Traveling To Bangkok

Bangkok (Thai: กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep) is the capital of Thailand and by far its largest city with an estimated population of over 11 million.

Bangkok is one of Asia’s most cosmopolitan cities. Created as the Thai capital in 1782 by the first monarch of the present Chakri dynasty, Bangkok is a national treasure house and Thailand’s spiritual, cultural, political, commercial, educational and diplomatic centre.

Districts

Sukhumvit
The long Sukhumvit Road, which changes its name to Ploenchit Road and Rama I Road going west, is Bangkok's modern commercial core, full of glitzy malls and hotels. The Skytrain intersection at Siam Square is the closest thing Bangkok has to a centre.

Silom
To the south of Sukhumvit, the area around Silom Road and Sathorn Road is Thailand's sober financial center by day, but Bangkok's primary party district by night when quarters like the infamous Patpong come alive.

Rattanakosin
Between the river and Sukhumvit lies the densely packed "Old Bangkok", home to Bangkok's best-known sights, such as the Grand Palace and Wat Pho.

Khao San Road
On the northern part of Rattanakosin, Bangkok's backpacker mecca Khao San Road and the surrounding district of Banglamphu have everything the budget traveler is looking for.

Yaowarat and Pahurat
Along Yaowarat Road you will find Bangkok's Chinatown, while Pahurat Road is the home of the sizable Indian community. This multicultural district is filled with markets selling food, gold, fabrics and Bollywood VCDs.

Thonburi
The quieter west bank of the Chao Phraya River, with Wat Arun and many small canals to explore.

Phahonyothin
The area around Phahonyothin Road and Viphavadi Rangsit Road is best known for the Chatuchak Weekend Market and Baiyoke Tower 2.

Ratchadaphisek
The district north of Sukhumvit centered around Ratchadaphisek Road (part of which is called Asoke). This area is a popular with the locals for its nightlife, such as around Royal City Avenue (RCA).

See

Most of Bangkok's sights are concentrated in the Old City on Rattanakosin Island. Out of Bangkok's hundreds of temples, the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun usually make up the top 3. The Grand Palace has an immense size and expect to spend at least a full morning or afternoon there. Within the palace grounds is Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. Unlike other temples, it is not one building, nor are there are living spaces for monks. Instead, it is a collection of highly decorated holy buildings and monuments.

Nearby is Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha), home to the world's largest reclining Buddha image and a famed massage school. Cross the Chao Phraya river for the outstanding Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn). The main structure is about 70 meters high and it is surrounded by four smaller prangs. It is one of Thailand's most picturesque temples, and it is engraved on the inner part of all ten baht coins. If you climb it, and look closely, you will see that it is actually beautifully decorated with colorful Chinese porcelain pieces. Other major temples include the Golden Mount, Wat Suthat and Wat Rajnadda.

Bangkok is a good place to see traditional Thai-style residences. Most people take a tour through Jim Thompson's House, the CIA-operative's mansion assembled by combining six traditional Thai-style houses. Ban Kamthieng, M.R. Kukrit's Heritage Home and the Suan Pakkad Palace could also make for a nice experience. Another interesting museum is the Dusit Palace, situated in a leafy, European-style area built by king Chulalongkorn to escape the heat of the Grand Palace. It's main structure is the Vimanmek Mansion, the largest golden teakwood house in the world, but you could spend your whole day in the museums here. Other museums include the National Museum about Thai history and archaeology, as well as the Museum of Siam and the King Prajadhipok Museum. Bangkok has a small, but vocal, art community, and you might want to visit the National Gallery, The Queen's Gallery, or one of it's numerous smaller galleries.

Lumpini Park is the largest park in central Bangkok, and a nice way to escape the fumes. Backpackers around Khao San Road tend to head for Santichaiprakarn Park, a small, but worthy, park along the Chao Phraya river. It has a breezy atmosphere, a fort and a nice view on the modern Rama VII bridge. Zoos and animal farms are some of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangkok, but before visiting, please be aware that animal welfare in Thailand is not strictly regulated. The poor living conditions of the Dusit Zoo and Safari World as well as the inadequate veterinary care at these locations are examples of the sad mistreatment of the animal population. You can't go wrong at the Queen Saovabha Snake Farm, as the staff takes good care of their snakes and they have a job of informing the public about their risks. Siam Ocean World also makes for a nice family attraction. It is the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia.

