It’s the city that might well fill you with trepidation, especially when you arrive at night. You line up to get your passport stamped by a stern looking border guard.

You suddenly remember the stories about Thai jails – and hope no-one’s been putting anything in your back pack. But you pass under the official’s suspicious gaze, only to be confronted with a barrage of dodgy looking taxi drivers. Should have read the guidebook before arriving, eh?

Having been ripped off by taxi driver, you arrive at your digs. A wave of humid heat hits you as you step out into a street just off the Khao San Road. Your senses are suddenly assaulted by too many things to process. You feel a film of sweat immediately develop under your shirt. The heat of a street oven envelops you in even more heat, as well as the delicious smell of Thai noodles. Seemingly thousands of people mill around these streets – and then you see it; Khao San Road.

A dazzling range of stalls fill your view, behind which dozens of enterprises of every kind offer their wares and services to the many travellers. Internet, bars, restaurants – and of course lots and lots of accommodation. The smug look on your face inspired by paying only £3 for a bed suddenly vanishes when we see the bare, well used mattress on the floor – surrounded by plywood walls.

But this is the backpacker’s Bangkok. If you want 5 star luxury, hop on a tuk tuk and start digging around for your Mastercard – because you’ll need it. If you really want to spend lots of money, Bangkok offers a myriad pleasures – both salacious and not. But if you want to live on a few pounds a day, you can do it here. And what’s more you’ll probably have a really good time as well.

You don’t need rockets to Mars when you’ve got planes to Bangkok. Try it.