"I arrived in Bangkok in 1980: I was 23, and it changed me forever."
-- Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Bangkok is indeed a place that can change you forever. It can bring you down to your lowest depths, or it can lift you to your highest highs. Both of these and everything in between can be had in more ways than one. The choice is yours . . .
For me, Bangkok has been a hit and miss city. Only recently have I started to enjoy and appreciate what the city has to offer.
Sure, there are the massage parlors and the infamous and obligatory Soi Cowboy types of areas, but really, the jewels of Bangkok, and in a broader sense the whole of Thailand, are the people.
I have focused my last few trips to Bangkok on the people instead of the places. I have looked and marveled at what the city is trying to become. While it maintains its party places and seedy underground, it is now a city that is moving towards a very modern look and vibe: Modern architecture, modern food, modern drink. Think Singapore but on a much more manageable and, dare I say, more tolerable pace.
Between the people, the places, the food, and the architecture, Bangkok is a city worthy of multiple visits. It is not what is often depicted in movies such as Hangover II. It can be that if you choose, but it isn't that inherently.
The following posts on Bangkok will detail my trip and my experiences the last few visits I've taken there. I hope you enjoy! Sawasdeekup!
Shot atop the Sofitel So Hotel overlooking Lumpini Park about an hour and a half prior to sunset.
Nikon D750, Tamron 24-70mm lens, 1/25 sec., f/16, ISO200, 24mm focal length, circular polarized filter; edited with Adobe Lightroom CC
Panoramic Shot looking NW up Rama IV Rd. on frame left, through Lumpini Park and towards Bangkok Downtown along Sukhumvit Rd in the distance frame right.
Nikon D750, Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8, 1/25 sec, f/18, ISO180, 24mm focal length, circular polarized filter; edited in Adobe Lightroom CC
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