Bangkok Thailand MapWalking Tours - walking is not a popular form of activity in Bangkok. The weather is usually too hot, sidewalks are crowded and crossing a street is positively lethal. It should be stressed that crossing big busy streets should be done with extreme caution and, if possible, always via a pedestrain bridge. But if a view of life free of cars and street noise is what you are looking for, there are places where people are carrying on much as they have for centuries. by Wayne Burns The first is a warren of old streets, crumbling Chinese temples and Thai wats (wat is the name for a Buddhist temple in Thailand), just next to the glitter of River City and the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel on the Chao Phraya River. The walker must be willing to dive into the lanes with eyes and ears wide open, using trial and error to wend his way through. But the effort will give a taste of the old Chinatown, which is fast disappearing. Visitors should keep their camera ready for shots of urchins splashing in the river, monk sitting on a temple wall or Muslims outside their mosque, killing time watching passersby. Map of Chinatown in Bangkok, ThailandA = China Town HotelB = Bangkok Centre C = Gate of Chinatown D = Check Inn, Chinatown a very reasonable hotel. F = Grande Ville Hotel, nice Jazz bar, quiet and in Chinatown. Cheaper than other Chinatown hotels. Lumpini Park Opposite the Dusit Thani Hotel, is another great place for walkers, especially in the mornings. In this cool shady park, the stroller will encounter hundreds of joggers, Chinese of all ages doing their daily tai-chi exercises and entire classes of women doing aerobic exercises in unison. In the sight of all this exertion has stimulated the walker`s hunger, Soi Sarasin, the street running along the park`s north side, has dozens of vendors selling a vast selection of local dishes. Two of the vendors appear early every morning, offering what the more elderly Chinese seem to crave most after a rigorous workout - snake gall. There, writhing safely in wire cages, are such toothsome specimens as pythons, cobras and the extremely venomous banded kraits. These serpents, once chosen by a customer, are gutted and the gall and glands drained into a glass of whiskey, which is gulped down. This elixir, believed to have rejuvenating powers, is a popular aphrodisiac for old men bent on an evening`s frolic. To Bangkok Time
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