Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital city which can be seen as the heart of Thailand. It is the cultural, educational, political and economical center of Thailand, This very highly populated city is currently faced with some unavoidable urban pollution problems in addition to traffic congestion problem like any other large cities. Bangkok is not only the center of tourist attractions in Southeast Asia but also the important city in this region's industrial and financial sectors.

"Suvarnabhumi International Airport", is designated to be the aviation hub in Southeast Asian region which is estimated to be up to 58 million passengers per year in 2008 while the full-scale development of provided plot of land at Nong Ngu Hao with its capacity to accommodate 45 million passenger per year, 76 flights per hour and 3 million tons of cargo per year.

Bangkok is also well known for a lot of canals and rivers that wind in and around the city that have made it famous as "Venice of The East". Bangkok is also the center of transportation in Thailand with major roads and railways branching out to various parts of the country. In Bangkok, numerous beautiful temples can be found featuring traditional Thai architecture. The old sections of Bangkok are immensely popular tourist spots, especially the Royal Grand Palace. Bangkok is an interesting blend of traditional buildings and modern skyscrapers waiting for visitors to discover.

Palace

THE GRAND PALACE
The Grand Palace is a truly amazing architectural construction. It is a large complex covering an area of 218,000 square meters which was built in the early years of Chakkri dynasty.



NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (ANANTASAMAKOM THRONE HALL) This hall was built at the command of King Rama V and Finish in the region of king Rama VI for visiting foreign dignitaries and for state council meetings. The Italian architecture, Tamango; designed it in the Renaissance style.

Temples

WAT PHRA KAEO The Temple of Emerald Buddha , the Upper Terrace, and the Subsidiary Buildings on the north. The point we are at is the Upper Terrace in front of the Prasat Phra Dhepbidorn .

WAT PHO This large and extensive temple neighbours the Grand Palace on Thai Wang Road and houses the very impressive gigantic gold plated reclining Buddha which is some 46 metres long and 15 metres high.

WAT ARUNRATCHAWARARAMRATCHAWORAMAHAWIHAN The prang of Wat Arun on the bank of Ch Phraya River is one of Bangkok 's world-famous landmarks. From a French map of Thonburi made in the reign of King Narai it can be seen that the temple existed when Ayutthaya was Siam 's capital. The temple was formerly known as Wat Makok, and when King Taksin built his palace, he ordered the temple to be annexed to it. The king restored it and renamed it "Wat Jaeng". It was restored again by King Rama II, and renamed "Wat Arunratchatharam". King Rama IV later changed the name to "Wat Arunratchawararam"

Downtown

Siam / Ratchadamri This is the biggest and busiest shopping district in Bangkok which is accessible easily by skytrain. In this area, almost all kinds of goods are on sale, including cloth, clothes, jewellery, handicrafts, books, antiques, etc. Apart from the well-known Central World Plaza (formerly World Trade Center), located here are large department stores, several shopping arcades and countless smaller shops as well as a dozen cinema theatres and mini theatres. So you can satisfy all your needs if you stay in one of over a dozen first-class hotels in the area.

The Pratunam Market next to the Indra Arcade, though not a high-class shopping centre, is worth visiting if you want to broaden your vision and to see more about the ordinary Thai. It is also the market of garments for export.Another interesting place in this area is Baiyoke II Tower, the tallest building in Thailand. The building is 309 metres tall with 2,060 stairs from bottom to top. From the deck on the 77th floor visitors can enjoy the vast panoramic view of Bangkok.


Old Town / Chinatown The old Bangkok town is the original area of Bangkok when it was first established as the capital over 200 years ago. Here are located the Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, two universities and several ministries. The town was formerly surrounded by walls. Now only a few sections of wall are preserved as historic sites. It is from this side of the Chao Phraya River that one takes a boat to visit the Temple of Dawn and the canals nearby. Chinatown is located just to the southeast of the old town. It began to take shape at the same time as the establishment of Bangkok, when the Chinese inhabiting the old town areas were moved outside the city walls. The goldshop street named Yaowarat, and the Temple of the Gold Buddha are in this area. The area around Yaowarat Road is also the best place for Chinese food. You can find hundreds of food sites here ranging from restaurants to pushcarts and sidewalk stalls. Moreover, Hualamphong or Bangkok Railway Station is located near this area, at which a subway station is available.




Refer: http://www.bma.go.th/