Bangkok, Thailand
Whether looking for culture immersion or a romantic getaway, Thailand has it. Throughout Thailand there are so many choices for travel activities, tours, lodging (popular hotels, villa stays and vacation rentals), and big & small cruises that travel in Thailand promises to be an unforgettable travel experience. You can build your personal trip planning itinerary online and choose to explore the area on your own or take our travel theme tours that make it easy to experience travel as you like it.
Thailand Guide - to help with your travel planning, find valuable details on the area including local activities & attractions, recommended restaurants, favorite shopping areas, walking tours, suggested itineraries and events.Invitation to participate in an Investment Tour Opportunity to Southeast Asia
by Chris Mayer
The Next Great Consumer Market - "It's like China, only 10 or 15 years ago..."
Southeast Asia Profit Expedition
Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand
January 18-31, 2011
Laptops … smart phones … LCD TVs …
"Move aside American consumer. Asian consumers, particularly Chinese, are the ones buying up consumer electronics these days," reports the Wall Street Journal. But it doesn't stop there. Toothpaste … cars … wine … Prada handbags …
For a long time now, Asia’s economies, generally, have been geared toward servicing the West, toward exports. But now we're seeing a transformation, the rise of the Asian consumer.
And Southeast Asia is the next great consumer market to open up.
"Asia is looking good… Very good, in fact. Not that you’d know that by listening to Wall Street. It still tends to think Asia is closely hitched to the United States’ shopping whims. But that is quite simply no longer true." -- Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research
That's why we're heading there this January. And I'd like to invite -- and encourage -- you to come along. For more information on this custom designed investment tour to Southeast Asia, please contact us for more details.
Click here for tour details
Bangkok Introduction
With a population of over 10 million in a country of only 64 million, Thailand's capital teems with humanity. As the cultural heart of the kingdom, the city keeps many traditions still visibly intact -- yet Bangkok is also a rapidly changing city. If you go beyond the city's new transport systems (the above-road Bangkok Transit System [BTS] and the Mass Rapid Transit [MRT] subway), it can be a challenge. Heavy traffic, excessive heat and humidity, and at certain times of the year, smog, can make Bangkok truly overwhelming. Nevertheless, to find the charm of the city, all you need to do is to be adventurous and explore areas outside the central business district, packed full of skyscrapers and shopping malls.
Founded when King Rama I moved the city across the river from Thonburi in 1782, Bangkok is not a particularly ancient capital, but rather a cool mix of modernity and tradition. Saffron-robed monks mingle in the sois with Starbucks-drinking, cellphone-wielding yuppies or bouffant-wigged socialites known by the abbreviation hi-so. Luxurious, glass-clad condos brazenly penetrate the skyscape, juxtaposed by tin-roofed slums teetering along putrid canals. Amongst the concrete, glittering wats and ramshackle colonial edifices pepper this ancient and vibrant city.
What strikes many upon arrival in the Big Mango, as it's lovingly known, is the highly developed infrastructure, high-end shopping, world-class accommodations, and welcoming people; compared to Hong Kong and Singapore, though, the country is way behind in development, and locals aren't as fluent in English as in these wealthy former colonies. The modernity is often merely a beguiling façade -- underneath there's grit and grime.
The culture here is so gloriously rich, though, that exploring Bangkok should be seen as a highlight of any trip to Thailand. And there are rooms to suit any budget. Bangkok's luxury hotels offer unrivaled rates and visitors can find anything from a basic 300B (US$8.60/£4.60) hostel to a ritzy high-rise suite. The cuisine is itself a worthy adventure; you can choose from fine dining in hip hangouts to simple market stalls.
The city is relatively safe, but unsuspecting tourists can be victims of thievery from time to time -- mostly involving petty theft such as pickpocketing. For the most part, you can wander freely around the shopping districts or giddy markets unhindered. At some point, be sure to escape the frenetic pulse of the concrete jungle by ducking into a serene temple compound.
Rivaled only by Chiang Mai in the north, Bangkok is above all a great place to shop, for anything from name-brand luxury items (and, of course, knock-offs that won't last a week) to fine local handicrafts, antiques, silk, and jewels. And when it comes to nightlife, the endless array of great value night markets, bars, clubs, and eateries makes for a (potentially) sleepless night.
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