One of the things that makes sightseeing in Bangkok so much fun is that there’s always A LOT of delicious food at low prices to be found. Thai cuisine uses fresh ingredients and likes to mix different flavors, which then are meant to balance each other out.
Just look at this nice little dish that we recently treated ourselves with:
Fried chicken with tamarinde sauce
Fried chicken meat in a delicious sweet and sour tamarinde sauce, mixed with fresh herbs and nuts. A simple dish, but one that provides a lot of pleasure when eating. And this was in a fancy shopping mall in Bangkok, yet we paid less than 100 Baht – if you venture out to the streets you can eat for even lower prices, and the food is often just as good, if not even better. Only the presentation isn’t as nice to the eye in those cases 🙂
If you want to go on a food adventure in Bangkok, contact us to get in touch with one of our foodies to show you around 🙂
One of the places to stop for a small, refreshing snack is Red Mango – you find them in many shopping malls in Bangkok. They sell all kinds of yogurth desserts, specializing in frozen yogurths, and this one is quiet nice:
Strawberry parfait comes with fresh strawberries and cornflakes. I usually don’t like these kinds of desserts when they are too sweet, and the Red Mango strawberry parfait is just on the edge of ok. Their yogurth is actually quiet good, but they put a layer of jam in the yogurth.
They’re actually a South Korean chain that was established in Bangkok in 2007, and new shops are constantly popping up in different parts of town.
The yogurth is low-fat, and it’s tailored at those who have a sweet tooth but don’t want a sugar bomb. Of course, there’s still lots of “hidden sugars” inside (yes, the yogurth might be low fat, low sugar, but what about the sticky jam, etc?). But overall, it’s still a lot healthier than most of the American frozen yogurth places that use sugars in much larger quantities.
They also have different kinds of jelly desserts, which are popular with Thai people, and flavored shaved ice desserts and smoothies.
If you’ve had your share of Thai food and crave some “Western flavors”, but don’t want something as heavy as a burger or sandwhich, give Red Mango a try to “westernize” your Bangkok sightseeing time 🙂
The Wat Arun temple in Bangkok is one of the most popular cultural highlights of the city. It’s located near the Grand Palace, on the other site of the Chao Phraya river. Because of its location it’s also known as The Temple of Dawn.
The temple is named after the Indian god Aruna, the god of dawn, and it’s especially beautiful if you come here in the early morning hours.
What’s also special about the Wat Arun temple is that it’s built in a different style from the other temples in Bangkok. While most temples are decorated with multi-colored glass mosaics, Wat Arun features a large, Khmer-style inspired pagoda without the shiny decorations. It’s also one of the oldest temples in Bangkok, and it was already standing here before Bangkok even became the capital.
The central pagoda (actually it’s called a prang) symbolizes Mount Meru – a mythological mountain from Indian cosmology. The main prang is surrounded in four directions by smaller satellite prangs, which are dedicated to the god of wind, Phra Pai.
If you look at the prangs, you can see that they are decorated with Chinese porcellain and seashells. Much of the porcellain is broken though, and there’s an interesting story behind this. In the past there was a lot of trade between Thailand and China going on, and oftentimes ships would transport a lot of heavy items from Thailand to China, but came back more or less empty, or loaden with only light freight. This posed a problem – because if ships aren’t heavy enough, they tend to dangle, and are at risk of capsizing.
There’s a Buddha image that was moulded by King Rama II himself, who ruled from 1809-1824, and his ashes are buried at the base of the image.
When you take a close look at the prangs, you can see monkey warriors and demonds carrying the structure – this is part of the Thai national epic the Ramakhien.
When you visit the Wat Arun temple, you can walk up very steep strais that lead you high up to a balcony from where you can enjoy a nice view about the historic city center of Bangkok and the Chao Phraya river, and sometimes you can enjoy a refreshing breeze too. But be warned – if you suffer from vertigo, going up there might not be for you. (Actually, the going up part isn’t the problem – but walking down the steep stairs is much more challenging).
