Adam Ferguson for The New York Times
On the steps of the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) on the bank of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. More Photos »
Bangkok has hit the sweet spot. It's modern but far from antiseptic, filled with luxuries, pampering and great food — but still affordable. In the glare of the tropical sun it can be an ugly sprawl of tangled wires and broken pavement. Yet amid the chaos, visitors find charm and, above all, character. Somehow extremes coexist: skyscrapers and moldy tenements; high-end, cloth-napkin dining and tasty street food stalls; five-star hotels and fleabag guesthouses overflowing with backpackers; libidinous hedonism and Buddhist meditation. To travel across Bangkok is to see several worlds at once. Increasingly it is also convenient. The city of paralyzing traffic now has ample public transportation options ranging from boats to an expanding subway system. But if there is one reason visitors return again and again to Bangkok, it is the people. The anonymity and daily grind of urban life is slowly wearing away at the legendary Thai smile. Yet Bangkok remains one of the friendliest cities on the planet, still infused with the Thai village traditions of hospitality and graciousness.
FRIDAY
5 p.m.
1. Siamese Cruise
Bangkok's riverfront is undergoing a renaissance. Warehouses have been converted into a night market for tourists; restaurants and boutique hotels populate the riverside; and the Grand Palace and Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) are both magnificently illuminated at night. Take your own private 20-minute boat ride, an alternative to a tacky river cruise down the Chao Phraya River. It's free when you reserve a table at the riverside Chon Thai restaurant, in the elegant Siam Hotel. Ask for the shuttle boat to pick you up at the Saphan Taksin pier, at a skytrain stop of the same name. Have sunset drinks on the hotel pier before heading into the two-story teak house where dinner is served. Try the pomelo salad and pork ribs seasoned with longan honey and lime. The corridors of the hotel house the personal antiques collection of its Thai-American owners — massive teak apothecary cabinets and opium beds, among many other pieces. (Chon Thai restaurant, Siam Hotel, 3/2 Thanon Khao, Vachirapayabal, Dusit; thesiamhotel.com).
10 p.m.
2. Backpacker Nightcap
Take a stroll through Bangkok's foreign ghetto, the pulsing enclave around Khao San Road, Southeast Asia's largest backpacker district. For decades this warren of streets and alleyways was a haven of cheap food and lodging for the great tide of unwashed European and American budget travelers. Now the area, parts of which are closed off to traffic at night, has become a hip destination for young Thais who stroll, gawk at the backpackers and gulp down cheap beer. Cap the night off with live music at a tiny sliver of a bar called Blues (13, Samsen Road; (66) 89-769-4613), a 10-minute walk from Khao San Road just after the bridge over the Samsen canal.
SATURDAY
9 a.m.
3. Market Maze
Before air-conditioned shopping malls sprouted up across Bangkok, there was Chatuchak, a vast weekend flea market on the northern outskirts. Today vendors sell everything from knockoffs of designer shirts to aromatherapy oils, potted plants and reptiles. You can lose yourself in the alleyways of Chatuchak, half outdoors and half covered by leaky tarpaulins and roofs. If you're not a shopper, it will be an anthropological adventure, evidence of the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity that have helped lift this country out of poverty.
Noon
4. Som Tam Lunch
One of the oldest and most reliable food options is across the street from Chatuchak and called Or Tor Kor. In the front of this market are unusually tidy fruit stalls that draw Bangkok residents for its high-grade produce. Behind the market, near the parking lot, is a shop selling the specialty of northeastern Thailand, som tam (green papaya salad) and grilled chicken (140 baht, about $4.85 at 29 baht to the dollar, for a whole bird). The nearby Sood Jai Kai Yang (its name is written only in Thai) has been open for 30 years and is a local legend. Order som tam Thai (50 baht), and unless you have a mouth made of steel, ask for less spicy. Next door is an air-conditioned restaurant selling traditional desserts, including mango and sticky rice (130 baht per dish). All the stalls in the market have a reputation for being acceptably clean.
2 p.m.
5. Knots Out
After the trek through Chatuchak and a meal outdoors, you've earned relaxation. There are hundreds of massage places in Bangkok, ranging from five-star-spa pampering to the cheaper local foot massage place. In the good-value-for-money category is the Touch (11/2 Soi Ruamrudee, Ploenchit; thetouch1.com), where an hourlong foot massage goes for 300 baht and includes a shoulder, back and head rub. There are two branches, clean, friendly and open till midnight, on Soi Ruamrudee in the central business district. The closest skytrain stop is Ploenchit; call the Touch if you want a tuk-tuk to pick you up there.
4 p.m.
6. Riverside Classic
In a city where the old is so often torn down to make way for the new, the Mandarin Oriental hotel (48 Oriental Avenue; mandarinoriental.com/bangkok) retains a sense of history and is famous for lodging authors like Joseph Conrad and Somerset Maugham. These days a stay at the Oriental is so dear you may have to liquidate your retirement savings or sell a kidney to pay the bill. But the hotel can be enjoyed even by those who don't spend the night. Afternoon tea amid the wicker furniture of the bright and cheerful Authors' Lounge runs from 2:30 to 6 p.m. .and costs 1,471 baht for a set, which can be shared by two people. Also possible: sunset drinks on the banks of the Chao Phraya or a meal at the Sala Rim Naam, accessible by the hotel's ferryboat across the river. At the Spa, also across the river, a Thai massage goes for 2,900 baht. Prices climb upward from there.
6 p.m.
7. The City Below
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