Joanna James
If you're thinking of heading to Thailand's capital, here are some things you might like to add to your itinerary.
Thailand's busy capital is home to one of the world's most well-known floating markets filled with hawkers selling their many wares ranging from local produce and trinkets to tasty snacks. As buyer and sellers have to trade over the water, this definitely makes for a great change from the usual urban shopping experience. Bangkok features quite a few floating markets that are popular with both the tourists and the locals such as: Amphawa Floating Market, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market, Bang Nam Pheung Floating Market, and Talin Chan Floating market.
Check out Asiatique the Riverfront, a bazaar cum mall that's open after dark until the clock strikes twelve. Shopping by night is quite a different experience than shopping by day. The riverfront really comes alive with lights and laughter. You will find an excess of the thousand individual vendors here selling everything from clothes to food. If you plan on spending a lot of time night-shopping here, consider staying at a riverside Bangkok hotel that's close by like Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort that you can return to easily once your midnight spree is done. There's nothing worse than having to endure a long journey in the middle of the night when you're tired and sleepy This particular hotel for example, is under 10 minutes away by taxi, and if you look around you may find others that are even closer.
Take a 'khlong' or canal cruise along the city's many waterways to get a taste of how daily life used to be for the majority of the locals in times past. Some of the more popular 'khlongs' are those of Thonburi and Saen Saeb. If you're interested in exploring the waters of Bangkok, there are several sorts of boats you can choose from such as canal boats, hotel shuttle boats, express boats, aka river taxis, long tail boats, and more. Make sure to find yourself an experienced guide that you are comfortable with, as you'll be relying solely on them to steer you in the right direction through the myriad of watery passageways.
Chatuchak Weekend Market, as the name denotes, meets on the weekends. It plays hosts to tens of thousands of kiosks, garnering massive crowds at 587/10 Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road in Chatuchak. The market sells all and sundry ranging from shimmering gold bangles to handicrafts and paintings done by up and coming local artists. Although it might be a bit overwhelming at first, when you enter the place and are confronted with a maze of passageways and stalls, however, you may be relieved to learn that there is some order to the madness. The corridors or alleyways so to speak, which are called 'soi' in the Thai language, are numbered. So make sure to keep track of which ones you've been down and you'll soon become a pro at navigating this labyrinth in no time!
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a pas...
