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The thing I’ve always enjoyed about moving to a big city is having friends visit me. I just love showing people around my city. I’ve lived in big cities like New York City and Washington, DC and have enjoyed the thrill of accommodating visitors. There’s a unique excitement in being able to reveal the world’s entertaining places to newcomers. Also, being the host of a city full of beautiful places gives me a sense of pride.

Naturally, I was thrilled when my colleague informed me that he was having a friend visit from the UK. I immediately offered to help him accompany the tourist. He joined our office crowd for a weekend trip to the beach, went clubbing with another group of my friends, and by the end of his 10-day trip, he was sleeping on the couch of our other coworker’s condo.

It takes work to take care of someone though. After a while, you get a little sick of it. This time was no different. Though this particular visitor was very pleasant, there were times when I felt really sick of being the caretaker. After all, how often can you go to the Emerald Temple without feeling bored? Being the tour guide can take a toll on you. Here are a few ways to lighten your load.

If your residence is their hotel
The close friends are actually the dangerous ones when it comes to being visitors. They’re the ones who tend to stay with you for longer periods at a time. I tend to feel the need to make myself a personal tour guide and stay with them 24/7. But when you’re constantly around someone, even a best friend can quickly wear out his or her welcome after a few days.

The one good thing about visitors in Bangkok is that you don’t have to guilt your- self into offering your place as a hotel. Hotels are cheap and hostels are plenty. In other more expensive cities like Hong Kong or Manhattan, it would be rather cruel to make your friend dump a week’s worth of grocery expenses on one night’s stay at the Holiday Inn.

Don’t feel guilty about placing your visitor in a hotel or a hostel (more commonly known as a “guesthouse”). If they can afford a plane ticket to Thailand, they can most likely dish out 200 baht a night for sheltering.

If they are difficult with food
One of the things that makes Thailand unique is the food. There’s so much to choose from, be it street food like fried tofu to the finest steaks in hotel restaurants. Those are, however, too conventional for some people who consider a trip to Thai- land a waste without having a taste of fried bugs.

You don’t really hear of people getting poisoned by bugs, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. As a matter of fact, you should warn the visitor about Thai food in general. It’s best to eat everything in small amounts at first.

Yet the bug eaters are easier to accommodate than the vegetarians. The food scene here isn’t really known for vegetarianism. Sometimes when you order a certain dish and tell them to not put in any meat, they’ll still manage to slip in some sort of vegetarian-forbidden food. For example, dried shrimps that come in dipping sauces or papaya salads. The best thing to do is to have bread and butter avail- able for vegetarian visitors.

If you have prior engagements
Don’t worry if you have events where they can’t tag along. You can still take care of your visitor by providing other alternatives.

First, you could send your visitor off on a tour. In Bangkok, there are one-day cruises on the Chaopraya River and many tour packages that include travel and hotel costs for other cities in Thailand. With the current promotions, you can send your visitor off to the South for as cheap as 1,000 baht in air travel expenses.

Second, you could pass them off to your friends. I’ve found that in general, Thai people do enjoy taking care of visitors. I have a friend who gets called up by ev- eryone in such occasions. She’s a party animal, hence friends call her up and ask her to escort their visitors to the Bangkok bars and clubs. She’s the “night shift” tour guide. Ask around to find such a friend because there’s no better time to ask for their help.

If your visitor spends too much time getting lost
During my first visit to NYC, I explicitly stated that no one could possibly ever re- member all of the subway lines in the city. But after living there for a few months, I could draw the Manhattan subway map in my sleep. The thing is this: it’s always difficult for someone to find his or her way in a new city.

I am a big believer in maps. If lost in any city, I would definitely choose to have a map over the phone – except in Bangkok! The Bangkok maps are very difficult to read. Sometimes the names are spelled incorrectly and are even unrecognizable. They change street names often, and some streets have different names in Eng- lish. For example, Rama IV is pronounced “Pra-rahm see” in Thai, as compared to “Ra-mah Four.”

The good news is that most taxi drivers here know their way around very well. Just tell your visitor to get in a cab and provide an address or nearby landmarks. Otherwise, stick to routes that entail only Skytrain or subway rides and a short walk to the destination.

If your visitor is stingy
All visitor activities require money. You run out of options rather fast when your visitor complains about 100 baht bottles of beer. In my experience, this is the most difficult thing to fix. I’ve had enough bad experiences to decide that the best solution is to simply avoid such people. Some people make great friends, but bad visitors.

Just use the “I’m-stuck-at-work” excuse, or even tell them that you have a doctor’s appointment. You gotta do what you gotta do. Just be sure to steer clear of touristy places or public places in general. The worst thing that could happen is for you to run into the visitor.

You’re lucky if you have a low-maintenance and easy-to-please visitor who allows you to fully enjoy your role as the host of the land of smiles. But if you get a bad visitor, don’t hesitate to escape early and avoid paying any over-baggage fees.