Nov 3rd, 2009 at 9:00AM: Bangkok means many things to travelers. The backpacker ghetto of Khao San Road. The sublime temples of Wat Pho and Wat Phra Kaew. The seedy go-go bars of Patpong. But after visiting this crazy Southeast Asian capital for the first time, I'd like to suggest a new highlight in Bangkok: the malls.
You're probably going to tell me I'm a spoiled Westerner, too acclimated to the comforts of home to ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Bangkok posts
South by Southeast: In Bangkok? Head to the mall!
Nov 3rd, 2009 at 9:00AM: Bangkok means many things to travelers. The backpacker ghetto of Khao San Road. The sublime temples of Wat Pho and Wat Phra Kaew. The seedy go-go bars of Patpong. But after visiting this crazy Southeast Asian capital for the first time, I'd like to suggest a new highlight in Bangkok: the malls.
You're probably going to tell me I'm a spoiled Westerner, too acclimated to the comforts of home to ...Fun with your global positioning system: GPS drawing
Skybar: the best rooftop bar in Bangkok
Oct 20th, 2009 at 8:00AM: Nothing out in the urban landscape can blow your mind quite like a well done rooftop bar. Remember Lost in Translation? The whole dynamic between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson unfolded in the New York Bar on the top floors of the Park Hyatt Tokyo, backdropped against the smooth jazz singer, a few stiff drinks and the Tokyo Skyline. It's hard for amazing things not to happen in a setting like ...Thailand Hitler billboard draws controversy
Oct 19th, 2009 at 11:30AM: digg_url = 'http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Thai_Museum_Hitler_is_Not_Dead_Billboard_Ad_Draws_Outrage'; A Hitler billboard in Thailand promoting a local wax museum has locals and foreign governments up in arms. The billboard campaign, which features photos of famous dead people, included a photo of Hitler making the infamous Nazi salute along with the tagline "Hitler is not dead." The ad was part of a ...Inside of Bangkok's five star luxury hotel, lebua at State Tower
Oct 14th, 2009 at 1:30PM: Perched at the top of the second tallest tower in Bangkok among the skyscrapers, steel and concrete is the strangest sight. Twenty Ionic columns, white stone and glass come together to form a Roman styled building, as if the center of the Pantheon was picked up and moved halfway around the world. The structure is called The Dome, it's home, the lebua hotel at State Tower. As one of the finest five ...Takraw in Thailand: hacky sack + volleyball = amazing
Dim Sum Dialogues in Thailand: The sounds of Siam
Sep 30th, 2009 at 5:00PM:
Monks chant at Wat Chana Songkhram, near Khao San Road.
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It's my last day in Bangkok and I'm not ready to leave Thailand. If I had another two weeks, I would have opted to stop at Ko Phi Phi and then cut north to trek through Chiang Mai, but my ...Dim Sum Dialogues in Thailand: The road (+ rail + ferry) to Ko Pha Ngan
Sep 17th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
The neon pink taxi screeches to a halt. "You must be the best taxi driver in Bangkok." I declare to the driver, and I mean it. Moments ago we were at a complete standstill for nearly twenty minutes, in the center of a jammed four-lane road. An everyday occurrence in Bangkok. I had already started considering alternate travel plans, since I was sure that I'd be missing the southbound train. ...Dim Sum Dialogues in Thailand: Bangkok
Sep 15th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
The city of Bangkok is a dichotomy between peaceful Buddhist temples & sordid red light districts. Beautiful national monuments & shoddy patches of low-income housing. Large, upscale shopping malls & equally large, rickety floating markets. Bright pink taxis or loud tuk tuks that jam the streets & a convenient but limited elevated metro line. Gleaming skyscrapers & lowly ...Dim Sum Dialogues in Thailand: Street music
Sep 12th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
It's 3 o'clock in the morning and most of the rowdy backpackers have deserted Bangkok's Khao San Road. A large rat scurries down the gutter of the street, stopping only to inspect trash and empty plastic buckets that have been strewn about the pavement. A few dispersed food vendors finish packing their stalls for the day and roll them towards wherever home may be. Compared to the energy of the ...Dim Sum Dialogues in Thailand: The Khao San
Sep 10th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
All this month, Dim Sum Dialogues will be bringing you stories from the road. The first destination: Thailand - from Bangkok to Ko Phan Ngan...to discover the hype behind the legendary Full Moon Parties.
