Like the Naga, the serpentine river deity from Thai folklore, Bangkok is a big, bold, beast of a city, with its own mythic status. A heaving asphalt jungle born of the water, it remains forever captivating, sometimes seductive and persistently hard to grasp. If you only have 36 hours to take it in, stick to the river. On either side of the Chao Phraya, historic districts continue to be revitalised by transformative ventures. Perpetually in flux, this slithering waterway remains the unofficial heart and principal artery of the most visited city on the planet (22.78 Million Visitors in 2022). The river also happens to be the least congested and arguably the most pleasant thoroughfare in Thailand’s capital, populated by a bobbing flotilla of vessels ready to whisk you to and from its many vibrant riverside communities. Post-pandemic, the kingdom’s tourism floodgates are once again open, ushering in a rising tide of visitors to the riverscape where an entrepreneurial cast of creatives are sensitively re-engineering what the Bangkok experience can be.

Itinerary

FRIDAY

6 p.m. – Dawn at Dusk

Can any visit to Bangkok be complete without at least a lingering glimpse of its most iconic temple, Wat Arun? I don’t think so. It’s like visiting Paris and not feasting one’s eye on la Tour Eiffel. You may have seen it once, but you never mind seeing it again. Ironically, the Temple of Dawn is at its most resplendent at dusk, when it is breathtakingly backlit by the setting sun. After a painstaking restoration, this multiverse of mosaics and masonry now gleams brighter than ever in all its floodlit splendour. Rooftop bars aplenty have mushroomed in Tha Tien, the historic riverside market quarter across the river from the temple, but there’s still no better place to savour a sundowner than from the rooftop bar of Sala Rattanakosin, where a sleek, minimalist, black and white open air terrace offers unobstructed views of the evening’s opening act. If there was ever a place to ‘be in the moment’, this would be it.

7:30 p.m. – Polychromatic Palate

In the past decade, no other chef has made a more colourful splash on Bangkok’s culinary landscape than Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn. This homegrown culinary force of nature and his growing stable of epicurean ventures such as Le Du, Baan, Lahnyai, and Mayrai have garnered accolades from Michelin and industry praise from near and far. Less than a minute’s stroll down the same soi as Sala Rattankosin, is the latest incarnation of Chef Ton’s most personal venture Nusara. Originally launched back in 2021 as an intimate, private dining room above Mayrai, his tongue-and-cheek Padthai wine bar. In early 2023, Nusara relocated a stone’s throw down the street to a corner shophouse, undergoing a masterful design recalibration into a sublime dining space with commanding views of the multicoloured, porcelain encrusted spires of Wat Pho situated across the street. Named after Chef Ton’s grandmother, who nurtured his lifelong passion for food, Nusara is also managed by his brother and co-owner, sommelier and overall master of operations, Chaisiri “Tam” Tassanakajohn. Inspired by the seafaring trade origins of Tha Tien, a  once thriving riverside market famed during the reign of Rama V for its maritime bounty, Nusara’s twelve dish, seafood-centric tasting menu features exquisitely crafted delicacies such as blue swimmer crab curry with betel leaf, scallops with kaffir lime kosho, and paddy field crab roe with Thai chimichuri. Chef Ton’s chromatic aesthetic is showcased to great effect in both the heritage flavours conjured by his kitchen and the artistry of his inventive plating and service style.

10 p.m. – Temple Tipple

Tour de force of taste completed, now take a few steps downstairs for a lulling nightcap at Nuss Bar, Nusara’s sensuous cocktail lounge, this secular sanctuary to spirits of the liquid kind is styled to within an inch of its life. Cocoon yourself on plush red velvet banquettes while your eyes longingly drift between Nuss Bar’s Pantone-popping, rouge and brushed-gold interior, and the serenely sacred compound of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha across the way. Awash in the rosey afterglow of dinner, Bangkok will feel like the only place you ever want be.

SATURDAY

Dawn – Rise and Shine, Riverside

Waking up on the Chao Phraya means you’re already where you want to be, affording you precious more minutes to ease into your weekend. Do as little or as much as you want, each hotel I’ve chosen offers its own morning tide experiences. Ever wondered what dawn actually looks like at the Temple of Dawn? The answer to that is unveiled with the gentlest slide of a curtain from one of the River View Suites at Sala Rattanakosin. A little further downriver, the incredibly endearing, family-run Loy La Long doesn’t play second fiddle either, where you can gaze from one of its colour-themed guest rooms towards the Che Chin Khor Shrine, a fanciful, nine storey Chinese pagoda straight out of the Celestial Empire. Perhaps you prefer to awaken enveloped in understated luxury, with sweeping views of the city’s most coveted riverside frontage? Then look no further than the Four Seasons, the most ambitious riverside resort to open in Bangkok in decades. All three of these hospitality havens on the water’s edge offer front row seats to the river’s theatre of life.

