Bangkok – Capital of Thailand

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand and the main gateway to the country. Flights arrive at Bangkok International Airport, making the city the perfect place to start your tour of Thailand. The airport is just 16 miles from Bangkok city centre and there are trains and buses operating to connect the two points.

Floating Market

Floating Markets

Bangkok is well known  for its  canal system, which has resulted in the city being named “Venice of the East”.

Take a cruise along the canals and visit the most famous floating market in the city, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Be prepared to shout – it is lively, very busy and the vendors call out their wares.  This market offers a huge variety of goods, everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to local crafts and Thai sourvenirs.

Having completed your tour of the canals, you can now set off on a trail to discover Bangkok’s elaborate temples. Not to be missed are Wat Arun, Wat Traimit and Wat Pho . Here you can take artistic photographs of Bangkok’s most important historical and religious sites. If you need a break from sightseeing, why not enjoy the peace and tranquillity of Bangkok’s parks and gardens, such as Lumphini Park, which is the oldest and largest in the city.

When the sun sets on another day in Bangkok,  head out to sample some exotic Thai cuisine in a local  restaurant.

If you fancy something different this year, book flights to Thailand. It will be an experience to remember.

Asia > Thailand > Bangkok

Steamy Bangkok, notorious for its traffic jams and general mayhem, scares off many travellers as soon as they arrive – yet it’s an incredibly hospitable city that’s glittering with exotic Royal temples, flower-laden shrines, and fascinating markets, criss-crossed by canals and the busy Chao Phraya River.

UK to Bangkok flights

Bangkok’s international Suvarnabhumi Airport is Thailand’s main international gateway, located 19 miles east of the city centre.

Flights to Bangkok from the UK are operated by many international airlines including Qantas, British Airways and Etihad. Many flights operate from London Heathrow, Gatwick and City airports, but there are also flights to Thailand from regional UK airports including Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Flights from London to Bangkok take approximately 11 hours 20 minutes.

Bangkok’s top attractions

Bangkok is also packed with enough golden-roofed temples, heaving night markets and huge shopping malls to keep you busy for weeks.

One of the city’s most famous sights is the walled Grand Palace complex, the official residence of the King of Thailand from the 18^th to mid 20^th century. Its many elaborately decorated buildings include Wat Phra Kaew, the temple housing the legendary Emerald Buddha  – which is actually carved from (the rather less valuable) jade.

Bangkok’s oldest temple, Wat Pho, is home to Thailand’s largest reclining Buddha, a huge golden figure stretching 46 metres, with beautiful mother-of-pearl details on his eyes and the soles of his feet. This is also the place to enjoy a traditional Thai massage at the highly-respected Massage School.

A ride on the express boat along the Chao Phraya gives you a glimpse of busy river life, with passenger ferries, private long tail boats and hotel transport all vying for space. You can stop off at another of the city’s famous temples, Wat Arun, or ‘Temple of Dawn’. Decorated all over with coloured tiles and porcelain, despite its name this is actually best seen at sunset.

Hop on the Skytrain for an elevated view of Bangkok, and at the weekend travel right out to Mo Chit station to visit Thailand’s largest market, Chatuchak, where you can pick up just about anything you could think of, from live fish to football shirts – plus some decent trinkets and Thai souvenirs.

Much is made of Bangkok’s red light district, but in reality the main ‘tourist’ strip clubs are confined to a fairly compact area (focused around Soi Cowboy and Patpong) – easy to avoid if you’re not interested in seeing what all the fuss is about. If you want to visit the night market around Patpong, however, be prepared to be invited into a few seedy bars by scantily clad girls (Skytrain: Sala Daeng station).

Even in ultra-modern Bangkok, traditional Thai life can still be glimpsed along the canals. A ride on one of the frequent passenger boats running up and down the Khlong Saen Saeb gives you a fresh perspective on the city, away from the worst traffic pollution. And a visit to Jim Thompson’s canal-side House, hidden away near the National Stadium Skytrain station, lets you explore a traditional teak Thai ‘house on stilts’. Inside, there are old Asian artefacts collected by American adventurer Jim Thompson who famously revitalised Thailand’s silk industry, then mysteriously disappeared forever on a jungle expedition.

Bangkok Events

Another major annual festival is Loy Krathong, which takes place around November.  Thais decorate small floats with folded banana leaves, incense sticks, flowers and candles, then – on the night of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar – they go to the nearest body of water to set their raft afloat – symbolising the ‘letting go’ of negative feelings and starting the next year afresh. In Bangkok, it’s quite an atmospheric sight to see the huge river alight with thousands of floating candles and smoking incense sticks.