Archive for February, 2008

Is there anything worse than waiting to travel? When you know you’ve got a trip coming up, but you’re still saving money. Or, even worse, if you want to travel, need to travel, but yet have no idea when you can spare the time or money to actually hit the road again.

It’s at times like these that being home can drive you nuts.

But there is relief in sight. Meeting friendly locals, learning a few words of another language, tasting something indescribable, stumbling on a breathtaking view when you thought you were just lost: almost any travel experience (including a bout of diarrhoea, if you’re really hardcore) can be replicated in your own hometown. It may not be quite as good as the real thing, but try a couple of the adventures below and you might find some slight relief for your itchy feet.

Have Camera, Will Travel: Take a Photo of Tourists in Your Hometown

Meet the Locals

If you’re like most people, you go out to the same few places every weekend. You consider yourself a certain type of person, so you go to a certain type of club, bar or pub.

It’s time for a change.

Where’s the drinking hole you’re least likely to visit? (If it’s incredibly dangerous, cross it off your list and choose the second-least likely.) This Saturday night, you’re going there. And on your visit, keep in mind the most important tenet of travel: respect the local customs and learn from them.

How do the locals dress? Dress similarly, so as not to offend them. Observe their customs and ways of behaving and try to fit in. Try to talk to the regulars – you never know what you might learn about horse racing, construction work, snagging a rich husband, beach volleyball or what that guy from Poison is up to these days.

Be open-minded and tolerant. Just because they do things differently, doesn’t mean they’re wrong. And enjoy your cultural experience.

Next Stop: Q8

Having a great time in Q8: Wish You Were Here

Back in 1991, everyone wanted a piece of this previously unheard of autocracy in the Arabian Peninsula. Now the rush is over, you can grab yourself a piece of Q8y action.

Get a street directory or map for your hometown and open it to a random page. Put your finger on the coordinates Q8. What’s there? Probably not much. And that is your destination for today.

Treat this like an expedition to a far-off land. Remember to pack all the things you’ll need – bottled water, camera, comfortable shoes – and put your money in a safe place. Take plenty of photos, pick up some souvenirs (some interesting leaves, a flier taped to a lamp pole), and remember to send your family an email telling them what a great time you had.

Have Camera, Will Travel

Think of somewhere in your hometown that tourists love to visit (if you live in a really tiny town, it may require a day trip to do this excursion). Go to that place, and take a camera with you. Your mission: to photograph the tourists.

How you do this depends on the kind of person you are. You could take candid shots of tourists taking their own photographs (very post-modern). Or you could politely ask them to pose for your camera in front of the attraction, and ask them who they are, where they’re from and what they came to see, then write a little bio to go with each photo.

Recipe for Disaster

Recipe for disaster? The smile suggests yes.

Some countries have a magic touch when it comes to distilling liquor; others just ferment whatever they find buried up the back of the shed under some burlap sacks. But whether glorious or vile, the thrill of tasting exotic booze is one of the highlights of travel. (The photo? In Cambodia with a vat of rice wine, drunkenness ensuing.)

And thanks to globalisation you can now gamble your liver and eyesight in the comfort of your very own home. Invite your closest friends to your place for a cocktail party. Everyone has to bring a bottle of something foreign that they’ve never tasted before: your local liquor store or supermarket is bound to harbor at least one dubious spirit, beer or wine of unidentifiable lineage. Then, mix and match at your discretion. And remember, you can’t have too much water. Seriously. Drink up.

Speak to Me

There are any number of frivolous ways to dabble in different cultures. See anything in this blog, for example. But just for a minute, be serious. Please.

So much of traveling is about finding out how other people live: visiting tribes in the hills of Thailand, dancing with the locals in a bar in Nicaragua, renting an apartment for a couple of weeks in Paris. Knowing that things can be done differently gives us a fresh look at the way we do things. And sure, if you’re staying home you can have dinner in a Vietnamese restaurant or see a French film and get a little bit of that insight. Or you could become a volunteer English tutor for a recent migrant.

Do what now? Don’t you have to go to university for that?