Peoplespotting

More than any other place in Thailand, Bangkok offers wonderful opportunities for just sitting and watching people go by. Here's a partial checklist:

• University student — Many of Thailand's universities continue to enforce a uniform, and what a uniform: for girls, it's a formfitting translucent white blouse, black miniskirt and straight black hair. The little shiny logo button on the blouse tells the cognoscenti which particular university she is attending. Boys wear a white dress shirt and black trousers.

• Office lady — Sharply clad in infinite variations of solid pastel shades, this human houseplant mans customer service desks and pours tea in offices across the capital.

• Bargirl — Mostly short and dark-skinned farm girls from the provinces, a bargirl can be spotted a mile away thanks to her pink hotpants and the kilo of gold around her neck. Often found in happy financial symbiosis with the sexpat.

• Sexpat — Fifty-plus, bald, beer belly, stained shirt, lovestruck expression and a hairy arm wrapped around a girl too young to be his daughter. He's found what he's looking for.

• Ladyboy (kathoey) — Either tall, large-handed, wears too much makeup, possesses an Adam's apple and has large breasts... or has accomplished the art of camouflage so well that you just filed her/him as an office lady or bargirl.

• Expat — A farang walking about purposefully in dress shirt and long trousers, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it's 35°C outside. For extra credit, try to distinguish between the scruffier English teacher type and the jet-setting expense package type. Or try classifying them by the old joke about the three types of expat — missionaries, mercenaries and misfits.

• Yuppie — Like every other big city, Bangkok boasts a coterie of young professional types who are hip, well-educated and relatively affluent. Similar to the Expat, they usually sport business attire and are likely to be hurried -- except they probably know a shortcut, and they aren't sweating so profusely.

• Khao San Road vagabonds — Braided hair, bead necklace, sarongs, shorts and floppy pants. Either on their way to or just back from the beaches. Dazed and bewildered when torn apart from the familiar surroundings of Khao San Road. All are oblivious to the fact that Thais have a specific name for them - farang kii nok(ฝร่ััง ขี้นก) translated as "birdshit Westerner" - due to their unclean & unattractive appearance. The most imperialist and clueless of this lot think that because of their anonymity in a foreign culture, walking around shirtless in public doesn't make them look like a dunce.

Do

Taking a bicycle tour of Bangkok is highly recommended. There are a handful of specialist operators that offer daily or regular departures to the Bangkok Jungle, an area across the river from downtown Bangkok where there are few cars or buildings, or through the backstreets of China Town. It sounds strange but a cycle tour in Bangkok really is the best way to discover the city up close. Sightseeing Along the Chao Phraya River is another great way to see the city, There are special boat trips designed for foreign tourists along the Chao Phraya River to take in sites such as the Grand Palace. They are quite pointless though, as the public passenger ferry does exactly the same trip. In fact, they are even better as they go all the way up to Nonthaburi Town. For a good trip take a public passenger ferry from near the Saphan Taksin BTS skytrain station and go up to Nonthaburi Town, enjoy the afternoon in this pleasant laid back traditional urban town and take the boat back.

Thai Boxing

Thai Boxing or Muay Thai is both a sport and means of self defence. Contestants are allowed to use almost any part of their body: feet, elbows, legs, knees, and shoulders, are all weapons. The playing of traditional music during bouts makes for even greater excitement. There are two venues in Bangkok for this type of sport.

• Ratchadamnoen Stadium (สนามมวยราชดำเนิน), Ratchadamnoen Nok Road, ☎ 0 2281 4205. M,W,Th 6.30PM-10.30PM, Su 5PM-8PM & 8.30PM-midnight. edit
• Lumphini Stadium (สนามมวยลุมพินี), Rama IV Road, ☎ 0 2251 4303. Tu,F 6.30PM,Sa 5PM & 8.30PM

Elephant riding

Elephants are a large part of Thailand’s tourist trade, and the smuggling and mistreatment of elephants for tourist attractions is quite a widespread practice. Be aware that elephants are often separated from their mothers at a young age to be cruelly trained under captivity for the rest of their lives. Organizations such as The Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai are an ethical alternative for elephant tourism.

Wellness

Spas, traditionally, were towns where public baths, hospitals or hotels were built on top of mineral springs so that people could come and make use of the healing properties found in the water and its mud for medical purposes. These days, a spa doesn’t have to be a town built on natural thermal springs. It can be a place anywhere that anyone can go to, to relax in tranquil surroundings with a variety of treatment administered to recontour and rejuvenate the body and mind. All self-respecting hotels in Bangkok will have a spa operating on premises offering at least traditional massage services. These tend to charge a premium but also offer some the best treatments in town. Particularly well-regarded spas include Deverana [32] at the Dusit Thani and the eponymous operations at Banyan Tree [33] and the legendary Oriental [34] — the last of these being probably the most expensive in town, offering (among other things) a 6-hour Oriental Romance package for two costing a whopping US$535. Independent spas offer much the same experience but are a little more competitive due to the lack of a captive customer base. Figure on 1000 baht and up per hour for most treatments.

