Chinatown
Though other attractions as such are thin on the ground, Chinatown is an interesting place to just wander around. A couple of Chinatown 's most interesting roads are Yaowarat road (ถนนเยาวราช), leading westwards from near Wat Traimit, and Sampeng Lane (ถนนสำเพ็ง also sometimes known as Soi Wanit), running parallel south of Yaowarat.
Chinatown is best visited for it's huge number of gold and jewelry shops, identifable by the gold and red that they all seem to be adorned with. Other than this, the best reason to visit is to wander round some of the markets here, such as the one on Sampeng lane, Pahurat cloth market, Nakhon Kasem/Second Hand market etc...There's a branch of Central on Pahurat road, just south of Charoen Krung road.
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Yaowarat road is Chinatown's main street, and has surely one of greatest concentrations of gold shops anywhere, reflecting the love of gold the Thai-Chinese are often thought to have. There's dozens of them, all dazzlingly brightly colored, and with mainly very good prices. There's also plenty of restaurants round here also, where you can get birds-nest soup, dim sum, shark fin soup and other traditional Chinese delicacies.
The street is a hive of constant commercial activity, mostly in textiles and cloth, and while it's not really a great place for buying anything, it's an interesting authentic experience that doesn't seem to have really changed in decades.
Wat Traimit (วัดไตรมิตร)
the Temple of the Golden Buddha.At first glance, the 3m high Buddha image in here looks distinctly average and undeserving of the busloads of tourists that visit every day. Entrance to Wat Traimit is 20B, it's open from 9.00am to 5.00pm everyday.
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Ordinary buses 1, 7, 8, 37, 49 and 75 will take you into Chinatown, some stopping on Charoen Krung, others on Worachak road (near the Thieves Market) though the river is normally a better bet due to the consistent traffic jams round here. The Tha Ratchawong pier is just a few hundred meters from Yaowarat road and Sampeng Lane. |
Pak Khlong Market
Pak Khlong market is a very large and busy wholesale market for fresh flowers and vegetables. Many flower vendors throughout the city buy their stock here at night and sell it on the following morning. It's best to go between 2.00am and 4.00am when boats on the Chao Phraya River and trucks from nearby provinces arrive with large quantities of flowers, vegetables, spices, and fruits. These all are piled high inside the market and along nearby streets, making the market very photogenic, though the smell given off by some off the produce can be quite overpowering.
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To get here, ask a taxi to go to bpahk klong dta-laht (Pak Khlong Market) or sa-pahn put (Memorial Bridge). The wholesale market is mainly near the river, the cheap normal market in small streets nearby.
Another popular day trip is the journey on the river to Nonthaburi, a densely populated town north of Bangkok. (It's sometimes considered a Bangkok suburb, as Bangkok's rapid growth has meant it's hard to tell where one starts and the other finishes). There's little of interest in Nonthaburi itself, but it's often visited as the northernmost stop of the Chao Phraya river express boats. The return trip from the Oriental hotel pier, which lasts around 2.5 - 3 hours, costs only 20B (approx US$0.5) per person. Despite it's proximity to central Bangkok, it has a definite provincial feeling - be prepared for something of a culture shock if this is your first trip into rural Thailand. Attractions are limited to a few wats, the Singha brewery and the infamous 'Bangkok Hilton' - the none-too-pleasant Bang Kwang prison, where foreigners convicted of drug related crimes invariably end up.
To the northeast of Bangkok in Minburi suburb are Suan Siam and the Safari World park. The water park is set in large landscaped gardens and has artificial surf, whirlpools, fountains, waterfalls, large water slides etc...Other attractions here are children's playgrounds, aviaries, an open zoo and botanical gardens. At 170 acres, Safari world is the largest wildlife park in Southeast Asia. This has a wildlife section, with 75 animal species, including animals such as giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions and tigers. The marine section has trained dolphin shows and an aviary section with eagles, macaws, parrots etc...There are various shows available (including dolphins, birds, seals, monkeys). This is best visited on a tour, as the wildlife section is for vehicles only (though the park also has coaches you can go through on, and most taxis drivers can be persuaded to drive through it if you offer them a bit more money). The other sections can be visited on foot. Their website is at http://www.safariworld.com.
Siam Niramit
Siam Niramit is a world-class performance of Thailand's arts and cultural heritage. Set in the heart of Bangkok affording convenient access by MRT subway and major thoroughfares, this must-see spectacular is performed on the gigantic stage now listed in the Guinness World Records, featuring over 150 performers with as many as 500 costumes. On top of this, enhanced special effects with the world's most advanced technology are used to produce a stimulating, very realistic and inspiring experience. This is a Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Thailand that no one can miss.
Where to shop
Rama I road, Ploenchit road, Ratchadamri road, Siam Square area
This area, east from the top of Sukhumvit road, is a modern and fashionable shopping district with several large shopping centers. This includes the 8 storey World Trade Center, which houses the Zen and Isetan department stores, Central Chidlom department store, a branch of Bangkok largest chain of department stores, Tokyu department store, Sogo, Narayana Phand store for Thai handicrafts, and the expensive and very upmarket Gaysorn Plaza, Peninsula Plaza, Promenda Decor and Amarin Plaza.
Siam Square is a large modern shopping area, consisting of interlocked sois, and is not really a square at all. It has a collection of cheap to mid-price fashionable clothes shops, a lot of which cater to teenagers. Also around here are book shops, internet cafes, fast food restaurants etc...Not far from here - next to the Tokyu department store - is the massive and very popular MBK (standing for mah boon krong) shopping center. This has a huge range of goods and many varied, inexpensive shops and facilities (including restaurants, cinemas, games arcade and a bowling alley). Nearby shopping centers include Siam Center, also with fairly inexpensive clothes shops, and Siam Discovery, which has more upmarket clothes shops, restaurants and various other shops, including a branch of Asia Books
Pantip (Panthip) Plaza
Though there are a wide range of computer related products on sale, Panthip is most (in)famous for the huge amount of pirated software available. There are literally dozens of different vendors selling the software programs, and even the most up-to-date software is available amazingly quickly Microsoft Windows XP, for instance, had been available in Panthip .As well as software, pirated versions of all of the top Hollywood movies are also available on DVD or VCD, as are compilation MP3 CD's with around 12 albums on each (right). Each CD/VCD/CDROM costs only around 100-150B, as the intense competition helps to keep the prices low. The DVDs cost around 300B.
- Silom Convent Garden
- 35/1 Soi Pipat 2 Convent Rd.,Bangrak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand.