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GETTING THERE
T h e S i am i s r o u g h l y
equidistant from both
Suvarnabhumi Airport and
Don Mueang International
Airport – about 45 minutes.
The hotel can arrange to
pick you up in a BMW 5 or
7 Series, or a Volkswagen
van for larger parties. For
around US$100, a fast-track
service at the airport can be
organised to expedite the
immigration process, too.
TO BOOK:
Visit
www.thesiamhotel.com.Seeing the Sights
THE OLD WAY
Tour Wat Pho, Wat Arun and other temples along the tried-and-true tourist route,
fight the clothing police at the Grand Palace, head out of town to the ultra-touristy
Damnoen Saduak floating market, and squeeze in a swing through a museum or two
for good measure.
THE NEW WAY
For Bangkok first-timers, a tour of the riverside
wats
and Grand Palace is in order
(these places are easily accessible via The Siam’s shuttle boat), however, the ultra-
touristy floating market located an hour outside of town should be skipped altogether
in favour of a trip through Bangkok’s actual working
klungs,
or canals. Once known as
the “Venice of Asia”, the
klungs
won’t provide you with the chance to haggle over teak
elephants and neon-painted umbrellas, but you will get up-close views of time-worn
stilted houses, orchid farms, markets (not of the “weekend” variety), mailmen delivering
letters via boat, and vendors hawking ice cream from old rickety boats to children
playing along the riverbanks. The Siam can book a longtail boat and private guide to
snake you down Bangkok’s narrow waterways, where there is barely a tourist in sight.
The neighbourhood around The Siam has plenty to explore, too: an old Khmer
village built directly on top of the Chao Phraya, a traditional medicine clinic, historic
homes, churches, mosques and a 199-year-old Chinese temple where, for a modest
donation, friendly overseers will guide you on how to plant 17 sticks of incense around
the temple to receive the ultimate blessings from above.
And inside the hotel itself is a museum to be enjoyed at any time, day or night. The
owners, the Thai celebrity Sukosol family, use the space to exhibit their astounding
private antique collection that includes relics from 3,600 BC and Tang dynasty treasures
and more recent European pieces. (Note: Most of the really old stuff is safely behind
glass; the rest sits out openly around the hotel emphasising the family’s relationship
of trust with its guests.)
A 2,000-year-old Han dynasty horse and carriage is
one of hundreds of antiques exhibited around the hotel