DESTINATION GUIDES
Bangkok
Rock and spiritual
When you arrive for the first time in Bangkok, you immediately wonder why its name means ‘city of angels’: it is a huge, busy, chaotic metropolis, and you have no idea how you can begin to know and understand it. However, let go of the usual control mania you carry around inside you, and simply relax. Just get lost, for example. You’ll be amazed at the hospitality and entertainment that you can find in the city. So much so that, from that point on, you will love it so much that every opportunity will be great one to revisit.
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EAT
Lunch
Peeps Thai Eatery
If you’re looking for a lunch spot while exploring Bangkok, Peeps is the right place for casual dining.
First of all, ask the friendly team for their Mango Beer, an interesting infusion of fresh mango and beer with a fruity twist on a shandy. And then sample the fresh, genuine food: the coconut shrimp and soup are our top picks.60 Phra Arthit Road, Chanasongkram, Phra Nakorn;
Tel. +66 89 674 6309Dinner
Nahm
This acclaimed modern restaurant, in the magic frame of the Metropolitan Hotel by COMO, is known for cooking homestyle Thai food with a flair that seduces palates worldwide. Head chef Prin Polsuk’s recipes are developed through meticulous research: he tastes, tastes, tastes and then tastes again. It’s about finding the perfect ratio of ingredients as well as striving to add surprising layers of flavours. The subtle additions spark magic in the taste buds of guests, leaving them extremely satisfied.
27 S Sathorn Rd, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon;
Tel. +66 2 6253333 -
DRINK
WTF CafeĢ & GalleryCool drinks at the bar and interesting artwork in the gallery: this is a destination for Bangkok’s creative community. The casual bar sits below the gallery curated by Somrak Sila, who runs the place with photographer Christopher Wise. Open from Tuesday to Sunday, 6 pm to midnight, the WTF mantra is: ‘The most important virtue of drinking is connection: friends, neighbours and lovers sharing time together’, and we couldn't agree more.
7 Sukhumvit Soi 51, 10110;
Tel. +66 2 6626246 -
STAY
Cabochon HotelA small, chic, colonial-style hotel, Cabochon is the place to stay in Bangkok-Wattana for savvy-insiders. It's a short seven-minute walk to the buzzing bars and restaurants around Sukhumvit Road, but also a peaceful retreat to stay and relax in the rooftop swimming pool. The hotel boasts 10 rooms, studios and suites, all personally appointed by Eugene Yeh of The Eugenia fame.
14/29 Sukhumvit 45 Road, Klongton Nua, 10110;
Tel. +66 2 259 2871 -
SHOP
Siam DiscoveryJapanese design studio Nendo has completed the redevelopment plan for floors one to five of the Siam Discovery retail complex, covering both interior and exterior design. Located on a prominent and premium shopping stretch, the two-year project has transformed Bangkok’s 18-year-old department store, which is now centered around a ‘lifestyle laboratory’ theme that eschews the traditional categorisation of products by brand. Instead, an unconventional open plan ‘exploratorium’ offers a series of lifestyle experiences around ‘laboratories’ designed to create the comforting, emotional experience lacking in e-commerce. Nendo delivers its quirky, signature creative take on products and spaces, from a chocolate bar that creates different tastes via diverse textures to a collective bird-apartment tree house and library-inspired pop-up for Starbucks.
989 Rama I Rd. (Phaya Thai Rd.), Pathum Wan
www.siamdiscovery.co.th -
DO
Bang KrachaoEscape from the big, chaotic city to breathe some clean air. Immerse yourself in the lush nature. Discover that Bangkok has a green lung. That breathes. Even just an afternoon in the Bang Krachao conservation area, located in the outskirt district of Phra Pradaeng, can recharge your batteries, and even a Thai massage can't do the same.
Nestled within a large bend in the Chao Phraya River, the Green Lung is appropriately named. Besides the fact that you’ll be filling your lungs with clean air, the whole area itself closely resembles a green lung when you look at it from above. Open up a satellite image of Bangkok[D1] and see if you can spot it!
How to get there
The best way to reach it is to take a boat (most likely a long-tail boat) across the river for THB10 per person. The boats moor around the piers near Wat Klong Toey Nok – a temple worth visiting and admiring in its own right.
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READ
Bangkok Daysby Lawrence Osborne
The metropolitan flâneur Lawrence Osborne tells the life of a man, ‘without a career, no prospects, no money’, who decides to spend a period of time in Bangkok. He eats at the restaurant No Hands, where customers are provided with a baby bib and are spoon-fed; he strolls the stockyards at night; and he finds himself in a room with two girls dressed as policemen, rattling their handcuffs. The Bangkok Days stories and the voice of the narrator are intertwined, with the book acting as a profile of those desperate to forget about the lives they used to lead.
