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: 4.1 (210 votes)

Submitted by Hàn_Nguyệt_Dạ_Ruby on Mon, 15/11/2021 - 13:38

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I want to go to England because it's very amazing there. I hope one day no far, I will go there for the first of my life U-U.

Submitted by Shaheen Kakar on Mon, 15/11/2021 - 07:17

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I would love to travel to Thailand and visit historical places and explore the other areas and people. Thailand's historical landmarks like the Giant Buddha temple clearly describe its long history that has had across the world.

Submitted by LamVanPhuong on Tue, 02/11/2021 - 10:04

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i really want to go Bangkok, even though my country and Bangkok is near but i have never been there, sure that in the future i am going to go there.

Submitted by AHMED-star on Thu, 28/10/2021 - 14:54

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for me i wont visit bankok coz i saw movie in tv about it and really its amazing place.

Submitted by Phyo Thandar Nwe on Tue, 26/10/2021 - 21:21

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Yes ,Bangkok is a place that has many places to visit and a wonderful night life too. The one thing I like the best is street foods,they are everywhere ,delicious and cheap .
If I got a chance ,I would like to travel there again.

Submitted by Suraj paliwal on Sun, 17/10/2021 - 09:21

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Definitely, I would like to go Bangkok. It's amazing place. Many people told about this it's interesting place for tourists.
Girls are very friendly there.

Submitted by Wótila Carneiro on Wed, 13/10/2021 - 17:21

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I love asian culture, mainly because Budhism religion. I think that to know Thai is a way to be near thist things. But in my opinion, we have to be attention. There are some dangerous places in this city.

Submitted by Marco Aurélio … on Sat, 25/09/2021 - 20:49

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For sure I would like to go to Bangkok. In my opinion, the whole Asian culture is very interesting and I would appreciate goes there. I would be very motivated to travel to Bangkok to try as much as I could of food stands. I think that is the real diving moment into a culture. I can imagine a lot of people walking frenetically, also some different language sound everywhere. That's probably very exciting stuff to do in life! =)

Submitted by ghimirra on Wed, 08/09/2021 - 08:02

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First of all, thanks for this reading material. Definitely, I would like to visit Bangkok within a couple of years. I have heard from friends and family that it's a city with a lot of fun activities to do and where you can really relax and unwind. I would like to experience the Thai massage and lay on the beautiful beaches.

Submitted by KATIELLE RAIAN… on Wed, 28/07/2021 - 08:32

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No not me. In fact, I never thought about visiting Bangkok. Maybe, today I start to think that.