Alternative guide to Bangkok
Upon several requests from friends for different things to do in Bangkok, I wrote a long email to one friend, which quick became an easy forward to others too. Sharing some limited wisdom on unique city discoveries during my stint in Bangkok.
If you're by the Jim Thompson House for a tour, consider walking by the canals behind the house. Especially leading up to the Yelo House, a café and bar (with good craft beer) but also an exhibit space where they usually have cool art shows. Check their schedule in advance on Facebook. The canals leading up to it have a whole section of cool graffiti, which change every few weeks, so you may catch artists spraying up their latest work.
Open House is a really cool large bookshop/food court on the top floor of the Central Embassy Mall - all kinds of cool books and a cute stationary store inside. A nice way to spend a few hours pouring over photography, art, history, religion books and get one of Bangkok's best pizzas at Peppina (inside the store).
If you have time for a day trip, I highly recommend Bang Kachao or Bangkok's Green Lung. Its a beautifully lush green small island in the Chao Phraya river with lots of nice biking routes, botanical gardens, a floating market and traditional Thai architecture. To get there, take a cab to the Khlong Toey pier and hop on a tiny wooden boat (20 Baht maybe). Once you get to the island, there's a bike rental right at the entrance and you can rent sturdy bikes for the day to get around. Check out Bangkok Tree House (you can even stay there overnight).
Another fun half-day trip is a visit to another island in the Chao Phraya river called Ko Kret. Its lush green, by the water, and has authentic Thai village life - including small Batik shops, and a Mon clay pottery studio. There's a fantastic craft brewery here called Chit Beer - watch a few hours go by, at the river and enjoy really high quality craft beer at very reasonable prices.
For a little bar hopping, I recommend the upcoming bars on Soi Nana in Chinatown. There's a gin only 10 seater bar called Teens of Thailand with really good gin cocktails, and the less busy but incredibly charming Tep Bar. They also do live music. Since my last visit here, I've heard many new places have opened up too - so you can probably walk around and hop from one to the next.
If you need to get some work done, or just would like to soak in colonial style club life, the Neilson Hays Library in Sathorn has a beautiful British-style library and cafe along with it. Non-members can pay 100 Baht for the day, and spend a good day amongst books and beautiful architecture. Sathorn area also has good food and bars. Some recommendations here would be: Smalls, a jazz bar; Le Cafe des Stagiares for Belgian style fare; and Vesper for good cocktails.
If you make it out to Thong Lor, the Commons is a nice outdoor mall type situation (I don't know how else to describe it). Lots of artisanal stores, food, coffee etc. Cool space.
While the Bangkok Art Biennale is a new addition (and transient), the area about where the largest installations are beautiful. While Thailand was never colonized, some architecture from the 18th and 19th century does reflect interactions between the East and the West. A stroll around the luxurious Mandarin Oriental with stops at the East Asiatic Company, the old Customs Building, and the ruins in the middle make for an interesting walk.
The weekend Chatuchak Market is famous among all visitors, and rightly so. If you find yourself in the right alleyway here, there's treasure to be found. For example, a vintage kimono store called Sumo Vintage (note the street number here, not really on the map otherwise). Or you could enter the market through the artists section - a really cool part of the market where artists paint right there (Section 7 - see where on a map of the market), they're hanging out outside and its definitely a less overwhelming section of the market. Or the second hand books section at Gate 33. There's also excellent antique stores at the next door Chatuchak Plaza (think antique Chinese armoires, chaises or kitchen ware). As the Chatuchak market is a day event, in the evening, the nearby Camp Vintage Flea Market is a nice quick visit for food, antiques, beer and live music too.
For a good sunset view drink and then dinner, I recommend making your way to Amorosa's rooftop bar to watch the Wat Arun temple drown in pink and orange skies. Alternatively, dinner at Suppaniga Eating Room for dinner by a golden lit up Wat Arun temple works nicely. Either - or, the view of the temple from across the river is breathtaking, and reservations are a good idea for Supanniga.
Finally, I am entirely partial to my neighborhood, Ari, which feels a bit like Bangkok's Williamsburg (a little publicity here). The best burger in town is here at Paper Butter, really good cocktails and live music at Frank's Mansion, craft beer at Dok Kaew House Bar, coffee pretty much every second store, and Burmese khao soi at Ong Tong. Pla Dib has fantastic Asian Fusion food, and a boutique shoe store, O&B, with the most comfortable shoes. The street named Phahonyothin Soi 7 (or right by the BTS Ari stop) is also excellent for street food (all day everyday, except Mondays). A few hours in this neighborhood are well spent indeed.