Temples Forts Shophouses
When Bangkok became the capital of the kingdom of Siam in 1782, the first task set before designers of the new city was to create hallowed ground for royal palaces and Buddhist monasteries. Indian astrologers and high-ranking Buddhist monks conferred to select and consecrate the most auspicious riverside locations, marking them off with small carved stone pillars. Siam's most talented architects and artisans then weighed in, creating majestic and ornate edifices designed to astound all who...
Gallery Growth
In the not-so-distant past, Bangkok's art galleries were either dusty state-run museums or sleek commercial entities, without any real middle ground. However, in recent years the city has seen an explosion in the number of small- and medium-size galleries, including two spaces maintained by some of the country's leading artists. Photographer ManitSriwanichpoom, best known for his'Pink Man'series of photographs that criticise consumerism in modern Thai society, opened Kathmandu oppositi , the...
Bangkoks Little Italy
Italian is the most prevalent foreign cuisine in Bangkok, and the city's greatest concentration of Italian restaurants can be found between the leafy streets of Th LangSuan and SoiTonson. Although the majority of the kitchens reach for the upper echelon of the dining market, there isa decent mix of the quirky and the exclusive to slake your pasta craving. Air Plain slap pp98-9 0 2252 4630 airplanerest hotmail.com 63 Soi Lang Suan, Ploenchit mains 90-250B S 11am-2.30pm amp 6-11pm Located in a...
River Canal Tours
The car has long since become Bangkok's conveyance of choice, but there was a time, and there are still places today, where roads are made of water, not asphalt. Taking to these traditional thoroughfares reveals children swimming in the muddy or often 'filthy' waters, huge cargo barges groaning under the weight of sand being shipped to construction sites, and wake-skipping longtailed boats roaring by. At sunset the famed Wat Aran p65 and the riverside towers of the luxury hotels are bathed in...
Fashion
Unsurprisingly, Bangkok is Thailand's fashion hub, and in fact in all of Southeast Asia only Singapore is a serious rival. Bangkokians not only dabble in the latest American, European and Japanese designer trends, but they have an up-and-coming couture all their own. Shops run by modern Thai designers are particularly easy to find at the Emporium, Gaysorn Plaza, Siam Paragon and Siam Center shopping centres, and in the small lanes of Siam Sq. Siam Sq focuses on inexpensive 'underground' Thai...
EATING Ivd
Khrua Chom Ao 0 85190 5677 Samut Sakhon dishes 60-200B This open-air seafood restaurant looks over the gulf and has a loyal local following. It is a brief walk from Wat Chawng Lom, down the road running along the side of the temple opposite the statue of Kuan Im. Tarua Restaurant 0 0 3441 1084 Ferry Terminal Bldg, 859 Th Sethakit, Samut Sakhon dishes 60-200B Occupying three floors of the imposing ferry building, this seafood restaurant offers views over the harbour and an English-language menu....
Siam Square Pratunam Ploenchit
Welcome to Mall Land. Although the plastic fa ades of famous franchises seem to prevail, there are some noteworthy independent eats, both with and without amenities such as air-conditioning and shopping families. Soi Lang Suan is a virtual Little Italy of Italian restaurants, and the area around Th Withayu is home to a few longstanding Thai restaurants. g 0 2250 7990 Urban Kitchen, Basement Erawan Bangkok, 494 Th Ploenchit mains 120-300B S 10am-10pm IflChitlom The tongue-twistingly long name of...
Thai Pop Rock
Popular Thai music has borrowed much from Western music, particularly in instrumentation, but retains a distinct flavour of its own. The bestselling of all modern musical genres in Thailand remains limk thung. Literally 'children of the fields', Uutk thung dates back to the 1940s, is analogous to country and western in the USA, and is a genre that tends to appeal most to work-ing-class Thais. Subject matter almost always cleaves to tales of lost love, tragic early death and the dire...
top picks Hmk
Right, you've got gems, silks and elephants on your Bangkok shopping list, but there are loads of local buys that won't make your home look like a beachfront souvenir shop. Add some class to your space with these local products. Zebra Stainless Steel Kitchenware This 40-year-old company based in Rayong scooped out a market niche with its high-quality Chinese soup spoons. It has since expanded into nesting bowls, Thai-style lunch boxes and soup pots that would cost a fortune for comparable...
Kha Yai National Park
Cool and lush, Khao Yai National Park is an easy escape into the primordial jungle. The 2168 sq km park, part of a LTnesco World Heritage Site, spans five forest types, from rainforest to monsoon, and is the primary residence of tigers, elephants, gibbons, tropical birds and audible, yet invisible, insects. Like a diligent baker, the jungle wakes up with the dawn, making a different kind of morning noise from the city sounds chirping insects, hooting monkeys, whooping macaques and anonymous...
K Ratanakosin Thonburi
Despite the riverfront setting, there are surprisingly few restaurants along this stretch of the Chao Phraya River. DECK Map p56 International Thai 0 2221 9158 www.arunresidence.com Aran Residence, 36-38 Soi Pratu Nok Yung, Ko Ratanako-sin mains 170-690B Sl1am-10pm 8 air-con 508 amp 512, ordinary 32 amp 53, X Tha Tien The Deck's claim to fame is its commanding views over Wat Arun, but the restaurant's short but diverse menu, ranging from duck confit to Thai-style pomelo salad, sweetens the pot....
