Any experienced travellers to thailand? wondering how it would be to be on my own there?

I am planning to meet some friends in bangkok on a certain day, but i also have a bunch of days off before that so i was thinking about just even just a day earlier to check things out on my own. i would land in bangkok and be on my own for about a day and then i would have to come back to the airport to meet my friends. would it be worth the day to myself? considering i would taxi out to wherever is nearby then taxi back to the airport the next day..any advice would be great. also this would be my first time there so it is going to be culture shock for me