Bangkok Vacations

Bangkok is a sensory delight. You’ll be swept away by a bombardment of visual contrasts – gold, leaf-covered temples beside modern office buildings and streets full of the exotic aromas of curry, ginger, and chili peppers, plus the beep-beep, ring-ring, and putt-putt of cars, motorcycles, and three-wheeled tuk-tuks.

Along canals, known as klongs, women paddle their shallow boats and sell ivory-colored orchid leis and yellow plantains. In the center of the city, the Emerald Buddha holds court surrounded by rubies, sapphires, and gold. There is also a temple with at least one Buddha for every day of the year. And nearby, a building is graced by a five-and-a- half ton, solid-gold Buddha, discovered purely by accident when plaster used to hide its value from thieves cracked and revealed the treasure inside.