Bangkok tourist guide

Bangkok is one of Asia’s most exciting cities

One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster - so the famous song goes. Love it or loathe it you can’t deny Bangkok is one of Asia’s truly great cities. It’s a tourist mecca that attracts millions annually. And as such it caters well to visitors with a multitude of activities and attractions supported by a good tourism infrastructure. It’s also the economic engine of the country, 20 times bigger than the any other city and the modern heart of a traditional country.

Home to eight million people, Bangkok (or ‘City of Angels’ in Thai), is a chaotic blend of cultural and historic sights, humble shophouses, sophisticated shopping malls, terrible traffic jams and quiet backwater canals. As a tourist you’ll certainly need a guide. It’s noted for its naughty nightlife but is equally cultured and refined, boasting some top-notch restaurants and hotels that are affordable to all visitors.

The Grand Palace Complex is the first stop on all tours

Top of all tourist itineraries is the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) unrivalled in their beauty, while nearby relics such as Wat Po, with its enormous reclining Buddha) and Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) are fantastic photo opportunites. Then there is the exemplary National Museum, Temple Mount and Giant Swing all within walking distance. In many ways Bangkok is well designed for the tourist.

The Dusit area is a short tuk tuk ride away with its grand avenues, low-rise government mansions and leafy gardens, and here you’ll find the lovely Vimnamek Teak Mansion, Throne Hall, Chitralada Palace and Zoo. As a guide, this tourist area is far more pleasant and free of traffic so it’s advisable to concentrate on this and the Rattanokosin area of the Grand Palace. Sandwiched between the two is the other-worldly Khao San Road, a cornucopia of international humanity with its bustling bohemian backpacker atmosphere. There isn’t a travel service, copied CD, or drinking hole you won’t find here!

The Bangkok at the centre of your tourist guide is found nearer Siam Square where you will find the greatest concentration of shopping malls, and though you may not have come on holiday to shop you’ll certainly end up snapping up some bargains. Take time out to visit the Jim Thompson House down a small soi nearby to experience a typical elegant upper-class Thai house, fully furnished, as a interesting museum.

The Sukumwit area is ‘ex-pat central’ and location of many of the hotels and fine restaurants as well as some of the ‘girlie bar’ venues that make the city infamous, such as Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. Another similar area is Silom, which has some good nightlife and includes the notoriously naughty area of Patpong, which also contains all the ‘knock off’ vendors (fake Rolexes anyone?) By day it’s within walking distance of Bangkok’s largest green space, Lumphini Park.

The floating market is a popular and delightful attraction

Then there are a host of museums across the city, and cultural day trips. Escape the frenetic pace of the city and cross the fat meandering Chao Phraya river to explore the many canals of Thon Buri and experience a Bangkok of days gone by. Further afield is the famous Floating Market, while those wishing to see the best of Thailand’s fine arts all in a day will be rewarded with a one-hour trip south to the Ancient City. This themed tourist park has recreated all the best sites in one location. There’s also a host of themed parks for the kids.

By night you can experience a racy city and indulge in the nightlife, be it an alfresco restaurant on the rooftop of a skyscraper or a pampering from a bar full of ladies which might turn out to be men! Shopping is a busy activity, from roadside souvenir vendors on Sukhumvit road to the uber-chic Paragon Mall. Then there is the host of great value hotels and the whole lot is presented with a famous Thai smile.

Almost all visitors to Thailand invariably pass through Bangkok and many wish they had budgeted more time to really see the city properly. Recent improvements in mass transport systems has made the city much more bearable to get around, and almost all services are surprisingly cheap. It also boasts a thorough network of trains, plains and buses to the many far flung provinces of Thailand.