You don’t. All over the country, community-based organisations train people to be volunteer English tutors. All it requires is a commitment of your time (try calling your local university, technical college, migrant centre or local government for more information). Even if there’s no such organization in your area or you don’t feel comfortable formally tutoring someone to speak English, lots of migrants really just want someone they can practise English with. All you have to do is have a little chat with them once a week or so. You can discuss football, cooking, weddings, what’s on TV or the country they’re from: whatever the two of you feel like talking about.

Put up some notices around your local schools, shopping centres or cultural centres and see if anyone’s interested. Helping someone out with their English, seeing the way this improves their life, and at the same time finding out about a completely different way of living is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have.

–Jane Rawson

Editor’s Note: Speaking of rock music, don’t forget to enter Viator’s New York City Rock n Roll tour contest. Tell us in 10 words or less: Why do YOU rock?

Memories of the Beatles are all over London

It’s a sad fact that many London visitors only ever get as far as seeing the West End, The Mall, Big Ben and The Tower. Many travellers don’t ever make it to where Londoners actually live, which is a very different place to the high-traffic tourist zones. That’s not to say those places aren’t important, but you might get just as much enjoyment out of an afternoon on the Kings Road as you would from yet another “must see” attraction, but how do you make that call: Westminster Abbey or Chelsea? That’s a tough one if you don’t know what to expect.

The London Rock Music Tour is a great way to solve that problem, and it’s a lot of fun if you have any interest at all in the Beatles, the Stones or any of the big UK pop and rock acts of the last 40-odd years. The tour picks up at the Hard Rock Cafe on Picadilly and winds its way though parts of London you’ll just never see unless you move there. And it’s a slightly surreal experience passing a huge monument of clearly important historical value and then hearing the guide start explaining — not about the monument, which remains a mystery — but about the cake shop on the left that’s run by Paul McCartney’s ex-girlfriend, Jane Asher. And she works there some days, so you can go right in and get your picture taken with her, because she’s a really nice lady!

And that’s one of Mick Jagger’s London homes right there, the one with the Vespa in the front yard; and that’s Bill Wyman’s restaurant, Sticky Fingers, and here’s Abbey Road, where we can all get out and have our photo taken crossing that crosswalk, you know, the one on the album cover?

Yeah, it’s all sort of corny but as it happens the rock and roll world is and was centered on Chelsea and Kensington and Earls Court and all the parts of town that really are still such fun today, so by the end of the tour you’ve figured out exactly where you want to go for dinner tonight, or shopping tomorrow, or just for a stroll in a part of town away from the crowds but with a history a little more relevant to your own life.

At least I can say I’ve been there…

And who knows who you might run into? But stay cool when you do, you’re a traveller, not a tourist…

–Rod Cuthbert

Planning a trip? Book a London tour to suit your fancy, or do like Rod and try the London Rock Legends Tour for something a little different.

It’s not every day that your website is honored by a major media outlet. And when it does happen, well, hopefully you’ll forgive us for trumpeting the news.

In Sunday’s Washington Post, as part of its “Best of the Web” series, Viator.com was listed as one of the 54 Online Travel Sites to Bookmark Now. As in, bookmark us now, please!

Here’s an excerpt from the Washington Post article:

“Given the weak economy, we’ve focused our Best of the Web list this year on travel sites that can save you money — such as the newly merged meta-search team of Kayak.com and SideStep.com. But even if they’re not budget-oriented, our picks can help you make the most of that other valuable commodity, your precious vacation time, by helping you find the right destination, activities, lodgings and cruises for your next trip. Here are our top choices for your travel tool kit.”

“Destination Guides: Viator.com. Many travelers spend hours researching airfares and hotels but don’t plan what to do once they get there. Viator solves that problem by showing dozens of activities for popular destinations. The site can help you avoid getting shut out of must-sees and can save you time by helping you skip the long lines. Choose a destination, such as France, and see top picks, deals and tips for what to do, including a Versailles bicycle jaunt and a Paris pastry- and chocolate-tasting tour.”

Thanks for the endorsement, Washington Post. We’re much obliged.

