|
 |
Bangkok
Introduction
Many people have written Bangkok off as a grotty and seedy place best avoided, so may be surprised to learn that the city has yet again been awarded the prestigious Travel & Leisure magazine's "Best City in the World" award - for the 3rd year running, click here for more.
Whilst Bangkok’s Thai name nowadays is ‘Krung-thep’, which means ‘city of angels’, its original name was … Bangcok.
 |
This meant ‘village of plums favoured by boars’. There aren’t so many boars, angels or plum trees in modern Bangkok, but this most effervescent of cities, after its recent sprucing up, does have a lot else to offer the visitor. |
| Whilst Bangkok’s imfamous pollution is still a problem, the government’s massive investment in public transport and encouragement of the use of LPG to power vehicles has improved the environment considerably over the last few years. 80% of buses and taxis run on liquid gas, meaning that it is now possible to enjoy walking the city's streets. |
 |
You can now get from the airport to most of the best hotel zones in an hour, even in rush hour. This has made a big difference to the 'where-to-stay' decision, as the boring airport hotels are now only necessary for the shortest of stopovers.
Bangkok is no longer the city where almost anything goes, but not quite everything works: all those tourist dollars have improved the infrastructure considerably.
 |
More affluent travelers will have a great time sampling Bangkok’s futuristic clubs, luxury hotels, super-chic spas and novel eateries, but it is not necessary to have deep pockets to enjoy Bangkok. |
Eating a bowl of duck noodle soup on a street corner, with the din and waft of street life pulsing all around you in this most cheerful and friendly of cities, is in its way just as satisfying an experience as a meal in the most suave of Bangkok’s swish eateries.
While the floating market has become a tourist trap, the Royal Palace is still glorious. The palace is for most visitors the number one attraction to recommend, followed in importance by a dinner cruise down the river, followed by some shopping or night-clubbing.
Things To Do
Hotels
Before choosing a hotel, you have to choose the district you want to stay in. Unless you are on a tight schedule, you should forget the boring airport district and take a taxi into the city for the night. There, choose from one of the districts described after the following hotels table. |
|
| |
|
- Nana - this is the most convenient zone for the airport, which is a maximum of one hour away. Nana offers lots of accommodation options, excellent restaurants and night-clubs (especially the Bed Supper Club and the Q Bar), and is fairly close to most of the main shopping malls. Like most zones, Nana has its very own girly-bar scene, but this can easily be avoided.
- Asoke - in Asoke are located the Robinsons department store and also the infamous Soi Cowboy girly bar zone, which thankfully can easily be avoided. It is not far from the entertainment zone at Nana, and is only ten minutes further away from the airport than is Nana zone.
- Siam Square - this is one of the best places to stay for shopping, as it is not far from the night market at Patong (if you can manage to ignore the bars where more than alcohol is on sale), and also close to the huge Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery and MBK malls. It is convenient for the airport one hour away, and not far from the night-life scene at Nana, a ten minute taxi ride away after rush hour finishes.
- Pratunam - this is a good place to stay for ladies who want to get some solid and affordable clothes shopping in, as it contains the Platinum Mall, which has over 3,000 clothes shops inside. Pantip Plaza, Bangkok's best electronics mall, is only a few metres away, so men can check out boys' toys while their ladies clothes shop. It only takes 5 minutes in a night-time taxi to reach the best entertainment spots at Nana, and this zone is only an hour from the airport, even in rush hour.
- Bang Rak - this exclusive riverside area is home to the classic Oiental hotel. There is no particular nightlife scene within walking distance, and the shopping is stratospherically expensive - the River City and Oriental Arcade shopping malls both cater exclusively to those with the big bucks.
- Khao Sarn - this zone, centred on the famous Khao Sarn Road, is Bangkok's budget accommodation centre. There are no quality, good value places to stay in this zone 2 hours from the airport in the rush hour. Whatever you do don't stay on Khao Sarn road itself, as the guest houses are poor value for money and often in a neglected and sorry state. It is best to stay in one of the nearby streets. Khao Sarn is a fun place to watch the world do by.
- Rachaprasong - this business district has no particularly interesting restaurants or nightlife to offer, and is not particularly conveniently located for the airport.
- Sathorn - this business district is 90 minutes from the airport in rush hour and has little to offer the traveller.
- Silom - this mainly business district is also home to the notorious Patpong girly bar zone. The night market at Patpong sells mainly junk, and there are no good respectable nightspots nearby. It doesn't take long to get to the Nana entertainment zone in an evening taxi, but is does take a fair while to reach the airport from Silom (up to an hour and a half), making this an unattractive option for an overnight stay. This isn't a great place to stay if you want to go shopping.
|
|
|
|
|
