Latest news with #WatMangkonKamalawat
The Age
27-06-2025
- The Age
The must-do highlights of Bangkok in three days
Bangkok defies metaphor. An enigma wrapped in a traffic jam? The place where feudalism meets futurism? Just step out and surrender to its din and aromas, the combo of urgency and 'mai pen rai' (no worries) solutions. This city of 11.5 million people on the Chao Phraya River doesn't have a clearly defined centre and its hotel accommodation is scattered wide. Which means, depending on your location, think of the following day itineraries as adaptable, mix-and-match suggestions. Hint: cross-city travel can be slow (and hot) so don't over-plan your day. Day one Make an early start for the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) in the Grand Palace complex, preferably arriving by 8.30am to beat the crowd. It'll be busy anyhow. Spend a couple of hours in this ornate royal compound but don't attempt to photograph the tiny Emerald Buddha statue. Make time for the adjacent temple, Wat Pho, home to one of the city's great icons, the 46-metre Reclining Buddha. Catch a meter taxi to nearby Yaowarat Road, Chinatown, for lunch. (Tuk-tuks in this area are a rip-off.) The grazing choice is enormous, from hawker carts to side-alley restaurants. Try a local favourite, guay chap flat rice noodles in pepper soup, but skip the common 'delicacy', shark-fin soup. Afternoon You're in one of the world's largest Chinatowns, where the main attractions include Wat Traimit, home to a massive 5½-tonne golden Buddha statue, and to Bangkok's most important Chinese Buddhist shrine, Wat Mangkon Kamalawat (Dragon Lotus Temple). Then make your way to Sathorn Pier near Saphan Taksin BTS Skytrain station to join the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat. An all-day pass will allow you to hop on and off wherever you please at the ferry's 10 stops, including Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn), Khao San Road and attractions like the Asiatique theme park. Evening Bangkok has around 40 high-rise sky bars, most of them brilliant for sunset cocktails with spectacular views, plus dinner if you kick on. Not far from wherever you are there's probably a sky bar with an intriguing name like Paradise Lost, Cooling Tower, Vertigo or Flashback. If you're looking for sophisticated dining at a lower altitude, consider Red Rose in the Shanghai Mansion hotel on Yaowarat Road, or a choice of excellent French, Italian or Cantonese options in the Four Seasons Bangkok Hotel at Chao Phraya River. Or, further inland, the celebrated restaurant in Soi 53 Sukhumvit at Thong Lor.
Sydney Morning Herald
27-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The must-do highlights of Bangkok in three days
Bangkok defies metaphor. An enigma wrapped in a traffic jam? The place where feudalism meets futurism? Just step out and surrender to its din and aromas, the combo of urgency and 'mai pen rai' (no worries) solutions. This city of 11.5 million people on the Chao Phraya River doesn't have a clearly defined centre and its hotel accommodation is scattered wide. Which means, depending on your location, think of the following day itineraries as adaptable, mix-and-match suggestions. Hint: cross-city travel can be slow (and hot) so don't over-plan your day. Day one Make an early start for the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) in the Grand Palace complex, preferably arriving by 8.30am to beat the crowd. It'll be busy anyhow. Spend a couple of hours in this ornate royal compound but don't attempt to photograph the tiny Emerald Buddha statue. Make time for the adjacent temple, Wat Pho, home to one of the city's great icons, the 46-metre Reclining Buddha. Catch a meter taxi to nearby Yaowarat Road, Chinatown, for lunch. (Tuk-tuks in this area are a rip-off.) The grazing choice is enormous, from hawker carts to side-alley restaurants. Try a local favourite, guay chap flat rice noodles in pepper soup, but skip the common 'delicacy', shark-fin soup. Afternoon You're in one of the world's largest Chinatowns, where the main attractions include Wat Traimit, home to a massive 5½-tonne golden Buddha statue, and to Bangkok's most important Chinese Buddhist shrine, Wat Mangkon Kamalawat (Dragon Lotus Temple). Then make your way to Sathorn Pier near Saphan Taksin BTS Skytrain station to join the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat. An all-day pass will allow you to hop on and off wherever you please at the ferry's 10 stops, including Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn), Khao San Road and attractions like the Asiatique theme park. Evening Bangkok has around 40 high-rise sky bars, most of them brilliant for sunset cocktails with spectacular views, plus dinner if you kick on. Not far from wherever you are there's probably a sky bar with an intriguing name like Paradise Lost, Cooling Tower, Vertigo or Flashback. If you're looking for sophisticated dining at a lower altitude, consider Red Rose in the Shanghai Mansion hotel on Yaowarat Road, or a choice of excellent French, Italian or Cantonese options in the Four Seasons Bangkok Hotel at Chao Phraya River. Or, further inland, the celebrated restaurant in Soi 53 Sukhumvit at Thong Lor.
