A travel guide

A travel guide

Read a travel guide about Bangkok to practise and improve your reading skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation

Reading text

Whether you're travelling to the islands or the mountains of Thailand, you're likely to spend at least one night in its capital city on the way. Bangkok might be noisy and polluted but it's also an exciting city with plenty of things to see and do. Why not make it a longer stay?

Where to stay

The Khao San Road was a famous traveller spot even before Leonardo di Caprio's character in the film The Beach stayed there. But it's noisy, not very pretty and not very Thai. For something more authentic, Phra Kanong offers an alternative place to stay, with its fantastic street markets where everyday Bangkok people eat, work and live. It's not as convenient for the main tourist sites, but it has a Skytrain station so you can be at the Grand Palace in 20 minutes.

How to get around

Bangkok's traffic can be a nightmare. Sure, you can easily take a taxi – if you want to spend hours stuck in traffic jams – but there are two much better ways to get around the city. To explore the temples and historical sites, catch an express boat river taxi or a longtail boat along the Chao Phraya river and the canals. For the modern part of the city, the Skytrain is a fast, cheap way to travel from the river to the shopping malls and nightlife of Sukhumvit, and the famous Chatuchak street market.

Where to eat

The simple answer is: everywhere! Thai street food is among the best in the world, and for around $5 you can eat a filling and delicious meal. Some food stands have little plastic seats where you can sit and eat and they cook the same dish over and over, like fried chicken on rice or Pad Thai noodles. Head for Chinatown – Yaowarat Street – and choose whatever looks most interesting from the many excellent Chinese and Thai restaurants and food stands.  

What to do

After you've seen the main sites like the Giant Buddha at the temple of Wat Pho and the spectacular Grand Palace, and shopped at Chatuchak market, check out the snake farm and watch the live snake show. You can even touch a snake yourself if you want to!

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Discussion

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Average: 4.3 (131 votes)
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Submitted by ACGC on Mon, 13/06/2022 - 22:17

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I really love it visit Bangkok ! I've heard a lot about the culture, the beautiful places to travel around, and with a exception that im not a big fan of Thai food, but I very interested in capital city and go to authentic places.

Submitted by EMF_12 on Tue, 07/06/2022 - 05:18

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Visiting a new place abroad is a great and unique experience. I mean, of course, I want to travel to Bangkok. Reading this guide convinced me to go there and meet the places it describes. I want to taste the native food, see the architecture, and go shopping. The most important thing is that going to new places approaches me to one of my immediate goals: to improve my English.

Submitted by jyoti Chaudhary on Sun, 29/05/2022 - 12:40

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Would you like to visit Bangkok? Why or why not?
I would like to visit Bangkok but I haven't gone because I'm from India and my family does not allow me to go before marriage.

I like to visit Thailand, it is very convenient. The food is so delicious and cheap. There are plenty of shopping malls, and some special items are made by hand. You should go to Thailand in your life.

Submitted by tamizh on Tue, 17/05/2022 - 17:09

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I like to travel soon I wish to visit Bangkok because it's wonderful city.

Submitted by SIVASANKARI D on Tue, 17/05/2022 - 16:45

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I read the paragraph .now i like to visit a bangkok

Submitted by pavi29 on Tue, 17/05/2022 - 15:56

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In my view, Bangkok is one of the interesting place to visit because it has many wonderful places and also have variety of foods to taste. Definitely it will be a great place for food lovers. Finally I'm eagerly waiting to visit the place. I hope I'll go there soon.

Submitted by Amoon_96 on Wed, 11/05/2022 - 09:46

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Yes, I want to visit Bangkok I think it's a wonderful city, I want to try Thai food and visit historical places, I want to go to the beach there and enjoy it, I heard about Thai massage I want to try it too.

Submitted by HarryAg on Sat, 23/04/2022 - 11:58

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I like Bangkok. One of the main reason is that we can arrange the trip with affordable price if we want to go to there. There are many tourist attractions places in there such as cultural related places and beaches. For me, I like Bangkok because I can get authentic Thai food in there.

Submitted by Byullie on Sun, 10/04/2022 - 16:44

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I think Bangkok is pretty good to vist. They have lots of foods and you can buy the clothes with cheap price at the marlket. I have also been to Bangkok when I was young.