Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city is a metropolis with too much. There are too many people, too much pollution and too much pornography and prostitution. For the tourist the main attractions are sightseeing, shopping and sex. And I may have those three in the wrong order. I have to admit that I am adverse to any major city and always find solace in a country’s smaller towns and countryside. I also have to admit the Bangkok is a city with a buzz that never sleeps, offers some of the world’s finest hotel accommodation at affordable prices and it never ever gets cold. It is a city of great contrasts. There are wonderful modern buildings amd ancient temples. Things classical and cultural are interspersed with seedy sex dives. Ornate and sedate palaces exist near slum dwellings. Shopping can be the most exclusive and expensive or cheap copies at the city’s endless street markets. Dining can be for pennies from a street vendor or expensive atop one of the city’s super deluxe hotels. The saffron-robed monks wander along congested sidewalks where ladies of the night ply their trade. The smartly dressed European business executive towers over the short Thai street trader. It is religious and risqué. There is noise in the markets and silence in the temples – and there are 400 of those. Bangkok was founded in 1782 by the first monarch of the present Chakri dynasty and is now home to some 10 million people – more than 10 percent of the nation’s population.
Things you must see:Temple of the Emerald Buddha,Wat Phra Kaew (wat means temple), and the Grand Palace. If you come on your own this complex opens at 8.30am when it will be less crowded and a little cooler. The entrance fee is 200 Baht and do come properly dressed – sleeveless tops and shorts are not acceptable. Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn: Probably the best known of all the Thai temples since it features in many of the ads promoting Thailand. The National Museum Bangkok is the place to indulge in Thai culture and history. Jim Thompson's House, his life story reads like a James Bond novel and he founded the incredible silk empire, Wat Pho, oldest and largest temple in Bangkok known for its massage teaching and its enormous reclining Buddha image that is covered in gold leaf. Damnoen Saduak floating market: This is one of those little adventures you’ve got to make when you visit Bangkok. Yes, it is very touristy but you’ll see a slice of Thai life that has dominated this kingdom for centuries - living on the canals. At The Royal Barge Museum you can’t miss the Golden Swan weighing fifteen tons and needing a crew of eighty to power her. She was carved out of one huge tree trunk. Chinatown: Its traffic-choked streets are full of cheap markets and delightful smelly food stalls. Pahurat:If you could smell curry in the area while you were in Chinatown it was coming from here. Pahurat is just west of Chinatown and is Bangkok’s Little India and the site of the city’s largest textile market. Erawan Shrine: The daily high jinks here are as bizarre as the history of this highly ornate shrine stuck at one of Bangkok’s noisiest and busiest intersections. Suan Luang Rama IX Park: There is a botanical garden on the north side and a reservoir that is used for water sports and a large arena used for shows, both agricultural and cultural. SeriThaiPark: This 145-acre park is named in honor of the Seri Thai movement, the World War II resistance group that worked with the allies during the Japanese occupation. The Princess Mother Memorial Park has a museum and model of the house where the Princess Mother lived as a child. The main park area is filled with very old fig trees and numerous flowering shrubs. Nearby is the Chao PhorSeua Shrine, highly regarded by the Chinese community.
