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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Average: 4.3 (127 votes)

Submitted by amanda ferreira on Wed, 25/03/2020 - 18:45

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Yes, I would. This place, it's appears to be very fun and friendly wiht tourists.

Submitted by theguest22 on Tue, 24/03/2020 - 20:57

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By short words, who don't like to see and enjoy in this spectacular places, and live that moment when ride longtail boat or eat different meal and show another communities?. But I have wonder about what meaning K ao San Raod not very Thai

Submitted by Paulo Henrique… on Thu, 19/03/2020 - 02:40

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I have never been to Bangkok, but I would love to be able to visit one day.
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Submitted by Nikolaos Stavr… on Fri, 28/02/2020 - 10:15

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Yes I would like to go to Bangkok It's a different culture, I love Thai food especially fried chicken on rice and pad Thai noodles. I would love to go on a sky train and visite the spectacular temples.

Submitted by Trần Thị Mai Phương on Mon, 24/02/2020 - 14:38

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It's very great when I visit Bangkok. Because after I had read this article, I imagined interesting things here. There are many delicious foods, beautiful places and get experience culture here. I like traveling and discover new things.

Submitted by Ainur on Mon, 24/02/2020 - 04:17

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Yes, I would like to visit Bangkok. I think it is also very exciting and interesting city with own soul and culture.

Absolutely, I would love to. As a fan of traveling, I'd like to visit awesome places around the world as much as possible. And Thailand is one of my arrival list of must-see countries. First of all, the weather is nice, so I can easily adapt to it. Besides, Thai foods are known as the best ones, especially the cuisine made from tropical fruits. I wish to come to Thailand on the nearest day.

Submitted by Alaa Basha on Sat, 22/02/2020 - 05:58

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It would be interesting. It's amazing to see the world and get experienced with other culture. And the most fantastic thing is to eat different meals around the world.

Submitted by VladIST18 on Wed, 19/02/2020 - 14:16

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I have never been interested in Thailand, thanks to this text I learned a little about it.I would like to go there)

Submitted by Ostrik on Wed, 19/02/2020 - 04:46

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It was very interesting to read about Bangkok, about its interesting places, I hope someday I can visit it.