The positive aspects of being a tourist in Thailand

In list form

1. Food. Outstanding street food. I think it beats out even Mexico City. You can get cold fresh fruit (pineapple, watermelon, guava, coconut, etc) from little carts scattered everywhere. Or some tasty skewers. Or a proper meal - noodle soups, or pad thai, or rice bowls etc. If you love spicy thai food you are set for meals for $2 a day just walking around. If you want a nicer ambiance there are a ton of restaurants also. They are also dirt cheap ($5 for an entree and a beer or two) and delicious. The spicy food really makes you feel better about the heat.
Adding to my bizzare food checklist, I had some grilled duck bill (it was tasty, but hard to find the meat around the bill), and some fried bag of mixed bugs (grasshoppers, crickets, silkworms, only one cockroach, but alas my friend called dibs on that. They just tasted like heavily fried snack crisps, nothing really buggy about it.)

2. Public transportation is cheap and easy. Although the city is giant, there is a backbone of a couple elevated rail lines, and a river/canal system with ferries and water taxis is a pleasant and unique way to see some more of the city. You can get pretty close to any place a tourist might like to go on these systems. Or you can take a taxi (but make sure you get one with a meter), or a tuk-tuk, basically a rickshaw with a moped engine, to take you door to door.

3. Do you like to visit Buddhist temples? There are so many all over the city. The concentration in the heart of the old city contains some really impressive examples. Giant ornate buildings, and 50 ft golden buddhas. Add in the various royal parks and palaces and you can easily spend a day or two just checking out these kind of cultural sites.

4. Thai Massage. I'd never had a professional massage before, but the Thai massage is famous, and I was quite sore and tired after a weekend of disc sports. At $7 an hour there is no excuse not to try it, and if you do, you will not be disappointed. A little old country woman just brutalized every muscle in my body into calm submission. You walk in hobbling and walk out with a smooth stride and a smile on your face. My only fear is that it may be addictively relaxing.

5. Nightlife. If you are in the right part of town it is a great relaxed and friendly place for an international travel to relax, have a few beers (so much better than Korean beer), and trade some stories.

6. Shopping. Its not really my bag, but if you like to walk around bustling baazars full of treats, trinkets, treasures, and trousers, there is no shortage over here. You can hunt some bargains for sure. There are some truly massive indoors malls as well as the more traditional flea market style setups.

I guess there is a lot more in the city that I didn't get to, plus a lot of country side which I would probably enjoy as much if not more. If I stay in Asia long enough I'm sure I'll go back someday.