20 great things to do in Bangkok

1. Spend quality time with Buddha

Immerse yourself in the beauty of Buddhist temples (wats), spotting swanlike chofa finials, ornate gables, roofs of green and orange tiles, crown-like windows, conical chedi (stupas) clad in gold, stucco or ceramic mosaic, or leaf-shaped sema boundary stones around the bot (chapel).

Most communities have at least one wat, but a few are stand out must-sees.

Wat Kalayanamit houses Thailand's largest indoor sitting Buddha (15 metres/49 feet high) – it also boasts its highest chofa (roof finial) and biggest bell. Wat Suthat, Bangkok’s tallest vihaan, houses another awe-inducing Buddha, the 8m (26ft) Phra Sri Sakyamuni Buddha. At Wat Benchamabophit all stylistic periods of Buddha images can be seen in the cloister.

Wats host periodic festivals (see festivals & events in Bangkok) and may perform secular roles as schools, hospitals or orphanages to fairgrounds, lodgings or cinemas, as well as tourist sights.

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2. Cruise the ‘Venice of the East’

Visitors often regard boating as their most rewarding city experience, even though the ‘Venice of the East’ label barely applies any longer, since most Bangkok canals have been lost to road-building. Yet khlongs still thread through the Thonburi west bank and branch into the plantations of Nonthaburi, stretching on throughout Thailand’s Central Plains, connecting rivers, rice farms, towns, temples and floating markets (see Floating markets below).

Exploring the waterways requires some strategy. The rule to bear in mind is that the longer you spend, the greater the value and rewards. A half-day enables you to see the mostly urban canals of Thonburi, now heavily scarred by concrete flood barriers, because this delta instinctively wants to overflow. A full day takes you upriver and into a rustic canalscape barely modernised – though riparian lifestyles are changing fast.

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3. Eat local

Escape the de-spiced tourist menus. Eat local. Bangkok’s position, between India and China, encouraged its cooks to borrow from both – and beyond. And yet, the Central Plains cuisine remains singular in its style and complexity, and is served by most upscale Thai restaurants. This is Thailand’s most elevated culinary form – making use of fresh local herbs, seafood and meats in piquant salads, spicy soups and that famed green curry.

Regional menus have their niches, especially the salads, grilled meats and sticky rice of Isaan, Thailand’s northeast, at places like Isaan Rot Det. Southern Thai dishes exhibit their pungent spiciness at Ruen Mallika. Lanna (northern) food, influenced by Burma and Yunnan, is found at food markets, notably Or Tor Kor.

The owner of suave Thai restaurant Ruen Urai suggests exploring Bangkok’s culinary scene by context, from streetfood up to fine dining. Resembling a 1950s Tokyo diner, Bo.lan serves small but good value meals. At Chote Chitr dishes are as close as you’ll get to honest home cooking in a restaurant setting, while the homely, buzzing Taling Pling combines bright decor with tasty rural cooking.

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4. Get togged up in tailor-made threads

Haberdasheries crowd tourist areas, especially Sukhumvit Sois 3-11, Thanon Khao San, Thanon Charoen Krung (between Silom and River City) and malls. Typically run by Thai-Indians, they can tailor bespoke suits and dresses for bargain prices. For optimum quality and service, dismiss the ‘24-hour with free kimono’ packages. Most respond professionally to customers who are thorough about cut, cloth and detailing. Give them a pattern or choose from their catalogues and magazine cuttings. Insist on at least two fittings over several days.

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5. Succumb to the spirit of Thai dance-drama

Classical dance-drama embodies sacred rites and Thai thespians believe they must succumb to their characters’ spirit. Before every show, cast and crew convene for a wai khru rite to honour their masters. Many times daily, devotees thank the spirits at Lak Muang and the Erawan Shrine by commissioning resident dancers to do an excerpt of Lakhon Chatri, a typically slow, mannered dance derived from the Malay-influence Manohra repertoire. No wonder Thai dance is so beguiling; it channels the gods.

