Bangkok has had quite a facelift in the past decade.

The Don Mueang International Airport now handles only a small percentage of the flights it once did, while the sleek new   Suvarnabhumi Airport, opened in 2006, serves more than 45 million passengers per year.

Bangkok is the gateway to the rest of Thailand and points beyond. If you come to Southeast Asia, there is a good chance that you’ll at least transit through the city.

Indeed, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi services more flights than any other airport on the Southeast Asian mainland, and Bangkok is also a major rail hub.

Throughout Bangkok and suburbs, there are major train and metro lines that transport a large mass of people each day. If you are trying to get out to other areas of the country, you could take small minivans to reach your destinations.

One challenge of Thai infrastructure is that you might need to make several minivan connections to reach destinations to the far North or South of the country.

But the benefit is that these trips are often very affordable. So, if you need to do a visa run to renew your visa, that often requires a cheap bus trip over the border to Burma or Laos.