Thailand Bangkok & Around (Chapter) Edition 14th Edition, February 2012 Pages 102 PDF Page Range 54-115 Coverage includes: Bangkok, Around Bangkok covering Bangkok to Amphawa, Amphawa and Nakhon Pathom. Useful Links: Having trouble viewing your file? Head to Lonely Planet Troubleshooting. Need more assistance? Head to the Help and Support page. Want to find more chapters? Head back to the Lonely Planet Shop. Want to hear fellow travellers’ tips and experiences? Lonely Planet’s Thorntree Community is waiting for you! © Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. To make it easier for you to use, access to this chapter is not digitally restricted. In return, we think it’s fair to ask you to use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only. In other words, please don’t upload this chapter to a peer-to-peer site, mass email it to everyone you know, or resell it. See the terms and conditions on our site for a longer way of saying the above - ‘Do the right thing with our content. ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Bangkok Why Go? Bangkok .........................54 Formerly the epitome of the elderly Asian metropolis, in re- Around Bangkok ...........152 cent years Bangkok has gone under the knife and emerged Bangkok to Amphawa ...152 as a rejuvenated starlet. Her wrinkles haven’t totally been Amphawa ......................153 erased, but you might not notice them behind the ever- expanding public-transport system, air-conditioned mega- Nakhon Pathom ............155 malls and international-standard restaurants. But don’t take this to mean that there’s no more ‘real’ Bangkok. The Royal Palace and Wat Phra Kaew still spar- Best Places to Eat kle just as they did more than 200 years ago, and the BTS (Skytrain) has had little impact on the shophouses of » nahm (p 125 ) Banglamphu or the canals of Thonburi. To really experience » Chinatown’s street food the Bangkok of today, it’s necessary to explore both of these (p 123 ) worlds. Take the MRT (Metro) to hectic Chinatown or the » MBK Food Court (p124 ) klorngg boat to the chic Central World mall, and along the » Krua Apsorn (p 119 ) way we’re certain you’ll fi nd that the old personality and that new face culminate in one sexy broad indeed. » Kai Thort Jay Kee (p 127 ) Best Places to When to Go Stay According to the World Meteorological Organisation, Bang- kok is one of the hottest cities in the world. To make things » AriyasomVilla (p 113 ) worse, there’s very little fl uctuation in the temperature, and » Metropolitan (p 115 ) the average high sways between a stifl ing 32°C and an incre- » Siam Heritage (p 110 ) mentally more stifl ing 34°C. The rainy season runs from ap- » Siam@Siam (p 111 ) proximately May to October, during when the city receives as much as 300mm of rain a month. » Lamphu Tree House (p 107 ) Virtually the only break from the relentless heat and hu- midity comes during Bangkok’s winter, a few weeks of rela- tive coolness in December/January. 55 History Modernity came to the capital in the late The centre of government and culture in 19th century as European aesthetics and Thailand today, Bangkok was a historical technologies fi ltered east. During the reigns miracle during a time of turmoil. Following of Rama IV (King Mongkut) and Rama V the fall of Ayuthaya in 1767, the kingdom (King Chulalongkorn), Bangkok received its fractured into competing forces, from which fi rst paved road (Th Charoen Krung) and a BANGKOK BANGKOK General Taksin emerged as a decisive uni- new royal district (Dusit) styled after Euro- BANGKOK fi er. He established his base in Thonburi, on pean palaces. the western bank of Mae Nam Chao Phraya Bangkok was still a gangly town when (Chao Phraya River), a convenient location soldiers from the American war in Vietnam for sea trade from the Gulf of Thailand. came to rest and relax in the city’s go-go bars Taksin proved more of a military strategist and brothels. It wasn’t until the boom years SIGHTS than a popular ruler. He was later deposed of the 1980s and ’90s that Bangkok exploded by another important military general, Chao into a fully fl edged metropolis crowded with Phraya Chakri, who in 1782 moved the capi- hulking skyscrapers and an endless spill of tal across the river to a more defensible loca- concrete that gobbled up rice paddies and tion in anticipation of a Burmese attack. The green space. The city’s extravagant tastes succession of his son in 1809 established the were soon tamed by the 1997 economic melt- present-day royal dynasty, and Chao Phraya down, the eff ects of which can still be seen Chakri is referred to as Rama I. in the numerous half-built skyscrapers. Court