Insight Guides Explore Bangkok (Travel Guide eBook)

Insight Guides

• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781839052187
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

Insight Guides Explore Bangkok Travel made easy. Ask local experts.
Focused travel guide featuring the very best routes and itineraries. Discover the best of Bangkok with this unique travel guide, packed full of insider information and stunning images. From making sure you don't miss out on must-see, top attractions like the Grand Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Arun Ratchavararam, to discovering cultural gems, including the towering spires and stupas at Wat Pho, the blissful waterfall at Erawan National Park or the sky high flavours in Silom, the easy-to-follow, ready-made walking routes will save you time, and help you plan and enhance your visit to Thailand. Features of this travel guide to Bangkok:
- 18 walks and tours: detailed itineraries feature all the best places to visit, including where to eat and drink along the way
- Local highlights: discover the area's top attractions and unique sights, and be inspired by stunning imagery
- Historical and cultural insights: immerse yourself in Thailand's rich history and culture, and learn all about its people, art and traditions
- Insider recommendations: discover the best hotels, restaurants and nightlife using our comprehensive listings
- Practical full-colour maps: with every major sight and listing highlighted, the full-colour maps make on-the-ground navigation easy
- Key tips and essential information: packed full of important travel information, from transport and tipping to etiquette and hours of operation
- Covers: Rattanakosin; Wat Arun and Wat Pho; Thonburi; The Old City; Dusit; Chinatown; Pathumwan; Silom; Banglamphu; Chatuchak; Nonthaburi and Ko Kret; West of Bangkok; Kanchanaburi; Samut Prakan; Ayutthaya; Phetchaburi; Hua Hin; Pattaya Looking for a comprehensive guide to Thailand? Check out Insight Guides Thailand for a detailed and entertaining look at all the country has to offer. About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

A-Z

Lotus flowers are used as prayer offerings

Apa Publications

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Addresses

Given the size of the city and its twisting alleyways, finding your way around can be confusing. Main roads often have smaller streets – called sois – leading off them, each having the main road’s name followed by a number. For example, Thanon Sukhumvit (Sukhumvit Road) has side streets called Sukhumvit Soi 1, Sukhumvit Soi 3, etc., running in sequence, with odd and even numbers found on opposite sides of the road. Sois may be subdivided using a slash after the number followed by another number. The same system is used for shop and house addresses, a slash separating the block or building number from the shop. So an address might read 36/1 Sukhumvit 33/1.

Confusingly, the roads can have as many as four names, based on local usage, often reflecting the most important building in each. Street names are usually written in Thai and English, and most hotels provide business cards with the address written in Thai, to show taxi drivers. In tourist areas street names are often given in English, for example, Naklua Road. Not only do some streets have several different names, but with no standard transliterated English spellings for the Thai language, it is common to find a street or area spelt with several variants and broken or joined syllables.

On the bumper cars

Apa Publications

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Budgeting

Despite spiralling prices, by Western standards Bangkok is a bargain. Budget accommodation can be as cheap as B200 a night, with a delicious street-side meal and beer around B120. Five-star hotels cost from B5,000 (and with increasing competition, will often have even cheaper deals), while a three-course meal may be had for B1,000 without drinks (although wine is expensive, and one bottle will at least double that price). Refreshments in bars start around B60, and even in posh clubs they may be as little as B200. Bus fares cost B7–22, a Skytrain or metro ride B16–40 and taxi meters start at B35. If you live frugally, you can get by on B500 a day. But the sky is the limit here if you want to live it up at luxury hotels and eat at fine-dining restaurants.

Business hours

Government offices operate Mon–Fri 8.30am–4.30pm, most businesses Mon–Fri 8am–5.30pm (some also Sat 8.30am–noon) and banks Mon–Fri 9.30am–3.30pm. Money-changing kiosks are open daily until 8pm.

Shops generally open 10am–8pm, with some variations depending on location and the type of business. Department stores open daily 10.30am–9pm or 10pm.

Small open-air coffee shops and traditional Thai restaurants open at 7am and close at 8.30pm, though some stay open past midnight. Modern indoor restaurants generally have last kitchen orders by 10pm. Some hotel coffee shops stay open 24 hours, and the city has several outdoor restaurants that are open as late as 4am for after-hours suppers. Clubs and bars are subject to loosely applied licensing laws and may close anywhere between midnight and 5am, depending on location and political and policing climate.

Suvarnabhumi Airport

Apa Publications

C

Children

Thais love children, and will go out of their way to help in most situations should you need it. This might even stretch to waiters playing with your kids while you enjoy a restaurant meal.

Buying nappies, baby food and other supplies is straightforward, with department stores and chemists well stocked. Nappy-changing spaces are scarce, however, in Bangkok, some central department stores have facilities, and they may also have breastfeeding rooms.

Lugging a baby carrier around will feel like twice the weight in the tropical heat, so a light buggy may be a better option. That said, the pavements are very difficult to negotiate, often being cracked, full of holes and cluttered with street stalls and people, so some travellers prefer the option of a carrier. Only a handful of Skytrain stations have lifts, but all the metro stations do.

If you are hiring a car, international firms such as Budget (www.budget.co.th) have baby seats suitable for ages six months to three years in all locations, but you need to pre-book. There is a small extra charge. There are no car seats for younger children. Cars are fitted with mounting points if you take your own baby seats.

The tropical heat is intense, so sunblock and sunhats are important, while keeping hands clean helps to ward off stomach bugs.

Eating out

Dining with children in Thailand should be hassle free. Thais themselves don’t feed their kids spicy food, and there are lots of dishes that are very mild. There is also a wide choice of international food available in the main tourist centres, including Western fast-food outlets. Most Thai places welcome children. For international restaurants it is worth calling ahead to check.

Accommodation

There is a growing range of facilities for children in medium-range hotels and upwards in Bangkok. Some hotels have a kids’ pool and babysitting facilities, and resort-style hotels, in particular, may have child-dedicated clubs to take the strain while you go out and have some fun.

Khao San Road, a backpacker hub

iStock

Climate

There are three seasons in Bangkok: hot (Mar–mid-June): 27–35°C (80–95°F); rainy (June–Oct): 24–32°C (75–90°F); cool (Nov–Feb): 18–32°C (65–90°F), and with less humidity.

Clothing

Clothes should be light, loose and preferably made of natural fibres, which breathe better. Short...

Table of contents

• Recommended Routes For...
• Explore Bangkok
• Food and Drink
• Shopping
• Nightlife
• History: Key Dates
• Rattanakosin
• Wat Arun & Wat Pho
• Thonburi
• The Old City
• Dusit
• Chinatown
• Pathumwan
• Silom
• Banglamphu
• Chatuchak
• Nonthaburi and Ko Kret
• West of Bangkok
• Kanchanaburi
• Samut Prakan
• Ayutthaya
• Phetchaburi
• Hua Hin
• Pattaya
• Accommodation
• Restaurants
• Nightlife
• A-Z
• Language
• Books and Film