There are also statues of the Hindu god Indra riding on the elephant god Erawan.
If you come with a personal tour guide to the Temple of Dawn, you can learn more about the symbolic meaning of the architecture, and listen to fascinating stories of Thai mythology, religion and history.
If you have any interest at all in Thai culture and religion, a visit to Wat Arun should be part of your Bangkok sightseeing tour.
You can see a short video clip about the temple recorded by a tourist here. It’s not nearly as impressive as going there, but at least you might get a basic idea of what the place looks like before you get there.
Bangkok’s famous weekend market – also known as Chatuchak, Jatujak or JJ market, and one of the biggest weekend markets of the world – is about to undergo an upgrade.
If you’ve ever been there, you know what it’s like: hot and crowded. There’s no way to get around sweating your pores out.
And that’s part of the special flair of this market, because the oppressive heat which fills the narrow walkways between thousand of little stores is a form of natural selection to let only eager shoppers explore the market.
But this is about to change.
Plans have been announced: the Chatuchak market will soon be air-conditioned. How soon we don’t know yet, but it will happen.
Surely a loss for nostalgics, but ultimately it’s a good thing I’d say. It’s just a much more pleasant shopping experience. If you’re in Bangkok now and have time on Saturday or Sunday, then by all means visit the Chatuchak market to be able to experience it once the way it “originally” was. And then come back one day in the future when it’s all air-conditioned, and you’ll be able to reminisce about the old days at JJ.
Whether you want to experience the authentic, traditional Bangkok life or the beat of a vibrant modern metropolis, our Bangkok sightseeing tours can be custom-tailored to your wants and wishes. Simply pick one that you like, or get an exclusive consultation with out travel experience designers.
Currently Thailand is experiencing some of the worst flooding in decades. More than 280 people have already died, and many more lost their homes and posessions. About 3.4 million acres of farming areas have been affected, around 50,000 acres of fish ponds, factories have been shut down, hundreds of thousands of workers are without a job now, train tracks have been destroyed and highways have become impassable.
There are many people who now rely on flood relief for meals and shelter.
If you want to lend a helping hand, there are several opportunities in Bangkok. The main place is the government flood relief action center at Don Mueang airport (this is the old airport of Bangkok, not the new one!). Once you are there, head to the domestic terminal.
Another place is the Thai red cross in Bangkok, located nearly the MRT station Sam Yan next to Chulalongkorn University.
Maybe we’ll meet you there, we’ve been busy helping too 🙂
Here is a Bangkok sightseeing feature video by LonelyPlanet TV that is interesting for people who never have been to this great city and want to get a quick overview about the most popular things to do in Bangkok for backpacking tourists.
If you want to do something that very few tourists in Bangkok do, then go to the theatre. Between October 28 – November 26 you will repeatedly have the chance (for exact dates see end of this post) to enjoy a new play by Maurizio Mistretta.
After the success of the first study of Pinocchio, the terrible Emperor Caligula is coming back for a new play written, directed and interpreted by Maurizio Mistretta. Ba Pai Laew / The last hour of Caligula is the title of the final study of the trilogy that ALL SOUL Production has devoted to Caligula of Camus.
The event is an animate reconstruction of the last hour of the life of the famous Roman emperor Caligula before being killed in a palace revolution.
Historically we don’t really know much about Caligula. Several and controversial research papers pop up repeatedly, but unluckily the only real source from that time, Svetonio, the Roman historian, is not very reliable. Nevertheless only a few facts are sure: Caligula was a very controversial emperor, he was very beloved by the common people and hated by the powerful Roman families and he was killed in a conspiracy after only three years of his reign.
Ba Pai Laew is a classical solo performance of Mistretta, a challenged actor test bed. In an hour of solo Caligula will express his poetic view of the blood bringing event in a context of visions, symbolisms and violence: the origin of the knowledge and of the poetry. During our preceding episodes (Khamoey! and Som Nam Na) the stage action was filtered by other characters, some time according to the Camus’s script, some time by contemporary characters able to insert the piece in a context of a “modern social experiment”.
