I am going to Bangkok with my kids next week ..do you have any suggestions ,precautions I should know about?

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Clyde Banks

Don't do a McCann....

Pretorian

DON'T go to any shows UNLESS your travel rep recommends them for families. You can end up seeing rather more than you bargained for!

Ellesar

If you go to any animal shows/ zoos bear in mind that the animals are kept in appalling conditions and treated cruelly, and that your money would be supporting that.

idac123

You seem to be getting a lot of negative answers ignore them and enjoy but look out for the traffic when crossing a road and only use a taxi if it is metered also look out for the high kerbs easy to trip on avoid Tuk tuks they are a rip off enjoy good cheap food and buy silk it is very cheap also go to the markets including the floating one .To look at Bangkok type in Thailand and go on the tourist website .You will have a great time enjoy

ron

Idac 123 has the right idea, I lived there for six months of last year.

My only advice is make sure you have a mosquito net and take insect repellent spray with you especially for the children.

PATRICK

watch out for glam rockers

ej6civic

take lots of sun lotion..lol

Aaron M

I've been to Bangkok and traveled all over Thailand about 11 months ago. Thai people in general are extremely nice and happy. The Thai people that work a lot with tourists tend to be a little more westernized and can sometimes be rude. Thai people HATE confrontation so don't be confrontational. Be pleasant and you'll go a long ways.

The main thing I know to watch out for is taxi and tuk tuk drivers. Most taxi drivers in Bangkok get paid a cut if they take you to a certain store, hotel, restaurant, etc... So you may get in a cab or "tuk tuk" and say take me to such and such hotel. They will ask you if you have a reservation...always say yes even if you don't or they will take you to a hotel they know they will get a cut. They may even go as far as telling you that the hotel you seek is already full. Ignore them, they are most likely not telling the truth. After you get to the hotel of your choice and if it's full, then walk to another hotel which might be around the corner. This is a general guideline for any shop or place you're going in Bangkok. If at all possible chose a cab or tuk tuk with a white license plate. The yellow license plate means the cab is owned by a larger business and will most likely charge you more. The white license plate means the cab drive is independent, they will charge you considerably less and typically they will be a lot nicer. We got in one Yellow plated tuk tuk and the guy was rude, charged a lot, and drove like a mad man. We got in a white plated tuk tuk and we paid next to nothing, the guy was extremely nice and helpful, and he drove all over town for nearly half the day. Meaning he waited by the curb while we shopped or checked out the sites. And he got a fat tip.

Bangkok in the day for the most part is safe just about anywhere. It's at night, near clubs, or those shady prostitute bars that I wouldn't bring my kids near.

Ko San Road (Not sure on the spelling) is a popular market place for shopping for backpackers however things can be lower quality here and cheaper. There are other day markets in the city that may be geared less to travelers or higher quality merchandise.

If you're going to visit some temples or shrines it's a good idea to learn some of the etiquette around the temple and around the monks. Like for example a monk is not allowed to touch a woman in any way or allowed to talk to women in general. Or it's considered rude to point your feet or toes at a Thai person when sitting. Another important thing, if you say something about their king, make sure it is over the top positive. Thai people have a lot of pride in their king and any insults will result in you being kicked out of their establishment.

Not sure how old your kids are but for the most part Thai people are safe...it's the tourists you've got to watch out for.

scratchpole

Firstly take no notice of the morons on this page that slag Thailand. They've probably never been there. Bangkok is one of the safest places on earth. But have a few days down South in Pattaya, your kids will love the tiger zoo, the crocadile farms and riding on the elephants. If you take the old man tell him there is fishing for 25lbders and shooting galleries. Car hire is cheaper than Bangkok as is every variety of food. Also catch the traditional Thai dance shows.

weescotsguy66

Well places for kids to go see. There is Dusit Zoo near the Grand Palace. Dream World which is the Thai Equilvalent of Disney, (certainly not as good) in Pathum Thani. Head towards future park and take a right.

There is a water show & amusement park in Minburi, there was a recent death there about 2 months ago but isn't there always a death in alot of amusements parks.

Again depending on the ages of your kids.

MBK is the mobile phone mall

Pantip is the Computer Mall

Pratumnam is the fashion cheap clothes malls. near Baioke Tower.

Baioyeke Tower is the tallest building in Bangkok there is a restuarant at the top (several actually) then there is the rotating viewpoint. Best time buffet at lunchtime so you can see Bangkok.

Take a trip from Saphan Thaksin station skytrain, get off there and go to the river you can take the tourist boat costs is ONLY 25 to 35 NO MORE there you will get a English speaker telling you the history of the river etc get off at the Grand Palace stop go see it ( it is boring but worth a visit) don't worry about shorts etc, you get given them if your not dressed properly. Go back to the pie here you will be given a price for a long tall, normally about 100 baht per person, for snake show, feeding the fishes bread 10 baht each, and generally see how the river people live. You could even see a show how to make Thai dessert, this will be alot cheaper than buying from the shops.

Back to the pier, get a tuk tuk to go to Khao San Road about 50 baht this is where alot of bakcpackers go and lots of cheap goods to buy. and nice food... leave the kids to wander in the street while haaving a quiet beer.

