Afternoon Bangkok tour

It has been since 1981 that I visited Bangkok. Temples are a big draw. Also, we enjoyed a canal cruise as well. Perhaps you can check things to do on TripAdvisor. I would suggest not going it alone in Bangkok.

I hired a guide through Your Thai Guide (see reviews here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293916-d523941-Reviews-Your_Thai_Guide-Bangkok.html) My guide was Joke (joh-kay) and he was fantastic. He picked me up at my hotel, ferried me around the city on every type of transit imaginable, and deposited me back at my hotel safe and sound. I was overly ambitious with my list of things to do...but he did them all - temples, local food, even the amulet market. As I recall it was about $100 for a full day, but that was a few years ago.

Your hotel might be able to arrange a dedicated driver/guide for you - worth checking with them at any rate. Who knows, there may be other guests with whom you could share the costs of a private tour.

I am starting a tour of Thailand and am arriving early. Had to book a different hotel than my tour hotel and used Expedia. They sent me info on this tour company https://tour-east-thailand.rezdy.com I likely will use a tour company through the hotel where I am staying, but just providing some additional info from Expedia.

Jo, last time I was in Bangkok, a number of years ago, there was an article in the local English language newspaper, that said that over the previous decade or so there had been a 16 times increase in the number of cars in Bangkok, and only 10 per cent more street surface. Therefore, there was a non-stop, around-the-clock traffic jam all over Bangkok, except for Sunday morning from 3 to 5 a.m. I mention this only to recommend that the best way to see things in a Bangkok is along the Chao Phraya river. Fortunately there are various sites, hotels, boats, and tours that go along the river. To see various things in Bangkok in a few hours, I encourage you to focus on the river. It’s great that you are spending so much time based in Chiang Mai, which is a wonderful city and region to be in, at least it was some years ago. There are also a large number of interesting day or overnight trips in the area, including Mae Sai, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Saen, and others. I also took a trek of a few days during one visit. They have a very interesting definition of “trek” in that area, as the trek included transport by van, public bus, canoe, elephant back, and hiking. Quite a diverse experience, including an overnight stay in homes in an Akha village.