10 a.m. – The Way of Water

Long before streets arrived, Bangkok was a maze of mangroves intersected by sensible canals (klong) that irrigated vast numbers of orchard gardens. Vestiges of this watery way of life still exist minutes away by boat from the Chao Phraya towards Klong Bang Khun Tian. Alongside this canal, wooden stilt houses, floating shops and historic temples interweave with modern developments. One family who are intent on breathing new life into ‘slow life’, are mother-son duo, Ms. Pornthip Tiensup and her son Andaman who have transformed their family’s 100 year old Lychee orchard into Poomjai Garden, a forward-thinking, achingly photogenic, canal eco-eden. ‘Poomjai’ means pride in Thai, and they have much to be proud of. You arrive by boat to a verdant microcosm of elegant bamboo structures shrouded with misty Spanish Moss, nestled amongst well preserved, century-old vegetation. The orchard’s historic plantings and irrigation canals have been seamlessly grafted with a restaurant, a cafe, a kitchen garden, a cooking workshop, as well as learning pavilions where heirloom desserts such as Kanom Koh, a Thai-style sticky rice flour dumpling, are taught in highly recommended private classes which are bookable in advance. Be sure to sample the Miang Taling Pling, the family’s own version of this Southeast Asian one-bite flavour bomb. Indigenous to Southeast Asia, Taling Pling is a small, green, tart cousin of the Star Fruit. Grown in the orchard, it is the signature ingredient in several dishes, drinks and desserts at Natura, the garden’s charming wickerwork eatery where lunch is both luscious and leisurely. Poomjai Garden draws deeply from Bang Khun Tian’s permaculture heritage and Ms. Pornthip and her son are sowing seeds of sustainability, creating a ripple effect of opportunity, benefiting the aunties and uncles who ply the water taxis, spotlighting locally made treats and providing employment to the garden’s cadre of workers who all hail from the neighbourhood.

1:30 p.m. – Sing a Song for Songwat

Travel back by boat to Rajawongse pier, where generations of Chinese migrants once disembarked, establishing one of the most vibrant Chinatowns in the world. Spend an afternoon strolling around Song Wat Road, the lesser known side of Bangkok’s Chinese community running almost parallel to the famous Yaowaraj Road. Once a bustling dockyard, home to wholesale traders and merchants and interspersed with Chinese shrines, temples and mosques, this carriageway of commerce and faded facades has recently caught the eye of a new generation of visionary creatives who have repurposed warehouses and colonial-era shopfronts, opening over a dozen emerging businesses, including cafes, noodle shops, an art gallery, a design studio and even a coffee roasters. In 2023, this tenacious bunch of indy-entrepreneurs pooled together and launched Made in Song Wat, billed as a ‘love letter to the neighbourhood’, this Thai-English guidebook project backed by a savvy social media campaign draws attention to the area’s historical roots, as well as the new wave of merchants and hospitality vendors who now operate with pride of place around Song Wat. Stop for a locally roasted brew at SCR Song Wat Coffee Roasters. Sip on Thai herbal concoctions and tasty delectables at F.V. Cafe, a coffee-free, quasi-surrealist cafe with a thatched house transplanted from a rice field looming above as a mezzanine. Satisfy your artistic eye at PLAY Art House, once a former warehouse for a footwear company, now converted into a contemporary gallery space spotlighting a rotating roster of local artists. If steamed bao are your thing, sample the ones at Gu Long Bao 古笼包 Artisan Bun Shop where piping hot Teochew bundles of joy have been hand made for five generations. Pick up a memorable piece of handmade pottery at Aoon, where clay is hand-spun by two young artisan brothers. Made in Song Wat can be purchased online in advanced and is available at over a dozen businesses throughout the community, map included.

3 p.m – Siesta? In Thai We Say Pak Baai

Take a well deserved power nap back at your riverside abode. You can hold-off on those social media posts for at least one day.