Catch one of the following:

Khon The most intricate and venerated genre, masked dance. Episodes are seen at weekly shows in Sala Chalermkrung, with excerpts at Sala Thai restaurant.
Phichet Kluncheun Internationally lauded it modernises Khon at festivals and Chang Theatre (Pracha Uthit Soi 59, 08 1985 0281, www.pklifework.com). There’s a Khon Museum at Suan Pakkard Palace.
Lakhon (drama) has two main threads:
Lakhon Nok Rousing, melodramatic, and formerly all-male.
Lakhon Nai More refined, and once an all-female court repertoire.
Peeramon Chomthavat’s authentic troupe Aporn Ngam appears at Bangkok Theatre Festival (see festivals & events in Bankok) and Origin.
Likay A brash folk opera, which blends literature, fables and comedy. It’s now limited to temple fairs, fusions with morlam music and topical interpretations 
by Makhampom at BTF (see festivals & events in Bangkok) and its Makhampom Studio (Saphan Kwai intersection, 0 2616 8473, www.makhampom.net).

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6. Gallery hop

New ideas and individualism are weaning Thai art from religious subjects and revered masters’ templates. 

Curators at progressive galleries showcase a new generation of artists with reputations for conceptual art driven by folk, ethnic and pop culture. Photography gets exposure at Kathmandu, Phranakorn Bar, and the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (0 2652 0580-1, www.fccthai.com).

The long-heralded Bangkok Art & Culture Centre (BACC), while not without problems, now acts as a much-needed focus for exhibitions and festivals. More impressive still, the Thailand Creative & Design Centre (TCDC) holds world-class exhibitions and events. The free map Art Connection (monthly) covers all art happenings.

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7. Club like a local

At local clubs revellers jiggle around tall tables, snacking and topping up their whisky-cokes while DJs talk over pop-dance requests. Downtown playlists are edgier, if often samey. Stalwarts like Club Culture or Narcissus diversify with themed nights, annual dance parties (www.culture-one-bkk.com) and import DJs (Tiësto, Qbert, Goldie, Oakenfold), boosting Bangkok’s credibility as an international party hub.

Top local and international DJs also spin at 808, Bed Supperclub and Q Bar.

Among homespun DJs, listen out for Spydamonkee, Dragon, Joeki, Arsit, Octo, indie veteran Seed, and DJ spin champions Oatawa and Kolor One.

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8. Relax!

Thailand has become a world holistic centre with an Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine (0 2965 9683) supplementing the know-how of Wat Pho, a vast, mellow temple, where visitors can learn Thai massage in English.

 Meditation is taught at centres like Wat Mahathat. Contact the World Fellowship of Buddhists (616 Soi Methiniwet, Sukhumvit Soi 24, 0 2661 1284-7, www.wfb-hq.org), where monks also give meditation talks in English (2-6pm, first Sunday of the month).

An unrivalled breadth of swish hotel spas (see hotels in Bangkok overview) and budget massage houses dispense indigenous and imported therapies

Try Arima Onsen for reflexology and Thai massage, Bodhi for hi-tech diagnostics and workouts, Divana Spa for couples and families, Nicolie Asian Massage, and Sareerarom Tropical Spa for massage and Dharma yoga.



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9. Be fabulous at Bangkok’s kitschest cabaret

Many cabarets are no more than a commercial spectacle offering lip-synching ladyboys (kathoey), however, a few are stand out: Calypso is Bangkok’s original ladyboy cabaret with Vegas-ish routines; at Mambo's ladyboys primp and grin through feathered extravaganzas designed to tick the nationality boxes of each coach party present; and at Miss AC/DC spoof drag queens ‘represent’ some 70 countries in ‘national costumes’ (see festivals & events in Bangkok).

Gritty, witty and inventive drag shows are performed at gay clubs.

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10. Dance to a Thai beat

Taxis play morlam, the infectious, upbeat folk music from Isaan, Thailand’s northeast, but try it live at Isaan Tawandaeng. Meanwhile, Raintree hosts ‘songs for life’, a mix of Thai riffs and country rock. Jazz merges into blues here, as at Saxophone, Brown Sugar, Bamboo Bar or sometimes Rain Dogs. Brick Bar and Bu-ngah serve up energetic ska. Even heavy metal has a home in Bangkok, at the Rock Pub. Many clubs have house bands or gigs by Thai pop or indie acts.