IceCube

Bangkok is a little bit safer than New York, I think on par with London and Paris in term of safety and worst than Tokyo but fair a bit less than Singapore.
So if you got the pictures of places I mentioned, it very much depends on how you would be travelling. If you pack so much budget, Bangkok can be on par with New York, a little bit better than London but cheaper than Tokyo and fair much better than Singapore and Hong Kong.
You would be enjoying youself, as it is becoming very much metropolitan and you can get anything you want in the price much cheaper than all those places I mentioned.
Do: enjoy it, go to temples. Bangkok became capital of Thailand over 200 years ago, when the US wasn't a country yet. The country, Thailand that is, united about 800 years ago. So travelling in Thailand would be culturally enriching and an eye opening for westerners.
Don't: like you wouldn't go to Kingcross or Peddington in London, or Central Park in New York after 10.00 p.m., so stay in central Bangkok during the night where there are many tourists, like Central World, Soko, Siam Square, or Siam Paragon, where these are the group of biggest department store in Asia. You'd get anything you want there. As the matter of fact, just came back from the Central World myself. It's nice place where you can spend all you money buying anything.
Don't pack cash and jewelry on you and walk on the street at night, especially in remote places or outside Bangkok with your kids running everywhere; I mean you wouldn't do this at home or in Atlanta, US, or uptown Mattahan or Queens or Harlem won't you?

Andrep

I have been to Bangkok with my kids too... Its a normal and safe place, just like any other busy and cosmopolitan city of the world.
Just take normal care of your kids, as in any other place. Like hold their hands while crossing the road.
My kids are of ages: 14 yrs, 10 yrs and 5 yrs . All of them had a great time,,,,, lots of fun and shopping places. Do take a night river cruise in Bangok
Happy holidays....

zoidgirl0905

not much to say...

Mark .

Thailand is awesome Forget a lot of negative things Yes are bad everywhere and Thais love kids so much you will see that everywhere especailly us foreigners I dont know why ?
Just go as the same as any other holiday trip Its very safe I have been 11 times and have thai GF at UNI in Khon Kaen in the north Its beautiful up there green and cooler in the winter months and peopl are so polite and nice Bangkok I like a lot its easy to do what you want I have been out 2 and 3 am in the morning never even think about bad things happening it helps a lot of course having somebody who speaks Thai but you meet so many nice people they are your friends soon enough and will help Of course avoid the Bar areas only the desperates go there anyway and its only 3 small areas in BKK I never knew 2 until recently they are out of the way
have a great time
I am from UK if that helps

Snow Flake

Hang onto them - tightly...
It's a dirty and gross place. There is a lot of shopping though!
Are you just going to stay in Bangkok? If you want some travel ideas, email me directly - I live here....and often have family coming to visit who have kids.
I'd be very happy to help!

RUTH W

I was there by myself with my 3 year old this time last year and was quite scared before hand as I'd heard lots of scare mongering. Fortunately we had a brilliant time The Thai people couldn't have been friendlier and we received special attention in all shops, hotels and attractions due to travelling with a western child. Precautions I would recommend would be mosquito spray and keep a tight hold of them as it can get really busy (also if you have young children get used to people trying to touch them). Don't eat from the street stalls although the restaurants are cheap and mostly very good quality. We visited Dusit zoo, the temples, the Royal palace, the Elephant zoo (i forget them name of but your hotel reception should be able to point you in the right direction), the floating market, the MBK shopping centre and Khoa san road for great shopping bargains.
Hope you have a fantastic time, am very jealous!!

boc wton uk

give them blindfolds and make sure they wear clean underwear traffic is horrendous

snorkelsnorkel

You and the kids will certainly enjoy it.. It is a great place and Thais love kids, your 'western' kids will get a lot of attention everywhere you go.

suggestions/precautions (much has been said already)
- taxi's are totally fine as long as you tell them to turn on the meter. if they refuse to use the meter: get out and take the next one
- the riverboat is great fun with the kids, and cheap too (get on via skytrainstation 'Saphan Taksin')+a good way to go to china town, grand palace and lying buddha
- shoppingcenters are even more crowded on weekends so try to hit them on a weekday
- you can buy a simcard for your phone to make local and long distance calls, cheaper and more convenient than using calling cards. I dont know how old your kids are, if they have a mobile phone buy them a simcard, in case you get separated in a busy place you can find each other easely.
- take your kids to "Sanam Luang" in the late afternoon. In this park you can buy a kite and the kids can have fun flying the kite while you sit and watch. This park is also near the grand palace and lying buddha
-if you have one day, visit "koh kred". This is a super nice small island on the river, carfree and about 20 km from Bangkok. They rent out bicycles for less then 1$ a day. Fun to do with the kids, not crowded too. Countryside atmosphere. It is easy to get to: riverboat to Nonthaburi, there you take a taxi. Saturday and sunday there is a direct boat from below skytrainstation 'saphan taksin'
- last but certainly not least: they drive on the left side of the road. This means your first reflexes are to look to the wrong side when crossing the road. so remember to look right, then left before crossing, opposite of what you are used to (unless you come from the UK or other left hand driving country)

Dont forget to buy a guidebook for details, a map and hands on info (lonely planet or something similar)

I have many more tips but I will leave it to this. Email me if you want more info. Have a good trip (I'm sure you will)

African Farmer

Here is a general check-list for safe travel
http://www.internationalsafetravelsfoundation.org/MS/MS10/page.php?p=407

There are no travel warnings in effect for Bangkok, so just take the same precautions you would take if visiting any other metropolis for the first time.
E.g., do not get separated from your kids in crowds, make sure you and your kids carry a small card with the phone number/address of your hotel, do not take a taxi unless payment according to taxi meter, and do not listen to touts you meet on the street promising 'special deals' on suits or gem stones or whatever.

Apart from that, do not engage in political discussions or criticize local institutions & culture (such as monarchy, police, military, and Buddhism), but keep in mind that you are in Bangkok on vacation and not there to change the world.

James

Bangkok is known for being the heroin capital of the world, and transsexual capital of the world.

According to the world CIA books, 33 percent of users are in major cities and more than 45 percent are country wide.

Honestly, you can't tell if the women in Thailand are males in disguise.

Donna Hill

dont go

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