offi cials envisioned the new capital as a resurrected Ayuthaya, complete with an 1Sights island district (Ko Ratanakosin) carved out In recent years Bangkok has yet again start- of the swampland and cradling the royal ed to redefi ne itself, and projects such as court (the Grand Palace) and a temple to the BTS (Skytrain) and MRT (Metro) have the auspicious Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra begun to address the city’s notorious traffi c Kaew). The emerging city, which was encir- problems, while simultaneously providing cled by a thick wall, was fi lled with stilt and the city with a modern face. A spate of gi- fl oating houses ideally adapted to seasonal ant air-conditioned mega-malls has some fl ooding. parts of the city looking a lot like Singapore, BANGKOK IN… One Day Get up as early as you can and take the Chao Phraya Express north to Nonthaburi Market. On your way back, hop off at Tha Chang to explore the museums and temples of Ko Ratanakosin, followed by lunch in Banglamphu. After freshening up, get a new perspective on the city with sunset cocktails at one of the rooftop bars, followed by an upscale Thai dinner at nahm. Two Days Allow the BTS to whisk you to various shopping destinations and a visit to Jim Thomp- son House, punctuated by a buff et lunch at one of the city’s hotels. Wrap up the day- light hours with a traditional Thai massage. Then work off those calories at the dance clubs of RCA. Three Days Spend a day at Chatuchak Weekend Market or if it’s a weekday, enrol in a cooking school. Now that you’re accustomed to Bangkok’s noise, pollution and traffi c, you’re ready for a street-food dinner in Chinatown. Four Days At this point you may be itching to get out of the city. Convenient escapes include Ko Kret, a car-less island north of Bangkok, or taking a long-tail boat to ride through Thonburi’s canals. ‚ BANGKOK To Ko Kret (6km) E T x h Kasetsart NONTHABURI p Ng r am University e W Bangkok #þ Nonthaburi s £# o æ# Market s Bangkhen ng w W Highlights æ# a a n in Hwy y Baipai Thai et-Navam ( Kas 1 Skipping 2 Cooking n n d i between sightseeing Ma School h S t t o spots aboard the e a y N g n am Chao Phr e ) o Chao Phraya h a Express (p 149 ) h P Bang Th Exploring h R 2 Son T a BANG t the streets of old a £# c ya SON h a Bangkok, including V d BANG i a pha LAT Ko Ratanakosin 666 666 p SUE PHRAO h (p 102 ), on foot v i s a e d Learning to make k 3 iRangsit authentic Thai dishes at one of Bangkok’s BANG ¡#Lat Phrao numerous cooking KRUAY ¦# schools (p 96 ) 666 666Hwy ¡# Ratchadaphisek 4 Toasting the stars BANGPHAT and the twinkling skyscraper lights atop To Southern Bus Station a rooftop bar, such as 2km) ThRat ¡# cha ng Sutthisan Moon Bar at Vertigo ‚ TALING with o i itw CHAN n SI YAN or Sirocco Sky Bar 6666Sa n (p 132 ) ra Ta l i n g C h a n ha æ# Floating C T ¡# Huay Khwang 5 Getting blissfully þ# h h S See North Bangkok Map (p118) Market T See Thewet & Dusit ukh £# pounded into Central oth Map (p96) ai PHAYATHAI Sanam submission at one Pinklao Th ¦# # Ra Pao Thailand Cultural of the city’s terrifi c- 1 Chao Phraya V tc ¡# ha Centre Express wit value Thai massage am hi HUAY 666R 6666 KHWANG centres (p 91 ) a ¦#Victory 4 See Ko Ratanakosin, Banglamphu RATCHATHEWI i BANGKOK Ú# hr Monument o NOI & Thonburi Map (p60-1) P S Wat ¡# Th See Ratchathewi Suwannaram ¦# ¡#Phra Ram 9 Phaya Thai Map (p97) 666666 66¦# Makkasan (City Air666 Terminal) 6 ¦# 666 ¦# Phetchburi Ko Ratanakosin #2 See Th Sukhumvit Map (p92-3) # Eating in 6 Eating yourself 6 Chinatown into a stupor on the See Chinatown & Phahurat SeeSiamSquare& THONBURI Th Sukhumvit streets of Chinatown Map (p76) Pratunam Map (p86-7) (p 123 ) 666 66666 KHLONG TAN 7 Getting out of the See Silom & Sathon Thai city and visiting the Map (p82-3) Massage nearby canalside town KHLONG Centres Wong £# Sirocco Moon Bar #5 of Amphawa (p 153 ) SAN Cooking #4 ThPhetkasem Wian Yai ¦# ¦# Sky Bar at Vertigo # Schools Phra Wong 4 # Krung 3 See Lumphini Park Khanong Wian Yai Thonburi 6666 n See Riverside KHLONG ¦# o &ThPhraRamIV h TOEY T k Map (p80) Map (p90) h Rama IV Na en R T ‚ ro a h To On Nut ha t PORT C c N Station (950m) h h a T a r Mae Na n a f# t #æ a h m k C h iw ha Manohra a a o Phray r 666t i n n a i Cruises s k a T h T Wat Chong Ú# Nonsi666 T Th h II S P â# Museum of am uk RATBURANA h a R s ra Counterfeit Goods hr aw R P at a Th m Cha II I lerm Mah y BANGNA anakhon Exp w 666 PHRA PRADAENG ‚ BANGKOK BANGKOK 02km SIGHTS BANGKOK BANGKOK BANGKOK 666 e # 01mile To Bearing Station (500m) 58 and despite recent bouts of political unrest, Despite the abundance of attractions, Ko the general atmosphere is hectic but stable.