Bangkok

An essential stop — nowhere else in Thailand concentrates this much history and craft.

The old royal city holds Rattanakosin-era temple architecture, silverwork, mural painting and classical dance within walking distance of each other, and the National Museum and Jim Thompson House add depth beyond the obvious sights. Chinatown layers on two more centuries of heritage on top of that. Three days barely covers the major sites; a week lets you get past them into the smaller temple communities and craft workshops.

A strong base — fast internet, endless coworking choice, and flights to everywhere.

Sukhumvit and Ari have the densest concentration of coworking spaces and long-stay condo rentals in the country, and the BTS/MRT network means a work day doesn't depend on traffic. The trade-off is noise, pollution and a pace that some remote workers find draining after a few months — many rotate through here rather than settling permanently.

Easy solo travel — safe, well connected, and full of ways to meet other people.

The rail network removes the usual solo-travel headache of arranging transport, hostels in the old city and Sukhumvit run a constant circuit of group activities, and eating alone at a street stall draws no attention at all. Stay alert around the Grand Palace and Khao San, where solo travellers are the preferred target for the gem and tuk-tuk scams described below.

World-class five-star options, particularly along the river.

The Chao Phraya hotels — Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula, Capella — offer a level of service and setting that rivals any capital city in the world, and Michelin-starred dining is genuinely abundant rather than a single showcase restaurant. Traffic and street-level chaos sit right outside the hotel gate, which is either part of the appeal or a reason to keep the Bangkok leg short.

Strong and varied, but the highest-profile strip is not the best version of it.

Khao San Road is loud, cheap and largely backpacker theatre; the more interesting nightlife runs through RCA's domestic club scene and the Ekkamai bar strip. Patpong and Nana involve sex tourism in a way some visitors will want to route around entirely — it's avoidable without avoiding Bangkok's nightlife generally.

Workable for a few days, but not a destination built around children.

The BTS is stroller-manageable, some hotels have genuinely good pools, and the Grand Palace and river boats hold older children's attention for a while. Heat, traffic, long queues at major temples and the concentration of adult entertainment in central areas mean most families are better served treating Bangkok as a short stopover rather than the trip's centrepiece.

Not the reason to come — Bangkok is flat, urban, and built for other things.

There is no trekking, climbing or diving here, and the closest genuine outdoor activity is a day trip out to Kanchanaburi or Khao Yai. Treat it as the gateway city where you land, eat well, and fly onward to Chiang Mai or the islands for anything adventure travellers actually come to Thailand for.