Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Lifestyle
LifestyleTravel

Bangkok: Around-the-Clock Urban Thrills

Posted byBy Stan | Published on: | Updated on June 12, 2013 CommentsComments (0)

There’s something inherently grand yet tumultuous about Bangkok: the streets humming with traffic, the nonstop nightlife, the elephants on the sidewalk. Though most travelers venture to Thailand to experience unearthly tranquility, its capital city presents a fast-paced, action-packed alternative for those looking for some extra oomph. As anyone who has ever taken a frenzied ride on a tuk tuk will tell you, it’s no surprise that Bangkok is 007’s favorite place to pull off a car chase.

The around-the-clock urban thrills and an exoticized sense of urgency make this Asian metropolis a travel destination where winners take all. So if you’re planning your own Bangkok adventure, make sure to stay alert and pack your 5-hour Energy in bulk.

1.    Befriend a Monk

Vertigo, the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. Or make your way to the 63rd floor of the lebua hotel for a cocktail at Sky Bar before heading to Sirocco, the highest al fresco restaurant in the world, for dinner.

3.   Sleep Like a Rock Star

The Siam is not your typical family-owned resort. The Sukosol family’s bejeweled and eccentric matriarch lives next door to the biggest gay bathhouse in

Bangkok and has donated more than $1 million to charity. And if Kamala Sukosol is the Liza Minelli of Thailand, her vocal prodigy daughter Marisa is its Barbra Streisand. You’ll sleep like a baby at this five-star hotel, and may just catch a glimpse of a member of this famous family — including Marisa’s rock star brothers Kriss and Sukie of Pru– while you’re there.

4.   Get Drunk On Thai Whiskey

“Thai Whiskey” comes in all different flavors. This one’s been “infused” with cobra. (Photograph by Oscar Raymundo)

A glass of wine a day can reduce the risk of heart disease, but a shot of Yaa Dong (alcoholic medicine) can reduce fatigue, cure insomnia, and even increase your sex drive. These popular Thai tonics come in different flavors and varying potencies…

Read more: National Geographic

 

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top