Transportation in Bangkok and beyond

1) First we discuss the "public" transportation in Bangkok.
You have several transport systems available.
I have found a new web site http://www.transitbangkok.com/ where you can enter your origin and destination (as long as it is programmed in their database, so please be flexible :p) and it will give you all the options of all public tranfers: e.g. I found 2 bus lines going from Onnut to Ari, so now my trip to my Tai Chi class is much cheaper :P) And it even give more information than the BMTA web site, as you get a map with your routing(s).
a) The Skytrain or BTS which has one Sukumvit Line and one Silom Line, which cross each other at Siam.
You can take a single ticket, a day ticket (130 thb) , a 15 trip ticket etc..etc..For prizes , click here, and click on your origin station and on your destination station. The BTS is from 6 am till midnight.
b) The Metro or MRT , which has one line from Bangsue to Hualompong central railway station. The Metro covers the area where mostly Thai people live, and it is a good way to go to Yaowarat (Chinatown).
The MRT connect with the BTS at 2 stations (BTS Saladaeng+BTS Asoke) . Prices 
c) The Airport link or SA City Line , connect the Suwanabumi Aiport (BKK) to town.
On a, b and c no drinking or eating is allowed, not even in the stations.
d) The BMTA ,Bangkok's major buscompany, covers about 95% of the city buses in and around Bangkok.
 Much cheaper than the 3 previous ways of transport, but not easy to use as all destinations are written in Thai only. And the numerology is not very logic; e.g. you have 2 lines 166, the start both at the Victory Monument, but have a total different route. My preferred line, bus nr 2 , exists in 4 different formats:
1 red/cream bus (6.5 thb/trip) with only one fan , for the driver.
1 red/cream bus (8 thb/trip) with many fans
1 small orange bus (8thb/trip) with many fans
1 modern air conditioned bus (12thb and up, depending on the distance)
(If you expect a traffic jam, better take the airco bus: when the fan busses are standing still, it can be like an oven, and all exhaust gasses from the surrounding cars, make it like a gas chamber :).)
And this kind of difference is the case for most other bus lines too.
And when this (ฟรี) is written (mostly in red) on a card behind the windscreen, this means you get a free ride:
they will give you your ticket (sometimes), but you won't have to pay .On bus nr 2 and bus nr 25, that is the case for 30 % of the trips I take :) Bus nr 2 goes all the way to Kao San Road.
e) The Songteow: For transport from my place to anywhere, you need to know the concept of the songteow.
 Songteow means "2 banks" and it is a pick up truck transformed into a taxi. At night they will carry up to 25 people; it is a win win win situation: the customer have cheap transport, the drivers earn relatively a lot of money, and the government collect the money of the licence.
On my road, Onnut all songteow cost 7 thb, except after 22.00, then it is 9 thb; songteow drive between 5 am and 2 am. BTS starts around 6 am till midnight. If you stay at my place the songteow is the cheapest way to reach the  Sukumvit Road, the BTS, the supermarkets, the fresh market etc. My BTS station is called BTS Onnut. If you want to take the songteow, you take exit Nr 1 from Onnut BTS Station, you walk about 700 meters into Soi Sukumvit 77 to the songteow at the left hand side of the street(all white songteows pass my condo, please do not take the red ones) ,the place they wait for you varies depending on the hour of the day, but mostly it is opposite the Big C supermarket It takes about 10 minutes, depending on the traffic, to reach soi 30, then you ring the bell, pay the driver and cross the pedestrian bridge, continue in the direction against traffic for 40 meters, and then you will find the entry to my building at your right hand side. When you show up walking, with a back pack, you will have trouble convincing the security, so you better have a mobile phone that you can call me for assistance :).
d) by boat (canal and river):a) if you take the BTS till Sapan Taksin (Taksin Bridge)(Silom Line) you can take a boat of the Chao Praya River Express:
you ll see a side of the city that you can not see otherwise, there is always a breeze and never a traffic jam :) a good way to go to China Town, Wat Po, Kao San road, but the boats does not operate after dark.
There are some dinner cruises operating after dark, from cheap to very expensive :) and I heard that you even can go from Bangkok to Ayutthaya by boat.
b) The Saen Saeb Canal Express:An express boat service operates on the Saen Saeb, providing fast, inexpensive transportation in traffic-congested central Bangkok. The service has a checkered reputation, due to the polluted water in the khlong and the haphazard nature in which the service is operated.
The 18 km route is served by 100 boats of 40-50 seats, and operates 5:30am to 8:30pm daily. Prices are 8 to 18 baht, depending on distance travelled. The service carries about 60,000 passengers per day. It is run by a company called Family Transport. The service runs between Pom Prap Sattru Phai and Bang Kapi districts in Bangkok. At Pratu Nam pier in Pathum Wan/Ratchathewi districts is an interchange between the northern line, which terminates at Golden Mount, and the southern line which terminates at NIDA, where passengers must change boats. Boats go past Watthana and Huai Khwang districts, running parallel to Petchaburi Road.
2) Transport from Bangkok 
Most of the long haul buses, you only can take in the bus terminals:
normally the destination of the bus is written in Thai and in English.
Those lines are private, so there can be a big difference in comfort/speed.
Ekamai Station (Eastern Bus Terminal) (close to my place, BTS station Ekamai); this terminal provide buses to the Eastern Seaboard. Moochit (Northern Bus Terminal, BTS Moochit and another 5 minutes by bus or taxi) provides buses for the North/Northeastern part of the country.
The Southern Bus Terminal is not easy to reach (far from MRT/BTS) and provides buses to the South.
For all routes, times and fares, of all bus terminals, click here.
Another way to get out of Bangkok  is by van, most of the van's leave from Victory Monument (reachable by BTS) . Click here for more info. I take the van (180 thb) every time I go to Hua Hin (200 km 2.5 hrs).There are also a lot of vans, leaving from Kao San Road, some even to Cambodia (handy for visa runs).Probably the best agency in KSR is NS Tour Adventure, dont call them, as they are always busy :P, but email then at nstravel@hotmail.com.
There is also Thai Railways, of course, most trains depart from Hualompong Station (reachable by MRT).
Besides  those means of transportation, there are several domestic airlines/flight , AirAsia is probably the cheapest choice , Nokair is the low cost airline from Thai International Airways,  Bangkok Airways is the boutique  airline, etc...