It's approaching midnight fast, and the immigration lines in Suvarnabhumi Airport are long. Walking through the modern, sprawling airport, I remind myself not to touch anything in the Duty ...Pilot dead after Bangkok flight crashes into tower
Aug 4th, 2009 at 8:30AM: An estimated 10 people were hospitalized when a Bangkok Airways flight landed in rainy conditions, skidded off the runway and crashed into the air traffic control tower. The pilot was killed in the accident, which occurred at Samui airport in Thailand. Sixty-eight passengers were aboard the ATR72 twin-turboprop plane -- like the one in the image to the right -- along with two pilots and two crew ...Cops scamming tourists at Bangkok airport
Jul 21st, 2009 at 1:30PM: Tourists face a lot of scams if they travel in Southeast Asia, but one especially nasty and hard-to-avoid one has been reported by the BBC. At Bangkok's main airport, cops are accusing international visitors of shoplifting from the airport stores and then extorting money from them to drop the charges. Sometimes a "friendly translator" will help the desperate travelers, and then charge exorbitant ...For summer, a banquet of exotic fresh fruits: Bring travel back home
Jun 26th, 2009 at 9:00AM: So you're at home this summer. Your vacation budget is bust. Sure, there are backyard barbeques with friends and family stretching out into summer, but that tropical vacation feels long gone.
Or perhaps, you have never been on a tropical vacation. Perhaps a tropical fruit to you is the canned version of Dole pineapple--the one that waits in your kitchen cabinet.
Hop to it. An exotic experience ...Through the Gadling Lens: seeing the light
Jun 11th, 2009 at 11:00AM: When you're first starting out in photography, you're likely to read, or hear, or have told to you: "See the light. When you can see the light, you'll be a great photographer. You just have to see the light." Many times, I've had new photographers retort with exasperation: "God, I hate that. 'See the light.' What light? There's just light! I see it! What are they talking about? How do you 'see the ...A scent of place
May 4th, 2009 at 11:30AM: Smells have an uncanny way of transporting me back to some far-away place, often without my even realizing what's happening. For an entire year, every time I jogged past a nearby house I was smacked with memories of Ireland, where I lived for six months. Finally, after nearly making myself crazy trying to figure out what the smell was, I realized that they were burning coal. It was the scent of ...Amazing Race 14, recap 8: Bangkok, Thailand has helpful taxi drivers
Apr 13th, 2009 at 12:30PM: With the million dollars becoming more attainable as the playing field narrows, some teams are becoming more cagey and mistake prone. One team member is tossing aside manners while another temporarily tossed aside shoes. The Amazing Race 14 continues to be a lesson in how to travel wisely and what mistakes not to make.
Thailand continued to be a lovely backdrop for this week's episode. The teams ...44 snakes and lizards almost smuggled on a plane
Feb 25th, 2009 at 4:00PM: Not that I've thought much about smuggling lizards and snakes on a plane, but reading about this Australian guy who was nabbed a couple days ago trying to smuggle 44 snakes and lizards from Australia to Bangkok got me thinking. Why 44?
Seems to me that's overshooting one's luck. Wouldn't it have been better to stop at 10, perhaps? Not that I want to give anyone smuggling advice since I think ...Heathrow annoying, Americans rude according to some social network
Feb 22nd, 2009 at 5:00PM: The members of social network Where Are you Now? have spoken! Heathrow is the worst airport in the world, according to voters, thanks to passport control lines and baggage problems. The Brits don't get all the glory, though. JFK in New York and Los Angeles picked up spots #2 and #3, respectively. The good news, for Heathrow and JFK, at least, is that both were at the top of the list for security. ...Galley Gossip: Passenger of the month - Author Thant Myint-U
Feb 19th, 2009 at 10:00AM: Name? Thant Myint-U Where do you live? Right now in Bangkok, but before that in NYC for many years. Bangkok, wow! Pretend I'm a tourist and I've just asked you to recommend a few places to check out while I'm visiting Bangkok, places you actually go to, what would you suggest? The Vertigo bar on top of the Banyan Tree hotel (pictured below), the Oriental Spa at the Oriental Hotel, the Tea Room at ...