The ubiquitous little massage shops found on every street corner in town, offer the best value for money but the smallest range of services, with offerings usually limited to massage only. It is fairly easy to distinguish legitimate massage shops from more dubious places: the real deal will charge 250-400 baht for a typical two-hour massage and will often have a row of beefy farmers' daughters in white coats working on customers' feet in public view, while the other kind has wispy things in evening dresses and too much makeup yelling "Hello handsome" at every passing male.

Entertainment

Horse Races are held on Sunday from 12.30PM-6.00PM at two alternate turf clubs, The Royal Turf Club of Thailand (ราชตฤณมัยสมาคม), on Phitsanulok Road or the Royal Bangkok Sports Club (ราชกรีฑาสโมสร) [35], on Henri Dunant Road.

Bangkok is a great place to go to the movies. If you are coming from the West, the cost of a cinema ticket is a complete bargain, around B120. Most of the cinemas are of the highest world-class standards and show all the latest releases. Major Cineplex and SFX are some of the largest chain cinemas. They are also up to par with technological innovations in the movie industry - expect to wear 3D glasses for some of the Hollywood releases, or visit an an IMAX Theater on Rangsit Roador the IMAX theater at Siam Paragon. Just like the capital’s cinemas, bowling centers are of a superb standard with some of them resembling the inside of a discotheque. Dance while you play style. Top class private karaoke lounges can be found at some of the bowling centers and major hotels.

Events

• Chinese New Year Festival. The place to go is naturally Bangkok's Chinatown, Yaowarat, where the main road is closed to cars and many stores and food stands crowd the road, with grandiose and colourful Chinese lion and dragon processions.

• Bangkok Songkran Festival. The traditional Thai New Year is an occasion for merriment all over the city, but most notably at Sanam Luang, near the Grand Palace, where the revered Phra Phuttha Sihing image is displayed and bathed by devotees. In the Wisutkasat area, a Miss Songkran beauty contest is held and accompanied by merry-making and entertainment. Khao San Road degenerates into a war zone as farangs and locals duke it out with super soakers.

• Royal Ploughing Ceremony, May An ancient Brahman ritual, conducted at Sanam Luang, is what farmers believe is able to forecast the abundance of the next rice crop. The event is a result of a series of ceremonies that are conducted by Phraya Raek Na, portrayed by a high-ranking official who wears colourful traditional costumes. This ceremony was re-introduced in 1960 by H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej and is considered the official commencement of the rice-growing season, as well as the rainy season. Nowadays, the ceremony is conducted by the Crown Prince.

• Trooping of the Colours, December. Their majesties the King and Queen preside over this impressive annual event, held in the Royal Plaza near the equestrian statue of King Chulalongkorn. Dressed in colourful uniforms, amid much pomp and ceremony, members of the elite Royal Guards swear allegiance to the King and march past members of the Royal Family.

• HM The King’s Birthday Celebrations December 5. Ratchadamri Road and the Grand Palace are elaborately decorated and illuminated, and in the evening hundreds of thousands line the route from Sanam Luang to Chitlada Palace to get a glimpse of the King when he is slowly chauffeur-driven past.

Thai massage

• The Wat Po temple in Rattanakosin offers well-regarded massage courses. While aimed squarely at tourists, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as they're used to conducting classes in English.

• Union of Thai Traditional Medicine Society offers a more than reasonable alternative to the courses in Wat Po, as they pay more attention to the individual student and practices, conveniently located close to the China Town Pier (No. 5). Contact: Mr. Praphai Kingmala (66) - 087-929-8574, 272 - 274 Rachawong Rd, Sampantawong.

Buy

Bangkok is full of shopping malls and street markets of all types, especially in the Sukhumvit area; see the section for details. Prices can be cheap by Western standards, especially for locally produced items such as clothes, although bargaining is expected and required. Dump a teenager in Siam Center, Siam Square, Siam Paragon, MBK or The Emporium with a few thousand baht and they'll stay occupied for the rest of the week! Most malls tend to have excellent food courts.

Animal Souvenirs: Due to its location, lax laws, and resources, many illegal animal products come through Bangkok. Rare and endangered species are often sold at markets for pets (especially at Chatuchak), and many other animal products are sold as luxury items. Avoid buying rare pets, leather, ivory, talons, dried sea creatures (starfish, etc.), fur, feathers, teeth, wool, and other products, as they are most likely the result of illegal poaching, and contributes greatly to animal endangerment and abuse.

