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!

Task 1

Task 2

Discussion

Download
Worksheet66.8 KB

Language level

Average: 4.1 (197 votes)

Submitted by melisong56 on Wed, 19/08/2020 - 15:05

Permalink
Actually, I planned to visit Bangkok on March 2020 but it got cancelled due to corona virus pandemic. As far as I know by looking at traveler recommendation, Bangkok is a must-visit city for travelling! The city is amazing, with many beautiful temples, and we can experience a modern vibes in this city. The other reason is their street foods! With the cheap price and good taste of most of their foods, Thailand could maybe be the one of the country which has the best street food in the world.

Submitted by Re on Mon, 17/08/2020 - 06:38

Permalink
Hello. I'd like to visit Bangkok. It's about a 6-7 hour flight from Japan. There is no need to worry about jet lag, as the time difference is only 2 hours from Japan. I want to see night view and the Wat Saman Rattanaram. It is said that if you make a wish on the statue of your birth day of the week, your wish will be granted three times faster. Therefore, I want to make a wish. In addition, I want to eat Bangkok food. There are many things I want to do in Bangkok.

Submitted by Loda.iQ on Sun, 16/08/2020 - 07:59

Permalink
Well, people say Bangkok is a great place to visit with its beautiful sites and nature. Surely I want to visit and experience it.

Submitted by mali nicklass on Mon, 10/08/2020 - 09:12

Permalink
Yes, I would like to visit Bangkok. I would love to see the city and to try the food.

Submitted by Suzuha on Mon, 10/08/2020 - 06:30

Permalink
I wouldn't like to visit Bangkok, because I have been to there and I fully enjoyed beautiful view and tasty foods.

Submitted by Yuki on Mon, 10/08/2020 - 06:02

Permalink
I would like to visit Bangkok. Because I like Thai food such as Green Curry and Tom Yum Goong so I want to eat authentic Thai food in Bangkok. I also want to go sightseeing and shopping. I hear that prices in Thai are cheaper than Japan and there are beautiful scenery in Bangkok so, While enjoying sightseeing, I want to eat a lot at the market and go shopping a lot.

Submitted by Seina Tsuchiya on Mon, 10/08/2020 - 04:53

Permalink
I want go to Bangkok because I've seen it before on TV and the view was so beautiful. Especially, the market at night was very beautiful. It was crowded with people and there were many stalls. Also, I like to take pictures so I' like to go to the temple.

Submitted by Akemi Matsumoto on Sun, 09/08/2020 - 13:17

Permalink
I'd like to visit Bangkok. I have to main reasons for that. First of all, that's because I have a friend from Thai- Bangkok. So, I want to visit the place where she is from. Also because I'm interested in spicy food and I've never tried Thai's food. Secondly, because I love animals, I am so curious about how it would be like to ride on a elephant.

Submitted by Hiyori Ueno on Sun, 09/08/2020 - 13:00

Permalink
I have never been to Thailand so I would like to go to Thailand someday. Because I want to eat Thai street foods. I love Gapao rice, Tom Yam Kun, and Phad Tha. I want to eat them in Thailand. Also Thailand has delicious and cheap Mango. If I go to Thailand, I will eat Mango as much as I like.

Submitted by Natsumi Tamura on Sun, 09/08/2020 - 12:56

Permalink
I would like to visit Bangkok. First, I like eating, so I want to eat Thai food. Especially, I want to eat Tom yam kung. Second, I want to ride a longtail boat along the Chao Phraya river at night because the scenery is beautiful at night. This is why, I would like to visit Bangkok.