–Scott McNeely

The Others are right over those hills…

Here’s the thing, as much as I love, love, love, Viator and most of its 5,000+ products, there are some that I’d probably never consider doing. That’s not because they don’t have merit, they just don’t suit my taste. For example, I watch very little television. So the Sex in the City tour or Sopranos tour in New York City is not appealing to me (despite 80+ positive traveler reviews), I’ve never watched an episode of either show. And though I watch many movies, I’ve never really had much desire to see where things were filmed.

Recently I’ve gotten really into watching Lost. My brother gave me season one on dvd and I am now almost caught up through season three. Maybe its the endless hours of watching the survivors on the island, but I am starting to have a nearly uncontrollable urge to visit where they shoot Lost, which happens to be Oahu, Hawaii. Will I find a hatch? Can I hike through the same jungle as Sawyer and Kate? Will I run into The Others? Okay, of course not, but it seems like fun to go there. And if I just turn up in Oahu, sans a tour, how will I know where to go? Clearly it is not easy to find the village of The Others, and I don’t want to get trapped by Rousseau or zapped by the sonic security system. Admit it, you look at their beach, and really, does it seem so bad to be stranded there? Inquiring minds want to know.

*****

The famous Castro Theater

In San Francisco I live just a couple of blocks from the Castro neighborhood. Over the past few weeks the neighborhood has been turned into a set circa 1970’s for the filming of the Gus Van Sant movie currently titled Milk, a biopic on San Francisco’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, played by local celebrity Sean Penn. Its been freaky to see the Castro Theater marquee constantly playing the Poseidon Adventure, and all the store fronts are changed back to their 1970s form, though inside, they are exactly as they have been as of late, dispensing dvds or cell phones. As I was strolling to get a cookie from Hot Cookie (currently masked as a Double Rainbow ice cream parlor) I thought about how it is actually really cool to see people filming something in my neighborhood. Soon, Josh Brolin will assassinate Sean Penn, two blocks from my house! Yes, the street blocking it sometimes entails is a pain, but Milk will eventually arrive in theaters, maybe even the Castro Theater, and I will watch it and see my neighborhood on the big screen, reliving moments from its past. Some of my neighbors are extras!

Thus I made the gigantic leap in thought to realize that hey, when movies are shot in other places, the same kinds of things happen as in the Castro. And if I want to hear about those things, I should probably take a movie tour. I might run into locals who were extras, I could see how the cityscape has changed from the time of filming (or how it was changed for filming), and learn lots of movie trivia. Maybe it is to my taste after all, and happily there’s a 3.5-star rated movie tour of San Francisco just waiting for me.

*****

As much as I could wax on about my new found interest in movie and tv tours, there is another dvd of Lost waiting for me, so gotta run to see what happens next, and to get my fix of the breeze rustling through the palm trees. The dvd will have to do until I get there.

– Kelly G

Dying to get Lost on Oahu? Or see famous movies sites in San Francisco? Headed to another city immortalized on the silver screen? Check out more movie and tv tours on Viator.

If you’ve got a thing about flowers, colour, beauty, history, and/or sweet smelling air, Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands is the place for you. It’s gorgeous. So gorgeous, in fact, that no-one has ever taken a bad photograph there. Well, not of the flowers anyway.

The tulips at Keukenhof Gardens

Keukenhof is the world’s largest flower garden, over 70 acres (around 32 hectares) of parkland filled with more than 7 million bulbs - tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, narcissi, gladioli. But mainly it’s the tulips - of course, since this is the Netherlands. Located near Haarlem, just outside Amsterdam, it’s easy to get to by train and bus or car, even bicycle – this is the Netherlands. There’s even a bus that goes there direct from Schipol Airport. And once you get there, you can’t get lost in the gardens because there is one big landmark to guide your way - yep, it’s a windmill; after all, this is the Netherlands.

Tulips, tick. Bicycles, tick. Windmills, tick. I haven’t got to clogs yet, but I will…

Keukenhof Garden Tours: Plan Ahead

The most important thing to remember about Keukenhof Gardens is that it’s only open in spring, when the bulbs are flowering. That’s about 8 weeks of the year. In 2008, they are open from 20 March to 18 May. The rest of the year, the bulbs sleep - not a bad gig. But during those 8 weeks, the flowers really deliver: over 800,000 people visited the gardens last spring.