Weekend Market: A major attraction on weekends is the gigantic Chatuchak Weekend Market (a.k.a. JJ Market), in northern Bangkok but easily accessible by Skytrain and Metro. Take the metro and get off Kamphaeng Phet station which opens right into the market. Takes around an hour on the bus from Khao San Road area. If you're staying in Pratunam, metered fare should not go beyond 100 baht. Has 20,000 stalls selling everything from counterfeit goods, animals, art, furniture and probably anything else you can think of. Definitely worth a visit for the sheer size of it. There are food stalls everywhere. Forego the cutesy cafes for the humbler stalls. Flavored iced and fried wontons will provide fuel for the whole day. Closes at around 6PM. Keep a close eye on your valuables.

Night Market: Hugely popular with tourists & locals alike is the open air Suan Lum Night Bazaar. This is a large and colourful market offering bargains on everything from clothes, bags, crockery to organic foods. A smaller, cooler and cleaner version of Chatuchak - same wares sold for 20% more. There is a large food court with a live band every night. Beer seems to be the official beverage of this place - lots of beer gardens here. Covered in more detail in the Silom section.

Patpong Night Market: Between the strip clubs and bars along Patpong Road is the Patpong night market. This market is designed for tourists and is not frequented by locals. These markets are home to a variety of counterfeit merchandise including watches, clothes, bags, and cosmetics as well as Thai tourist products such as model tuk-tuks and kick-boxing shorts. The prices at this market are exorbitant and anyone brave enough to buy anything here should bargain extensively. Most items available at Patpong Night Market are available for less than half the price at other locations in Bangkok.

Where to buy

• Ploenchit-Ratchaprasong (เพลินจิต-ราชประสงค์)

Top department stores and luxury shopping malls are concentrated in the area, namely Central, Gaysorn Plaza, Isetan, Zen, Erawan Bangkok, Peninsula Plaza, all of which together make the largest shopping promenade in Bangkok. Furthermore, Central World Plaza and Narayana Phand Pavilion, host the official handicraft centre selling items from all parts of the country. Ratchaprasong intersection is the gateway to several shopping areas such as Phloenchit-Sukhumvit, Siam Square-Mahboonkrong, Silom and Pratunam-Phetchaburi.

• Silom-Surawong-Patpong (สีลม-สุรวงศ์-พัฒพงษ์)

Silom Road is the main artery of Bangkok’s commercial heart and is paralleled by Surawong Road, while Patpong Road runs crosswise between the two. In addition to housing dozens of specialist shops and boutiques representing all the major buys, this area also boasts many branches of well-known retailers , Tailors and several shopping plazas.Montien Plaza being the most famous and Excelsior tailors. Street stalls also abound, most notably at Patpong’s famous night market.

• Silom-Mahesak-Charoenkrung Road (สีลม-มเหศักดิ์-เจริญกรุง)

Silom leads into Charoen Krung Road which parallels the Chao Phraya River, and notable shopping opportunities include gems and jewellery stores (Mahesak Road is a gem trading centre), Oriental Plaza and River City shopping complex.

• Sukhumvit (สุขุมวิท)

Like Silom, Sukhumvit is one of Bangkok’s main thoroughfares, and the long road is lined with shops, boutiques and modern shopping plazas ranging from Soi 3 (Nana Nua) up to Soi 63 (Ekkamai). Most shops and restaurants are concentrated between Soi 3 and Soi 21 (Asok) and along shortcuts between Asok and Ekkamai. Sombat Permpoon Gallery at Sukhumvit Soi 1 sells both paintings and sculptures by established artists and those of the new generation.

• Pratunam-Phetchaburi (ประตูน้ำ-เพชรบุรี)

A highlight in the district is Pratunam market, one of Bangkok’s biggest centres for ready-to-wear clothing.

Baiyoke Tower (ตึกใบหยก) Located next to Bangkok’s tallest hotel building, Baiyoke tower is one of the city’s renowned garment centres.

• Nai Lert Plaza (ศูนย์การค้านายเลิศ)

Situated close to Pratunam Market, Nai Lert Market is one of many shopping areas in Bangkok where you can buy just about everything from clothing to handicrafts.

• Bang Lamphu (บางลำพู)

Situated close to the Grand Palace, Bang Lamphu has a lively market where clothing is a popular buy.

