BANGKOK

Why is Bangkok worth a visit?

Bangkok is a city of contrasts: modern skyscrapers next to old Buddhist temples, chic restaurants next to simple cookshops, luxurious shopping malls next to chaotic street markets, booming traffic chaos next to quiet parks. But it is exactly this contrast that makes up the attraction and the charm of the Thai capital. No wonder that Bangkok is one of the most popular city travel destinations in the world with more than 20 million guests per year.

Here are our top 5 reasons to travel to Bangkok:

1. Bangkok is one of the most vibrant metropolises in Asia. The skyline of the Thai capital changes from year to year and the megacity does not rest from early morning to late at night.

2. Bangkok is a city of beautiful temples. Who likes Buddhist temples can visit more than 400 of them in the Thai capital.

3. Bangkok is a true shopping eldorado. At the world-famous markets and in the huge shopping malls of the Thai metropolis you can shop as good and cheaply as in hardly any other city in the world.

4. In Bangkok you can eat extremely well. Thai cuisine is anyway one of the best and most popular in the world. And the restaurants and cookshops of Bangkok are the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

5. Bangkok is a mecca for parties and entertainment. Anyone who wants to party and is looking for all kinds of amusements will really find everything their heart desires in Bangkok.

For whom is Bangkok worth a visit?

Temple fans:

There are over 400 Buddhist temples in Bangkok. With Wat Arun, Wat Pho and Wat Saket some of the biggest, most beautiful and most interesting temples of whole Thailand are located in the capital.

Palace lovers:

Since the end of the 18th century, Bangkok has been the royal residence city. The Grand Palace is one of the largest and most beautiful palace complexes in the world. But also the smaller Dusit Palace is worth a visit.

Shopaholics:

Bangkok is a true shopping paradise. Many people only come to the Thai capital for shopping. With Asiatique, CentralWorld, MBK Center, Siam Paragon and Terminal 21 (to name just a few) Bangkok has some of the largest and most modern consumer temples in Asia. And the street markets of Bangkok are world-famous anyway (see the next point).

Market shoppers:

The markets of Bangkok are legendary and known far beyond the borders of Thailand. On the huge street markets like the Chatuchak Market and the famous “floating” markets like the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market there is nothing that does not exist. On top of that you can get sensational bargains at the markets. But be careful when shopping, because many of the goods are fake and are not of very good quality.

Foodies:

Thai cuisine has long been among the most popular in the world and is now represented in almost every European city. Nevertheless, the original still remains unsurpassed. Nowhere else in the world can you eat Thai food as well as in Bangkok. And the unique street food scene with its cookshops can only be experienced and enjoyed here anyway.

Party people and pleasure-seekers:

Who likes to party will have fun in Bangkok. The city’s many bars and clubs and the unique party atmosphere in streets like the famous Khaosan Road attract thousands of tourists from all over the world every day. And Bangkok is world-famous for its other pleasures like the GoGo shows in Patpong and on Soi Cowboy.

Best time to travel

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Bangkok has a classic tropical climate with high temperatures and fairly high humidity all year round. From May to October there is a rainy season. If you do not mind water, this is the best time to travel to Bangkok. Those who prefer drier and warmer weather should fly to Bangkok in the period from December to March. During this time, daytime temperatures between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius and 8-9 hours of sunshine daily are expected. But also in November and April you can have a great time in the Thai capital with mostly very good weather.

Find flights to Bangkok

Getting there

By car:

Better take a plane.

By train:

Better take a plane.

By plane:

There are direct flights to Bangkok from Frankfurt/Main (Lufthansa and Thai), Cologne/Bonn (Eurowings), Munich (Eurowings and Thai), Vienna (Austrian, EVA Air and Thai) and Zurich (Swiss and Thai).

Booking.com

Shopping

If you are looking for the shopping paradise on earth, you should take a plane to Bangkok. Because the unique combination of huge markets and countless shopping centers make the Thai capital a fantastic shopping eldorado.

