It is hard to say something new about Bangkok: so much has been written. Here, we will rather enumerate the most unusual experiences we had in Bangkok (mostly for free) we would recommend to our readers.
1. Instead of taxies, metro, and buses, try to have some public boat transport experience in Bangkok. It is extremely cheap and exciting and connects many sights in the city. Any pier will have a map of routes next to major attractions.
2. The number one attraction as stated by any guide is the What Phra Kaew and Grand Palace, Bangkok’s premier monuments to religion and regency. Visiting its fields is free, to go inside you will have to pay. This experience is not unusual, although the surrounding attractions are.
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3. The Amulet Market next to What Pra Kaew and Grand Palace is something special. This is a flea market with all kinds of amulets, coins, and other unexpected discoveries.
4. The City Pillar Shrine (Lak mueang) is traditional for Thai cities and is believed to be the place of settlement if the city spirit deity. It is constructed in cities to symbolize the center of citizens’ souls.
5. Ban Bat community settled near the canal after the king Rama I had set Bangkok as the capital. The people of this community earned their living by making traditional bats (the alms bowls used by monks to receive donations of foods in the mornings). They have been using the original hammering techniques which make their products very durable and of high quality, but also of high price.
6. Nonthaburi market provides a great visual material for any photographer, hardly food to European stomachs though. See if you dare to try something: the food here is not as appetizing as in the rest of Thai markets, and the smells are not attractive at all.
7. The opposite to Nonthanburi market is Chatuchak market – not just for food, but for all kinds of stuff. Toys, apparel, shoes, bags, design, souvenirs – literally everything, even a head of a crocodile.
We spent the whole day there and did not see everything. There is a park next to it – a good spot for a husband to wait for his shopping wife: they even rent out carpets to sit on the ground 🙂
8. Of course, we should mention Patpong, Bangkok red light district – the essential end to your unusual experiences day. Comparable to Amsterdam Red Light District, it is still different. Basically, you have to buy the beer to enter any bar and see naked ladies dancing there.
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