Bangkok - Things to See and Do

Bangkok is one of South East Asia’s most diverse cities – a thriving commercial and business hub that pulsates with around-the-clock activity and attracts more than 11 million visitors each year. Rich with tradition, religion and culture, as well as entertainment, shopping and dining opportunities (often outrageous in nature), the Thai capital is a paradox of flavours, customs, sights and sounds.

Megamalls share the streets with modest homes. Buddhist temples coexist with men’s parlours. Motorbikes jostle for space on the roads, moving as fast as the long-tail boats that work the river. Visitors and dignitaries fill the bars of hundred-storey high skyscrapers, surveying the endless streams of foot traffic that frequent the street’s food carts and markets.
 

Information

Population: Approx. 9.3 million
Area (city): 1,569 km2
Time Zone: GMT +7
Languages: Thai (official)
Currency: Baht (THB)
Electricity: 220v 50Hz

Climate

Bangkok experiences a tropical wet and dry climate, with two distinct seasons: monsoon season and the dry season. Monsoon season begins anywhere from May to July and lasts through to November, bringing heavy rain and humid conditions. The dry period follows with cool breezes and relatively lower temperatures, occasionally dipping below 20°C. March to May warms up again, with temperatures regularly soaring up to 40°C and humidity level averaging around 82%.

Airport

Name: Suvarnabhumi International terminal
Address: Samut Prakan, Thailand
Location: Suvarnabhumi airport is located 30km east of central Bangkok and acts as Thailand’s main international airport.

Airport Transport

Hire Cars: Rentals are available with our suppliers at mate's rates. Book your car hire and save.
Taxi: A supervised taxi rank is located outside the terminal on level one.
Bus Transfers: A free shuttle bus allows passengers to travel express from the airport’s main terminal to the transport center. From there, a public bus provides access to Bangkok and surrounding areas.
Airport Rail Link: Airport Rail Link connects Suvarnabhumi International Airport with downtown Bangkok. The express lines run to Makkasan in 15 minutes and Phayathai in 18 minutes, while the City Line makes six stops between the airport and Phayathai Station, completing a 28km route in 30 minutes. Services run from 6am to midnight.

The Tawana Bangkok Hotel

5 Star Property

Enjoying a prime downtown location on Surawongse Road, just a few minutes’ walk from major train stations, the Tawana Hotel is within easy reach of Bangkok’s renowned attractions – such as the temple of the reclining Buddha (Wat Pho) and the Grand Palace. Renowned for its high standard service and range of facilities, the hotel is popular among business travellers.

S31 Sukhumvit Hotel

5 Star Property

S31 Sukhumvit Hotel offers a luxurious experience in a central location, with extras like an outdoor pool and a fine dining rooftop restaurant, where guests can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nearby attractions include The Emporium shopping mall, Royal Barges National Museum, Elephant Tower and Dusit Zoo.

Grand Diamond Suites Hotel

4 Star Property

Grand Diamond Suites Hotel is conveniently located on Petchburi Road, with Platinum Mall and Panthip Plaza on either side, and Pratunam Market just a five minute walk away. Cultural highlights such as Erawan Shrine, Wat Traimit and Wat Saket are all within walking distance, while nearby Makkasan Station offers direct access to Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

Pathumwan Princess Hotel

4 Star Property

Pathumwan Princess Hotel’s central location provides easy access to a wide range of Bangkok highlights. The hotel is situated directly adjacent to shopper heaven, the MBK Centre, and is within walking distance to Siam Square, as well as attractions like the Museum Of Imaging Technology, Erawan Shrine and Wat Traimit’s famous Golden Buddha.

I Residence Hotel Sathorn

3 Star Property

Located near Bangkok’s city centre, the I Residence Hotel provides tailored accommodation for both business and leisure travellers. The hotel’s free tuk tuk shuttle offers guests with transfers to the city’s efficient rail system, while the Patpong Night Market is within walking distance for guests looking to pick up a bargain.

Dining

Bangkok is regarded as a foodie’s paradise. Bustling with around-the-clock activity, the Thai capital boasts limitless dining options. Everything for traditional Thai fare to international cuisines can be sampled in markets and skyscrapers, or on the streets and by the Chao Phraya River, as eateries and street vendors choke the cityscape.

