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

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Average: 4.1 (210 votes)
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Submitted by javibuendi on Wed, 28/10/2020 - 10:07

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Yes, I would like to visit Bangkok. I have wanted to go for a long time. It might be an exciting experience because I think they have a very different culture than mine (I am from Spain). I like travelling and I want to earn money in order to be able to visit this city or another main city in Asia, such as Kyoto. Cheers from Madrid.

Submitted by Lilly098 on Thu, 22/10/2020 - 02:56

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I would love to visit Thailand. Because my friend works in Bangkok. She always tell me that people in Thai are very lovely and food is amazing. I want to get to know more about their culture. Hopefully, I will visit for my honeymoon in a couple years!

Submitted by habibao.medo on Mon, 19/10/2020 - 08:41

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I really like travelling but i don't think i would choose Bangkok cause i don't like temples and historic places also i really don't like street food i eat it only if i know it's taste . i would prefer going to Korea instead i like the coffees there, the Korean make up ,masks and a lot more

Submitted by DIỄM PHÚC on Mon, 28/09/2020 - 01:54

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This is smart skill for me if I can go to Thailand

Submitted by samuelito on Thu, 24/09/2020 - 17:06

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would you like to travel to bangkok Bangkok has been characterized as a city that has a wide variety of culture and gastronomy and that without a doubt I would love to visit and explore all its culture and its amazing landscapes, but one of the reasons I would not travel is because of overcrowding with which the city of Bangkok has.

Submitted by Hnin Ei Khing on Thu, 17/09/2020 - 07:47

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I love travelling. If i get a chance to travel, i would like to visit there go shopping to night market, enjoy with Thai street foods.

Submitted by Camilaaa on Wed, 16/09/2020 - 05:44

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If I would like to visit Bangkok, it seems like a nice place, I would love to try their food, and get to know their cultures.
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Submitted by danisep on Fri, 11/09/2020 - 22:05

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Yes I would like to visit Bangkok one day, I don't know a lot about this country till now that I read this text, but I have heard that its food is so delicious and its culture is super interesting, I wish someday to visit it this and other places from Asia.

Submitted by Roblox on Mon, 07/09/2020 - 16:42

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Why you more focused on giving questions on the set of the location. I don't see here that it will help us to improve our reading.

Hello Roblox,

Thanks for your feedback.

There are many skills involved in reading and we try to include a range of these in the tasks we provide for each text. Some tasks are focused on searching for specific information in a text, others on interpreting the author's meaning, others on vocabulary, others on style etc.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team