Flickr, krashkraft

You won't believe it, but the name of this palace literally translates as “cabbage leaves”! Moreover, the collection has state status, since it was created on the basis of the private collection of the ruling Chakri dynasty.

So where does such an unusual name come from, you may ask? It's simple: it is believed that long ago there was a cabbage field on this spot. However, nothing here now reminds one of that. You will be greeted by a well-kept tropical garden with fabulous ponds, and your introduction to the ancient image of Thailand will take place in a cozy and quiet setting.

Hidden among the branches of exotic trees are 8 traditional Thai houses connected to each other by bridges. They are part of a 19th-century architectural ensemble that is a family relic of the kings. The museum in the palace was opened in 1952 by a princess and Prince Chumbhotpong.

Visitors to Suan Pakkad will see antique musical instruments, furniture, porcelain items, Buddha statues, and gilded books. Perhaps this is the best antique collection in the city, one that has been passed down in the royal family from generation to generation.

Be sure to stop by the central garden, where the 17th-century Lacquer Pavilion is located. Here you can admire unique gold wall paintings that are already about 500 years old!

The art center at the palace features an ancient collection of ceramics, weapons, and precious items from the Ban Chiang era. Its age is even greater - 4000 years! In short, this place is truly unique and highly recommended to visit!

Flickr, Turkish Airlines

Baiyoke Tower 2 is located in Bangkok's central district of Ratchathewi, Thailand. Baiyoke Tower 2 is the tallest building in the country. In the building, from the 5th to the 17th floor, there is a multi-story parking garage; from the 22nd to the 74th floor are 673 rooms of the Baiyoke Sky Hotel — the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia and the third tallest in the world. On the 77th floor there is an indoor observation deck. On the top floor (approx. 250 m.) there is a revolving open-air observation deck (with a 360-degree view). A high-speed elevator with panoramic glazing runs along the side of the building.

Flickr, James Waghorn

Rest and entertainment in Bangkok can be very different; it all depends on your preferences. You can wander through parks and museums for hours, study the history of Thailand, and broaden your horizons. But there is another side to Bangkok — bright, dynamic, modern, and no less authentic. Visit the Central World Plaza shopping and entertainment center, and you will plunge into the magical world of Thai-style shopping.

Central World has eight floors, half a million square meters of retail space, and several hundred shops and boutiques. Be prepared to walk several kilometers, because this is one of the largest structures of its kind in Southeast Asia.

The first five floors of the complex are occupied by the Isetan and Zen department stores, with a specific range of products on each floor, so if you know what you came for, the convenient navigation system will help you avoid getting lost and quickly find the item you want. Here you can buy clothes, shoes, accessories and jewelry, children's goods, souvenirs, cosmetics, and much more.

On the sixth floor there are restaurants offering the cuisines of Japan, China, and Thailand, as well as international bars. There is also a book supermarket here: apparently, spiritual and physical food should somehow be combined.

The Duty Free store, so beloved by tourists, can be found on the seventh level. As a finishing touch, you can treat yourself to a ride on the largest ice rink in Asia, which awaits its visitors on the eighth floor.

Flickr, SM@RT083

Pathumwanaram (Thai วัดปทุมวนาราม) is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Pathum Wan district, in the Siam Square shopping quarter, between the Siam Paragon and CentralWorld shopping centers. The temple was built in 1857 by King Rama IV (Mongkut) as a place of worship next to Srapratum Palace. The temple was dedicated to Queen Theprisintra.[1] At the time of its construction, there were rice fields on this site, and it could be reached only by canal. At present, the temple has been renovated and is a quiet corner in the center of the city, with greenery and a pond.[1] The temple is a third-class “royal temple”; the full name of the temple is Wat Pathum Wanaram Ratcha Wiharn (วัดปทุมวนารามราชวรวิหาร). All temple buildings are located parallel to the street and separated from it by a wall. In the eastern part of the temple there is a small ubosot. Behind it is a large white chedi and then a large viharn[2].

