Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Guides can be hired at the ticket kiosk; ignore offers from anyone outside. An audio
guide can be rented for 200B for two hours.
Admission to the complex includes same-day entrance to Dusit Palace Park, which in-
cludes Vimanmek Teak Mansion and Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall.
BANGKOK IN…
One Day
Get up as early as you can and take the Chao Phraya Express Boat north to
Nonthaburi Market
. On your way
back, hop off at Tha Chang to explore the museums and temples of
Ko Ratanakosin
(
Click here
), followed by
lunch in
Banglamphu
(
Click here
). After freshening up, gain a new perspective on the city with sunset cocktails
at one of the
rooftop bars
(
Click here
), followed by an upscale Thai dinner at
nahm
(
Click here
)
.
Two Days
Allow the BTS to whisk you to various shopping destinations (
Click here
)
in central Bangkok and a visit to
Jim
Thompson House
(
Click here
), punctuated by lunch at one of the city's
food courts
(
Click here
). Wrap up the
daylight hours with a
traditional Thai massage
(
Click here
). Then work off those calories at the nightclubs of
RCA
.
Three Days
Spend a day at
Chatuchak Weekend Market
(
Click here
), or if it's a weekday, enrol in a
cooking school
(
Click
here
). Now that you're accustomed to Bangkok's noise, pollution and traffic, you're ready for a street-food dinner
in
Chinatown
(
Click here
)
.
Four Days
At this point you may be itching to get out of the city. Convenient escapes include
Ko Kret
(
Click here
), a car-
less island north of Bangkok, or a long-tail boat ride through
Thonburi's canals
(
Click here
).
Wat Pho
(Wat Phra Chetuphon; Th Sanam Chai; admission 100B; 8.30am-6.30pm; Tha Tien)
You'll find
(slightly) fewer tourists here than at Wat Phra Kaew, but Wat Pho is our fave among
Bangkok's biggest sights. In fact, the compound incorporates a host of superlatives: the
city's largest reclining Buddha, the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand and
the country's earliest centre for public education.
Almost too big for its shelter is Wat Pho's highlight, the genuinely impressive
Reclining
Buddha
. For more on this statue and other features of the temple compound, see
Click here
.
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