7 p.m. – Peak Tropic Hour

Hop into a Tuk-Tuk and zigzag through traffic to a spirit house of the Tiki kind, at Tropic City, Bangkok’s award winning tropical cocktail lounge. A fitting place to sport those floral patterned Hawaiian shirts that are all the rage right now. Since 2017, two swashbuckling Swedes, Philip Stefanescu and Sebastian De la Crux, and their team of diehard mixologists have turned their love of rum (and other spirits) into botanic works of art, served in a glass. Start the evening with the appropriately named Welcome to the Jungle, a potent teaser of Havana Club rums, apricot, pimento dram, pineapple, orange, lime and vanilla. Enough said?

8 p.m. – Sharing is Caring

No tasting menus tonight. Thai food has always been rooted in the shared family meal. A short stroll down the street from Tropic City, across a canal bridge and into a small alley is Charmgang Curry Shop, where a trio of friends — all former alumni of David Thompson’s Nahm — Geravich “Mew” Mesaengnilverakul, Aruss “Jai” Lerlerstkull and Atcharaporn “Aew” Kiatthanawat, have taken the kaleidoscopic range of Thai curries, and its accompanying emotional palate triggers and transplanted it into an impossibly hip dining room replete with design nods to the humble curry counter shops of their youth. These three musketeers slice, dice and sauté their way through the night in the prominently featured open kitchen. This is not a place for allergies or substitutes. The flavours are bold, the spices are sharp, and the dishes are drawn from recipes hard to come-by. Communal eating and empty plates are highly encouraged. Try the tumis curry with tiger prawns and rose apple, the plum leaves curry with roasted duck and santol, and the grilled cuttlefish salad with young mangosteen and torch ginger — are all taste touchstones you will not soon forget.

10:30 p.m. Not Your Dad’s Nana

There was a time when going to Soi Nana meant squandering your soul in a riotous haze of neon, tan lines and go-go dancers over on Sukhumvit. Not any more. Bangkok in fact has two Soi Nana (double-check your Google Map), the one I’m talking about is a hop-skip-and-a-couple-more-jumps from Charmgang. This short, little twig of an alley, branching off nearby Rama IV Road is now home to a bevy of late night operations. A wonderful urban street hamlet of post-dinner distractions. Three of my favourites spots to close out the evening are gin bar Teens of Thailand, the pioneering Thai liquor den Tep Bar, and hipster hangout Asia Today Bar. Choose one, or choose all. The scene at these places is relaxed, sprinkled with some swagger, and very local. Remember, it’s your Bangkok, not your Dad’s.

SUNDAY

Sleep In Optional

Waking up riverside regardless of where you stay is a luxury in itself. Does it matter what you do?That being said, the hotels I’ve suggested are really worth allowing yourself time to soak in each property’s own distinct vibes, why not take this day out for you. Otherwise, at Sala Rattanakosin is the nearby Museum of Siam, housed in a spectacular neo-classical structure, where Thai-ness is both highlighted and questioned with thoughtful, interactive exhibitions on historic and popular themes. A short walk from Loy La Long is Wat Tri Mit, in the heart of Chinatown, home to the world’s largest solid gold Buddha with a fascinating museum located underneath, dedicated to the history of Bangkok’s Chinese community. At the Four Seasons, postpone reality for another day at their Urban Wellness Centre, a vast cutting edge facility where you can pamper yourself with a gold-enriched oil massage, challenge yourself to stand-up float board yoga, or perhaps take that Muay Thai boxing class you always wanted to. The hotel also has its own gallery called Art Space where leading local artists take centerstage.

If you feel your street food hunger pangs haven’t quite been sufficiently met, but don’t want to wander around to half a dozen places. Then close out the weekend by tucking-in for some local fare at Baan Padthai in the riverside area of Bangrak —renowned Chef Ian Chalermkittichai’s humble temple to all things street food. From the rustic tables to the Thai folksongs playing overhead in the open-air shophouse, to the classic condiment containers and the wooden chopstick boxes, all the elements are here. Satay, pork neck, somtum, laab, BBQ chicken, mango sticky rice, and of course, no less than seven versions of the establishment’s namesake dish. It’s all done with just the right touch of Thai flourishes, elevating the street food experience without losing any of the authenticity.

Within the kingdom, everyone knows that Bangkok’s real name is Krungthep, which means city of angels. That may be so, but chances are you won’t run into too many of those amongst Bangkok’s warren of streets and canals. However, what is nearly unavoidable is the Chao Phraya river. More than anything else, I think Bangkok is undeniably a river city. Right now, there’s never been a better time to live and breath this city from its aquatic heart.