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TRAVEL 023 Bedding in
New hotels open in Bangkok at a bewildering rate. Here are just a few of the latest arrivals: • Trinity Silom (
trinitysilomhotel.com) offers contemporary accommodation and is perfectly-located with rooms of a very good standard given its budget category.
• Furama XClusive Sukhumvit (
furama.com) is comfort all wrapped-up in a stylish boutique setting also ideal for those watching the money. • Tricky to find (but that’s part of the charm), Chann (channbangkoknoi. com) is an urban retreat in an historic part of the city full of character and based around two teakwood houses. • And, if budget’s no problem, then due to open in early 2019, Capella (
capellahotels.com) is an all-suite and villa property of ultra-sleek design, attentive service and Michelin-starred dining.
CHECK LIST
There’s enough to keep you occupied in Bangkok for a week but given most visitors spend two or three days at most what shouldn’t you miss?
GRAND PALACE And ‘grand’ is the word – an eye- popping spectacle mixed together with bejewelled exteriors fronting impressive buildings of regal, historical, religious and culture importance make this arguably Bangkok’s most noted attraction. •
royalgrandpalace.th
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER The Chao Phraya River runs like a main artery through Bangkok and, by using the tourist boat, you not only get a real insight into the city, you can hop-on and hop-off at some of its most iconic sights. •
chaophrayatouristboat.com
WAT ARUN Known as ‘The Temple of Dawn’, Wat Arun towers over the Chao Phraya and is one of the finest examples in Thailand of Khmer architecture. •
watarun.net
JIM THOMPSON HOUSE This utterly charming oasis was the exquisite home of Jim Thompson, the former CIA operative and the man credited with saving Thailand’s silk industry. Thompson went missing while visiting the Cameron Highlands in 1967 and was never found. •
jimthompsonhouse.com
WAT PHO Not just a beautiful temple compound and home to the majestic Reclining Buddha, Wat Pho also has a noted massage school in case those tourist feet need a little TLC. •
watpho.com
AFTER DARK Bangkok has some seriously classy cocktail bars. For a drink with a view, make for the spectacular Moon Bar at the Banyan Tree (
banyantree.com). Spectacularly perched (literally) on 61st floor, it’s no wonder it’s often named one of the world’s top 10 rooftop watering holes.
TOP TIPS • Taxis are very reasonable and metered (check it’s on). Communication isn’t quite as straightforward so it’s always worth carrying a note with the name of your accommodation or destination written in Thai. Many hotels will have it on their business cards or ask the concierge. • Bangkok is a generally very safe city and tourists are left undisturbed. Beware, though, of ‘helpful’ people telling you this or that attraction is closed today and suggesting someplace else. Any good-natured hassle from stallholders or hawkers can usually be deflected with a smile and a “no thank you”.
GADGETS GALORE You might consider some of its wares ‘tat’, but older kids – and many grown-ups too – love the MBK shopping centre (Skytrain to National Monument) with its seven floors of shops and stalls selling electronics and gadgets as well as entertainment. Head to the sixth floor for gaming consoles and (pirated) games, the fifth for cameras, and the fourth for mobile phones and accessories.
GLOBE-TROTTING GOURMET Bangkok’s food scene is world-leading. If you want to be up with the ‘in crowd’, then
Bo.Lan (
www.bolan.co.th) is currently the place at which to secure a reservation. Michelin-starred, it takes the finest ingredients from sustainable sources across Thailand to create hand- crafted dishes and a menu that changes every few months. Courses are dispensed with and food is served together Thai-style.
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