Keukenhof Gardens: So pretty it almost hurts

The flower gardens at Keukenhof were established in 1949, the idea of Mr W J H Lambooy, the then mayor of the nearby town of Lisse. He and a few other local identities thought that an annual open-air flower exhibition would be a good thing - largely for the local growers of bulbs to be able to exhibit and sell their wares. They decided on the Keukenhof Estate, using the former herb and vegetable garden area of the 15th-century Countess of Holland, Jacoba van Beieren. Hence the name of the place: Keukenhof literally means ‘kitchen garden’.

These days the park includes 7 inspiration gardens (ideas for you to try in you own, somewhat smaller, plot at home!); bronze sculptures by Dutch artists scattered around the place; changing exhibitions of flowers; and tents or kiosks from local bulb growers where you can order your favourites, which will then be delivered around September when the bulbs are in their deepest hibernation, gathering strength for next year. Every year about three billion (that’s 3,000,000,000!!) tulip bulbs are produced in Holland.

Tulips for Beginners

One of the most amazing things about tulips is the variety and colour. Every year Dutch growers breed new strains of the flower. Which brings me to more history and the most amazing thing I discovered in my investigations of Keukenhof: tulips are not Dutch at all! Well, they are now, about 500th generation (if every year is a generation for bulb?). But they do not grow wild in the Netherlands and never have. In fact, the natural habitat of the tulip is the rocky, dry mountainous regions near the border of China and Russia. The kind of flat, below sea-level, damp earth of the Netherlands is their least favourite environment, although I’m sure by now they have adapted. And the Dutch are very good at draining soil, let’s face it.

So how did tulips get to the Netherlands? And why did they become such a national symbol?

A botanist called Carolus Clusius who worked in Vienna, met with the Austrian Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, A. G. Busbequius. Busbeq gave him some tulip bulbs, a flower he had first seen in the gardens of Constantinople (now Istanbul). In fact, they are thought to be called tulips after the Persian word for turban (toliban, which when changed into Latin became tulipa) because there was a visual similarity between the hat and the flower. Clusius then took a job at the University of Leiden in Holland and planted his tulip bulbs.

From there, tulips became the new black. Tulipmania followed, with speculation in tulips reaching such dizzy heights (and losing so many Dutch their fortunes, houses and piece of mind) that the government stepped in during 1637 to stop the tulipwindhandel (literally ‘tulip wind trade’). I’m envisaging it as a vegetarian form of the pork bellies mayhem that occurs on Wall Street these days.

Anyway, now the tulip is no less desired, or valuable, but it is more even-tempered in its trade. It is also now firmly a Dutch symbol and foundation of their economy, it’s roots in the east largely faded into history.

Keukenhof: Don’t come if you don’t like tulips

Tulips + Ukulele = Tiny Tim

But not only have tulips been so important to one country, they were crucial in the life of one short man with a high voice: Tiny Tim. His 1968 hit song, ‘Tiptoe through the Tulips’, made him a worldwide star. ,It was not an original but a cover of the song written in 1929 by Nick Lucas (the song had four other incarnations on the pop charts through the 20th century).

I think Tiny Tim was the only one to add ukulele, though, and that made him a standout! Married live on The Tonight Show surrounded by 10,000 tulips, naming his daughter Tulip, and finally being buried in a coffin full of tulips, no-one could say Tiny Tim was not grateful for the leg-up tulips gave him in life.

(A useless but fascinating fact: Tiny Tim’s televised wedding to Miss Vicky in 1969 attracted 84% of the American TV audience, coming second only to the moon landing in ratings during the 1960s. I bet producers these days wish they could match that. Perhaps if Britney surrounded herself with tulips and… but back to Keukenhof.)

So, this humble flower has an incredible history. It has made people rich and lost them their houses, it has been a basis of its adopted country’s economy, it has brought joy and been cut from its bulb to be given with love, it has inspired song and television history.

