Bangkok is one of those cities that overwhelms you on arrival and then slowly wins you over. The heat hits you first, then the noise, then the smells -- exhaust fumes mingling with jasmine garlands and sizzling street food. Give it a day and you will start to feel the rhythm of the place.
The city is built along the Chao Phraya River, and the old royal heart around Rattanakosin Island still holds Bangkok's greatest treasures: the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Wat Phra Kaew. But modern Bangkok has sprawled far beyond the river, with the elevated Skytrain threading through canyons of glass and concrete along Sukhumvit and Silom roads, where you will find most of the restaurants, bars, and shopping.
Thai food is reason enough to come here. Bangkok has the best range of restaurants in Southeast Asia, from five-star hotel dining rooms to street stalls where a plate of pad thai costs less than a dollar. The street food along Yaowarat Road in Chinatown is legendary, and the city's Indian restaurants around Sukhumvit Soi 3 rival anything you will find outside the subcontinent.
Bangkok is also a city of contrasts. Glittering temples sit next to crumbling shophouses. Monks in saffron robes share the Skytrain with businesspeople in designer suits. The traffic can be brutal, but the canal boats and river taxis offer an escape that feels like a different century. Most people either love Bangkok or hate it -- give it enough time and you will almost certainly end up in the first camp.