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11. Tuck into a kerbside gourmet feast

The sidewalk is Bangkok’s de facto dining room. Much vendor cuisine has Chinese ancestry – from Hainan chicken rice (khao man kai) to duck noodles. So Chinatown, with its sensory blur of vendors at Thanon Yaowarat and Soi Texas makes a great place to graze. But first get some context at Nang Leong Market, a pretty clean market serving classics from sweet kanom to savoury pork shank rice (khao ka moo), along with Ngua Doong Nang Leong’s steaming beef offal soup and other oddities. Try Talad Or Tor Kor for upscale regional specialities, or Sukhumvit Soi 38 in Thonglor. Other one-dish destinations include Kai Thord Soi Polo (Isaan-style fried chicken); Khrua Aroi Aroi (curry over fresh rice noodles); Mid Night Kai Ton (Hainan chicken rice); Pet Tun Jao Tha (duck and goose); Roti Mataba (stuffed flatbread and curries); and Thip Samai (pad Thai).

Street eating is a voyage of discovery. If something looks good just try it – there are countless more streetfood shrines hiding in plain sight.

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12. Slip into the shadow

Thai dance and puppetry are indivisible. Khon derives its flat-stanced aesthetic from Nang (shadow puppetry); later, Hun (marionettes) emulated the glittery stylisation of Khon. At festivals you may see Nang Yai, outsize shadow puppets with no moving parts manoeuvred by dancers, or smaller, hinged Nang Talung animated by a satirical narrator. Small, painted Hun Krabok glove puppets have hands moved by sticks. At the Thai Puppet Theater and Aksra Theatre, uncannily lifelike Hun Lakhon Lek involve toddler-sized puppets, each manipulated by three dancers.

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13. Buy into neo-Thai aesthetics

Once famed for its exotic crafts, silk and copy goods, Bangkok has reconfigured traditional crafts into a neo-Thai design aesthetic with indigenous materials, tropical colours and pared-down Thai forms. You can see this elegant style applied across clothing, decor, accessories and home spa products. ‘Original’ is gradually displacing ‘copy’ as Bangkok’s retail mantra.

Head to River City and Chatuchak Weekend Market for antique Asian objet d’art; to Chatuchak, Khao San Road and Sukhumvit’s Nana areas for souvenir crafts; Paragon Passage at Siam Paragon and Exotique Thai at Emporium for higher quality Siamese collectibles.

Items bearing the OTOP logo are state-marketed village goods. Traditional crafts include: forged steel cutlery by knifemaker NV Aranyik; woodcarving; brassware; puppets (at Thai Puppet Theater); and Thai silk, a heavy, coarse, lustrous fibre made famous by Jim Thompson and now made to order by Almeta.

You can still buy crafts from their source. Artisans working in and around Bangkok include weavers at Ban Khrua Thai Silk (837 Baan Krua Soi 9, 08 1243 9089, 7am-6pm daily), metalbeaters at the Monk’s Bowl Village, goldsmiths at Tang Toh Kang and bronze foundry workers in the lane beside Wat Suwannaram.

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14. Take a beach break

When Bangkokians go on long beach weekends, the more conservative head for Hua Hin, while the sparkier, younger set zooms southeast to Ko Samet, a dagger-shaped islet in Rayong province. Without getting on a plane, this is the easiest place to test the brochures’ ‘forested isle in an emerald sea’ claims. The sand is fine and the water is clear.

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15. Have a good old rummage

Talad (markets) and rot khen (roving carts) garnish Bangkok in the purest expression of the sensual Thai culture, with their kaleidoscope of scents (jasmine garlands, musty puddles, durian), sounds (yelping hawkers, booming techno), sights (sleeping children, slithering eels, temple fairs), touch (antique silk, fake fur) and tastes (many unique to Thailand).

Markets often integrate into their community, like Talad Banglamphu or Sampeng Lane Market in Chinatown.

