Tag Archives: tour guide

Private Guide in Bangkok

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Get A Private Guide in Bangkok

Bangkok, or Krung Thep as it is called in Thai, meaning The City of Angels (no, not that one), is a gem among eastern cities. As the most populous city in Thailand, it is among the world’s top tourist destinations. Named the “World’s Best City” by Travel + Leisure magazine three times in a row, it carries that title with pride, along with being the Guinness Book of Records holder of the longest place name in the world.

And that is only the beginning of the many mysteries held by this magical place.

golden mosaic Bangkok temple

But do you need a private guide in Bangkok? Sure, you could stick with the general tourist public and see the sites everyone sees, but a private guide can show you places few have seen and even fewer know. They will take you to the right cultural areas, markets and art centers and give you a face-to-face experience of the people and places.

Why go with the crowd?

Isn’t a vacation about meeting interesting places and people? Each private guide can tailor your Bangkok experience to exactly what you need and are looking for, without the pressure of a tour group. Old Siam is a thing of the past, yet you can still experience the style and taste of it through private tours.

And since Bangkok has its own unique style and religions, a private guide can help you avoid embarrassment. Remember that with other cultures come other customs and even dress codes. What may seem like normal attire in your own country could cause a riot or at the very least banning from certain public and religious places. Let your guide guide you.

Don’t return home having seen only your hotel room and whatever else regular tours try to pass off as a cultural experience. A private guide in Bangkok can even help you with your business trip, if your reason to visit this ancient kingdom is more business than pleasure. It may cost you a bit extra, but the prices private guides charge are nowhere near exorbitant, and worth every Baht.

Once you have chosen your private guide in Bangkok, sit down with him or her and plan your itinerary. There is so much to see, it is wise to plan a bit ahead. Do you prefer the nightlife? The arts? How about a spiritual or religious tour? Bangkok is the residence of the Emerald Buddha, so you can imagine the enlightening experience you could have, if so you choose.

Don’t succumb to the pressure and haste of tour groups. Have your own experience of this wonderful place through a private guide in Bangkok, and get to know the people face-to-face. You will see the city through the eyes of the natives, and that will make for a fully rounded travel experience. Life is too short to limit experiences to preset tours and places. And who knows, maybe you can even learn to pronounce the full name of the city some day.

Contact us now to book your private guide in Bangkok…

Surprising Thai Murals (Video Lecture)

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If you’re a bit into quirky culture, then this video about the unusual temple murals of Thailand could be interesting to you.

Murals are wall paintings which can often be found in temples in Thailand. So it shouldn’t be surprising that most murals depict scenes out of the Buddha’s life, or communicate Buddhist beliefs and lessons.

But there are many other kinds of murals too. Some depict history battles or important scenes from Thai history, often involving royalty. Some even depict current scenes and recent events – for example, there is a temple in Northern Thailand where a mural depicts how the airplanes flew into the World Trade Center in New York on 9/11.

Then there are depictions of visions from people, depictions of daily life past and present, romantic scenes and so on.

It’s really quiet intersting, because Thailand is such an open and tolerant society that artists who do the temple murals can often work very creatively. There’s of course nothing that rivals the great murals which can be seen in Italy from an artistic standpoint, but in their simple ways the Thai murals have a lot to offer.

It’s best to go with a personal tour guide to see temples in Bangkok, because then you will be able to ask questions (and get informative answers) about the meanings of temple murals, what they represent, their place in history, and you’ll be able to listen to many fascinating stories.

You can watch the complete video lecture here:

http://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/ultraman-siam-commercial-bank/id381381032?i=85991041

Mae Hong Son

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Mae Hong Son is actually a pretty small town near the north-western border of Thailand. But it is also a very charming place to visit, and there are many activities that you can participate in.

Mae Hong Son from Kong Mu

It also has a lovely setting – in the mountains, often covered in a fog that gives it a mystic atmosphere.

If you come to Mae Hong Son, one of the things you should really do is to go trekking. It’s location makes it easy to go on trips into the nature that are just wonderful. Just make sure you come here at the right time of the year, because particularly during Monsoon season, it can be difficult and dangerous to go into the nature.

