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

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Discussion

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Language level

Average: 4.1 (275 votes)

Hello Mohmmed_Ziyach,

We don't track level here on LearnEnglish so the answers depends on you! I suggest trying materials at B2 level to see how you cope with them. If they are not too demanding then this is a pretty good sign that you are approaching or have reached that level.

Remember that levels are very broad descriptions. A learner might be very strong in one area (say, grammar at B2 level) but weaker in another (say, listening at A2 level). Remember to practise all skills as you go along.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Jether on Sun, 13/07/2025 - 03:05

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Bangkok looks to be an exotic place. I usually don't like exotic things, then definitely I wouldn't like to travel to there.

Submitted by Winnie0900 on Fri, 11/07/2025 - 20:27

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I wouldn't include Bangkok in my list of places to visit. To be honest, I'm not very attracted to its culture, and it seems like it's a very crowded place; therefore I wouldn't enjoy the hotspots.

By the way, the food sounds delicious but I wouldn't travel to the other side of the world just for that.

Submitted by Sion1145 on Thu, 26/06/2025 - 14:34

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Would you like to visit Bangkok? Why or why not?
i would like to visit Bangkok, i had never visit there before, and i want to try the real Thai food, so spicy and different taste.

Submitted by i feel so sigm… on Tue, 24/06/2025 - 09:27

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Would you like to visit Bangkok? Why or why not?
I would love to visit Bangkok because I want to immerse myself in the local culture and there are also many actresses i love like Namtan, Film Ranachunn, Linglingkwong and Orm

 

Submitted by AmeeraAmeera on Mon, 23/06/2025 - 09:17

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Would you like to visit Bangkok? Why or why not?

I like traveling a lot, but to answer the question, I would like to say: No, because Bangkok culture does not fit with me. I do not like crawdad cities and polluted roads, they are bothering me. I like the stillness and calm place. Being in neuter is part of paradise.

Submitted by BryanMendezR. on Thu, 19/06/2025 - 16:15

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No, I wouldn't like, this place is turistic but everyone take a taxi to get to another place, I don't like that idea because is expensive for me

Submitted by samtByR2 on Tue, 17/06/2025 - 13:50

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Actually i don't like thailand. İ not think to go there. 

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