Hi Milly,

When you get to Bangkok, if the noise and pollution gets too much for you, visit Dusit Zoo. It's a calm green island in a lake of traffic, and provides a welcome respite from the fumes. Animals outside cages are often more interesting than those inside, including turtles, pelicans, brightly coloured lizards, all wandering free. I've also seen huge monitors hissing at passers-by from behind a hedge, and a two-metre snake swimming across the lake, scattering the pedal boats. They're all native and the zoo grounds provide a green and safe habitat, even in the centre of the city.

I also recommend getting about by river and canal as much as possible - although the city planners have decided to fill most of them in. Most of the places a visitor might want to go to are ranged along the river, and you can get a riverbus all the way out to the harbour mouth for a few pence. There are no traffic jams, the scenery is great and the air a lot cleaner. But best of all, if you can afford it, is a river taxi/longtail speedboat - superb.