It's relatively easy to escape the chaos of Bangkok for more relaxed surroundings.
They are all places that can be done comfortably in a one or two night trip
from Bangkok. Some of them, such as Ayuthaya, are possible day trips, but
all have enough to see to justify staying longer.
Ayuthaya
The former capital of Ayuthaya lies north of Bangkok, and take two or three
hours by bus or train. It's also possible to go there on the river, though
this takes around 4 hours. It's a large, impressive site with many ruined
temples and buildings, and is perhaps the best easy excursion from Bangkok.
Kanchanaburi
Kanchanaburi is about 3 hours west of Bangkok, and is most visited because
it's the location of the 'Bridge Over The River Kwai', made infamous by the
movie of the same name. Nearby are the beautiful Erawan waterfalls, widely
regarded as Thailand's best.
Pattaya
The beach resort of Pattaya is about 2 hours from Bangkok by bus. The beach
is second rate compared to almost any other in Thailand, and the water too
polluted to swim in, but it's still very popular due to it's legendary nightlife
scene. There's hundreds of bars and restaurants and thousands of prostitutes,
all of which attract the 3 million tourists that visit every year. It's not
a total tourist trap though, nor is it by any means as expensive as it might
sound. It's also Thailand's best place for watersports.
Hua Hin
4 hours south of Bangkok is Hua Hin, the more relaxed and somewhat upscale
alternative to Pattaya. Hua Hin has a better beach (though still not great
compared to those in the south), and is cheaper. Nightlife is virtually nonexistent.
It's mainly visited by those who can't get down to better beaches in the south,
such as Phuket or Ko Samui. Nearby Cha-am and Prachuab Khiri Khan
are similar.
Ko Samet
The beaches of Ko Samet are beautiful, easily rivaling any of the more famous
southern islands. Parts of it are very touristy (as it is so near Bangkok),
mainly Diamond beach which has upscale hotels, discos etc... mostly catering
for wealthy Thai tourists. Pollution is a problem in this part of the island.
Other parts are much less developed, but generally food and accommodation
are overpriced all over the island. Most of the accommodation fills up on
Thai national holidays, weekends and during the tourism high season. It's
around four hours from Bangkok to the pier for Ko Samet, plus the boat trip
to the island itself. Ko Samet is a national park and charges foreigners 200B
to enter the island, 10 times what it costs for Thai people.
Khao Yai National Park
The large Khao Yai National Park is about 4 hours north east of Bangkok,
just inside the northeast Isaan region. It's quite a good place for spotting
animals in the wild, species include elephants, types of deer, bears, gibbons
and there's even been sightings of tiger and leopard.
Lopburi
Briefly the capital in the 17th century, there's still the interesting former
palace and temple ruins to see in Lopburi, but nowadays it's most famous for
the huge amount of monkeys that inhabit the old city.