Home to Thai people from every corner of the country, Bangkok is a melting pot of Thai culture and cuisines. Presenting a smorgasbord of regional cuisines, the famous Khao San Road is one the city’s favourite food haunts. Taste the north-east with a plate of som tum (spicy papaya salad). Experience the south with a helping of seafood yellow curry. Or tuck in to the country’s national dish, with a bowl of tom yum koong (herbal and spicy prawn soup). Khao San Road spills with restaurants, shacks and stalls, with something to satisfy all palates and budgets.

Bangkok’s most authentic flavours are best experienced through local street food. While the hygiene of street vendors is often questionable, a trip to South East Asia should not be deemed successful without sampling street fare. Local snack food favourites include dishes like kap gaeng (curry with rice), som tam (green papaya salad), pad khee mao (drunken noodles), and yang (chargrilled skewers of meat). Travellers with an adventurous spirit can also test their stomachs on delicacies like pan-fried seasoned ants, grasshoppers, and cockroaches. Bangkok has an endless supply of street vendor; the most popular of which can be found in food zones like Chakraphong Road, Banglamphu Market and Ratchaprasong.

Like most popular holiday destinations, Bangkok highlights cuisines from all over the world, in a myriad of settings and atmospheres. Chinatown’s Yaowarat Road brims with Cantonese restaurants and ad hoc seafood stalls selling Chinese delicacies like bird's nest and shark fin soup. Pahurat showcases Bangkok’s best Indian offering. The Old Siam Shopping Centre is a tourist haven, home to Western and Thai restaurants, alongside fast food outlets.

Bangkok’s Old City is famous for Western and Thai fusion foods. While thriving business and commercial area, Ploenchit draws an upmarket crowd with fine-dining restaurants, busy food courts and western-style chain eateries. For Bangkok’s most romantic dining setting, a dinner cruise along the Chao Phraya is a must-do, as Bangkok’s star attractions light up at night, beautifully illuminated along the river banks.

Shopping

Bangkok is a shopper’s heaven. A myriad of traditional and contemporary shopping settings, boasts everything from fake designer bags, clothing and accessories, to high-end technological goods and international labels.

Bangkok is renowned to host some South East Asia’s best markets. Sprawling and swarming, authentic Thai-style markets cover whole city blocks and attract thousands of bargain-hungry shoppers every day. Bangkok’s markets provide the perfect opportunity for visitors with practice and perfect their negotiation skills, as most vendors encourage bartering.

Chatuchak Weekend Market is Thailand’s largest market. A maze of 8,000-plus stalls, the bazaar exudes organised chaos, selling household items, clothing, Thai handicrafts, religious artifacts, collectibles, foods, and even live animals.

Pratunam Market is a go-to for cheap wholesale textiles and fashion. Pratunam’s seamstresses create custom-made garbs and items, amid a diverse array of food stalls selling everything from local cuisines to African and Arabic fare.

Stretching out along Silom Road, in the centre of Patpong 1, Patpong Night Market springs to life at 8pm. Stalls selling cheap souvenirs like copycat watches, bags, accessories, and DVDs, line the street along with restaurants and eateries – which provides the perfect environment for travellers to take in Bangkok’s energy and culture.

Modern and progressive, and teeming with business and commercial opportunities, Bangkok has embraced western-style shopping conventions. While markets swarm at street-level, skyscrapers tower into the air, full with department stores and shopping malls.

Eight storeys high, with more than 2,500 shops and stalls, Mah Boon Krong (MBK) Centre separates amateur shoppers from the big leagues – selling everything from clothing to souvenirs to furniture. Visitors looking to pick up a unique personalised Bangkok souvenir should take advantage of the MBK Centre’s resident artists, who convert photos into oil or watercolours paintings, or charcoal sketches.

An open air area, catering to a young demographic with trendy restaurants, cafe, designer clothing boutiques, record stores and bookshops, Siam Square is often referred to as the "SoHo" of Thailand. A popular haunt for Bangkok’s teenager and young professionals, Siam Square is said to represent the Bangkok-of-the-future.