| Properties |  |
| Currency Baht (THB) | Language Thai | Time Zone (GMT+07) Bangkok, Jakarta, Hanoi |
| Bangkok is the antithesis of Singapore. While that city-state is staid and choreographed, categorically ordered and rigidly regulated, Bangkok is a free form poem of people. Like the human spectrum in general, it isn't solely a rainbow wash of roses; but its thorns of poverty and seedy seduction are only one petal amongst the flowering bustle of honking horns, pedaling feet and smiling faces that blossom around Thailand's capital. Bangkok is a clattering humanist ballet. The interpersonal bubbles of space shift throughout Asia, where the Japanese maintain distance, and the Chinese shoulder past you in 'line,' the Thai rub your arm and grin unabashedly at first glance. There’s a reason Thailand is called the Land of Smiles.
This gilded capital has held the title: “Venice of the Orient" a nod to the traditional transportive role played by the myriad rivers and canals crisscrossing the city's haphazard human hodgepodge. These H2O byways are often polluted, and though only partially scenic, they have played a central role in defining the city's character. Only recently did ground vehicles become the main mode of transportation; for centuries, the locals locomoted by boat. Materials and crafts are plentiful and ridiculously inexpensive, as are markets large and small, be they famous or neighborhood. The temples of Thailand are exquisite, and Bangkok is home to some of the best. In the shadow of the enormous Reclining Buddha's repose – or in the royal palatial estates – you can forget all about the tuk-tuked streets, with their wobbly bricks and the olfactory collage of smells, scents that swim around in a milkshake-mix-up of sensory showmanship.
Thailand is very three dimensional. It is omnipresent and unmistakable: you taste, hear, smell, see and feel that you are in the land of Thai; from the deep tissue Thai massages to the bombastic panang red curry and titillating prawn pad thai. Thailand is certainly one of the most beautiful, affordable, exciting and friendliest countries in the world, complete with every modern (and hyper-affordable) convenience. Five star hotels cost less than a stateside Holiday Inn, while beach bungalows run for dozens of pounds less than an English B&B. World-class gastronomically, Thailand offers gourmet meals for pennies. The shopping is extraordinary, the jewelry world-class, and transportation intuitively simple. Few places offer such affordable luxury, and fewer still greet tourists with such genuinely open arms. It is utterly impossible not to enjoy yourself in the sunny sands, and splashing elephant shores, of this 'Land of Smiles.' |
 |  Map and Photos for Bangkok |  |
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