#136 Bangkok, Thailand

I had a really great time in Bangkok, and can definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to go!

Sightseeing

Wat Arun (under construction)

I was in Bangkok for quite a long time - 4 full days. Surprisingly, I think you could do it 48hours. The major tourist sites are all along the Chao Phraya river, so could be done in one day. This includes Wat Arun, Wat Pho, Grand Palace and Khaosan Road.
Wat Arun is currently under some kind of restoration/reconstruction so has scaffolding around it so unfortunately doesn't look so great in photos.
I couldn't actually find Khaosan Road, I got the boat to the right area but without internet couldn't find the exact street, so be careful of that!
The Grand Palace was very expensive at 500baht but considering everything else is very cheap it's not so bad. It was also the strictest out of anywhere on dress code - I was wearing shorts and thick black tights and was still refused entry so had to join a long line to rent a sarong.
Wat Pho is very nice and that area has a lot of delicious food stalls and cheap snacks including coconut and coconut ice-cream and fruits like mango, watermelon etc.

Grand Palace

I thought the Jim Thompson house was nice - but not great. It's actually quite small and you must take a guided tour - our tour guide was very sweet and made it enjoyable, but I'm not sure why it's such a major attraction and if you're in a rush I'd give it a miss.

Jim Thompson House

Shopping 

Chatuchak Weekend Market - This was my absolute favorite thing in Bangkok and I would advise people to try schedule to have at least one weekend day in here so you can visit. It is absolutely huge and I got lost in it for awhile before eventually finding an MRT station.
I'm not a fan of shopping, and honestly I expected it to be full of souvenirs and fake and knock off brand items - and although there were plenty of these there were also a huge amount of boutique stores selling really hip,cool and unique items for far cheaper than you would find in your home country, and also some food stalls and weird stuff like a huge animal section with fish, lizards, dogs etc (although I questioned the ethics so I refused to take any photographs or document otherwise).

There are a ton of shopping malls in Bangkok including Terminal 21, Siam Paragon etc. They're nice to get inside from the heat and relax, but of course the prices are much higher than what you'll find outside. You can also find luxury cinemas here - the prices seem very expensive but in comparison to your home country I think you'll find it affordable for the luxury service.

Safety

This was my biggest concern. When I visited Manila, Philippines I felt very unsafe as there were very few tourists, no public transport and I had men leering and shouting at me on the streets. However, I am glad to say I had none of these problems in Bangkok! Being August it was absolutely full of tourists - no matter where you go there is almost always guaranteed to be another tourist nearby. I feel like this alone gave me a secure feeling, that knowledge that you're part of a group and not on your own.

Soi Cowboy - gogo bar street (and safe!)

I had one man (taxi driver I think) comment on how beautiful I was and although it made me a little uncomfortable I just ignored him and had no other problems. I was always quite well covered up, but there were many a beautiful young woman wearing tiny short shorts and skimpy crop tops so it must be fine.
I was robbed in my hostel, but they only took some cash and didn't take my electronics or passport so it was probably the nicest robbery possible haha - more detail further below.

Public Transport

Both the BTS and MRT (skytrain and underground) were very clean, cheap and easy to use. The Chao Phraya boat was also fine - the first day I took the special tourist boat but after that I used the regular commuter boat and had no problems.
I took only one taxi to the airport which was arranged by my hostel, I felt it was perhaps a little overpriced but since the price was set I felt a little safer knowing I couldn't be completely ripped off.

I also took a train to Ayutthaya, and although I paid for a 3rd class seat, the platform attendant encouraged me to sit 2nd class and I had no issues! The only place I used a tuk-tuk was in Ayutthaya, and it wasn't the best experience...they obviously tried to triple charge me but I got them down to an acceptable price which was fine, but then they switched drivers and mine didn't speak English and somehow had no idea where the temples were and got lost and took me to the wrong ones....also we very, very nearly crashed into a car which was terrifying.

Generally speaking, I think they're very dangerous so I really wouldn't recommend it unless you really had to (like in Ayutthaya). On a slight side, there are elephant rides in Ayutthaya but as an animal lover I find them vile, disgusting and harmful to the elephants, so I beg you please not to ride them or even take pictures as some idiot will see it online and think it's a cool idea. Rant over.

Weather

Chatuchak Weekend Market

The heat is almost unbearable. When I went I had been living in Japan which has similar weather, but being outside in the sun visiting tourist sights is very different from sitting in an office with air conditioning most of the day, and I can't imagine how people visiting from colder climates must feel.

From living in Japan I have a few summer-proof tricks up my sleeve, including; carrying a facecloth/small towel to help mop up your sweat, carrying a hand fan, wearing a hat, sunscreen, and wearing a thin vest underneath your tshirt/dress/shirt - you'd think adding more clothes is a bad idea but when its 35 degrees there is no feeling cool or getting less hot, and the purpose of the vest is to absorb the sweat so it doesn't seep into your outer tshirt, and it also makes you feel more comfortable than having itchy sweat running all over you. You've ever seen people with wet tshirts cuz their backs are so sweaty? Well it's a very rare sight in Japan because the vest thing is so well-known. Trust me, and trust 127 million Japanese people. The sweat vest works.

In terms of it being a rainy season - it did rain everyday but it was almost always late afternoon, and at that point I was always back in the hostel relaxing after a cool shower and a morning of sight seeing before heading out for dinner in the evening. It also does dry up very quickly - but carry a small umbrella just in case.

On getting robbed

So I thought the hostel I stayed in was really good...up until the point when I was robbed, and now I obviously don't think it was that good anymore. So we had lockers but one night I slept with my handbag beside me on the bed in my dorm, but since it's not a bunkbed they easily leaned over me while I was sleeping, took out my wallet and took a 1,000baht note. I noticed the next morning that the note was gone, but since there was still a few 200baht notes and my phones etc were still there, I assumed I had just misplaced it and put it somewhere else, since the probability of someone having the opportunity to take all my stuff but only taking one note seemed odd to me.

Delicious coconut icecream!

Then, a few days later in Singapore I happened to notice all my Japanese yen was gone. I forget how much I had, but it was around 5,000yen, so quite a lot. It was hidden in my backpack that was locked in my locker - so it appears they somehow got into my locker as well. However, I also had a Kindle and my passport in there, so all in all for the sake of €100 or less I'm not too annoyed - especially since they could have taken my phones, passport, credit card etc etc.

Since they got into my locked locker I have a feeling it must have been hotel staff, but then it has very good reviews so maybe it was someone in my (small) dorm. They are very clever, since they know that you will either not notice straight away/you'll think you misplaced it, or even if you do notice it seems like a small amount to go to the police or really complain over - and that is how they get away it. 1,000baht from many tourists results in quite a lot of money I'm sure.

 I also met a girl who had €100 in cash taken from her safe in a hotel in Cambodia - they didn't take any other money or currency so obviously when she complained the hotel staff told her she must be mistaken.
Moral of the story; Trust no bitch, check all of your cash regularly, and bring a heavy duty lock to lock up your shit!