Bangkok is world-famous for its street and floating markets where you can really buy everything that Thailand and the world have to offer. The most famous among Bangkok’s markets is the Chatuchak Market. With more than 15,000 stalls on more than one square kilometer, it is the largest market in Thailand and probably even in Asia. On weekends, about 400,000 locals and tourists make a pilgrimage to Chatuchak Market to fill their shopping bags with all kinds of goods (even pets can be bought here) and enjoy an absolutely unique shopping experience.

Fashionistas should definitely stop by the Pratunam Market, because everything here really revolves around clothing. The Pratunam Market is the largest textile market in Thailand. In its huge and somewhat chaotic maze of alleys, stands, stores, displays, galleries and passageways you can really find everything that only rudimentary has to do with fashion.

And if you want to visit a really extraordinary market, you should make your way to the Rod Fai Train Night Market. This is where collectibles and memorabilia of all kinds are sold. From antique furniture to retro fashion to vintage decoration items, you will find an incredible variety of truly exceptional objects at the Rod Fai Market that you probably won’t find anywhere else.

If you like shopping on or near the water, you should definitely have seen one of the many floating markets in Bangkok. The epitome of the floating markets and the most popular among tourists is the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. If you see a picture of the typical small canals where women with big hats offer their goods from their long boats, it is most likely a picture of the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Those who prefer a less touristy and more authentic Thai shopping experience should make their way to the Amphawa Market.

And here are two more important tips for shopping at Bangkok markets. First: Of course, haggling is also done at Bangkok markets. Price tags are often looked for in vain, and sellers usually charge tourists twice or three times the price. So one should not be afraid to negotiate a hard (but of course friendly and smiling) price. Secondly, when buying goods at markets, one should definitely pay attention to the product quality. This is especially true for clothing, leather goods and jewelry. You have to assume that they are fake branded goods.

Besides their markets, Thais also love their shopping malls. Accordingly, there are many modern and large shopping malls in Bangkok. The largest temple of consumption in the city is the Siam Paragon. With 500,000 square meters of floor space, it is a mall of superlatives, known above all for its exclusive atmosphere and the many luxury goods stores.

The MBK Center is a shopping center of a special kind, because it is actually more of a market in the shape of a shopping mall. In about 2.000 stores on eight floors you can make really sensational bargains. Similar to Bangkok’s markets you can and must haggle in most of the stores in the MBK Center.

Terminal 21 Shopping Center exudes a very special flair, because the name says it all. The shopping center is architecturally reminiscent of an airport. But that is not all. Each of the nine floors represents a different city or region. So when shopping in London, Rome, Paris and Tokyo, you definitely never get bored.

And last but not least a hint to a shopping center that also has an incomparable shopping atmosphere. For those who like to go on a shopping spree in the evening and want to combine shopping with dinner, for them Asiatique is definitely the right place in Bangkok. It is a huge open-air shopping center located at the Chao Phraya River. With about 1.500 stores and 40 restaurants it is really easy to spend a whole evening shopping and eating here.

Food and drink

Thailand in general and Bangkok in particular is worth a trip just for the food alone. Thai people love to eat for a living, which is immediately visible to every tourist in the cityscape. Bangkok is the (world) capital of street food and you can eat very well and cheaply at every street corner.

Everywhere on the streets and markets at almost any time the famous mobile cookshops are present. Woks are hissing on gas stoves, in which flying cooks conjure up the most delicious dishes from a few ingredients in no time at all. From soups to rice and noodle dishes to curries of all kinds, hardly any culinary wish remains unfulfilled in the cook shops (even insects find their way into the cooking pot quite naturally). For (stated) hygienic reasons and to create more space for pedestrians, the city administration of Bangkok planned to ban all cookshops from the streets by the end of 2017. However, due to massive national and international protests, the plan was fortunately quickly recovered. So you can still look forward to eating deliciously authentic and tasty food on Bangkok’s sidewalks.

