Culture of Bangkok
Encyclopedia
Bangkok
is the cultural center of Thailand
, it holds various festivals each year and is home to many different art galleries and sporting clubs.
Turf Clubs: Horse racing in Bangkok is at the Royal Turf Club and Royal Bangkok Sports Club.
Tennis: Since the success of former Thai tennis player Paradon Srichaphan, many middle-class Thais have taken up the game and lots of courts are scattered around the city.
inclined but there are a couple of centers which offer practice. It is possible to reside at one of the capital's temples, but permission needs to be sought beforehand.
Thai Traditional Massage: This therapeutic and highly soothing form of massage
purportedly evolved from rishis (forest-dwelling Brahmin hermit
ascetics) who relieved the physical stress of extended periods of meditation by adopting certain postures. Wat Pho is the best known centre for massage and massage tuition. Major hotels also offer Thai massage services.
or traditional Thai massage
. In the city of Bangkok you do not have to walk very far to find something to eat, food carts can be found in every street corner as well as in many small Soi
(lanes) which are full of varieties of food stalls. There are many of restaurants in Bangkok, there are noodle
stands, fruit stalls, curry
shops, Pad Thai
stalls, road-side barbecues and even carts selling fried insects; and then there are countless superb restaurants serving international as well as Thai and other Asian cuisine
to suit most tastes and budgets. The range of options is quite staggering and very few visitors or ex-pats can claim to have tried everything Bangkok restaurants have to offer.
Phahurat (Little India): This district, since it is the home to countless families of Indian origin, is the best place in Thailand for Indian food.
Siam Square / Sukhumvit Road / Silom / Soi Lang Suan: Plenty of international restaurants are situated in these areas. Most however, are quite trendy and up-market.
Banglamphu: Banglumphu caters predominantly for budget backpackers. Besides just cheap Thai food, innumerable international restaurants have sprung into business over the past few years.
, Soi Cowboy
and Nana Plaza
being the main areas catering mainly to male tourists. There are westernized clubs and cafes for the rich, and lower-cost bars and pubs that are very popular with the locals. The city's Phra Nakhon district is home to probably the most varied worldwide example of a "backpackers' ghetto", Khaosan Road
. Sukhumvit Road
boasts some of Asia's most crowded clubs along the 5 km (3 mi) section between Ekamai and Withayu.
Types of nightlife in Bangkok include:
Bangkok has the biggest gay scene in Thailand. More than 200 bars, clubs, discos, saunas are concentrated in the Bang Rak
area around Patpong
and Phaya Thai
. They are found randomly distributed along Sukhumvit Road and around Ramkhamhaeng University
(mainly local crowd).
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
is the cultural center of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, it holds various festivals each year and is home to many different art galleries and sporting clubs.
Sport
Boxing stadiums: There are two venues in Bangkok for this type of sport.- Ratchadamnoen Stadium (สนามมวยราชดำเนิน), Ratchadamnoen Nok Road.
- Lumphini Stadium (สนามมวยลุมพินี), Rama IV Road.
Turf Clubs: Horse racing in Bangkok is at the Royal Turf Club and Royal Bangkok Sports Club.
Tennis: Since the success of former Thai tennis player Paradon Srichaphan, many middle-class Thais have taken up the game and lots of courts are scattered around the city.
Spas
Meditation: It has been said by monks that it is impossible to become enlightened in Bangkok. Bangkok is not a haven for the spirituallySpirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
inclined but there are a couple of centers which offer practice. It is possible to reside at one of the capital's temples, but permission needs to be sought beforehand.
Thai Traditional Massage: This therapeutic and highly soothing form of massage
Massage
Massage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...
purportedly evolved from rishis (forest-dwelling Brahmin hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
ascetics) who relieved the physical stress of extended periods of meditation by adopting certain postures. Wat Pho is the best known centre for massage and massage tuition. Major hotels also offer Thai massage services.
Food
In Bangkok, it is common to greet with the phrase "Kin khao rue yang?" (Have you eaten?) that is simply the equivalent of "How are you?". Food is as much an integral part of Thai culture as Muay ThaiMuay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
or traditional Thai massage
Thai massage
Thai massage is a type of massage in Thai style that involves stretching and deep massage. This form of bodywork is usually performed on the floor, and the client wears comfortable clothes that allow for movement. No oils are used in Thai massage...
. In the city of Bangkok you do not have to walk very far to find something to eat, food carts can be found in every street corner as well as in many small Soi
Soi
Soi is the term used in Thailand for a side-street branching off a major street . An alley is called a Trok .Sois are usually numbered, and are referred to by the name of the major street and the number, as in "Soi Sukhumvit 4", "Sukhumvit Soi 4", or "Sukhumvit 4", all referring to the fourth soi...
