DESTINATIONS BANGKOK | ASIA


exper expert ASK THE FROM


FAR LEFT: Mahanakhon


SkyWalk; Chao Phraya river; BKK Social Club; Reclining Buddha,


Wat Pho; Lumpini Park;


Bangkok Art and Culture Centre; street mural, Klong Ong Ang;


Siam Paragon shopping mall PICTURES: Shutterstock/SPhotograph, Dmitry


Rukhlenko, anek.soowannaphoom, David Bokuchava, i viewfinder; Four Seasons/Ken Seet; Tamara Hinson


Julie FitzGerald,


general manager for Asia, G Adventures


“Bangkok is often viewed as a start or end point for wider Thailand adventures but, if


given some time, it has so much to offer travellers, from food and culture to markets and


green spaces. For those new to the city, the BTS skytrain metro network is a great way


best street artists, who’ve covered the walls with stunning murals depicting scenes from everyday life in Bangkok. By day, it’s a wonderful spot for a quiet stroll, becoming much busier on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings with live music and delicious street food.


11.00: Culture vultures can get an art fix at the Jim Thompson Art Center, which opened in 2021. It’s named in honour of the American art collector who came to Thailand as a military officer in the 1940s and went on to form the Thai Silk Company. Thompson amassed a huge collection of Thai and southeast Asian art in his traditional teak home, which is now known as the Jim Thompson House Museum and shares the same site as the Jim Thompson Art Center.


13.00: Clients can shop until they drop at Siam Paragon, one of Thailand’s biggest shopping centres. Its stores include everything from Ralph Lauren and Breitling to H&M and Swarovski. Once they’ve had


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their fill of the big brands, clients can head to the nearby Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, a five-minute walk away, for a totally different shopping experience. The centre was founded as a place to promote Thai arts and culture, and it’s a fantastic spot to pick up handicrafts. For the sweetest souvenirs, head to the Paradai store – its 75% dark chocolate made in Nakhon Si Thammarat is divine.


16.00: No visit to Bangkok is complete without a trip to Chatuchak Market, the world’s largest weekend market. With 15,000 stalls spread across 35 acres, there’s little that can’t be found here. The market dates back to 1942, a few years after Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram (the third prime


BOOK IT


G Adventures’ two-night/three-day Classic Bangkok Mini Adventure costs from £219 excluding flights. gadventures.com InsideAsia’s 13-night Taste of Thailand package includes four days in Bangkok, with accommodation, transfers, transport, some private guiding, all breakfasts and various food experiences. It costs from £2,847, excluding international flights. insideasiatours.com


minister of Thailand) decided that every town must have its own flea market to boost its economy. Today, Chatuchak, which has an ancient clocktower at its centre, attracts 200,000 locals and tourists every weekend. There’s plenty of street food on offer, along with bars where visitors can escape the chaos and indulge in some people-watching over a chilled bottle of Chang beer.


19.00: Foodies can round off their trip with a Chinese feast at Mott 32, which is due to open at The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon in time for summer. The acclaimed restaurant group is famous for its traditional Chinese cuisine – we recommend the applewood roasted Peking duck, one of Mott 32’s signature dishes.


to explore Bangkok. It’s clean, efficient, cheap and easy to navigate. There’s also a canal


system, which is a great way for travellers to explore parts of the city on a klong riverboat.”


Charlotte Bower, senior southeast Asia product executive, Inside Travel Group “Clients should visit the famous Wat Pho temple


TW


complex in the early morning, when they’ll get the opportunity to catch the monks doing their chanting. I’d also recommend spending an evening snacking on some of the best Thai


food you’ll ever eat – most Bangkok street stalls stay open until way past midnight.”


26 MAY 2022


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