One of my most-visited cities in Asia is Bangkok, which I’ve been to numerous times both for travel and for short stopovers en route to other countries. But I actually hated Bangkok the first time I visited it, which was at the end of a 3-week journey through Southeast Asia. It seemed too loud, dirty, and the stark contrast between rich and poor just gave me a really bad feeling. Since then, I’ve gradually come to appreciate Bangkok more. Now, I always look forward to visits there.

The irony is on my first visit, I went to the most famous attractions like the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Chattuchak Market, and Wat Arun, and even watched Muay Thai live at the old Lumpinee Stadium. It says something that though I enjoyed all of them, I still didn’t like Bangkok much.

After you visit those attractions, Bangkok has a lot more places you can visit. Here are five lesser-known but special places to check out.

Jim Thompson House
This is a small compound with six traditional Thai teak houses that used to be the residence of an American silk magnate and former OSS (precursor to the CIA) operative. Jim Thompson came to Thailand during World War II and liked Thailand so much he settled here and built up a silk business, which still operates to this day. Thompson got wealthy, having been credited for revitalizing the Thai silk industry, and built this compound of red teak houses which he obtained from Ayutthaya and elsewhere from Bangkok and reassembled them here.

The houses are beautiful on the outside and preserved in an exquisite state inside, which you can only view on guided tours done by staff at set times so some waiting for the next tour is required when you buy your ticket (ask the staff first about the tour times before you buy your ticket so you will know beforehand). The compound also has nice gardens and backs onto one of Bangkok canals or klongs, where passenger boats speed past regularly.

Besides the tour of the houses, there are Thai dance performances at specific times. As for Thompson, he disappeared one day while hiking in Malaysia’s Cameron Highland in 1967, which remains a mystery to this day.

Bangkok Art and Cultural Center
This contemporary arts center features galleries featuring the work of local artists as well as cafes, shops, bookstores, and workshops. At the time I went, there was a photography exhibit of competition winners occupying several floors. The white building has a distinctive circular shape and is near the Siam Square and MBK Center malls. 

Golden Mount
A shrine atop a small, golden man-made hill, the Golden Mount is the only place in Bangkok you could do anything remotely resembling a hike. At the top, you can get a good 360-degree view of Bangkok, as well as a golden chedi (a Buddhist mound with holy relics inside). See my blog post here for more details about the Golden Mount.

Giant Swing
As its name suggests, this is indeed a very tall structure that housed a swing that was used not for recreation, but for religious purposes starting from 1784. Specifically, the Triyampavai-Tripavai ceremony was done to honor a Hindu god (an interesting case of Hindu-Buddhist interaction), where participants would go onto a swing on the structure to try to grab gold placed at the top. Needless to say, accidents occurred, some of which were fatal, so this was banned in 1935. The swing still exists, and after you stare at it and imagine how it used to be in the past, enter the neighboring temple Wat Suthat, completed in 1848, to take a look at its large and magnificent main hall and dozens of small stone pagodas outside.  

Erawan Shrine
While this is a very small, open-air shrine, it’s remarkable for being smack in the middle of an intersection in the middle of a busy shopping and commercial area, and for being the target of a huge terrorist bombing in 2015. Erawan Shrine was built to honor Phra Phrom, the Thai version of the Hindu God Brahma and sometimes there are ceremonies held during midday. It’s a popular place for both worshipers and sightseers.

Wat Suthat, located right by the Giant Swing

View of Bangkok from the Golden Mount
Jim Thompson House

Bangkok Art and Culture Center
One of the photos on display. The theme of this particular exhibit was juxtaposition.

Erawan Shrine