Bangkok was founded in 1782 by the first monarch of the present Chakri dynasty. It is now the country’s spiritual, cultural, diplomatic, commercial and educational hub. It covers an area of more than 1,500 square kilometres, and it is home to approximatlely ten million people or more than 10% of the country’s population.
Over the last few decades, Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok, has changed into a modern, exciting and sophisticated city. It offers to visitors not only the cosmopolitan amenities they would expect from other big cities, but also a unique treasure trove of cultural attractions. Thailand, in the heart of Southeast Asia, was never colonised and thus kept its unique culture and heritage intact. Bangkok offers visitors the opportunity to experience fascinating glimpse of Thailand’s gentle culture amidst the bustle of a great and dynamic metropolis. This great city has had astounding success in combining the ancient and modern world.
For tourists, Bangkok has a feast of attractions to offer. The city is dotted with 400 glittering Buddhist temples of great beauty and fascination, magnificent palaces, classical dance extravaganzas, numerous shopping centres and traditional ways of life, especially along the “Venice of the East” timeless canals and the Chao Phraya River of the “River of Kings” winding through the city. It is worth taking a trip along its waters before exploring further into different canals to take a glimpse of old Bangkok.
Bangkok is considered to be one of the world’s top tourist hotspots. According to Travel and Leisure magazine it is Asia’s best tourist destination, the third in the world in 2006 and overall best city in the world in 2008, though it is prone to confidence tricksters, so much that Google lists 1.8 million hits for the words thai scams. It is also voted the best city in Asia according to Conde Nast Traveler magazine. Bangkok is Thailand’s major tourist gateway, which means that the majority of foreign tourists arrive in Bangkok. The Tourism Authority of Thailand hopes to draw 15 million tourists in 2007, up from 11.6 million in 2005.The city boasts some of the country’s most visited historical venues such as the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun. There are numerous projects to maintain Bangkok’s historic sites in the Rattanakosin area and river districts. Bangkok is known as Orient’s most cosmopolitan city and until now preserves its cultural heritage which makes it an irresistible place to visit.
