Bangkok has a lot to offer to her visitors. It is one of the fastest-growing, most economically and socially dynamic cities in Southeast Asia. On the other hand, it embraces many of the Thai cultural attractions ranging from the many Buddhist temples, to old palaces, to great museams. Taking a boat trip along the Chao Phraya River around Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn, you will feel likeĆ being in a city of angels.
Bangkok is full of shopping malls and street markets of all types, especially in the Sukhumvit area. Prices can be ludicrously cheap by Western standards, especially for locally produced items such as clothes, although bargaining is expected and required. Dump a teenager in MBK with a few thousand baht and they’ll stay occupied for the rest of the week! A major attraction on weekends is the gigantic Chatuchak Weekend Market, in northern Bangkok but easily accessible by Skytrain and Metro. Slightly more manageable in size and open nightly is the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, covered in the Silom section.
Bangkok’s nightlife is notorious. The main party district is Silom, home not only to perhaps the world’s most famous go-go bar strip Patpong, but plenty of more (and less) legitimate establishments catering to all tastes. For a drink with a view, the open-air rooftop bar/restaurants of Vertigo and Sirocco are particularly impressive. Similar bars to the ones at Patpong can be found in the lower Sukhumvit area, at Nana Entertainment Plaza (soi 4) and Soi Cowboy (soi 23). A large number of more trendy and more expensive bars and nightclubs can be found in the higher sois of Sukhumvit as well (eg soi 33). Hippie hangout Khao San Road is also slowly gentrifying and there are even some Thais venturing into what were once mere backpacker bars.
Hope your next trip to Bangkok will be full of enjoyable activities.