Perhaps temples or the muddy Chao Phraya just isn't your thing, or you've been there and done that. Right at the heart of the city is the most modern section of Bangkok and yet still offers that unique blend of the towering skyscrapers, street food stalls, sidewalk vendors, and popular Buddhist shrines. Even if you aren't into shopping -- and heaven knows if you are, you should definitely head to this area -- you will me amazed by the juxtaposition of wealth and poverty, fine fashion and earthy grit, and high-society and laid back appeal. This is Pathumwan, an area around the famous Ratchaprasong intersection. Visitors to Pathumwan will want to check out these top ten attractions.
Your target area is really the stretch of buildings between Siam Station and Chid Lom Station on the BTS Skytrain line. The most popular malls are here: you have Central World with its hundreds of shops and an outdoor plaza famous for its festivals and seasonal beer gardens. Then you can walk over to Siam Paragon, a bit more upscale and fashionable and with its own concert square lying between it and Siam Center and Siam Discovery, two smaller but not to be overlooked shopping complexes. Bargain hunters won't want to miss MBK which offers six floors of cheap shops and booths with everything from clothing to electronics. Not into the shopping scene? Visit the brilliant white Wat Pathumwan. Stop in and watch Buddhists light incense and pay for traditional Thai dances at the important street corner Erawan Shrine. There's Siam Ocean World Aquarium for the science fans, and BACC for anyone looking for a bit of art. The most recent of the area's attractions, and an instant hit, is Bangkok's very own Madame Tussauds.
Thanon Rama I
All Kinds of Shopping...
888/160-1 Ploenchit Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
991/1 Rama I Road
Window shop, dine, see an IMAX film, visit the aquarium...
494 Ratchawithi Road (corner of Ploenchit and Ratchiwithi)
(Next to the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel)
A Busy, Glittering, Incense-infused, Four-Faced Brahma Shrine...
969 Thanon Rama I
A Temple Full of Intricate Murals Right Next to the Malls...
939 Rama 1 Road
Free modern art museum and cultural hangout...
Rama 1 Road
A happening shopping mall with frequent big events...
989 Rama 1 Road
Patumwan
A Shopper's Paradise...
B1-B2 Floor, Siam Paragon, 991 Rama I Road
Pathumwan
One of southeast Asia's largest aquariums...
6th Floor of Siam Discovery
989 Siam Tower, Rama I Road,
Take photos of yourself with the most famous celebrities...