Make It Happen: Bangkok

History! Culture! That accent! Potentially seeing Keira Knightley! Those are just a few of the many reasons London tops must-visit lists. But the two most common gripes we hear are about the reputedly not-so-great cuisine and the fact that the city can be pricey. The foodie scene has been evolving for a while, though, and there’s a new game in town that's taking a big step toward countering both of those stereotypes. Mercato Metropolitano is a 45,000-square-foot market set to open June 30. Come hungry, because you won’t want to miss anything in this edible metropolis, where admission is free. As we like to mention here at BT, visiting markets is one of the best ways to experience a city's culture. Here's what you need to know: Located in the new SoBo area (south of Borough), part of the Borough Triangle that is currently undergoing a £3 billion regeneration, Mercato Metropolitano is housed in a former paper factory. The warehouse has been transformed into a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces where farmers, artisans, and small producers from across the U.K. and Italy can mingle, all in the name of great food. Expect the best pizza maker from Naples, award-winning British food retailers, a bakery, fishmongers, butchers, coffee roasters, artisan beer makers, cheesemongers, specialist charcuterie, a wide variety of the best wines from Italy, fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta makers, an outdoor street food area, and much more. Also tucked inside the three-story building is Prezzemolo e vitale, a family-owned fresh supermarket from Palermo known for having the best of southern Italy’s produce. Mercato Metropolitano won’t just be for eating. There will also be an in-house cinema, cooking demonstrations, workshops, talks, and cultural events open to the local schools and public. You can find activities in the urban garden and talks from producers about their favorite foods, as well as musical performances and cultural exhibitions. How’s that for the flavors of London?

My name is Robert and I am addicted to Budget Travel's Coast-to-Coast by Word of Mouth video series. I honestly thought I was immune. After all, I'm the editor in chief who greenlighted the crazy coast-to-coast concept: Our photo editor, Whitney Tressel, would drive from Los Angeles to Charleston, sans GPS, sans guidebooks, following only the advice of locals she met along the way; Whitney would shoot video and still photography and deliver dispatches from the road, which our senior, Jamie Beckman, turned into fun blog posts, a huge feature, and a pleasantly endless slideshow. But I'm not immune to binging on this incredible video series. From the moment Whitney hits the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles to her final sunset in South Carolina, these short films keep me watching and smiling.  And I'm not the only one: The great travel tips, amazing food, and friendly faces of Whitney's informal "tour guides" earned Coast-to-Coast by Word of Mouth a nomination for MIN's Best of the Web award for multi-media feature. To watch our Coast-to-Coast by Word of Mouth preview and episodes 1 through 4, visit Budget Travel's video collection (where you'll also find incredible "day-in-the-life" footage of Cuba, Antigua, Miami, Berlin, Bangkok, and more).

This has been a banner week for stupid tourist stunts, and we're calling them out. From putting a wild animal into a hatchback to defacing precious natural wonders, here's what the unenlightened have been up to in some of our favorite places to visit: 1. Two tourists in Yellowstone National Park put a baby bison in the back of their SUV because it "looked cold." What more can we even say about this? Not kidnapping wildlife to "rescue" it because you think you know more than Yellowstone park rangers would be a good start. It's not only dangerous; it's illegal. Adding to the ignorance, the high was 50 degrees that day. Not exactly an icy tundra. Because of these two geniuses, the baby bison later died. The Washington Post reported: “Park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the newborn bison calf with the herd. These efforts failed. The bison calf was later euthanized because it was abandoned and causing a dangerous situation by continually approaching people and cars along the roadway.” 2. Vanessa Hudgens agreed to pay a $1,000 fine for carving a heart into a red rock wall in Sedona, Arizona—and then Instagramming it. Frankly, we expected more of actress Hudgens, who seems like a nice young woman. What makes the defacing more obnoxious is the heart contained the names "Vanessa" and "Austin"—a.k.a. Hudgens and her boyfriend, actor Austin Butler. There are no real winners here except Hudgens's Instagram followers, who alerted the media, causing the authorities to get involved. They issued her a citation for "a misdemeanor count of damaging a natural feature on U.S. Forest Service land," according to the Associated Press, hence the fine of $1K. Good on ya, Vanessa fans. 3. A dude in Portugal smashed a 126-year-old statue after climbing it...to take a selfie. We're shaking our heads right now. Which is more than we can say for poor Dom Sebastiao, a 16th-century king of Portugal, whose statue was smashed to pieces when a tourist allegedly tried to scale it and snap a photo, Artnet News reported. The statue is in Lisbon's Rossio train station, and the suspect "attempted to flee." Big surprise. Check out the pre-smashing and post-smashing photos here. They will make you very sad. We won't speculate on whether a selfie stick was used, but let's just all agree not to use selfie sticks while we're around priceless artwork...or maybe ever.

We love the way Baker City, Oregon, has jumped to the head of our Coolest Small Towns contest. Of course, there are weeks remaining until our 11th annual Coolest Small Town in America contest closes (at 11:59 p.m. on June 6), but we're impressed that Baker City (bordered by the Elkhorn and Wallowa mountains in northeast Oregon at the intersection of three Oregon Scenic Byways) has grabbed more than 40 percent of all votes so far to take a commanding lead. Right behind Baker City in early voting, Sykesville, Maryland, has gotten our attention with more than 27 percent of all votes. But we're eager to see how each of our 15 finalists fares in their quest to take the title of coolest. Check out all 15 finalists and vote for your favorite HERE.