Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [86]
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top picks
THANON SUKHUMVIT
Ban Kamthieng An informative, well-presented taste of northern Thailand in this pretty teak building.
Party like it’s 1969 Take a trip back in time at trendy retro-themed bars along Th Ekamai and Th Thong Lor, including Happy Monday, Tuba and Shades of Retro.
Soi 11 clubs Dance your way down Bangkok’s premier clubbing soi, where perennials Bed Supperclub and Q Bar compete with the rooftop Nest.
International restaurants Pasta, sushi, kim chi, tapas, hommus – sample Th Sukhumvit’s huge selection of foreign cuisine.
Skytrain Peek into the neighbourhood’s many fortressed mansions from this moving vantage point.
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BENJAKITI PARK
Map
Th Ratchadaphisek; 5am-8pm; Queen Sirikit Convention Center exit 3
The latest addition to Bangkok’s emaciated green scene, this 130-rai (20.8-hectare) park encircles a large lake beside the Queen Sirikit Convention Center, and marks the Queen’s sixth cycle (72nd birthday). It is built on what was once a part of the Tobacco Monopoly, a vast Crown-owned expanse of low-rise factories and warehouses. Another 300 rai (48 hectares) of buildings is earmarked for transformation into a manmade rainforest. If this ever happens – and Buddha knows Bangkok needs it – it will transform the area into something like New York’s Central Park. For now the lake seems too big for the park, but it’s much quieter than Lumphini Park and good for jogging and cycling (bikes can be hired) around the 2km track. If you’re still feeling energetic, a largely elevated walkway near the northern end of the park leads all the way to Lumphini Park. To find it, exit on Th Ratchadaphisek, walk a few metres and turn left down a set of metal steps, painted blue. Walk away from the road along a quiet residential soi, and after 275m turn right, then left before you cross the bridge. You’re now on the path beside a klorng and can’t go wrong. It’s 1.5km to the northeast corner of Lumphini Park, and is worth getting off the overhead section to walk alongside the klorng and see how many Bangkokians live.
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TRANSPORT: THANON SUKHUMVIT
Bus Air-con 501, 508, 511 & 513; ordinary 2, 25, 30, 48 & 72
Metro Sirikit Centre, Sukhumvit (joining with Asoke Skytrain) & Phetchaburi (Phetburi)
Skytrain Nana, Asok, Phrom Phong, Thong Lo, Ekkamai, Phra Khanong, On Nut and, due to open in 2010, Bang Chak, Punnawithi, Udorn Suk, Bang Na & Bearing
All odd-numbered soi branching off Th Sukhumvit head north, while even numbers run south. Unfortunately, they don’t line up sequentially (eg Soi 11 lies directly opposite Soi 8, Soi 39 is opposite Soi 26). Some larger soi are known by alternative names, such as Soi Nana (Soi 3), Soi Asoke (Soi 21), Soi Phrom Phong (Soi 39), Soi Thong Lor (Soi 55) and Soi Ekamai (Soi 63). Traffic on Th Sukhumvit is notorious; use the Skytrain if you can. The new City Air Terminal at Makkasan links with Phetchaburi Metro station, and is a longish walk or a short, if slow, taxi ride to the Sukhumvit hotels.
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SIAM SOCIETY & BAN KAMTHIENG
Map
0 2661 6470; www.siam-society.com; 131 Soi Asoke (Soi 21), Th Sukhumvit; admission 100B; 9am-5pm Tue-Sat; Sukhumvit exit 1; Asok exit 3 or 6
Stepping off cacophonous Soi Asoke and into the Siam Society’s Ban Kamthieng house museum is as close to a northern Thai village as you’ll come in Bangkok. Ban Kamthieng is a traditional 19th-century home that was located on the banks of Mae Ping in Chiang Mai. Now relocated to Bangkok, the house presents the daily customs and spiritual beliefs of the Lanna tradition. Communicating all the hard facts as well as any sterile museum (with detailed English signage and engaging video installations), Ban Kamthieng instils in the visitor a sense of place, from the attached rice granary and handmade tools to the wooden loom and woven silks. You can’t escape the noise of Bangkok completely, but the houses are refreshingly