My main memory of visiting Bangkok for the first time more than 20 years ago is one of seemingly endless taxi rides. We arrived at the old Don Mueang Airport after an eventful flight from Kathmandu. The main in-flight entertainment was watching a group of Nepalese men consume copious amounts of red wine and brandy during the flight. As we approached Bangkok the poor cabin crew had quite a job of seating these jolly passengers whose white suits were now covered in red wine stains and were incapable of finding their seats. Certain

Bangkok is packed with markets which play a central role in community life and act as popular tourist attractions for visitors to the city. The long-established street markets sell just about anything you can imagine ranging from locally-grown tropical fruits to gold jewellery and fake Levis. As well as bargain-hunting and enjoying the atmosphere of these traditional markets visitors can also splash out at any number of enormous, air-conditioned shopping malls which are up there with some of the most luxurious retail outlets on the planet.