Keukenhof Garden Tours: Remember, it’s March to May Only

Keukenhof Gardens is truly beautiful. The sheer scale immerses you in colour and fragrance. But I think my favourite thing about it is that it’s only open for 8 weeks each year. There’s no theme-park style manipulation of nature here. No hothouses tricking the bulbs into thinking it’s spring all year around. The flowers bloom from March to May, so that’s when you can go and see them.

Perfect.

One final word of advice: Keukenhof Gardens is a big place. You’ll be doing a lot of walking. You probably shouldn’t wear clogs. (And you thought I’d forgotten…)

–Philippa Burne

Book a Keukenhof Garden Tour over on the Viator site, or read more than 70 reviews of the Keukenhof Garden tours. Also check out Viator’s complete list of things to do in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Still with us? Good, then browse photos of the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in bloom on the Viator Flickr site.

When I first visited New York City’s Lower East Side a decade ago, there was a gigantic graffitoed painting of recently murdered Mexican diva, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, on the side wall of a building on the corner of East Houston Street. It separated the neighbourhood from its more genteel neighbour, the East Village.

Lower East Side street art

Now it’s a billboard for a lending institution.

NYC’s Lower East Side: Remembrances of things past

When visiting New York, I always stay on the Lower East Side with my Australian friend, whom I shall refer to by the name of Dee to protect the innocent. Dee lives a short walk from Chinatown on the Lower East Sire. And as I arrive in the late afternoon I usually arrange to meet Dee after her work in an uptown office megaplex at Lotus, where I can snuggle my chai (yes, dear reader, forgive me, for I am a chai-snuggler) and read for as long as it takes Dee to brave the perils of peak-hour subway.

I walk down Clinton to Lotus and enter: shock horror, an empty Lotus awaits, all darkened and reddened, the arrival of party-going hordes. The chais are gone, the tuna-salad bagels are gone, the piles of the Village Voice are gone. Lotus is now just another hipster bar, one of dozens that continue to pop up in the neighbourhood: the Lower East Side is now a beacon of Manhattan nightlife.

Later, as we eat nearby in the din at the bustlingly gorgeous Schiller’s Liquor Bar, Dee is unmoved and unsurprised. “You know, Alex, if you could see the changes that have happened to the Lower East Side since we moved in eight years ago. When we moved here, it was all Dominican.” The story is a familiar one: this neighbourhood hosted each successive wave of immigrants until the real estate boom flushed out the last corners of cheapish rent on Manhattan island. Thankfully, diversity’s fabric hasn’t been totally unthreaded. The nearby projects still remain, meaning the neighbourhood hasn’t last all of its diversity.

Sunday morning, D Train

The following day, at Soy, a Japanesey hole-in-the-wall on Suffolk between Rivington and Delancey, I meet Nicky, an artist at the Clemente Solo Velez Cultural Centre. Named after a distinguished Puerto Rican poet, it’s a former public school and an architectural landmark distinguished by early 20th-century exuberance. It houses two small theatres and a couple of dozen artist’s studios and is a stalwart of the old Lower East Side. For as long as I’ve visited the neighbourhood, its ground level has been clad in graffitoed scaffolding.

“I’ve had a studio there 16 years,” Nicky says. “At the beginning it didn’t even have locks on the doors. It was a squat, you know - this was a pretty rough neighbourbood. We had to fight the city to keep it, then we had to fight those who wanted it to be just for the Puerto Ricans. I can’t begin to tell you the troubles we’ve had keeping that building. But my rent is ridiculously cheap.” There comes a certain age in one’s life when you can’t have a conversation without talking about the price of real estate.

A scruffy, insouciant, rock ‘n’ roll guide to the Lower East Side

This is a fast-changing world, but that doesn’t mean every travel article about the Lower East Side should be a eulogy of things past. Sure there are Manhattan neighbourhoods with more and better museums, fancier restaurants, better-heeled locals and more camera-genic locales. Yet you’d be hard-pressed to find a Manhattan neighbourhood more rock’n’roll than this one.

So here follows my scruffy, insouciant, rock ‘n’ roll guide to the Lower East Side.

