Highlights of Bangkok

Bangkok is unique, fascinating, intriguing, frustrating, and fantastic. Don’t worry that there are several ways to spell the same word; this is Thailand, the land of smiles and wiles where you will enjoy the consistency of the inconsistency.

Bangkok is a city of extraordinary allure. It bears the longest city name in the world: forty-three syllables. Locals have shortened it to Krung Thep which means City of Angels. Beginning as a floating city, it became known to foreigners (“farangs”) as the “Venice of the East”. Centuries later, its majestic Grand Palace and glittering Buddhist temples competed on the horizon with tower blocks. Chinese and Indian immigration have produced an ethnic diversity represented in the world-famous Thai cuisine.

Fascinating pockets of traditional indigenous life percolate under a surface of modernity, while fragments of intense beauty and sensation abound in the labyrinthine lanes and alleys that replaced the canals. To appreciate all that Bangkok has to offer, avoid the contrived and pursue the authentic.

THINGS TO SEE & DO

•  Visit the National Museum with its excellent  and comprehensive artifacts and exhibits for a  slice of Thai history.

•  Visit Wat Arun for breathtaking views of  Bangkok and the Chao Phraya River or Wat  Phra Kaew with its amazing Emerald Buddha,  colorful mosaics and glittering spires.

•  See the Vimanmek Mansion and Suan  Pakkad Palace, each of which houses fine art  collections set amidst picturesque surroundings.

•  Cruise the Chao Phraya River and the canals—long-tail boats are available at Sapin  Taksin pier at the end of the southern Skytrain  route.

• Attend a Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) bout at  either the Lumphini or Ratchadamnoen  stadiums.

•  See the show at the Joe Louis Puppet  Theater at Suan Lum Night Bazaar  (which is worthy of mention by itself).

•  See the the Thai Art & Culture spectacular  Siam Niramit (www.siamniramit.com)

• Visit Tha Kha floating market near   Samut Songkram.

• When you’ve seen everything else, visit the  Prasart Museum in Bangkapi.

• And Don’t Miss the Jim Thompson House Museum near National Stadium  BTS Station.

SHOPPING

Shop at Chatuchak Park Weekend Market, the most famous of Bangkok’s markets where you can buy almost anything from clothing to the best artificial flowers. Also Mahboonkrong (MBK) – one of Bangkok’s biggest shopping complexes filled with hundreds of independent sellers, Pantip Plaza for IT stuff, Siam Square – a popular teen hangout, or the adjacent Siam Paragon – the biggest and best of them all, where the food halls are always jammed and the designer stores always empty; but hey, at what other department store can you buy a Ferrari?!

THE GAY SCENE

For most, the Gay Scene here is the world’s pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!  Tourists and street-wise guys congregate at Silom Soi 4, and dance at Silom Soi 2—D.J. Station is the most popular gay disco.

WHAT’S SPICY?

The greatest concentration of Go Go Boys and Sexy shows are on Soi Duangthawee Plaza.  It will blow your… mind! When the bars close in the wee hours, head for G.O.D. for hot, scantily clad guys, and hot music.