Tours in Bangkok

Bangkok starts before you do. By the time you are out the door there is smoke rising from a street cart, a motorbike taxi rider in an orange vest is waiting at the corner, and someone is already ladling noodle soup into a plastic bag tied with a rubber band. Give yourself a day to stop fighting the heat and the noise. Walk slowly, drink something cold, and let the city set the pace.

The river is the best way to understand the place. The Chao Phraya cuts through the middle of Bangkok, and the long-tail boats, ferries and rice barges all keep to its own busy rhythm. From the water you can see Wat Arun on one bank and the Grand Palace on the other, and the gilded roofs make more sense from a boat than from the crowded pavement. Wat Pho, with its enormous reclining Buddha, is close by. So are the alleys of Chinatown, where the evening food stalls fill the street and you eat standing up.

Then there is the day that most people end up taking out of town. Ayutthaya sits upriver from Bangkok, a scatter of brick temple ruins, headless Buddhas and tall prangs among grass and old trees. At Wat Mahathat a stone Buddha head sits wrapped in tree roots, and you will want a photo. You can go by coach and come back down the river by boat, or you can cycle the back lanes and ferry crossings at a slower pace. Both start in Bangkok, and both give you a day away from the traffic.

Want to see something else? The Grand Palace, Jim Thompson House, the floating markets and the canals of Thonburi are all worth a day. Ask, and a local guide can take the request.