Silom

Like so much of Bangkok, Silom Road is a street of contrasts. The glass-clad office towers are populated by bankers, investors, corporate lawyers and the like, while on the kerbside there are young people selling cheap clothing and trinkets.

Starting at the southern end, you?ll find the ?The Gem Capital of The World? where there are many jewellery shops and out of sight in the offices, gem traders from around the world are negotiating with their Thai counterparts.

In this area there is also a Indian temple where devotees stage colourful festivals according to their Hindu gods.

The mid-section of Silom Road is mainly office buildings with some more jewellery shops, handicrafts and bronzeware shops.

There is a small lane beside the Bangkok Bank headquarters building called Soi La Lai Sap which becomes very crowded at lunchtime as the female office workers shop for inexpensive cosmetics and clothes. There are also stall where they have their midday meal.

On the northern end there are more office blocks and some department stores as well as many international fast food restaurants. And of course more kerbside vendors selling fried bananas. The last side street on the northern end is Soi Thaniya which is like a ?Little Tokyo? with its many bars and restaurants catering to an exclusive Japanese clientele.

How to get there: Skytrain to Saladaeng Station. Subway to Silom Station. Bus routes 15, 76, 77, 163, 164, 177, 504, 514, 547

Patpong

As night falls, hundreds of vendors come out with their push carts to set up their stalls for the night market mainly near the entertainment district called Patpong, named after the man who built the street called Patpong Road. This is a well-known entertainment area that turns into a market as night falls. The street beomes crammed with the vendors selling clothes, watches, music discs and jewellery

Although Patpong Road is probably the most famous street in Bangkok, it is in fact two small streets - Patpong 1 and Patpong 2. Located between Silom Road and Surawongse Road, Patpong 1 and Patpong 2 run alongside each other and house more Go-Go bars than you could possibly imagine!

These days, though, many people come to Patpong for good shopping rather than visiting bars. The street stalls in the middle of the road offer just about everything you want ? a really perfect place to pick up gifts for people back home. A word of warning: The Patpong street stalls take up a lot of road space leaving very little room for people to walk. If you have difficulty walking, or you are wheelchair bound, it might be best to avoid the Patpong area, or at least visit very early evening.

Patpong?s ground-floor Go-Go bars are probably the best places to visit. Unless you are very sure of where you are going, try to avoid the second-floor bars. There are occasions when people have been seriously overcharged in some of these bars and although it?s a bit unfair on the properly managed establishments, avoiding the second-floor might mean avoiding unpleasantness. Small beers and spirits should cost in the region of 100 Baht.

How to get there: The nearest BTS Station is Saladaeng and the nearest MRT station is Silom. From both Saladaeng and Silom you need to walk down Silom Road away from Lumini Park. When you see a MacDonald?s on your left, Patpong is on your right