Beginner's Guide to Thailand

Activities in Bangkok: Temples and Museums

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 21:58:14 +0000

Some of the most popular temples to visit in Bangkok include Wat Phra Kaew, located on the grounds of the Grand Palace and home of the Emerald Buddha; Wat Arun, or the Temple of the Dawn; Wat Po, home of the Reclining Buddha and headquarters of the traditional art of Thai massage; Wat Mahathat, which houses an important center for the study of Buddhism; Wat Tramit, which features a image of Buddha that is over five meters high; Wat Sutat, home to the Great Swing; and Wat Saket, or the Golden Mount. When you visit a wat (or temple), be considerate in your dress. Short shorts, see-through shirts or tank tops are inappropriate. This is especially important at Wat Phra Kaew. If you are under-dressed, you will be asked to “rent” appropriate clothes to cover yourself. The Grand Palace, the National Museum, Jim Thompson’s House, the Kamthieng House, the Vimaneng Mansion are all wonderful ways to be enlightened about Thai culture, architecture and art. The Royal Barge Museum showcases the beautiful boats belonging to the royal family. These long-tailed, Thai-styled boats are something to see, especially for the boat-lover. Prices for these museums are around two or three dollars (US).

Rivers and Canal Tours

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The Chao Praya River snakes through the city of Bangkok and is a major means of transportation for goods and people. In fact the city was once a lot like Venice, Italy, with the major means of transportation being boats moving up and down a myriad system of canals. Many of these canals have been filled in and turned into roads, but some still remain. To see what life was like all over the city many years ago, you must take a trip to a floating market. Sitting in a narrow, long-tailed boat, you will experience commerce and culture in the tiny waterways. Tours to the various floating markets can be arranged and are often offered in conjunction with trips to the Bridge over the River Kwae or the Rose Garden, a cultural center featuring an elephant show, kick boxing, and Thai dancing. Other ways to enjoy the Bangkok waterways is to take a day trip up the river to Ayuttaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. Dinner cruises are very popular. Some feature Thai dancing as well as wonderful cuisine with the city and the sunset providing the perfect backdrop.

Nightlife and Entertainment

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Bangkok has a reputation for many go-go bars and the like, but there are also many contemporary and stylish bars that feature great music and food. Shopping is a favorite past time for both Thais and tourists. The malls are a great way to get a break from the mid-day heat. For authentic Thai handicrafts, Chatujak is a weekend market where you can easily spend a day exploring all that wares for sale. An indoor, air conditioned and slightly more expensive version of this type of market can be found at Nayra Phand, which is adjacent to Gaysorn Plaza, a high-end mall, and across the street from the World Trade Shopping Center.

Children and Family Activities

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Bangkok has several theme parks, water parks and animal parks. Lumpini Park is located down town while Chatujak Park is on the northern side of town, closer to the airport. There is a Children’s Discovery Museum, a Doll Museum and the Joe Louis Puppet Theatre. Several of the malls have indoor play facilities and video game arcades. Older Children would find the Snake Farm very interesting as well as the Rose Garden, as mentioned above, which has working elephants and demonstrations of kick-boxing and Thai dancing. A ride on the sky train is a fabulous way to get a view of the city. It is certainly a lot easier than getting little ones in and out of taxis! However, instead of using a stroller on the Sky Train, an infant carrier or back-carrier is much easier as there are often many steps to climb in getting to and from the Sky Train.

Sources:

www.bangkok.com
www.thailandtoday.com
www.hotelthailand.com

Day One

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:00:25 +0000

Spend your first day in Bangkok by getting up bright and early and visiting several temples near the Chao Praya River. The Grand Palace, the former residence of the Thai monarchy, is home to Wat Phra Kaew. Many tourists flock to this temple to see the Emerald Buddha. The Grand Palace has several ceremonial halls with exquisite Thai and European architecture that are worth the time to see and enjoy. After the Grand Palace, a trip to Wat Po, home of the Reclining Buddha and Wat Arun, or the Temple of the Dawn will give you a good view of this important part of Thai history and culture.

Day Two

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:01:46 +0000

Arrange a tour to a floating market. Keeping in mind that Bangkok was once called the “Venice of the East”, you will appreciate how Thais lived and conducted their daily commerce for many, many years. The canoes will slowly take you through a web of the canals that include both residential areas and commercial (market) areas. Because the floating markets open up before dawn and close by mid-morning, your tour to the market will probably include another stop. Some of the popular nearby attractions include the Rose Garden, where you can see Thai dancing, Thai boxing, a demonstration of a Thai wedding and even working elephants. More elephants and crocodiles can be seen and admired if your tour takes you to the Samphan Elephant Farm. Some tours offer the option of a biking tour through surrounding villages and farm lands (a “poop-out” van is usually available!) or the option or going to see the Bridge of the River Kwae, made famous by the movie with the same name. This is a somber, but important memorial to those who lost their lives in World War II.

Day Three

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:02:11 +0000

Plan to do today’s activity on a weekend. Hop on the Sky Train early in the morning (it starts running at 6 am) and head on the northern line to the Mo Chit Station. If it is more convenient from your hotel, you can take the underground subway north as well. It stops at Chatujak. Once you are off the Sky Train or subway, follow the crowds to the Chatujak Weekend Market. You can spend several hours or all day winding in and out of stalls which sell everything from table linens and bird houses to jewelry and beautiful antiques. There is food available and even beautiful flowers to, at least, stop and enjoy. At a market, you are free to bargain for the price. It is rude, however, to haggle over something if you have no intention of buying it. Chatujak Park is located nearby and if you need to shop in mall after spending the day in a market, the Central Plaza Mall on Lat Prao Road is not too far away. Note that prices at shopping malls and other stores are set, so don’t try to bargain here!

