Bangkok is for gluttons. There are practically as many food stalls as people. And with the reliable public transportation and cheap motorbikes, you can keep your heart beating at a leisurely low rate. If you need a day to get yourself back on a healthy track, here are some suggestions.

A trot, a jog, or a run through a Bangkok park.

06:00: Though Bangkok may feel like a city that never sleeps, millions are tucked away in their beds by nightfall and arise in the early hours of the morning.

Head to Queen Sirikit Park (part of the greater Chatuchak Park, open 04:30-21:00) and take a run or a stroll along a stretch of green. Also consider Lumpini Park near the Sala Deang BTS, or Benjasiri Park (Queen’s Park) near the Phrom Pong BTS. If it’s smack in the middle of hot season, from March to May, wake up even earlier to beat the heat. (Avid runners, be aware that the Laguna Phuket International Marathon is coming up on June 10 this year, while Nong Khai hosts a charity marathon on June 3 and Pattaya has a marathon in July.)

09:00: If you’re feeling ambitious, jog down Phahonyotin Road to Banana Family Park in Ari -- it's around three kilometres from Chatuchak Park, or you can take the BTS from Mo Chit to Ari, and then walk. At this healthy haven, munch on the vegetarian spring rolls, fresh sauteed vegetables, or fruit som tam and grab a bottle of diluted wheatgrass juice.

If you’re coming from another side of town, Ethos in Khao San Road, open at 9:00, or Rasayana Retreat: Living Food Café in Phrom Pong, open at 10:00, also make great healthy morning pick-me-ups.

12:00: Get a two-hour Thai full body massage. Throw in a facial or Thai herbal compress if you feel like you deserve an extra reward after your run. For a reliable massage in a hi-so ambiance, try Health Land Spa, with seven locations in Bangkok alone, including Asok and Sathorn. Book ahead of time to avoid a wait.

15:00: All that hard work in the spa means you'll have worked up an appetite. Go to a Gourmet Market or Villa Market, which are often connected to malls, and check out their salad bar or produce section, where they will have pre-packaged salads. The bar I frequent the most in Bangkok is the salad bar at the Gourmet Market in the ground level of Siam Paragon. If you are strategic with the weight of your vegetables, you won’t spend more than 100 baht, and you can get the dressing on the side. Just a warning: Gourmet Market is filled with delicious sweet goodies that are unavoidable to walk by on your way to the salad bar. Be strong! Take a walk around the mall to help your digestion.

17:00: As evening falls, it’s time for another workout. Gyms like California WOW Xperience in Asok, True Fitness and Fitness First require memberships to attend classes, but you can bargain with them for a one-day or three-day trial membership, sometimes even for free. Hinting that you are considering living in Bangkok long-term will help the free part. For a drop-in yoga class with no strings attached, Yoga Elements  in Chit Lom and Absolute Yoga, with multiple locations, both hold great classes. The hot yoga at Absolute Yoga is a guaranteed workout, and Yoga Elements is better to get your zen on.

Vegetarian food porn with accompanying ticket.

19:00: Treat yourself to a delicious vegetarian dinner at the cafeteria in Tops Supermarket, attached to Robinson Department Store in Asok. Open from 09:00-21:00 and adjacent to the bakery of Tops, you'll see a sign that says “Walee Vegetarian Food”. Opt for the brown rice with two sides for 40 baht. Pay first at the ticket counter, where you will receive tickets in five and 20 baht denominations. When you are done, return to the counter to refund any tickets you have not used.

You have just completed a healthy day in Bangkok. Reward yourself with some fresh-squeezed beetroot, apple, carrot and celery juice for 60 baht at Tops.

Tags: massage, parks, vegetarian food, yoga

First, tourism surged in Thailand in the 1960s, due to faster planes, a rise in the standard of living, a simulacrum of political stability, and Nam soldiers needing some R & R. Second, the fundamental question still being asked today arose: should I begin my journey through Thailand in Bangkok or Chiang Mai?

Not a bad place to start.

After an in-depth analysis comparing which city is better, I came up with no answer; it's apples to oranges, tom yum to gaeng som. So if both cities are worth visiting, where should you start? The most simple truth is, it doesn't really make a big difference. Nowadays, with relatively comfortable, relatively fast trains and cheap flights, the starting point for your Southeast Asian adventure is simply a matter of what makes the most sense for your itinerary.

Other things being equal, flying directly into Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok is probably cheaper than flying to Chiang Mai International Airport. However, buses can be unreliable if you are in a hurry, and trains from Bangkok to elsewhere are not as dirt cheap as you might think, so do cross-check promotions on budget airlines like Air Asia and Nok Air with the cost of other forms of transportation before you go.

Among Chiang Mai's international connections are flights to and from cities in Burma, China, Laos and Malaysia, as well as Singapore. Chiang Mai Airport is rather charming and manageable as far as airports go, so if anything beyond the safety of Bangkok's duty-free shopping makes you nervous, fly to Chiang Mai for a low-key, soft-entry arrival.

The Chiang Mai ocean.

You can also immediately take a bus or train from Bangkok directly to Chiang Mai (and vice versa), without ever really having to "be" in Bangkok. For those on a strict budget, it might be smart to end with Bangkok as a few days in the city can eat up your wallet if you're not careful with your finances.

Numerous daily buses leave from Bangkok's Northern Bus Terminal near the Mo Chit BTS, and take anywhere from 9 to 12 hours depending on the time of day and traffic (600-700 baht). Trains depart from Bangkok's Hualamphong train Station near the Hualamphong MRT Station, and take approximately 11 to 15 hours (270 to 620 baht for seats; 880 to 1,460 baht for sleepers).

Chiang Mai is the unofficial capital of northern Thailand, and is an easy drive or plane ride away from Chiang Rai, Udon Thani, Pai, to name a few, and the border of Burma and Laos. Kan Air, a domestic airline serving the northern Thailand region, has daily flights around the region. If you only have a short time to travel and want to start up north for some rugged adventures, it makes sense to start in Chiang Mai.

If livin' the life on the islands is your number one priority, then Bangkok should be your first stop. From Bangkok, you can take buses, trains and planes to places like Krabi, Phuket, Ko Samui and launching points for Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Phi Phi, and many other mini-paradises. Buses leave from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal, Sai Tai Mai, which was flooded in late October but is now back and running. Trains to the south also leave from Hualamphong. More detailed directions on how to travel from Bangkok to the islands can be found here.

Tags: buses, Chiang Mai, planes, Suvarnabhumi, trains

So you'd need to have been living under a stone not to have heard about the Round The World competition we're involved in here at Travelfish.org. It's a bit of a competition with a difference. Yes, we're giving away a round the world trip, but we're not telling you where it goes - you have to guess!

Each week, for eight weeks we're running a competition giving away clues to one of the stops and the winning who gets it right wins a prize that week and goes into the draw for the big prize.

We're already two weeks in. The first week's prize was some cool travel gear from ExOfficio and this week it is two BRX luggage sets from Briggs & Riley -- and there's more to come!

So while we don't want to give away too much, rest assured the trip will be stopping over in Asia, so head over to the Round The World competition page for more information on how to enter and we hope to see you up here