Tatler Asia
09-06-2025
- Tatler Asia
The living legacy of Chinatowns around the world
2. Yaowarat, Bangkok Above Bangkok (Photo: Mike González / Pexels) When King Rama I moved the Thai capital to Bangkok in the 1780s, Chinese traders resettled along the Chao Phraya River. Yaowarat Road became the spine of Bangkok's Chinatown, a gilded stretch of gold shops, shrines and shophouses where commerce and culture intertwined. For over two centuries, Yaowarat has remained vibrantly Chinese yet unmistakably Thai. Temples like Wat Mangkon Kamalawat draw worshippers, while street hawkers serve everything from bird's nest soup to Thai-Chinese fusion dishes with generations of culinary know-how behind them. Throughout the centuries, experts, industry insiders and influencers have made Yaowarat well-known. Gentrification has brought boutique hotels and speakeasies, but Yaowarat's spirit remains thick as fish maw soup. The older generation still sweeps storefronts at dawn, while the younger crowd turns family stalls into branded foodie empires. 3. San Francisco, USA Above San Francisco (Photo: Ricky Esquivel / Pexels) Established in the 1850s, San Francisco's Chinatown is the oldest in the US. Born from Gold Rush dreams and hardened by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the neighbourhood became a fortress against institutional racism. After the 1906 earthquake, the community rebuilt with ornate Chinese-inspired architecture, partly to attract tourists, partly to reclaim dignity. For decades, it was home to Chinese labourers, laundries and secret societies. Today, it's a bustling cultural hub, where Cantonese grandmothers haggle over bok choy and next-gen chefs serve Peking duck in sleek dining rooms. However, encroaching gentrification from tech giants has put immense pressure on the neighbourhood. But Chinatown's residents are reorganising, establishing cultural districts, protecting rent-controlled housing and resisting eviction. Here, the dragon still dances, and it still breathes fire. 4. Flushing, New York, USA Above Flushing (Photo: via Wikimedia Commons) While Manhattan's Chinatown was once the flagship, the real Chinese community boom has shifted to Flushing, Queens. Starting in the 1980s, an influx of immigrants from Fujian, Taiwan and mainland China transformed Flushing into a multilingual megahub. Unlike its Manhattan predecessor, Flushing is less performative and more lived-in. Here, you'll find regional Chinese cuisines rarely seen outside the mainland. Think Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles, Dongbei hot pot and Taiwanese shaved ice. Now, Flushing is rapidly expanding but faces the same gentrification threats as many of the other Chinatowns on this list. Malls, high-rises and luxury condos are appearing at dizzying rates. Still, the community is vocal: demanding infrastructure, transit investment and cultural preservation in the face of displacement. 5. London, Soho, UK Above London (Photo: Artūras Kokorevas / Pexels) The UK's first Chinese enclave started in Limehouse in the 19th century. It was initially home to sailors and working-class migrants. Post-WWII, however, many relocated to Soho, where Chinatown took root amid narrow streets and crumbling postwar buildings. From humbler beginnings, London's Chinatown evolved into a vibrant food and nightlife hub, with Cantonese roast shops, bakeries and later, pan-Asian influences. It's also home to community centres and Chinese-language newspapers that have helped generations settle and eventually thrive. Now, Soho's rise as a nightlife capital and tourist zone has brought soaring rents and a flood of chain restaurants. Yet local organisers are resisting whitewashing, ensuring that alongside the bubble tea and barbecue, the soul of Chinatown remains unmistakably Chinese and defiantly local. 6. Melbourne, Australia Above Melbourne (Photo: Pat Whelen via Pexels) Formed during Australia's 1850s gold rush, Melbourne's Chinatown is the oldest continuously inhabited Chinatown in the Western world. Early Chinese immigrants braved exclusion laws and rigid policies to form tight-knit communities along Little Bourke Street. Over the decades, it evolved from goldfield grit to Art Deco elegance, becoming a cultural landmark for both old and new generations of Chinese-Australians. These days, Melbourne's Chinatown still boasts traditional restaurants and lunar festivals. However, many young Chinese Australians are opening contemporary eateries, fashion boutiques and co-working studios, developing a stylish intersection of heritage and innovation.
