There are plenty of adventure to be found in Bangkok by day and by night. It is the City of Angels that also never sleeps. While most visitors are aware of the nocturnal adventures that await at Bangkok’s many nightclubs, bars, Muay Thai stadiums, night markets, go go bars and other establishments, few are aware of the full range of daylight adventure possibilities.
Naturally most visitors to Thailand become interested in Thai culture. It is no surprise that Bangkok is full of cultural treasures. Therefs the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, and the Royal Barge National Museum to name but a few. Bangkok also has the worldfs largest solid gold Buddha at Wat Traimit.
For those interested in experiencing Thai culture in a different way, Bangkok offers a few historical buildings that have since become hotels. Therefs the Chakrabongse Villas that was the private residence of HM Prince Chakrabongse. It is a riverside residence that retains the original interior design. There is also Ariyasomvilla Hotel. Khun Phra Chareon, the architect who designed the National Stadium, built the house.
If you are need of greater adrenalin inducing activity there are some good mountain bike trails within 2 hours drive of Bangkok. One and a half hours away is Khao Ito. It borders Khao Yai National Park. Therefs lots of single trail, great up-hills, exciting descents and some great views.
Within Bangkok itself is the deserted military base at Bang Khen. Club11 Bike Club maintains a track around the area that includes a wooded plot of land, monitor lizards and plenty of unusual obstacles.
Just outside of Bangkok there are a couple of artificial lakes. Wakeboarding in Asia keep some rooms by the lake and a team of teachers backed up by some powerful boats to let you really enjoy your boarding. The lake and lands take up 420,000 square meters so you can soon forget that you are next to a crowded Asian city. One lake is 860 meters long, the other 700 meters. We are talking fun in the water.
For those looking for new sporting spectacles there is the competitive Thai Premier League. It is a soccer league made up of 14 teams. 3 of the teams are in Bangkok ? Army United (with stadium that holds 20,000); Thai Port (stadium capacity is 10,000); and TOT (5,000 seat stadium). The league has foreign players; the general level of skill is improving; and anyway itfs an entertaining experience. Moreover, Thaifs are very fond of both football and gambling. The atmosphere at a local football match makes a fun outing.
And of course, when biking, wakeboarding and going to soccer matches has worn you out there are some world class spas and wellness centers in Bangkok that can offer everything from Thai massage to Pilates to far infrared ray saunas.
Or you could miss out on the pampering and instead get a tattoo from one of the cities many talented tattooists.
Daylight adventure is to be found in Bangkok; it just needs to be researched a bit more than a shopping trip in Bangkok.
Author Biography: Dave Mio writes Bangkok Blog and is an avid travel writer about Thailand, Japan and China.
For me, Thailand is more lively to be explored at night than daytime. I’ve tried my pretty good haggling skills at night markets in Bangkok, too. Fantastic bars, Muay Thai stadiums, Thai massage, food and the gorgeous diving sites truly made my Thai travel an incredible one!;)