Time Out Bangkok: And Beach Escapes (Time Out Guides)

 (3 customer reviews)

This is a review of the 3rd edition of Time Out Bangkok. It's frankly not worth buying, and I say that as someone who has enjoyed other Time Out city guides. A couple of specific problems:

-The maps are frustrating. Bangkok isn't really pedestrian-friendly, but there are still great opportunities to get to know the city on foot. The itineraries that Time Out includes are interesting, but the maps often lack important street names or don't include addresses and landmarks to locate sights. (Ironically, the cover says "Now with improved maps.")

-The writing is awful. For instance: "Calls for an industrialized Kra Canal or 'land bridge' across the southern isthmus would foul the environment on which tourism relies." Or: "Police raids and urine tests recur periodically and the unrepealed early closing directives...land later-opening venues in a pernicious, exploitable grey area as enforcement relents." Ugh. Reading a tour guide doesn't have to be pleasurable,...Read more

I was a little skeptical using a Time Out guide for the first time, but I must admit that this guide led us to numerous local eateries that were absolutely fantastic. We used the "eating" section to choose 4 local places for dinner and we were handsomely rewarded with great food, at cheap prices, from local places that we never would have found on our own. While the maps are a little lacking (they don't mark restaurants on a map - this might be changed in the newer edition), we were able to find these "hole-in-the-wall" places with excellent food.

I visited Bangkok for three days and found this guide, along with a local map, sufficient. However, I did miss some of the details and background descriptions that are provided in longer guides. The food section alone makes this guide worthwhile for anyone looking to take advantage of the great local food that Bangkok has to offer.

Time Out continues to provide the best guidebooks, in my humble opinion. I used Time Out Bangkok for my first visit in 2006 and continue to utilize them for my annual trips.