DIY BAAN KRUA Walking Tour
We could tell you to take lefts and rights down little alleys, but exploring this historic Muslim village is more fun if you just venture forth and find your own way. But we will get you into the village Start this DIY tour when you finish your tour of Jim Thompson's House p97 head left to the khlong and left again. You'll soon come to Garimmin amp Sobereen, a makeshift, khlong-side place selling food and cold drinks, which is a great spot to sit and watch the khlong boats motor by while...
Gay Lesbian Travellers
Thai culture is very tolerant of homosexuality, both male and female, and Bangkok is one of the most gay-friendly cities on Earth. Thailand does not have laws that discriminate against homosexuals, and Bangkok's gay scene, and increasingly the lesbian scene too, is way out in the open. Pride Week pi 4 is in early November. These groups and organisations are a good place to start Dreaded Ned www.dreadedned.com Listings, forums, personal ads. Gay Guide in Thailand www.gayguideinthailand.com What...
EATING Agd
Ban Wacharachai 0 0 3532 1333 Wat Kasattrathirat dishes 60-150B S 10-2am A must for visiting foodies, this hidden gem is legendary among locals and regular visitors alike for its perfectly executed central Thai-style dishes, not to mention a pleasant riverfront location. The smoked snakehead fish is sublime. To get there, cycle or take a tuk-tuk to Wat Kasattrathirat known as Wat Kasat the rambling restaurant is hidden in a thick garden directly north of the temple. Hua Raw Night Market amp...
Lumphini East Sathon
Access to Lumphini Park and the business and diplomatic areas of Th Sathon are the main reasons to stay in this part of Bangkok. Concentrated on Soi Ngam Duphli and Soi Sri Bamphen, the ultra-budget, pre-Khao San flophouses are popular with long-term expats - often teachers - who like the price, location near to Lumphini Metro station and the fact it's not Banglamphu. The leafy area between the east ends of Th Sathon and Th Silom is home to several executive apartment buildings. 0 2679 1200...
Live Music
As Thailand's media capital, Bangkok is also the centre of the Thai music industry, packaging and selling pop, crooners, liuik thung, and the recent phenomenon of indie bands. Music is a part of almost every Thai social gathering. The matriarchs and patriarchs like dinner with an easy-listening soundtrack typically a Filipino band and a synthesizer. Patrons pass their request on a napkin up to the stage. An indigenous rock style, phleng pheua chii-wit songs for life , makes appearances at a...
SLEEPING Dci
Amphawa is popular with Bangkok's weekend warriors, and it seems like virtually every other house has opened its doors to tourists in the form of home stays. These can range from litde more than a mattress on the floor and a mosquito net to upscale guesthouse-style accommodation. Baan SongThai Plai Pong Pang 0 3475 7333 Amphawa organises home stays and has been recognised for ecotourism excellence. Most of these places are best reached by boat, though some have road access call ahead or get...
Lakhawn
The more formal ldkhawn nai inner ldkhawn, which means that it is performed inside the palace was originally performed for lower nobility by all-female ensembles. Today it's a dying art, even more so than royal khon. In addition to scenes from the Ramakian, ldkhawn nai performances may include traditional Thai folk tales whatever the story, text is always sung. Ldkhawn ndwk outer ldkhawn, performed outside the palace deals exclusively with folk tales and features a mix of sung and spoken text,...
Kai-mahachai Lesla
accommodation 202-22, see also Sleeping subindex airport 220 Amphawa 238 Ayuthaya 230 Banglamphu 203-7 Chinatown 207-9 costs 209 discounts 210 Greater Bangkok 220-2 green hotels 207 internet resources 202, 208 Kanchanaburi245-6 KhaoYai National Park 249 Ko Ratanakosin 202-3 Ko Samet 233-5 long-term rental Lumphini 215-16 Phetburi 241 Pratunam 209-11 reservations 216 Riverside 211-13 SiamSg 209-11 Silom 213-15 smoking 219 Thanon Sukhumvit 216-20 Thewet amp Dusit 207 Thonburi 202-3 activities...
The Modern Era
In 1913 the Thai government opened the School of Arts and Crafts in order to train teachers of art and design as well as to codify the teaching of silversmithing, nielloware, lacquerwork, and wood carving in traditional Thai styles. It was an effort that was badly timed, as interest in Thai classicism began to weaken in the aftermath of WWI, perhaps the first event in world history to inspire rank-and-file urban Thais to ponder global issues. The beginnings of Thailand's modern visual-arts...
top picks Bmp
Ban Kamthieng opposite An informative, well-presented taste of northern Thailand in this pretty teak building Tuba p178 If you fang a drink in a used furniture store, look no further Soi 11 Clubs Dance your way down Bangkok s premier clubbing soi, where new compete with favourites Bed Supperdub p 183 and Q Bar pi 84 International restaurants p165 Pasta, sushi, tapas, hommus-Sample Sukhumvit s huge selection of foreign cuisine Skytrain p254 Peek into the neighbourhood s many fortressed mansions...