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: 4.1 (197 votes)

Submitted by Minh on Wed, 13/01/2021 - 22:42

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Wow, it's really attractive of the country where I visited two times. There are a plenty of beautiful sight-seeings where people should travel around. Firstly, you can spend time all day on the beach such as swimming, sunbathing, walking and wave surfing. Secondly, you can travel a number of sight pot that are impressed man people. Moreover, you can enjoy tasting local cuisines which are delicious meals. I can tell you more, but I have to sign out for my job.

Submitted by Saad786 on Sat, 09/01/2021 - 11:50

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Bangkok is one of the beautiful cities of the world. It has many tourist sites. The skytrain is among the fastest trains which is good enough for quick tour of city in one day. Chao phraya is beautiful river followed by many religious spots. Other places like Wat Phra Keaw and Wat Pho temples are religious sites for locals.

Submitted by Thinn Thiri Myo on Thu, 24/12/2020 - 03:44

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I would like to visit Bangkok.I love thai cultures,traditional costume & food.And I wanna go to the fantastis event,street market & eat street food.

Submitted by Aung5402 on Mon, 21/12/2020 - 04:19

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I have never travelled to Bangkok. I would like to visit there to see many spectacular buildings and fantastic foods and events. Moreover, I also am interested in touching the snakes. Wow, that's fabulous.

Submitted by Thinthinmyoe on Sat, 19/12/2020 - 08:11

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I have never been to Bangkok.I really would like to visit there as it is a Paradise for shopping.

Submitted by Thu Ha Nguyen on Mon, 07/12/2020 - 11:35

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I traveled to Thailand on a tour in 2018. I could visit Bangkok and Pattaya. I really enjoyed the tour. We came to Pattaya first. We spent 2 nights there. Near our hotel is the most famous street in Pattaya. There are a lot of bars and show theaters. It´s very noisy but also funny to see people around the world come there. Bangkok is a shopping city. We had a buffet dinner at the highest restaurant. We could see all the city from the glass windows in the restaurant. It was so beautiful and colorful.

Submitted by DIỄM PHÚC on Mon, 07/12/2020 - 01:18

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I like Bangkok because it is center of history culture and bring spirits and matter value of Thai

Submitted by Ehsan on Sun, 29/11/2020 - 08:07

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Yes, sure I'd like to see the city. It has many reasons such as different culture, combining traditional and modern life, great sights, different and diverse foods, and a sweet experience. We have a proverb which says "The Travelling Cooks Persons!". I want to visit all cities in the world and I will do that.

Submitted by David_Tham on Fri, 27/11/2020 - 00:38

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Yes, I would like to live in Bangkok. Because the preple there very compassionate.

Submitted by teti_vp on Fri, 20/11/2020 - 09:39

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I really would enjoy visiting Bangkok. This place is so different from the place where I live. I'm curious about culture, religion and especially about food.