- Paperback: 296 pages
- Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 5th Revised edition edition (31 Aug 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1864502851
- ISBN-13: 978-1864502855
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 13 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 930,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
Best for curious and independent-minded travelers' --Wall Street Journal
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Contains hundreds of eating options, including pick-and-point hawker stalls and fiery fine dining; extensive accommodation listings for all budgets; the lowdown on bars, boxing and bargain hunting; excursions to ancient Ayuthaya and other escapes; and an indispensable language section.
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First Sentence
Bangkok - the name explodes off the tongue, filling the mind with steamy images of the archetypal Southeast Asian metropolis. Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Bangkok - the name explodes off the tongue, filling the mind with steamy images of the archetypal Southeast Asian metropolis. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Whilst LP guides are generally of a high standard compared to most guide books I think it is fair to say that the quality of information varies considerably between different LP guides. It is a real shame as Bangkok is such a fascinating city but in my view the LP Bangkok guide falls towards the lower end of the scale. Essentially the book seems to consist of taking the Bangkok section and the general info parts of the LP Thailand Guide book, making the maps more colourful and then wrapping them in a 'Bangkok guide' cover - it really doesn't seem to add anything more than the country guide would give you. Compare this for example with the LP guide to London which is much more detailed than the London section of the LP Britain guide. It is a very comprehensive guide to London rather than something suitable if you're just stay for a few days - surely this is what the Bangkok guide should be like? There are a couple of other areas where the BKK guide lets itself down. Firstly inaccuracies are not uncommon (after 3 days of using it I could point out many of them - Lumphini Park metro station is not where the LP map says it is, the Hilton Hotel is no longer there, etc. and this is for a newly published edition - one wonders why LP can't do the checking properly). The second is the new format that LP seem to have opted for on their newly published guidebooks (admittedly a point that applies beyond the BKK guide) which seems to try to move the guides more towards the mid-range market by adopting a style more like the excellent Time Out City Guides. The problems is the BKK guide doesn't do this as well as the Time Out BKK guide and at the same time loses a lot of its user-friendliness and order that the previous edition had. Finally LP in general could do to improve their restaurant expertise if they are aiming to more up-market.
This is all a shame because Joe Cummings is definately a real Thai guru and knows more about the place than I will surely ever know - with Joe's knowledge and Bangkok's amazing intensity and variety this book could be so much better.
LP could and should make this guide more detailed, more accurate and revert to their old style. Until then I would recommend getting the Thailand country guide and then, if you are staying in BKK for more than a week, getting the Time Out Guide to Bangkok to give more in depth city info.
3 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Any travel guide is out of date before it's printed, L.P. is no exception. L.P. Bangkok is still compact, very current, and speaking as a resident in the Pacific Rim, quite useful. The City Guides blend a "coffee table" book feel with useful info for backpackers, ex-pats, and "silk sheet set" tourists.
Any Thai guide must address the flesh trade without sounding a dinner bell for sex tourists, and Joe seems to walk this line nicely. (L.P. always seems to discourage travel for sex & drugs, though rock and roll seems to always merit it's own section.)
RE: Other L.P. Thai guides The On A Shoestring guides are always the most bang-for-your buck, and always a damned good idea for border excursions. If you've got the bucks, I don't think that all 4 formats (City Guide, Travel Survival Kit, On A Shoestring, and Phrase Book) are excessive. My only regret is that the Tokyo City Guide is now in a "standard" format, not the "shirt-pocket" size of the previous editions, nor the "mini" of the phrasebooks. I hope that the other guides retain their current size.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
If Your Going, Get It
25 Jan 2002
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book will save you time, money, frustration, and give enjoyment and satisfaction. Bangkok is a huge city with many attractions and lots of traffic. This guide will tell you where you can go and what you can do based on *your* personal preferences. You can fit your accomadation, lifestyle, budget, culinary likes, night life play-time, and temples, into this guide, and most importantly, get there quickly and affordabley. All of the river taxi and Sky Train routes and stops are listed. Information on the arriving Metro is included as well. The maps are accurate. Plenty of cultural, visa, legal, medical and food information. Very pleasant areas outside of, but near Bangkok are noted. If you spend time in Bangkok, and only use the LP South East Asia or LP Thailand, you will miss many things that you may want to experience in Bangkok. The Bangkok city guide is worth picking up for those who have the country LP.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Good, but second best
18 Mar 2005
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was fortunate enough to spend a month in Bangkok and bought both the Lonely Planet and the Moon Guides. I generally read both books before I went anywhere, so I can fairly compare them.
The Lonely Planet guide was always worth reading -- it often added something I didn't find in the Moon guide. The highly detailed map in the back of the book was also quite worthwhile. However, if I had to have just one book, it would have been the Moon guide by Carl Parkes.
Carl's explanations always seemed a little bit richer, and a little bit more in touch. His introduction to the Thai language left me much better equipped to try my hand, and his culture and language sections also stood out. The overall impression, true or not, is that Carl has a deeper understanding and familiarlity with the Thais and Bangkok than Joe. But to be fair, I was happy with both books, and happier still that I had brought both with me.
Its too bad that the Moon guide is harder to find than Lonely Planet's .... but I definitely recommend it.
The Lonely Planet guide was always worth reading -- it often added something I didn't find in the Moon guide. The highly detailed map in the back of the book was also quite worthwhile. However, if I had to have just one book, it would have been the Moon guide by Carl Parkes.
Carl's explanations always seemed a little bit richer, and a little bit more in touch. His introduction to the Thai language left me much better equipped to try my hand, and his culture and language sections also stood out. The overall impression, true or not, is that Carl has a deeper understanding and familiarlity with the Thais and Bangkok than Joe. But to be fair, I was happy with both books, and happier still that I had brought both with me.
Its too bad that the Moon guide is harder to find than Lonely Planet's .... but I definitely recommend it.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Living In Bangkok
23 Jun 2003
Format:Paperback
Making my move to Bangkok, this book has well equipped me for the transition, and has made me more excited and prepared. This book gives an endless supply of information on Bangkok, but doesn't stop there. It goes on to talk about culture, history, and other parts of Thailand, but keeping it relevant. This book is a must have if you are planning on learning, visiting or living in Bangkok! I only wished that this book had more pictures, but the author made up for it in his fun to read writing style.
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