Bangkok

To a Westerner who has not travelled to Bangkok, when asked to sum it up they will probably mention a rawcus night life, an abundance of Western travellers inflicting their culture on the city and traffic jams. But this is only part of what makes up Bangkok. The city is teaming with activity and a walk down the street will ensure you'll seem something unusual and probably rather surreal. For this reason it is worth visiting Bangkok and allowing the traffic jams, annual floods and sticky weather to wash over you.

The city is one of contrasts: glass and steel buildings pierce the sky, fighting for attention against  glittering temple spires. Look left and you'll see a steady stream of vibrant, young Thais who have embraced the Western culture wholeheartedly, look right and you'll see a barefoot, shaven head monk drapped in bright orange robes sharing the street with Bangkok businesspeople.

Bangkok has a population of 8 million and is situated on the eastern side of the Mae Nam Chao Phraya (Chao Phraya River), sitting smack in the middle of the most fertile rice-producing delta in the world. A network of natural and artificial canals crisscross the city, feeding to and from Thailand's hydrological lifeline - the broad Mae Nam Chao Phraya - which snakes through the city providing transport for passengers and cargo.

Bangkok is divided in two by the main north-south train line. Old Bangkok, where a large proportion of the city's temples and palaces and its Chinese and Indian districts are found, lies between the river and the railway. East of the railway, comprising the main business, tourist and sprawling residential districts, is 'new' Bangkok. Of course, Bangkok is not as regimented as this makes it sound, and it sprawls in all directions and everywhere contains all kinds of different sights, sounds and flavours.

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