The Saturday City: Bangkok
Chaos. Crowds. Cheap food. Cheap clothes. Wild nightlife. Bangkok has it all. The city that at first repulsed and then enthralled me, Bangkok offers a little bit of everything to everyone. Arriving in Bangkok, people’s immediate reaction is love it or hate it. Few, if any, have mixed opinions about it. The city is crowded, the pollution is bad, the traffic is endless, and the place seems to operate in a form of controlled chaos. Bangkok is an experience like none other and it certainly is a shock to the senses.
When I first came here, I couldn’t wait to leave. Nothing appealed to me. As a city, there just wasn’t a lot to see. There were the plethora of temples, the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and some malls. After two days we were ready to leave. When I returned in 2007, I spent one night on Khao San Rd then left for the beaches.
Yet Bangkok does have a lot to offer. I just didn’t know it. I was looking in all the wrong places. I was looking for the tourist stuff in a city that lacked tourist stuff and so Bangkok never appealed
to me beyond the party scene of the tourist ghettos of Khao San and Patpong. When I decided to learn Thai and settle in Bangkok, it was with a heavy heart. There wasn’t anything to do here. How would I live?! I quickly found out how wrong I was.
The longer I stayed there, the more the city opened up to me and the more I found that there was always something to do. Most notably, there’s the social scene. Bangkok has a vibrant night life and ex-pat community. For those looking to join the backpacker crowd, there are the bars of Khao San Road. For a different tourist crowd and some racy go-go bars, there’s Patpong, an area where all your dreams (or nightmares) can come true. (Tip: Avoid a ping pong show! If you don’t know what it is, trust me in saying, you never really want to know.)
Then there is a the ex-pat scene. Bangkok has a lot of ex-pats who get down every night of the week. The cit has a never ending supply of ex-pat bars and after hour bars that are packed no matter what day of the week it is. Many of my friends give new meaning to going to work with hangovers. Cheap Charlie’s, a bar on Soi 11, is filled every day it is open. If it’s Wednesday, you can find all the ex-pat girls at Coyotes enjoying their free margaritas before people move to the trendy Bed Supper Club. This club is one of Bangkok’s “high society” clubs an
d features a lot of Bangkok’s young, foreign, rich, and beautiful. The club gets extremely packed on the weekend.
Bangkok also offers a lot in the way of culinary delights. The Thais love to eat. Everywhere you go in the city of angels, there is a street cart. There are street carts on little tiny streets where no one would seemingly go. And if your hungry at 5am? There’s some place around. In fact, even if you trekked into the jungle, you’d probably find a food vendor waiting there to feed you. They’re prolific…and simply the best food in Thailand. For as little as 50 cents, you’ll find the best pad thai, noodle soup, or curry you want. You can get little snacks like mango, spring rolls, or my personal favorite, rodee qluai (banana pancakes).
For those looking for more of an indoor feel, your options are also limitless. There’s Soi Nana for Arabian food, Thong Lo for Japanese, Khao San for Western, backpacker fare. Head to Mai Kaidee’s near Khao San for excellent vegetarian Thai, Shoshana’s for Israeli, Senor Pico’s downtown for excellent (albeit a bit expensive) Mexican, or Sunrise Taco’s for some cheap taco’s at 5am. Then there’s Charley Browns, Pomodoro, Tony Roma, Witches, and a whole lot more.
Then there’s all the little street shops that sell whatever your heart desires and your mouth can haggle for. Downtown turns into a little night market every night as sellers come out selling all sorts of trinkets and souvenirs. On the weekend, there is the immense JJ market that covers a few football fields and lets you buy everything from socks to cellphones to clothes to electronics at bargain prices. If you are interested in shopping at night, head to the Suan Luang Night market near Silom. (Though, they will soon be shutting it down to make way for residential developments.)
So, yes Bangkok doesn’t have a lot of tourist sites. It’s crowded. There’s pollution. But there is so much more. There’s food. There’s excitement. There’s chaos. Bangkok is a microcosm for Asia. Look beyond your first impressions and you’ll find one of the most exciting and vibrant cities in the world.
| Thailand Hotels - The Best Hotel Rates! | |
 |
Compare 30 top travel sites at once at HotelsCombined |
| Bangkok # Samui # Phuket # Pattaya # Krabi # Koh Phangan | |
I got to agree with you. First impression of the place is not that good but it is a good one when we know it better.