(lanes) which are full of varieties of food stalls. There are many of restaurants in Bangkok, there are noodle
Noodle
The noodle is a type of food, made from any of a variety of doughs, formed into long thin ribbons, strips, curly-cues, waves, helices, pipes, tubes, strings, or other various shapes, sometimes folded. They are usually cooked in a mixture of boiling water and/or oil. Depending upon the type, noodles...
stands, fruit stalls, curry
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
shops, Pad Thai
Pad Thai
Pad Thai or Phat Thai is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce , tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime, the juice of which can be added along with Thai condiments Pad...
stalls, road-side barbecues and even carts selling fried insects; and then there are countless superb restaurants serving international as well as Thai and other Asian cuisine
Asian cuisine
Asian cuisine styles can be broken down into several tiny regional styles that have roots in the peoples and cultures of those regions. The major types can be roughly defined as East Asian with its origins in Imperial China and now encompassing modern Japan and the Korean peninsula; Southeast Asian...
to suit most tastes and budgets. The range of options is quite staggering and very few visitors or ex-pats can claim to have tried everything Bangkok restaurants have to offer.
Food location
Yaowarat (Chinatown): This area is clotted with cheap restaurant and stalls dishing up Chinese food. Due to the area once being the center of Chinese immigrants, the Chinese food sold is probably the most authentic in Thailand.Phahurat (Little India): This district, since it is the home to countless families of Indian origin, is the best place in Thailand for Indian food.
Siam Square / Sukhumvit Road / Silom / Soi Lang Suan: Plenty of international restaurants are situated in these areas. Most however, are quite trendy and up-market.
Banglamphu: Banglumphu caters predominantly for budget backpackers. Besides just cheap Thai food, innumerable international restaurants have sprung into business over the past few years.
Nightlife
Bangkok offers a widely variety of nightlife. The city is famous for its massage parlors, go-go bars, host bars and karaoke venues, with PatpongPatpong
Patpong is an entertainment district in Bangkok, Thailand, catering mainly, though not exclusively, to foreign tourists and expatriates. While Patpong is internationally known as a red light district at the heart of Bangkok's sex industry, it is in fact only one of numerous red-light districts...
, Soi Cowboy
Soi Cowboy
Soi Cowboy is a red-light district in Bangkok, Thailand. A short street with some 40 bars, it is similar to Nana Plaza and Patpong and caters mainly to tourists and expatriates....
and Nana Plaza
Nana Plaza
Nana Plaza is a 3 storey red-light district in Bangkok, which is rumoured to be the largest sex complex in the world. It is located on Sukhumvit Road Soi 4 across from the Nana Hotel, within walking distance of the BTS Skytrain's "Nana Station"...
being the main areas catering mainly to male tourists. There are westernized clubs and cafes for the rich, and lower-cost bars and pubs that are very popular with the locals. The city's Phra Nakhon district is home to probably the most varied worldwide example of a "backpackers' ghetto", Khaosan Road
Khaosan Road
Khaosan Road or Khao Sarn Road is a short street in central Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Banglamphu area of about 1 km north of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew....
. Sukhumvit Road
Sukhumvit Road
Sukhumvit Road , or Thailand Route 3 , is a major road in Thailand, and a major surface road of Bangkok and other cities it winds through. It follows a coastal route from Bangkok to Trat and is just over in length....
boasts some of Asia's most crowded clubs along the 5 km (3 mi) section between Ekamai and Withayu.
Types of nightlife in Bangkok include:
- Discos, which are popular with the younger trendier crowd
- Live Music Joints, that play either Thai Folk or English classics
- Karaoke clubs, that can be found all around and where customers can either sing to everyone or rent a private room.
- Barbecues, which are large restaurants which play music and serve alcohol to the smaller restaurants (unlike the other venues).
- Thai pubs, which cater to the younger Thais and university students.
- Western pubs, many of which serve draft beer and mixed drinks. There are also a few Irish pubs.
Bangkok has the biggest gay scene in Thailand. More than 200 bars, clubs, discos, saunas are concentrated in the Bang Rak
Bang Rak
Bang Rak is one of the 50 districts of Bangkok, Thailand. The district is bounded by four other districts : Pathum Wan, Sathon, Khlong San , and Samphanthawong. It was established in 1912.-History:...
area around Patpong
Patpong
Patpong is an entertainment district in Bangkok, Thailand, catering mainly, though not exclusively, to foreign tourists and expatriates. While Patpong is internationally known as a red light district at the heart of Bangkok's sex industry, it is in fact only one of numerous red-light districts...
and Phaya Thai
Phaya Thai
Phaya Thai is a district in central Bangkok, Thailand. It is also the name of a major road, as well as a BTS Skytrain station, both of which are in the nearby Ratchathewi district....
. They are found randomly distributed along Sukhumvit Road and around Ramkhamhaeng University
Ramkhamhaeng University
Ramkhamhaeng University is one of two open universities in Thailand. The university was named in honor of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai, who traditionally is credited for creating the Thai alphabet....
(mainly local crowd).
External links
- Lifestyle Asia: Bangkok (An informative City Guide to Bangkok)