I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand’s vibrant capital city a couple of weeks ago; my last visit to the City of Angels (otherwise known as Krung Thep) was approximately one year ago.

What’s new in Bangkok? Besides a number of new boutiquish hotels and upscale Italian Restaurants popping up on the scene, not much has changed.

As usual, traffic jams are horrendous in the greater Bangkok metropolitan area, especially in the inner city. As an example, to get to the Emporium Shopping Center from the President Park Hotel, located on Sukhumvit Soi 22/24 – a distance of little over one mile - it will take up to 25 minutes by taxi. The way to get beat the traffic is to take a motorbike taxi for 20-30 baht; the motorbike taxi will weave in and out of traffic, and get you there in a quick and efficient 5 minutes

What else is new? The BTS Skytrain fares have increased somewhat. The minimum fare about a year ago was only 10 baht (approximately 30 cents USD) and it has since increased a whopping 50% to 15 baht (approximately 46 cents USD) – this fare increase has had a significant impact on the average Thai person’s pocketbook but for the tourist, the fare increase is no big thing!

A change for the better - The President Park Hotel, with their improved signage has made it a lot easier for their visitors to get to their Fitness Center. I admit to have gotten lost in prior years. Although getting there is still like negotiating a rat’s maze, all you have to do is follow the clearly demarcated yellow line. Sort of reminds me of the famous Elton John song, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

From my room in the Mayflower Tower, it will usually take 8-9 minutes to reach their “Feel Good Factory” (Fitness Center) Congratulations to the management for the much needed improvement!