Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [64]
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top picks
THEWET & DUSIT
Dusit Park Witness Victorian sense and Thai sensibilities merging in this royal enclave.
Ratchadamnoen Stadium Makes Steven Seagal look soft as a pillow.
Krua Apsorn Homestyle Thai food good enough for royalty.
Vimanmek Teak Mansion How can an all-teak mansion this big have been built without a single nail?
Wat Benchamabophit A Thai temple with a difference: Carrara marble, European-style frescoes and red carpet all the way.
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Cradled between Th Samsen and Mae Nam Chao Phraya, the riverside district is referred to as Thewet, after the nearby temple, Wat Ratchathewet. Thewet shelters Thewet Flower Market (Map; Th Krung Kasem; 8am-6pm), a popular flower market beside the klorng, and a refreshingly quiet backpacker scene existing cheek-by-jowl with a lively wet market selling vegetables, meat, fish and other sundries – it’s a great local breakfast or lunch experience. In spite of the scores of backpackers staying here at any one time, the neighbourhood has resisted the temptation to transform its businesses into the internet cafes, tattoo parlours, bars or souvenir shops that usually pop up where travellers go. Instead vendors prefer the traditional course of business, allowing the foreigners to adjust to local customs. Largely a residential neighbourhood, at rush hour Thewet is packed with uniform-clad residents climbing aboard rickety buses for a sweaty commute to the office districts of Silom or Sukhumvit, while Th Samsen is a near-continuous stream of rattletrap buses and screaming túk-túk.
Street stalls and food markets are most prolific near Thewet, but be sure to be well watered and fed before venturing into food-averse Dusit on foot.
DUSIT PARK
Map
0 2628 6300; bounded by Th Ratchawithi, Th U Thong Nai & Th Ratchasima; admission 100B, with Grand Palace ticket free; 9.30am-4pm unless otherwise stated; 510, 70 & 72
A modern country, King Chulalongkorn pronounced, needed a modern seat of government. And so Rama V moved the royal court from the cloistered city of Ko Ratanakosin to the open and manicured lawns of Dusit Park. There he built Beaux Arts institutions and Victorian manor houses. Confectionery buildings of fused Euro-Thai modes housed members of the royal family in a style that must have seemed as futuristic as today’s skyscrapers. All of this and the expansive gardens make Dusit Park a worthwhile escape from the chaos of modern Bangkok, with its egg-carton Bauhaus and blue-glass buildings.
Please note: because this is royal property, visitors should wear long pants (no capri pants) or long skirts and sleeved shirts.
Anchoring the Royal Plaza and indeed the whole Dusit precinct is the Ananda Samakhon Throne Hall (admission 150B; 9am-5pm). Built in the early 1900s by Italian architect and engineer combination Mario Tamagno and Annibale Rigotti, the great neoclassical dome of the Ananda Samakhon looks out of place in Bangkok but right at home in Dusit. It was designed as a place to host – and impress – foreign dignitaries and on occasion it still serves this purpose, most notably during celebrations of King Bhumibol Aluyadej’s 60th year on the throne, when royals from around the world converged here in full regalia. You’ll almost certainly see a photo of this during your visit. The elaborate facade of Carrara marble is certainly impressive, but it’s the interior