• Best Guitar Store. Hipsters love vintage guitars, which means that the neighbourhood boasts some wonderful purveyors of the ax. My favourite: Rivington Guitars. Thanks, Howie for giving me a demo of that 12-string Rickenbacker on that vintage Vox amp, even though you’d just driven 20 hours that weekend to pick up some axes in Ohio, and even though I had to tell you some pathetic lies about how I was “thinking about how to push my music in new directions” to get you to do it. I wish I was you.
• Best Street Art. Hipsters love graffiti, which they call ‘street art’. Check this out.
• Best Bookstore. McNally Robinson, on Prince Street. Technically in Little Italy, this place makes literature hip, and that, friends, is no easy feat.
• Best Restaurant. I am a sucker for two things: hipster women and restaurants with strange symbols in their names. I don’t know if MS Word is even going to let me type this, so let me try: ‘inoteca. Damn, how do I get that apostrophe to face the other way? Long story short: snacky Italian bar-type meals, New York bustle, Italian wine list as long as (but far more interesting than) Dante’s Paradiso. Cheese list factor: stinky (that’s good).
• Best Cinema. Two Boots, corner Avenue A and E 3rd St. Grab a slice of pepperoni pizza in the adjoining pizzeria if puckish. Also technically East Village, but within easy walking distance.
• Best Museum. You have two hours to see a museum in the Lower East Side. Which will it be – New Museum or Tenement Museum? The brand-new New Museum on the Bowery was closed on the day I went to visit, but it seemed real nice, even if New York magazine said it was “over-hyped”. Visiting the Tenement Museum (108 Orchard Street, between Delancey and Broome) is like stumbling onto the set of Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York – as well as being an invaluable reading aid to anyone with a passing interest in a certain kind of New York novel, i.e. anything written by Henry Roth or Michael Chabon.
• Best Knish. I’ve only ever had one knish in my life, and it was at Yonah Schimmel’s Knishery (“Hand Made Baked Knishes”) at 137 E Houston St. That’s a travel writer’s job: to pretend to be an expert about things he knows nothing about. But it was delicious. And it seemed very authentic.
• Best Magazine to Read About New York When In New York. On the one hand, there’s the New Yorker, magazine of choice for picking up hipster librarians on the Subway. (Here’s how you do it: read said magazine on the Subway, wearing something hip and distinctive. Go home. Look up ‘Missed Connections’ on Craigslist. Wait… Keep waiting…) On the other hand, there’s New York magazine, whose cover in the issue I picked up while there was emblazoned with the headline “Post-Crime,” about the city’s historically low crime figures.
• Safest Neighbourhood in Manhattan. According to the the aforementioned New York magazine article, definitely not the Lower East Side, which boasted in 2007 two murders, seven rapes, 215 robberies, 121 assaults and 114 burglaries. Please bear in mind: I quote these figures not to alarm but to inform. These are historically low figures. You are more likely to have your tongue scalded by a Starbuck’s coffee than to be the victim of crime in the Lower East Side (I just made that up, but it’s probably true). Incidentally, a quick perusal of the figures suggests the safest neighbourhood in Manhattan is probably Chelsea (where hipsters go to die, and where the score is 0, 8, 144, 151, 108).

Finally, here is my “Favourite Cheesy Thing to do in New York.” This has nothing to do with the Lower East Side, but the winner is the Empire State Building, hands down, for the view that really makes you understand why hipster hero Kurt Vonnegut called Manhattan ‘Skyscraper National Park’.

–Alex Landragin

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s New York City tours & things to do in New York. And if you haven’t already entered Viator’s NYC Rock ‘n’ Walking Tour contest, then a hipster you are not.

…and the tough guys tumble. It’s true, but really – one night in Bangkok is never enough. Perhaps more than any other city, Bangkok is a city for the senses. There are amazing sights – like the golden-spired “Wats” that dot the city; amazing sounds – the whir of tuk-tuks and buzz of conversation; amazing touch – the feel of silk and the touch of a Thai massage and of course the amazing smells and tastes of Thai food!

