i have a layover for one night on my way to KTM -- what should i do/see/eat?! thanks!

where are you staying and how much time do you have?? this would help us make suggestions....what kind of food do you want? thai, european, chinese, etc???
what is your budget??

If you have say, a 12 hour layover then you could check in to the Shangri-La or somewhere on the river and relax with a swim. Do a search here as several people have ideas on their favourite pursuits in BKK. For me, the Suan Lum night markets near Lumphini Park are good fun & great for souvenirs and cheap dvd's & cd's. A walk down Silom between Sois 2-8 is always a great taste of Bangkok's seediness. For Thai food, try Kaloang Home Kitchen, 2 Thanon Sri Ayutthaya, riverside and near the National Library, in a temple area.

i arrive in bkk at 4p and depart the next morning at 10.30a! so, i'm not sure where to stay etc etc. tx lyndie. will i need a visa? i will want some REAL thai -- but need to keep a healthy stomach for the 7 days in ktm. thanks!

ah my budget is may $100-150 USD? not incl hotel...any suggestions for a reasonably priced/clean hotel? best way to/from airport...maybe something with a shuttle?

Hi elbert-re visa-depends on your nationality. I believe most people get an automatic 60 day visa for Thailand but you need to check this with your travel agent or google it. Thailand's food prep standards are reasonably good. You could always eat at a 5 star hotel, like the Pen or Shangri-La if you're concerned. I've never been sick in Bangkok from food poisoning! Have a great time!

Eat in restaurants - maybe stick to hotel restaurants just to play it safe.
What ever you do - DO NOT EAT FROM STREET STALLS. Yes there are plenty of people who have gone there, eaten at the stalls and report that they were fine. Do you want to run that risk?
Remember the stalls have:
1) No hot water to wash utensils
2) No refrigeration to keep food from spoiling

With that amount of time I would check into a riverside hotel and have a great dinner on the river.

you do not have all that much time...i would think it realistic that you would be avaialble in the city by 6 PM, so that means a nice dinner and a walk around in probably one area only and you would have to leave for the airport about 7:30 the next morning...

so i think that maybe a good bet would be for you to stay centrally, maybe along sukhumvit rd....here is a list of hotels to consider: at the top end the four seasons and the hyatt, intercontinental...down a bit and a great location is the brand new bangkok holiday inn on plenochit, chateau de bangkok (accor hotel), conrad hotel....also the jw marriott hotel is nearby...
you then would have lots of choices of where to walk around and where to have dinner....my favorite is biscotti in the 4 seasons....italian...the loft at central chitlom department store for a very nice cafeteria style place with tons of choices as to cuisine....all of the hotels in the area have good choices for meals given your need to eat conservatively...biscotti would be a good choice however ...

for the evening may i suggest a walk around at the suan lum nite market which is also in this area at the corner of wireless road and rama IV road....would give you a quick look at bkk shopping, albeit jaded from a tourist perspective...
you could finish up with a walk along sukhumvit and the nana areas to see bkk nite life if that interests you...not so nice..

with this short of time i would hop right into a taxi into bkk and go right to the hotel i had choosen....cost about 300-400 B---$8-10....don't fool around with other types of transportation...

you could also stay out a the airport: rama gardens hotel or comfort inn or miracle grand hotel....another option a bit further away is the sofitel central hotel, which is attached to a shopping center and convention center---this might be a good choice....town is still a 20 minute ride from there...

from many countries you do not need a visa but you do not say where you are from...from usa none is needed..

wow -- awesome, thank you guys! i was a little upset that i would have to connect overnight, but from the sounds of it, might be a good rest!

one question rhk -- what does this mean: "from many countries you do not need a visa but you do not say where you are from...from usa none is needed.."

rhk (alias Bangkok Bob) is from Boston, Mass. but for all the time he spends in the BKK Marriott one would have thought he would have applied for dual citizenship by now.

elbert, whether or not you need a visa depends on your citizenship, If you are from the US, Canada, Australia, NZ or an EU country, for instance, no visa is required.

kathie has the answer....we do not know where you live??? visa questions depends on one's residence....

thanks all! i'm sure my couple hours in bkk will be very rewarding!

For time and airport trip, I recommend Nai Lert Park (Raffles)- done up end of last year really nicely. It is very close to an entry point to the airport expressway so much quicker to get on/off then say Meridien (stayed there and took extra 20 minutes even though only 10 minutes walk from Nai Lert - access route for cars from motorway is much less convenient) or Conrad and some other hotels along Sukhumvit as well as river hotels. Airport hotels are not that special and not good value and Rama IV is only 10 minutes closer to airport than Nai Lert.