Very popular with locals and tourists alike are the food courts in Bangkok’s many large shopping malls. Thais love their shopping malls and therefore love to eat in the Food Courts. Since the food in the Food Courts is primarily aimed at locals, it is in most cases as tasty, authentic and inexpensive as street food. The more luxurious a mall is, the more expensive the local restaurants usually are. The big advantage of food courts in the malls is of course that, unlike street food, you can enjoy your meal in a pleasantly air-conditioned and relatively quiet environment.

Basically it should be mentioned that Thai cuisine is considered one of the healthiest in the world. It is relatively low in fat and is characterized by many fresh ingredients. With the short cooking times in the wok, the vegetables remain nice and crisp and, above all, rich in vitamins. Meat is used rather sparingly in Thailand, preferably chicken. This makes the range of fish and seafood on offer all the richer due to Thailand’s long coast.

Thai food gets its special taste from the addition of a variety of spices. Coriander and lemon grass, ginger, basil, tamarind – and of course especially garlic and chili. Care should be taken especially with the latter. Thai cuisine is not only heavenly good, it can also be hellishly spicy. So you should find out in advance how well seasoned a dish is. If you want to be sure of the number, be sure to indicate “mai peht” (not hot) when ordering.

Last but not least, two practical tips. First: Since most dishes in Thailand are served in bite-sized pieces, you can eat with a spoon. The fork is only used to push the bite onto the spoon. Only noodle dishes (also soups) are eaten with chopsticks. Secondly: As known from Thai restaurants in our latitudes, there are several small vessels on the tables. These usually contain dried, ground chilies (if you like them a little hotter), sugar (which the locals also like to sprinkle in their noodle soup) and a mixture of fresh chilies with a sweet and sour vinegar broth and a liquid obtained from the fermentation of fish (caution: the combination is too fiery for many European tongues).

Nightlife and entertainment

Bangkok’s nightlife is notorious. Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists come to the Thai capital just to party and for other amusements. The lyrics from the famous song by Murray Head put it in a nutshell: “One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble”.

The still most famous nightlife hotspot for tourists in Bangkok is the party mile Khaosan Road in the old town. Since the 1980s, the road has been known as a backpacker’s paradise. Even today, hordes of mostly foreign backpackers and other tourists party here day after day. There is probably no other street in the world where people celebrate so excessively as on Khaosan Road.

Older semesters are better off on Sukhumvit Road. The level is higher and so are the prices. In Sukhumvit nightlife is concentrated on the repdigit streets Soi 11, Soi 22, Soi 33 and Soi 55.

But if you want to party like the locals, you should leave the classic tourist centers. Very popular among locals is the Royal City Avenue, a huge party area northeast of downtown with bars and several large discos. The audience here tends to be younger and with over 30 people already counts to the old iron.

If you want to party with an even younger crowd, the grounds of Bangkok’s largest university, Ramkamhaeng, are the place to be. This is where the fabulous number of about half a million students study. No wonder that the university campus has its own ecosystem for evening entertainment. Here, beer gardens are lined up alongside sports pubs and dance clubs.

Not to be missed from Bangkok’s nightlife (and for many the main reason for a visit) are the notorious red-light districts of the city. The three best known are Nana Plaza, Soi Cowboy and Patpong.

Patpong is Bangkok’s oldest red-light district and has actually passed its zenith. Nevertheless, the quarter still attracts thousands of people every evening, who enjoy themselves here at the night market, in the many bars, but especially in the countless GoGo and pussy shows.

Soi Cowboy may only be 200 meters long, but these 200 meters are really something. You can spend a relaxed evening with delicious food in one of the restaurants followed by drinks in one of the many bars. People with tensions can relax again in one of the massage parlors for little money. And those who want a little “more” will have fun in the Soi Cowboy in one of the strip clubs or ping-pong shows.

Nana Plaza is Bangkok’s sex mall, so to speak, with go-go bars and other establishments on three floors. It is clearly aimed at male adult audiences who want to warm up with a beer in one of the bars, then go to one of the shows and maybe have some more fun afterwards.