Bangkok is a place that you can visit over and over again and always find something new. In the past 10 years, I have made several trips - for work, for pleasure and as a convenient flight stop-over. I have come up with my ideal week of both the “must sees” and the sites off the beaten Path.

It tastes even better in Bangkok!

We have a lot to cover, so here goes…

Bangkok Day 1: Arrival

Depending on where you are flying from, you will probably arrive late at night. The new Bangkok airport is modern and efficient but charmingly chaotic! Taxis are plentiful and cheap and there are lots of touts in the airport to “help” you. Though most Thais speak English, the last thing you want is to be driving around while your driver tries to find your hotel! A better idea: pre-book your transfer. You’ll get a private car, an English speaking guide and they’ll know in advance where you are going. Check in to your hotel, have a Singha and get good nights sleep – we will be busy tomorrow.

Bangkok Day 2: Grand Palace & Wat Arun

Start the morning with a visit to Bangkok’s most famous site – The Grand Palace. Though no longer the Royal residence, it is still a beautiful compound of glittering buildings and the famous Emerald Buddha. For the first time visitor, a Guided Tour is highly recommended. It gets GREAT reviews - tell us what you think! After lunch, head to Wat Arun – also known as the Temple of Dawn – my tip: after your tour, come back around sunset and wander around as the sun goes down behind the temple.

Suan Lum Night Bazaar - still going strong.

In the evening, make your way to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. This HUGE open air market-dining-drinking-people watching spot is one of my favorite places. There are literally thousands of small stands selling everything from souvenirs to shampoo. It’s been reported that the government is evicting all the merchants to develop another hotel/office complex, but many of the merchants have refused to move. You will see some empty stalls, but as of my last visit in November, 2007, the market is still going strong. The market is also home to the Joe Louis Puppet Theater - a fun place for all ages to see Thai puppetry. For dinner check out any of the open-air places for a great Thai meal - or even a pizza or Mexican, it’s all there.

Bangkok Day 3: Temples, Jim Thompson’s House

Another busy day! Your guide will pick you up at your hotel for your tour to Wat Pho – or the temple of the reclining Buddha. At 46 meters in length and 15 meters high the Buddha is the largest in Bangkok and illustrates the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. This tour also includes two other temples – Wat Traimit – the Golden Temple and Wat Benchamabophit – the Marble Temple. (OK, we have covered it all – Emerald, Golden, Marble…!)

Sirocco: Come for the view or the food.

In the afternoon, head over to Jim Thompson’s House. You can easily visit the house on your own, or if you are into Thai architecture (or Thai Silk!), take the private tour. Jim Thompson, an American who returned to live in Thailand after World War II (he found New York City tame after many years in Bangkok!), is known as the man who put the Thai silk industry on the global stage. A visit to his beautifully built Thai house showcases his passion for Thai arts and culture. The house was constructed from different parts of various derelict houses in central Thailand and contains a fabulous collection of paintings and Asian artifacts. In 1967 Jim Thompson mysteriously disappeared in the Cameron Highlands (Malaysia), which has only added to his legend.

Tonight is our splurge for dinner, with a visit to Sirocco on the Top of the State Tower. This outdoor restaurant has incredible 360-degree views of Bangkok and fantastic food. Warning: it’s not cheap. Plan on about US$100 per person. If you are on a budget (and not an expense account) come up for a Sundowner drink instead. The view is the same!

Check out the great menu and make a reservation in advance. Dress sharply!

Bangkok Day 4: Chao Phraya River & Thonburi canals

After breakfast, grab a taxi to Chinatown. For added excitement, take a tuk-tuk, the noisy three-wheeled motor bikes that ply around the tourist zone. Hang on tight as these guys weave through traffic and make zippy turns. Once you are there, just wander the streets and take in the action. Bangkok is a relatively safe city, but be sure to watch your belongings here, as pickpockets are not uncommon. Speaking of pickpockets: be sure to visit Nakhon Kasem, or the “Thieves Market”. Used to be most everything here for sale was stolen from somewhere else, but now it is mainly antiques and souvenirs.