inzumi.com, Bildagentur Huber / R. Schmid

Siam Paragon is a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. It is one of the largest shopping centers in Asia. Opened on December 9, 2005, it includes a wide range of stores and restaurants, as well as a multiplex cinema (consisting of 15 large movie theaters, one of which has the largest screen and the greatest capacity in Asia), the Siam Ocean World aquarium (the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia), an exhibition hall and Thai art gallery, as well as an opera concert hall. There is also a large bowling center and karaoke. It is a joint venture between Siam Piwat, which owns the adjacent shopping centers, and The Mall Group, which also owns the Emporium shopping center. Siam Paragon has attracted large crowds since opening, but the financial results of the private company Siam Paragon Development have not been disclosed[1].

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One of the fourteen famous Madame Tussauds museums is located on the sixth floor of the Siam Discovery shopping center. Unlike its other branches, the Bangkok museum has the advantage that here you can not only closely examine and touch the celebrity figures, but also take a picture hugging your idol. What's more, you will be given appropriate props: for a photo with Elizabeth II you can put on a sparkling crown and an ermine cape so as not to be overshadowed by the queen's outfit, and for a photo with famous footballers you can try on a Liverpool jersey.

The museum is divided into 10 themed halls. In the science hall, you will find the figure of shaggy Albert Einstein against the backdrop of a slate board covered with formulas. In the politics hall, President Barack Obama and his wife stand in a replica of part of the Oval Office, and even the view from the mock window seems real.

All the wax figures are strikingly similar and lifelike; they say that in a photograph almost no one can tell the copy from the real celebrity. After visiting the museum, you can safely tell your friends that you accidentally met Cristiano Ronaldo, hurried past Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on the red carpet, or attended Vladimir Putin's press conference. The main thing is not to overdo it and not to imagine a personal meeting with Mahatma Gandhi or Princess Diana, who are in the hall of historical figures.

Panoramio, Prahin | www.southeastasia-images.com

The Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre (Thai หอศิลปวัฒนธรรมแห่งกรุงเทพมหานคร) is a contemporary art museum located in Bangkok, Thailand. The museum is situated at the corner of Rama I and Phaya Thai roads. The creation of the contemporary art museum in Bangkok was initiated by Governor Botchitt Rattakul. In 2000, construction of the museum began, but after some time it was suspended due to funding problems and accusations of corruption. In 2005, construction of the museum resumed. Initially, it was planned to name the museum the “Museum of Contemporary Art,” but just before its opening it was decided to call it the “Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre.” The museum opened on July 29, 2008 with the exhibition “Always Roaming with a Hungry Heart,” which displayed photographs by Princess Sirindhorn.

Flickr, Twang_Dunga

One of the most interesting and charming museums in Bangkok is located on the bank of a canal amid the lush greenery of a tropical garden. The museum, based on Jim Thompson's legacy, consists of six unusual houses — traditional Thai teakwood dwellings that were brought here from the province by his special order. Inside the red houses, some of which are already more than 200 years old, are exhibits from the personal collection of the museum's founder.

He collected Thai objects of art and daily life, searched for antiques and restored them, found unique statuettes, paintings, and engravings. The result of his passion for Thai culture was a large collection of rare exhibits that reflect the country's history and culture over thirteen centuries. A large hall in one of the houses is dedicated to the life and work of Jim Thompson himself.

So who was this legendary man? Thompson was born in America in 1906 and was a talented architect. During World War II he was drafted into the U.S. Army and ended up in Thailand as part of the strategic forces. Jim was so enchanted by the culture and nature of this country that after the war he decided to radically change his fate and moved here to live. Having taken up the revival of Thai silk production, which was in a state of complete decline, Jim managed to restore both industrial and hand production of exquisite silk, and then opened branded stores in Bangkok. Moreover, it was Jim Thompson who popularized Thai silk throughout the world, and to this day magnificent lengths of silk and products made from it are sold under his name, which became a trademark.