How To Use This E-Book
Getting Around the e-Book
This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Thailand, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.
The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Thailand, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights in Thailand are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
Youll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Thailand. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.
About Insight Guides
Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.
Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.
2018 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd
Table of Contents
Thailands Top 10 Attractions
Top Attraction #1
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Kwai River Bridge
Pay homage to the thousands of prisoners who died during the bridges construction in World War II. For more information, .
Top Attraction #2
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Mae Hong Son
This north-eastern town lies in a serene forested valley. For more information, .
Top Attraction #3
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Bangkoks Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace complex
Highlights include the chapel of the Emerald Buddha and a golden chedi (stupa). For more information, .
Top Attraction #4
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Chiang Mai
For Thai silks visit the bustling Night Bazaar. For more information, .
Top Attraction #5
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Phang Nga Bay
Paddle around a landscape filled with oddly shaped islands and hidden caves. For more information, .
Top Attraction #6
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Phanom Rung
This spectacular sanctuary is one of the highlights of the Khmer Culture Trail. For more information, .
Top Attraction #7
Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications
Ayutthaya
A national treasure, this ruined city gives an insight into the ancient history of Thailand. For more information, .
Top Attraction #8
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Hill tribes
Trek by Jeep or on foot to see these followers of ancient rituals. For more information, .
Top Attraction #9
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Ko Samui
The place to swim, snorkel, windsurf, dine on the sand or just people-watch. For more information, .
Top Attraction #10
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Chao Phraya
Take a boat on Bangkoks majestic river. For more information, .
A Perfect Day In Bangkok
9.00am
Breakfast
Drop in for a leisurely breakfast at The Verandah, on the Mandarin Orientals riverside terrace. The luxurious surroundings provide a fine start to the day, and the Oriental boat pier is next door, with boats waiting to whisk you on to the next leg of the days journey.
10.00am
Lying down
Take a Chao Phraya river boat to Tha Tien pier where, just beyond a market and Chinese shop houses, the grounds of Wat Pho host the Reclining Buddha. Afterwards, get pampered at the temples traditional massage school.
12 noon
Gold and dragons
Grab a taxi to Chinatown, which has some of the most historic shopping alleys in Bangkok. Along with gold, dragon dresses and Chinese lanterns, these lanes are full of cheap food stalls that make it an ideal stop for lunch. At Wat Traimit see the worlds biggest solid gold Buddha.
2.00pm
Shopping
A taxi to Pathumwan brings you to the heart of the citys mall district. As well as offering local and international fashions, Siam Paragon hosts Sea Life Ocean World, home to penguins, sharks, stingrays and other creatures of the deep.