Traders vary in shifts at particular spots: Chatuchak Weekend Market sells just about everything; Pahurat Market (Talad Pahurat) is awash with fabrics and textiles; visit this remnant of Bangkok’s original fresh market, Pak Khlong Talad to fully grasp the Thai love of flowers; Suan Lum Night Bazaar, Sampeng Lane and Thanon Khao San for souvenirs and decor items; and Trok Itsaranuphap for foodie treat.

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Read more about Bangkok’s floating markets and other excusrions from Bangkok.

16. Get high

Rooftops restaurants and bars have gained cachet in this cramped, humid soi-scape – they offer escapism, a view and a breeze.

The narrow Vertigo and its casual Moon Bar inspire queasiness as you step onto the 61st-floor deck. Its strict dress code is surpassed by the highfalutin’ LeBua – not even knapsacks allowed. Sirocco places greater emphasis on the food, with an upscale Italian menu served against a backdrop of extraordinary views. The Sky Bar, a crowded cusp with glass rails overhanging a 65-storey drop, provides Bangkok’s coolest snapshot.

New vistas open up as skyscrapers in-build this concept. Central World has two. Red Sky offers fine dining and a wine bar from a 55th-floor perch. Slightly cheaper, Zense, on the 17th floor of Zen department store, is a something-for-everyone eaterie.

To avoid the hundred-dollar-a-head bills many people go to these bars just for sundowner drinks. Those with lower budgets still have less elevated rooftop alternatives, like the Gazebo Moroccan bar-restaurants in the areas of Banglamphu and Sukhumvit, and Phranakorn Bar, where in-the-know hipsters have a private panorama of the Golden Mount.

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17. Appreciate phiphat music

Hearing the discombobulating rhythms of a Phiphat Wong (Thai classical orchestra) is fascinating, but hard to find except at tourist dances. Scheduled recitals occur at BTF, Naris Day, and the National Theatre (5-7pm Sat, music; Sun, dance, Dec-Apr, B20; see festivals & events in Bangkok). You can hear (and join) weekend practice at Luang Pradit Phairoh Foundation. The leading phiphat ensemble Fong Nam regularly plays at Tawandang German Brewhouse.

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18. Become a sporting hero

Muay Thai kick boxing has become a global sport managed by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Muay Thai Council (0 2369 2213-5, www.wmcmuaythai.com). Many foreigners train with Thais at Fairtex, some winning titles at Lumphini Stadium or Ratchadamnoen Stadium.

All fighters must wear the sacred headband and armlet during the ritual dance to honour teachers before every fight, which a live band accompanies. Loinclothed, bound-fisted old styles have also revived, as at Baan Chang Thai.

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19. Get the Thai look

Siam Square has for decades been a laboratory for Thai fashion. The sartorially inventive teens promenading here take their cue from Japan but delight in Thai whimsy. Young designers start in tiny shoplets threading between the sois, or at Chatuchak Weekend Market. Some open boutiques in Siam Center opposite, with Theatre and Baking Soda among the most fondly enduring. Although global chains have muscled in, indie labels still cater to the trendiest of tastes.

Those that ‘go inter’ (gain international success) graduate to Gaysorn or Siam Paragon. Few have proven to be as savvy at design, marketing and logistics as the pioneering Fly Now, which has twice opened London Fashion Week. Its designer Chamnan Phakdeesuk traditionally ends Bangkok International Fashion Week. Held each March at Siam Paragon, BIFW inherited the mantle of Bangkok Fashion City, but long pre-dating this, Elle Fashion Week helps emergent designers and is now held twice a year at Central World.

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20. Find love... luck, healing and prosperity

Angelina Jolie famously sports a Thai tattoo, and it’s not just any image. The cabalistic diagram etched onto skin by monks derives from auspicious yantra designs that also come on cloth or taxi ceilings. Its powers – luck, protection, prosperity, healing, love – are activated by a mantra (spell). Angelina’s tattoo is an amulet.

Thai amulets appear everywhere and in myriad forms, tied around necks or waists, on dashboards, wrapped in boxers’ armbands, taken to Iraq by soldiers.

You can pick one up for yourself at centres like Tha Phrachan’s Amulet Market, Wat Ratchanadda and Chatuchak Weekend Market.

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