Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [72]
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8 Wat Mangkon Kamalawat
You will, eventually, pop out the far end onto Th Charoen Krung. Cross over and go a short way down Soi Charoen Krung 21 to Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, one of Chinatown’s largest and liveliest temples. Along this stretch of the street, neighbouring shops sell fruit, cakes, incense and ritual burning paper, all for offering at the temple.
9 Thanon Plaeng Naam
Head back to Th Charoen Krung, turn left (east), walk one block and turn right on Th Plaeng Naam. This atmospheric street of shophouses and street food is a more leisurely place for a feed, particularly at the two streetside kitchens at the north end.
10 Thanon Yaowarat
Continue south, then turn left onto hectic Th Yaowarat. This is the neon side of Chinatown, great for photos in the late afternoon and early evening. After passing a couple of old Art Deco buildings that have seen better days, turn left at the Odeon Circle, with its distinctive Chinese gate, onto Th Mitthaphap (aka Th Traimit).
11 Wat Traimit & the Golden Buddha
A couple of minutes along this street of brushes and wicker furniture is Wat Traimit and its 5.5 tonnes of Golden Buddha. If you’ve timed your run to get here in the late afternoon (but before it closes at 5pm), it should be free of the usual tour buses and make a welcome respite from all those markets.
12 Talat Noi
If you’re knackered, it’s a short walk eastwards to Hua Lamphong Metro station. But if it’s anywhere near sunset, we strongly recommend heading back to Odeon Circle, braving the traffic and heading down Soi Yaowarat 1. Follow this road of machine shops, then continue onto Soi Charoen Phanit into the local Talat Noi neighbourhood. Follow the signs to the River View Guest House, where the 8th-floor restaurant-bar has cheap beer and amazing sunset views. It’s not far from here to the Marine Department ferry pier, but remember the last boats pass a little after 7pm.
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SIAM SQUARE, PRATUNAM, PLOENCHIT & RATCHATHEWI
Eating; Shopping; Sleeping
You’ll rarely, if ever, see Bangkok described as ‘well-organised’. But this central shopping district is surprisingly well connected, and it can be dangerously convenient for unleashing cash. At first glance this neighbourhood is all about shopping, a shrine to modern consumerism where megamalls in two duelling shopping districts cater to every whim.
This is modern Bangkok, where flimsy fashion is no longer a saffron monks’ robe but a flouncy skirt and clicky heels. Packs of teenagers shuffle across the concrete pathways, breaking all the social mores their ancestors ever created. Female students wear miniskirts that could easily be mistaken for wide belts, cutesy couples stroll hand in hand, hipsters (dèk naaou) assume gangster styles from ghettos they’ve only heard rapped about. Give Bangkok a few more years of disposable income and the city – which is rightly proud of its creative side – will rival Tokyo and New York for pop power.
The centre of the action is Siam Skytrain station, the interchange for both Skytrain lines, which acts as the heart of the district. Through its network of concrete walkway veins it pumps thousands of passengers into the Siam shopping district, currently the place to shop in Bangkok. On the south side of the station is Siam Square, an ageing ground-level mall peopled by baht-flexing students – all in black and white uniforms – who trawl through the closet-sized boutiques that reflect what’s hot and what’s not. To the north of the station you’ll enter the air-conditioned and exclusive atmosphere of Siam Paragon, with its top-end boutiques, European sports cars and world-class oceanarium Click here. On the same side are the more affordable (and more funky) Siam Center and Siam Discovery