Day Four

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:02:37 +0000

The pace of Bangkok is busy, busy, busy. And yet, this large city has some wonderful spas where you can relax and be pampered in luxurious surroundings. Body wraps, body scrubs, foot baths, manicures and pedicures, Thai-styled massages, paraffin hand treatments, plunge pools and steam rooms are available at some of the finest hotels in Bangkok, including the Bangkok Marriot Resort and Spa, the Oriental Hotel and the Banyan Tree. For these high end resorts, be sure to call ahead and schedule an appointment. Even the mid-price hotels usually offer Thai-massages for as little as six dollars. These intense massages focus on deep muscles and stretching your ligaments. On the street, you may encounter shops offering foot massages. These thirty minute sessions will do wonders for your feet and consequently, your whole body. It must be noted that Wat Po is the headquarters for the art of traditional Thai massage. Massages are available at this school of traditional massage.

Day Five

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:03:04 +0000

Thai food is noted for its four distinct tastes: hot, spicy, sweet and sour. Learning to blend these tastes in the perfect dish is no small feat. Nevertheless, Thai food is all the rage in many parts of the world, especially in America and Europe. Impress your friends by learning to make a great Thai dish. For a little over fifty dollars (US), you can take a day-long cooking class at the Shangri-la Hotel. The class includes a trip to the local market.

Day Six

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:03:33 +0000

Ayutthaya was a shining example of the advanced civilization from the fourteenth century to the eighteenth century. The city was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. The site is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Headless Buddha statues and other ruins surround the ancient city and give the visitor a glimpse into this once important trading and cultural center. The city can be accessed in two ways. You can go by bus—it is about 60 miles north of the center of Bangkok—or you can take a river boat cruise, which will take a couple of hours to get there. Some people opt for a boat ride there and a bus ride back or vice versa. A boat ride will give you insight into river life and the communities that thrive on the edge of the Chao Praya. A bus ride will take you out of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, past Don Muang Airport, beyond industrial areas and slowly into less congested communities surrounding Bangkok. A full day river cruise to Ayutthaya will cost between thirty and forty dollars (US) and includes lunch and snacks. Some tours stop at the Bang-Pa summer palace.

Day Seven

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:03:58 +0000

The last day in Bangkok is designed to take in as many remaining sights and sounds of Bangkok via the Sky Train. Opened in the late nineties, this monorail system makes travel around Bangkok considerably easier. ( An underground subway opened in 2004, but for the sake of seeing Bangkok, the Sky Train is recommended.) This might sound crazy, but it would be fun to start the day with a ride from the north to the south and then the east to the west, to see as much as you can of the city from the Sky Train. If you have chosen specific restaurants, such as in the Sukhumvit area, then you can plan your travels around when and where you want to eat. Otherwise, start your day off at the Chitloam exit. You will find Gaysorn Plaza, which features very high-end boutiques. Next door is a wonderful place to find nice Thai handicrafts. Silver jewelry, leather purses, wood carvings, celadon dishes and all kinds of clothing and linens are some of the things you can expect to find at Nayra Phand. Across the street is a mall called the World Trade Center. It features department stores, electronics stores, fabric stores, furniture stores and just about everything in between. There is a movie theatre complex there, too, so if you want to kick back and enjoy some popcorn, soda and air conditioning, seeing a movie is not a bad idea. Most are available in the English soundtrack, but be sure to ask before you buy your ticket! The Siam Square station on the Sky Train is one exit west of Chitloam. It features shopping and entertainment areas similar to the Chitloam area. If you go one more exit west, you are at the National Stadium station. The Jim Thompson House is a wonderful museum that showcases Thai architecture. Heading south on the Sky Train on the Saphan Taksin route, you will pass through the Siloam area of Bangkok, which is more or less the financial district. You can get off at this last station (Saphan Taksin) and tour some of the beautiful hotels in the area, including the Shangri-la and the Oriental. If you haven’t had the opportunity to take a river taxi tour, this is a good point to catch a ride up and down the river and get a glimpse of city life from the Chao Praya River. If you still have time and energy, Chinatown is accessibly via the river taxis. This area features very authentic markets with some of the best prices in town. At some point, it will be time to end this day and trip to Bangkok, but you will certainly leave the Land of smiles with a smile on your face.

www.bangkok.com
www.asiatraveltips.com
www.hotelthailand.com

Thailand People & Culture

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:52:12 +0000

Thailand Major Cities & Regions

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:54:41 +0000

Thailand Activities & Attractions

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:55:52 +0000

Bangkok Overview

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:59:02 +0000

Beginner's Guide to Thailand

Activities in Bangkok: Temples and Museums

Rivers and Canal Tours

Nightlife and Entertainment

Children and Family Activities

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six

Day Seven

Thailand People & Culture

Thailand People & Culture Overview

Buddhism in Thailand

The Phi-Nong System

Mai Pen Rai

Thailand Major Cities & Regions

Thailand Major Cities & Regions Overview

Northeastern Region

The Central Plains

Northern Thailand

Thailand Activities & Attractions

Thailand Activities & Attractions Overview

Looking for Adventure?

Relaxing in Thailand

A Walk through Thai History

Bangkok Overview

Bangkok Overview

Where to Stay

Transportation

What to See