun. <BR> <BR>Both are bookable on their web sites. <BR> <BR>

Thank you, xxxx! : )