Bangkok (1 of 9)
Bangkok has rich, multi-faceted personality. Delve just a little deeper and you'll find a city of climate-controlled mega-malls and international brand names just minutes from 200-year-old village homes; of gold-spired Buddhist temples sharing space with neon-lit strips of sleaze; of slow-moving rivers of cars bypassed by long-tail boats plying the royal river; and of streets lined with food carts selling Thai classics for next to nothing, overlooked by restaurants on top of skyscrapers serving international cuisine.
If all this sounds dizzying, rest assured that despite its international flavour, Bangkok remains resolutely Thai. With its mix of the historic and contemporary, and some of the most delicious and best-value eating on earth, the City of Angels is surely one of the most invigorating places in Asia.
