Welcome to Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand's electric capital, is a city of glorious contradictions — a place where saffron-robed monks collect alms beneath gleaming skyscrapers, where century-old canal-side shophouses sit in the shadow of mega-malls, and where some of the world's most exquisite temples share the streets with its most celebrated street food.

Known to Thais as Krung Thep, the 'City of Angels', Bangkok grew from a riverside trading post on the Chao Phraya into a sprawling metropolis of more than ten million people. Its full ceremonial name is the longest city name in the world — a fitting introduction to a city that never does anything by halves.

Whether you come for the dazzling royal temples, the legendary markets, the rooftop bars, or simply to eat your way from one street stall to the next, Bangkok rewards the curious. Give it a few days and the initial sensory overload resolves into one of the most fascinating, friendly, and flavourful cities on Earth.

The city comes alive after dark