Holidays to Bangkok

Bangkok, an exuberant city of contrasts, from the serenity of the exquisitely ornate golden temples to the vibrant nightlife. Holidays to Bangkok bring you the vast malls of designer shops to the bustling street stalls and marketplaces. You can discover a thrilling mix of ancient and modern, oriental and occidental in this buzzing metropolis. At Bangkok enjoy a host of day and overnight trips to fascinating places, including the Bridge on the River Kwai.



Holidays to Bangkok include the glittering temples, particularly the fabulous Grand Palace, attractive Wat Po, with its colossal reclining Buddha, and peaceful Wat Arun, Temple of the Dawn on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. Bangkok has many cultural influences, alive at hundreds of wonderful restaurants and the Chinese and Indian market districts.



Holidays to Bangkok include day and overnight excursions to the ancient Siamese capital and World Heritage Site of Ayutthaya, the bustling Damnoen Saduak floating market and the poignant railway, cemetery and museum at the River Kwai.



During your holidays to Bangkok you will learn that before 1939, this country where both rice and tolerance are cultivated with the same ardour was called Siam. But as it had never been colonized, it preferred the name Thailand, signifying "Land of Free Men". They number 60 million, 90 per cent of whom are Buddhists, a fact that permeates all facets of national life. Even in sophisticated Bangkok, women turn out in front of their houses soon after dawn to offer rice to saffron-robed monks. At Bangkok you will find that Thais are very proud of their past and their royalty.



In the tumultuous capital Bangkok, catch your breath in the peaceful atmosphere of a temple. Then experience the passage of time as you glide along the Chao Phraya River in a boat, observing the life of the canals, the colonial quarter with the legendary Oriental Hotel, and the futuristic skyscrapers. While on holidays to Bangkok, take time to wander in Chinatown, where the odours of the opium dens and brothels still linger. But times have changed: children whose parents rode water buffaloes out in the rice fields now programme computers and run production lines in Bangkok. In turn, city-dwellers need to journey 100 km to find an authentic floating market.