Hi, being a expat here for the last 21 years the first question as far as where to stay is one of budget - 5 star Hotels or Guest Houses Anyway, a good area to stay would be Sukhumvit Road - example Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit or slightly lower in price the Landmark Hotel or the Ambassador as the cheaper one (slightly aged but great location) - one of the best (my opinion) Thai restaurants is the "Lemongrass" nice ambiance being furnished in Thai antiques and the thai food is great - ask the concierge for location, its not far from either of the above mentione Hotels - the Ambassador has a Roadside Restaurant as well with a BBQ where they serve Fish Crabs etc.. from the Barbi - in my honest oppinion the problem wit Thai sea food is that they mostly kill all flavors by overspicing fish for example and BBQ Shrimps taste like slightly burned Socks but than this is my opinion - if you get a hankering for some Western Food your choice is great - "Le Opera" Sukhumvit Soi 39 for Italian - the JW Marriott Steak House near Sukhumvit Soi 4 for Steaks - The street restaurants are safe in general, but only to be recommended if you like spicy food - I mean spicy! and stay away from those directly at the main Street - hours and hours of fumes can't be good for the food and subsequently for you. Most large Hotels have Buffets where they serve Thai as well as Western Food - I can only recommend those in 5star Hotels because the quality of food is really good and the price is only aout $ 20-30.00 for lunch and 50.00 or so for dinner - advice though if you are watching your budget drink "Nam Pao" (water) and stay away from beer which costs about $ 5-8.00 for a small bottle and the wine .... 300% import duty make a bottle of chateau plonk rather expensive. In bangkok you can eat well for a little as $ 2.00 and there is really no limit upwards - if budget is no problem try the "Bayoke Sky Restaurant" its on the top floor of the tallest building in BKK and open air .. a unique experience. Well that's all I have time for, got to make sure most of these 5star places have enough pate's and terrine's for their NYE buffet's - I'm a chef and supply those places, have a good trip, John forgot, Sukhumvit Road has lots of BTS stations where you can catch the Sky Train which gets you quickly to the River and another lot of 5 star Hotels, but also a lot of interesting eateries oir to Silom Road with Irish Pubs and Thai places side by side -