Thailand

Bangkok	Bangkok	Bangkok	Bangkok	Bangkok
Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace
Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace
Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace
Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace	Grand Palace

<<   1 2 .... >>

Thailand

 Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia with coasts on the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. It borders Myanmar to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Cambodia to the west and Malaysia to the south.
 With great food, a tropical climate, fascinating culture and, hey, great beaches, Thailand is a magnet for travelers the world over.
 Thailand is made up of 76 provinces, but may be conveniently divided into five geographic and cultural regions.

* The Central Plains — Bangkok, highlands and historic Thailand.
* The North — Chiang Mai, hill tribes, and the Golden Triangle.
* Isaan — The great undeveloped Northeast. Get off the beaten track and discover backcountry    Thailand and some magnificent Khmer ruins.
* The East — Beaches and islands on the northern Gulf of Thailand coast, within easy reach of Bangkok    And, oh yes, Pattaya.
* The South and Islands — Hundreds of kilometers of coastline on both the Andaman Sea and the Gulf    of Thailand, with Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Krabi and many more of Thailand's famous beach    spots.

 Thailand is the most popular tourist destination in South-East Asia, and for a reason. Exotic yet safe and largely hassle-free, cheap yet equipped with every modern amenity you need, there is something for every interest and every price bracket, from beachfront backpacker bungalows to some of the best luxury hotels in the world. And despite the heavy flow of tourism, Thailand retains its quintessential Thainess, with a culture and history all its own and a carefree people famed for their smiles and their fun-seeking sanuk lifestyle.

 This is not to say that Thailand doesn't have its downsides, including the considerable growing pains of an economy where an agricultural laborer is lucky to earn $1 per day while the nouveau riche cruise past in their BMWs, and a highly visible sex tourism industry. Bangkok, the capital, is notorious for its traffic jams and rampant development has wrecked much of once-beautiful Pattaya and Phuket. In heavily touristed areas, some lowlifes have made scamming tourists into an art form, but in Thailand as anywhere the old adage is true — if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

Bangkok

 Bangkok (Thai: กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep) is the capital of Thailand and by far its largest city with an estimated population of over 10 million.

Visit

 Most of Bangkok's sights are concentrated in the "Old City" on Rattanakosin Island. Out of Bangkok's many temples, the following usually make the top 3:
* Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn)
* The Grand Palace, featuring Wat Phra Kaew (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha)
* Wat Pho, home of the world's largest reclining Buddha
   and a famed massage school

Bangkok's many markets are an experience in themselves .

Sleep

 Bangkok has a vast range of accommodation, including some of the best hotels in the world — and some of the worst dives too. Broadly speaking, Khao San Road is backpacker city (note that if you are traveling with a Thai citizen, they will be unable to stay anywhere on Khao San Road); the riverside by Rattanakosin is home to The Oriental and The Peninsula, often ranked among the best in the world (and priced to match); and Sukhumvit Road has hotels for almost all budgets from five-star to one-star.

 When choosing your digs, pay careful attention to Skytrain and Metro access — a well-placed station will make your stay in Bangkok much more comfortable

Bangkok Hotels

Stay safe

 Given its size and poverty level Bangkok is surprisingly safe, with violent crimes like mugging and robbery highly unusual. However, Bangkok does have more than its fair share of touting and scams. Some common scam and guidelines for avoiding them:

* If an English-speaking Thai approaches you out of the blue and strikes up a conversation, be wary:    they are almost certainly selling something.
* Beware of tuk-tuk drivers offering all-day tours for prices as low as 20 baht. You may indeed be    taken on a full-day tour, but you will only end up visiting one gem and souvenir shop after another;    the driver will get a commission if you buy something and gas coupons even if you don't.
* Likewise, be skeptical if a tuk-tuk driver tells you that your chosen destination is "closed" and offers    to take you to a "special Buddha temple" (etc) instead.
* Be particularly wary of any offers to sell you gems at a "discount", especially large quantities for    resale back home at vast profits. These operations can be surprisingly convincing, with some even    hiring down-and-out foreigners to act as happy customers.
   See: Scams in Bangkok
* Make a photocopy of your passport and keep it with you at all times, especially at night. It is the law    and police may check it at night if they setup a checkpoint to look for drunk drivers. Many night clubs    will also insist on a passport (and ONLY a passport) as proof of age.

 Also note that cameras are not welcome in go-go bars. Attempting to take pictures of the girls, even with your camera phone, is likely to result in your camera being taken and/or you getting beat up for good measure.

Book Hostel in Bangkok

<<   1 2 .... >>

[Back to Top]