• Chinatown (ย่านเยาวราช)

In the center of Yaowarat Road and Sampheng Lane, Bangkok’s Chinatown offers a profusion of gold shops as well as several nearby traditional shopping places such as Ban Mo Jewellery Street, Phahurat Cloth Market and the Old Siam Plaza.

• Bo-be Market (ตลาดโบ๊เบ๊)

Situated close to Bangkok Railway Station, Bo-be is one of the city’s most renowned ready-to-wear clothing centres, both wholesale and retail.

• Jatujak or Chatuchak Weekend Market (ตลาดนัดจตุจักร)

Located adjacent to Chatuchak Park, the weekend market, open on Saturday and Sunday, is a Bangkok landmark where shoppers can buy just about everything from clothing to potted plants and everything in between - - a paradise for browsers and bargain-hunters alike. The market also offers items of furniture and home decor. It is also where professional and amateur art-lovers and artists meet.

• Pak Khlong Talat (ปากคลองตลาด)

This is a wholesale market for all kinds of cut flowers and vegetables. It is on Maharat Road near the Memorial Bridge. The market is crowded in the early morning and in the evening.

• Saphan Phut (สะพานพุทธ)

A night market beneath Phra Phuttayotfa Bridge, known locally as Saphan Phut, selling second-hand items such as clothes, shoes and many other items.

• Lang Krasuang (หลังกระทรวงกลาโหม)

The name literally means “behind the Ministry” and refers to an area behind the Ministry of Defence on Atsadang Road, which runs along Khlong Lot. On sale are military items such as uniforms, territorial defence student uniforms, shoes as well as travelling accessories like tents, sleeping bags and camping pots. There are shops selling musical instruments nearby.

• Khlong San Pier (ท่าเรือคลองสาน)

Located in a soi off Charoen Nakhon Road, the area offers items like ready-to-wear clothes for teenagers and shoes at relatively low prices.

• Woeng Nakhon Kasem (เวิ้งนาครเกษม)

A quarter of Thai and Chinese antiquities and art objects such as blue-and-white porcelain, brass ware and furniture decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay. It is located near Charoen Krung and Yaowarat Roads.

• Thewet (เทเวศร์)

This is a pot plants market along the bank of Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem off Samsen Road.

Handicrafted products are available at the Chitralada Shop, which offers items from the SUPPORT Foundation, or at Narayana Phand Pavilion on Ratchadamri Road, open daily during 10PM – 8PM Tel. 0 2252 4670-9 and 0 2255 4328-9.

• Taling Chan Floating Market (ตลาดน้ำตลิ่งชัน)

The floating market is in front of Taling Chan District Office and renders a blend of a rural market and canal side way of life. On weekends during 7PM-5PM, vendors who are in fact local farmers take their produce including plants, vegetables, fruits, fish and various kinds of food to this market for sale. The produce varies seasonally. There are also floating food shops and a private-run canal tour service for visitors to enjoy the district’s canal side way of life as well as farming. Open: Sat-Sun Admission: free Tel: For more details, please contact Khun Noppadol, Head of the Floating Markets Community at Tel. 08 1374 7616 or Taling Chan District Office, Tel. 0 2424 1742 and 0 2424 5448.

• Wat Sai Floating Market (ตลาดน้ำวัดไทร)

Situated in Chom Thong district on the Thonburi side of Bangkok, this floating market used to be a popular touristic site for visitors to admire a canal side way of life. Construction of new roads within the area left the floating market abandoned before it was recently revived to resume its charm. A canal tour along this historic waterway to enjoy the floating market crowded with boats of farm produce for sale as well as life along the banks of Khlong Sanam Chai, especially on weekends, is available. Stop to visit Tamnak Thong and the old Ho Klong - a drum tower - of Ayutthayan architecture at Wat Sai, a Chinese style royal residence of King Rama III and Chinese sculpture at Wat Ratcha-orot, pay respect to the bejewelled Buddha image and appreciate mural paintings depicting the Chinese tale of Sam Kok or ‘The Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ at Wat Nang Nong, pay respect to Luangpu Thao at Wat Nang and view a snake-catching show at a snake farm on the bank of Khlong Dan.

To get there, drive along Ekachai Road that runs by Wat Sai or take bus No. 43 or 120 from Wongwian Yai. A boat for rent is also available from Tha Chang or Chang Pier along the Chao Phraya River and into canals to Wat Sai. Open: Daily Admission: Free

• Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (ตลาดน้ำดำเนินสะดวก)

This popular attraction is some 80km west of Bangkok, accessible by regular bus from the Southern Bus Terminal. Everyday, hundreds of vendor boats crowd the market area in the early morning till noon.