Between November to February, it’s high season and especially on the weekends it can sometimes get quite busy – although quite busy in a very relaxed manner, and it never becomes as crowded as in some of the other tourist hot spots. The people here are also genuinely friendly and polite, and enjoy a relaxed and laid-back lifestyle.

The city is also interesting from an ethnic viewpoint – half of the population here is of Thai Yai origins – and you can see that in different aspects of life, including the temples, religious traditions, the food and so on.

There are also many Karen, Lisu, Hmong and Lawa hill tribe people living here, and in the province of Mae Hong Son you find some Burmese refugee camps.

The official founding year of Mae Hong Son was 1831, but for many years it was very isolated from the rest of Thailand. It was known as the “Siberia of Thailand”, because many politicians from Bangkok who made some major mistakes or got the wrong enemies where transferred to a post in Mae Hong Son. The first paved road that connected Mae Hong Son to the outside world was built in 1968.

It’s a small town but you can find ATMs, a tourist police and also an office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand here, lots of guest houses, hotels, tour agencies and restaurants. On Sundays, there’s a small market, and in the morning ours you can find a morning market near the bus station and the Wat Hua Wiang temple where you can see (and buy) lots of produce from hill tribe people, which can be quite interesting if you have an interest for foreign foods and ingredients and spices. It’s best to come with a personal tour guide who can explain you about different plants and spices and foods, because many people here do not speak good English.

Wat Doi Kong Mu is also a nice temple to visit, because from there you get a good view of the area.

You can travel to Mae Hong Son by car, van or bus, but that’s a long way or you just take an airplane.

Mae Hong Son - twilight arrives - Jan 2007

Accomodation

Whether you are looking for budget guest houses, homestay, wellness resorts or luxury hotels – Mae Hong Son has something good to offer for each of these. Particularly the Fern Resort Mae Hong Son stands out, because it’s managed with the right spirit: it’s eco-friendly and it’s also friendly to the community of the area. Lots of people who work here are local villagers, and the vicinities are really nice.

National Museum Bangkok

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The National Museum in Bangkok is actually a really interesting place to visit if you have any interest whatsoever in Thai history and culture. It is located where previously the palace of the Prince Successor was.

It is divided into different compartments. You can learn about the ancient history of the region, early settlers and archaeology. Especially the old ceramic works here are quite interesting.

When you go there, you can “walk through Thai history” – different rooms display information from different periods. It’s good to have a personal tour guide who can make sense of the different bits and pieces of information and string it all into one coherent story, otherwise you might be feeling a bit on your own and overwhelmed by detail.

The Buddha images from the Dvaravati period are particularly interesting in the National Musem Bangkok, and you can learn a lot about Brahmanistic rituals and the mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism that has been (and still is) very important in the Thai royalty. The Buddha images from the Sukhotai period are generally considered the most beautiful ones, because of their fine shapes and formations.

My personal favorite is the section that focuses on ethnological arts. Here you can see intricate mother of pearl inlays, textiles, ceramics, carved ivory, royal emblems, gold treasures, musical instruments, weapons and more – it’s brimming with religious and mythological symbolism.

You can also see the huge door panel that was brought here from Wat Suthat, a temple in Bangkok. It is kind of sad that this door panel isn’t at the temple anymore but instead in this museum – but if you look at it, you will understand why it’s stored in a museum (and will probably marvel at how much work and effort went into building this gigantic “door”, which is really more a piece of art than a door).

The ceramics display nice Benjarong pieces, which is a certain kind of ceramic typical of Thailand made out of five different colors.

When Thai kings got buried in the past, there were often precious stones and metals and scriptures buried together with them – many of them later got stolen, but some made it into the National Museum Bangkok where you can see them now.

And of course, the ancient Ban Chiang pottery can also be seen – it’s some of the world’s oldest pottery, and in many ways the patterns on this pottery are similar to patterns that archaeologists know from the ancient Mesopotamia.

The museum also hosts special events about which you can inquire here.

There is also a small book shop in front which has lots of special interest books on Thai and Southeast Asian history, art and culture.

You should at least plan 3 hours if you want to visit the National Museum Bangkok, but you can easily spend several days here learning about thousands of years of history and culture, with many thousands of stories that reside within this compound.