Bangkok is an enormous city that continues to expand every year. There are so many activities and places to visit in Bangkok from the Grand Palace to the hustle and bustle of Khao San Road for those flashpacker trinkets. In between, there’s luxurious accommodation, world-class spas, endless shopping days, and expansive nights.
For the luxury traveller who enjoys reading Condé Nast Traveler magazine and soaking in the hot tub while overlooking the city’s skyscrapers, it’s tough to go wrong in Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok.
Modern Accommodation in an Informal, Central Setting
Chao’s Hostel is a unique concept from people passionate about providing something better for the flashpacker. It’s a hostel in Bangkok near BTS, close to many local activities and not too far from Lumpini Park too. Boutique in every sense of the word, the private double rooms are decorated in a traditional Thai style with modern creature comforts included to keep everyone happy.
Centrally located, the MBK shopping centre and upmarket Siam Paragon malls, numerous simple eateries, and sophisticated restaurants, along with the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre are within walking distance. By taxi or tuk-tuk, you’ll arrive in mere minutes. Just take the Chai’s Hostel’s card to give the driver for your return trip to avoid any language confusion on the way back in the evening.
Relaxed Luxury at Spa Athenée
When you’re all shopped out from the best shopping malls in the unofficial center of Bangkok, a trip down to Wireless Road and Spa Athenée is a short distance away. There you can enjoy a reinvigorating all-over body massage, including special attention for your aching feet. They use aromatic oils and delicate creams and offer a range of spa treatments that focus on improving your immune system. Give your body the boost it needs to recover from energetic retail therapy with some real TLC at Spa Athenée.
Chinatown
Chinatown has its older streets with restaurants inside the homes of Thai-Chinese locals who have been operating their eateries for decades and newer streets that are bustling with eager, hungry customers. Seafood is a speciality in the area, but many dishes blend Chinese and Thai cooking in an interesting fusion. The Yaowarat Road area is modernizing quickly, so catch the restaurants while they’re still there before the place becomes more organized and sophisticated.
You can reach Chinatown by taxi for air-conditioned splendour or by travelling along with the Chao Phraya River Express riverboat from several parts of the city to the Ratchawong Pier. The local HuaLamphong MRT station is close by and catching a taxi is inexpensive to reach Chinatown from there. The culture and experience are both unlike the rest of Bangkok and totally different from other Chinatown locations around the world too.
Bangkok is such a busy city, that you need to have a clear idea of what you want to do each day before you set out. You’re spoilt for choice with activities in the capital. You can then head out to the islands or up to Chiang Mai or Pai for some northern culture and relaxation with the slower pace of life there.