The third episode has no middle-character, but it is the direct relationship between the actor on stage (Caligula was also an actor) and a narrow audience to a maximum of 10 elements.
But who will represent the audience in this episode? They will be as usual the Patricians of Rome representing the rich families who are irritated by the extravagance of Caligula or those conspirators strongly intent to kill him? Perhaps they will be the one, perhaps the other, perhaps both.
In this game of mirrors Caligula has an hour time to change and rewrite history and to postpone the time of his death to the following event.
Caligula will be at ALL SOUL Chamber Theatre on 28-29 October and on 3-4-5-10-11-12-17-18-19-24-25-26 November at 9.00 pm. The ticket cost is of 500 baht (250 student and members), for a maximum of 10 spectators per night.
For info and reservation:
Internet: www.all-soul.org,
Phone: 02-721-5625 or 087-697-4806
At the All Soul Building you can eat a real Italian food and imported wine and beer by the just new All Soul entrance: the “Teatro Italian Restaurant” (for reservation 089-214-0183)
The flooding in Thailand started more than two months ago, and now is the time when it’s getting critical for Bangkok too. If you sightseeing in Bangkok in the following days, you should be aware that some areas might be flooded.
Talk with your hotel concierge or Bangkok tour guide about your plans for the day to avoid bad surprises.
Some parts of Bangkok that are almost surely going to be flooded are Min Buri, Nong Chok, Lat Krabang and Klong Sam Wa. If you are a tourist in Bangkok, chances are these aren’t relevant for you, as there are almost no tourist attractions here, and very, very few tourists go here.
And these are the districts in Bangkok that are at risk of flooding:
Bang Sue,
Dusit,
Phra Nakhon,
Samphan Thawong,
Bang Kholaem,
Yannawa,
Klong Toei,
Bang Plat,
Bangkok Noi,
Thon Buri,
Klong San,
Rat Burana and
Thawee Wattana.
Heavy rains caused the water to be up to 40cm deep in the most intensely affected area in Bangkok (between Ratchada and Lat Phrao, an area that isn’t popular among tourists either). These are the most intense monsoon rains in Thailand since decades, and they have damaged 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of agricultural land in Thailand.
The reason why it is getting critical in the coming days is that large amounts of water from Northern ricefields and dams is being released and flowing down into the gulf of Thailand. There also is a high ocean-tide that is at it’s peak in mid-October and the tropical storm Nalgae – all of them together are putting parts of Bangkok at risk of flooding.
In case you are interested in the wellness and beauty industry – currently (until 9 October 2011) there is the Bangkok Beauty, Spa & Health Festival 2011 going on at the Impact Exhibition and Convention Center.
Most tourists who visit Bangkok and want to buy Thai silk head to Jim Thompson. And there is no doubt that Jim Thompson offers high-quality Thai silk that caters to Westeners tastes.
But if you are looking for something more unique, or have a special request, there is another alternative: Almeta. You want 1-ply silk? Or 2-ply silk? Anything until 12-ply silk goes here. You want a certain weight? You request special colors? Different yarns? Pretty much any color can be matched.
Their silk gets produced in North-Eastern Thailand (Essarn), the traditional weaving place of Thailand.
The Almeta silk shop in Bangkok has been around since 1992 and has a solid and loyal customer base, especially among interior artists and designers.
If you just want a silk souvenir from Thailand, pretty much any place will do, but if you are looking for something special and unique, Almeta in Bangkok is probably your best address.
They also have homeware, accessories and lots of lifestyle products that can be seen in their showroom.
After the success of the first study of Pinocchio, the terrible Emperor Caligula is coming back for a new play written, directed and interpreted by Maurizio Mistretta. Ba Pai Laew / The last hour of Caligula is the title of the final study of the trilogy that ALL SOUL Production has devoted to Caligula of Camus.