Next stroll down to the Chao Phraya riverfront. Historically, the river was the main thoroughfare of Bangkok and it still buzzes today with commerce. There are piers located next to many of the major hotels including the Sheraton, Peninsula and Mandarin. At any pier and you will be “offered” to charter a long-tail boat. Most boats can also take you down the canals of Thonburi, a district on the west side of the river where the river is still the center of the action. Many houses are built on stilts over the canals and the boat is a great way to see daily life close up – really close up! Don’t be shy – these guys cater to tourists and a boat cruise is great fun. Bargain hard as the prices may start out at 10 times what they should be. For the less adventurous, there is a long boat river taxi that makes several stops up and down the river on a fixed schedule.

Press HERE to relax.

After a leisurely lunch, it’s time for a massage. For about 300 Baht ($7-8) you can get an hour long foot massage – perfect for those weary feet. For a few Baht more, you can get an hour long Thai-style massage, usually performed on a mat and a mix of pressure and stretching. It’s not always gentle, but you will feel relaxed, I guarantee. Look for the “legit” massage parlors on any major street, often with foot reflexology signs in the windows and rows of comfy chairs lined up inside. Note – if there are a gaggle of scantily glad girls (or boys) out front and the prices are a lot higher, you are not likely going to get a “traditional” Thai massage. ‘Nuff said!

Bangkok Day 5: Thai cooking class

If you love Thai food, then today will be a highlight as you learn to cook (and get to eat!) some great Thai dishes. Viator has two options for you – a half-day class or a full-day class with a visit to a market outside the city. I did the half day class on my last visit and really enjoyed it. In each session, you learn to cook 4-5 dishes, an appetizer, soup or salad, main and a dessert. The menu changes each day, so you can come back on each trip to Bangkok. The classes are small and the chef/teachers are great fun as they explain not only the recipes, but a little about Thai life and culture. You get to take home the recipe books and can buy the menus for the other classes. Look for the course with the Thai green curry!

This afternoon is for relaxing by the pool, shopping, or maybe another foot massage. (Truth be told, I get a foot or back/shoulder massage every day when in Bangkok. For just a few bucks, it’s an hour well spent!).

In the evening, venture out to the Patpong, Sukhumvit or any major street and sample some great Thai food from a local vendor or open air café. If you are not sure which one to go to, look for the crowds of the locals and follow them. Rarely will you see a menu – just a selection of delicious and spicy foods. Point, smile and order!

Bangkok Day 6: Thai countryside – River Kwai, Floating Canals, or Ayuthaya

After several busy days in the city, it’s time to venture out and see the countryside. There are a lot of options depending on your interests – A day trip to the ancient capital of Ayuthaya, a tour to the famous Bridge on the River Kwai, or maybe an early morning trip to the floating markets at Damnoen Saduak to see the merchants buying and selling right off of their boats. I have done each of these trips on different occasions and can recommend each one.

Bangkok Sky Train at the Mo Chit Station.

Bangkok Day 7: Chatuchak market, Dinner Cruise

If it’s the weekend, then you MUST head to the Chatuchak market. Often touted as the largest outdoor market in the world, this is a one-stop shopping center, but VERY different from your local mall. I think it rates as one of the Top Ten Places in the World to Shop and I bet you will agree. This market has just about everything - souvenirs, artwork, housewares, silk, clothes, pets – you name it. Again, the word of the market is NEGOTIATE. The price for anything here is based on the vendors’ quick calculation of you and your ability to pay. Bargaining is expected and when done with a smile, a laugh (and a willingness to walk away) it can be a win-win for both parties. The market is very easy to get to on the fast, efficient Bangkok SkyTrain. You can’t miss it – it’s the last stop (Mo Chit) on the Sukhumvit Line.

For your last night in Bangkok, the perfect ending is a peaceful Dinner cruise on a traditional rice barge. As the sun sets and the heat dies down, they city actually comes to life - the lights come up, as do the small fires of food carts all over town. As you drift past it all, you can begin to plan your next trip – Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, or maybe Hong Kong

There are 100’s of great things to do in Bangkok. My week is just a sample. For nearly anything on this itinerary, you can take a private or group tour or explore on our own. But remember, popular tours like the cooking class and river cruise sell out in advance.

–Ken F

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