Bangkok Accommodation & Cheap Lodging

A visit to this fascinating, vibrant and cosmopolitan city is a must when in Thailand. Bangkok will welcome you with gleaming skyscrapers as well as historical temples and luxury hotels. The past, present and future are harmoniously intertwined. Visit the floating markets, ride the famous tuk-tuks, explore the city's nightlife, experience the excitement of a Muay Thai boxing match or go bargain shopping. Bangkok caters to all your tastes and certainly personifies the country's slogan "Amazing Thailand".

Bangkok is the Orient's most cosmopolitan city and has attractions to stimulate even the most experienced travellers. Created as the Thai capital in 1782 by the first monarch of the present Chakri dynasty, Bangkok is a national treasure house and Thailand's spiritual, cultural, political, commercial, educational and diplomatic centre. The city has 50 districts and has grown to span over six provinces. The main business districts and residential areas are ever expanding. The Phra Nakhon district alongside Dusit is where most governmental agencies and ministries head their offices as well as the most famous tourist attractions, such as Grand Palace, Democracy Monument, Giant Swing, Sanam Luang and other venues. Bangkok, Thailand's major gateway, casts an irresistible spell of enchantment. To the Thais it is Krung Thep, "City of Angels", and you will find it is a truly magic place. Joyfully exuberant, Bangkok embraces modern development and presents a picture of rising office towers, world-class hotels and shopping malls packed with treasures of the East; like silks and gemstones. And yet amidst all this Bangkok still manages to preserve its cultural heritage to an amazing degree. The rich splendour of the Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Temple of the Dawn, and other historic shrines can not be missed. The influence of the past is not limited to major monuments and it continues to colour daily life. Files of robbed monks making their early morning merit rounds, present a scene seemingly unaltered in time.

Bangkok as a city is absolutely brimming with fresh and amazing attractions both cultural and entertaining too much to pack into a guide of this size but most all of them are worth seeing. Below are a few of the best attractions in Bangkok.

Grand Palace This is an absolute must. The Grand Palace is an outstanding architectural achievement it is also home to the infamous Emerald Buddha, which is the most revered Buddha image in Thailand.

Wat Pho The Temples of the Reclining Buddha, is directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. It houses more than 1000 Buddha images and the largest single Buddha image 46m long and 15m high, decorated with gold plating and mother of pearl in its eyes and soles of its feet.

Khon Masked Dance Watch Khon, Thailand's classical masked dance at the Sala Chalermkrung Theatre. The dance is regarded one of the most refined of performing arts and was originally limited to the royal court.

Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall This East-meets-West royal building was built by King Chulalongkorn, the first Thai monarch to visit Europe. Visions of his travels must still have been swimming in his head when he commissioned the throne hall, a stunning, intricate building which, despite its Western influences, has a distinctly Thai exterior.

Ancient City Meuang Boran is billed as the largest open-air museum in the world. Over a hundreds of Thailand's most impressive monuments are rendered slightly less impressive in this 80-hectare (200-acre) collection of scale models.

Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm & Zoo The Crocodile Farm is 33 kilometres away from Bangkok and is the world's largest crocodile farm. The place is enormous with over 60,000 fresh and seawater crocodiles to see.

Lumphini Park Bangkok's biggest green lung, named after Buddha's birthplace in Nepal, is crammed with a motley crew of tai chi students, people singing karaoke, vendors selling snake blood and bile chess players, joggers, and kite flyers.

Siam Ocean World Bangkok's new Aquarium. Thailand and Southeast Asia's biggest aquatic and education center. Siam Ocean World aquarium features more than 30,000 aquatic creatures from 400 species.

Floating Market This world famous market is 80 Kilometres outside of Bangkok. You can take an organised tour or a bus from the Southern Bus Terminal. Every day boats crowd the market area early morning until around noon.

Bangkok Restaurants
Where ever you go in Bangkok there's no shortage of eating options. Eat in a roadside noodle stall and watch the world go by. Savour fresh seafood at a local restaurant perched over the river, enjoy exquisite food from a swish hotel restaurant overlooking the city, or take a quick snack in a shopping mall food court. Whatever you choose, and wherever you are staying, you won't be disappointed. As there are so many restaurants, food stalls and market places to choose from, recommending places to eat is not easy. Some areas worth mentioning are:

Bangkok Bars & Nightlife There is no shortage of cool pubs, bars and lounges in Bangkok. Admission to the venue is generally free, with the exception of some high-end places which may ask for fees up to 600 baht. The fee usually includes one or two free drinks. Bangkok's vast nightlife scenes feature everything from live music, to good jazz clubs, sleek cool bars, bouncing dance venues and of course great restaurants. Beyond souvenir shopping and bar hopping, Bangkok offers a much wider range of sophisticated entertainment such as traditional performances, Broadway scale cultural shows, or even peaceful dinner cruises down the river.

Bangkok is often thought of as a shopper's paradise. There are indeed some great bargains to be made, and there is certainly a lot to choose from. A bit of advice: while there are bargains, many things, especially anything imported, is likely to be more expensive than elsewhere. Check prices of any planned major purchases at home before you leave.

Markets Chatuchak Weekend Market This massive market is only open on Saturday and Sunday. Here you'll find everything from pets and plants to clothes and antiques. The market is open-air, though mostly covered, and can be incredibly hot on even a mild day. The small aisles make it easy to get lost but it's hard to go too far in any one direction before hitting the open centre area with its clock tower. The market is incredibly organized into sections for clothing, pets, furniture, etc. but you'll find anything anywhere. Best way to get there is by sky train to "Mo Chit" station.

Patpong Night Bazaar At around 19:00 every day, the sidewalks of Silom road as well as Patpong itself are filled with stalls selling clothing, trinkets, music and sundry other items.

Central World This shopping centre is the biggest lifestyle shopping complex in Southeast Asia and hosts an unrivalled mix of products and services. Get here with the direct Sky train (BTS).

Mahboonkrong (mbk) Center The "grand -daddy" of Bangkok's shopping centres has a market feel to it, with many small shops and sometimes very narrow aisles.

Siam Square Outdoor cluster of shop houses which is currently given over to independent clothing designers, music stores and other things of interest to the young crowd attracted to Siam Square.

Siam Center & Siam Discovery Set side-by-side across Rama I Road from Siam Square, these two centres have several designer shops and restaurants. Next door to Siam Centre is another shopping area called Siam Paragon.

Siam Paragon Opened in December 2005, the Siam Paragon takes centre stage both literally and figuratively, in the heart of Bangkok's Shopping District. Most of the shops are decidedly high end, with names such as Armani, Chanel and Mazerati on hand, but there are enough distractions such as movies and Asia's largest aquarium to keep the place packed on weekends.

The Emporium High class centre located on Sukhumvit Road at the Prompong Skytrain station. Very popular with foreign residents.