Bangkok

Hot, hectic, and definitely not the most pleasant smelling of cities, Bangkok, initially at least, isn’t the most relaxing of places. And, despite it’s reputation as a top holiday destination, with cheap flights from pretty much anywhere in the world, nor is it the most spectacular as a tourist spot. Sure, there is the Royal Palace; the museum; there are temples; the canal tour is pretty good; and there are a plethora of floating markets to visit, but there is nothing that really, really makes you go “Wow” from a tourist attraction point of view. There are even more racy destinations elsewhere in Thailand if that’s what you’ve come for. So, after a week of waiting for the Beaut to clear customs (why is everything always so much more frustrating when you’re waiting for something?!), we weren’t sold on Bangkok as a place to visit. We weren’t even enjoying the street food as much as we’d hoped! But then we realised that we needed to stop viewing Bangkok from a tourist point of view. I mean, on a holiday, you aren’t that likely to spend 2 weeks in the city anyway, not when you’ve got the rest of Thailand to enjoy as well. We needed to start appreciating Bangkok for what it did have, and stop comparing it to Myanmar, or to other places in South East Asia that we were looking forward to.

Step forward a website called “Bangkok.oneplace.events”. It’s a listing of pretty much everything that’s happening in the city, organised into morning, afternoon and evening, for every single day. And wow, what a selection. Bangkok might not have the best sights in the world, but for the sheer number of things going on, it’s got to be up there. From art galleries and rooftop jazz nights, to free open air concerts by the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, we found something that we wanted to do literally every day. We even found somewhere to watch the 6 Nations! Conclusion: if you are coming to Bangkok, don’t follow your guide book; find out what’s on at the time, and really experience what living in Bangkok is like – it won’t disappoint.