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International Volunteer Information. Discover Bangkok region
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The Bangkok and central region
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One of the
megacities of Asia with a population exceeding
10 millions. Greater Bangkok is the political, academic and commercial
powercenter of Thailand extending
over a whole region and several other cities.
The ancient capital, Ayutthaya, was conquered and looted by the Burmese in 1767 and Bangkok then became the new capital in 1782.
A lace of canals transformed the city of Bangkok in the XIXth century giving the capital the name of " Venice of Asia ". Today most canals are gone to give way to highways, expressways and high rise buildings. Bangkok is chaos and so is the traffic despite all new roads and streets that have ruined the old style charm of the city.
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The Chao Phraya River still offers images of typical Thai river life. You can easily cruise on the river and the canals, thanks to public and private transport. The long and crowded express boats go up and down the river all day long and tickets cost next to nothing!
The Grand Palace and the Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) are true treasures of Thai art. The Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha ), near the Grand Palace, shelters a gigantic gold-coloured Buddha 46 metres in length on 15 metres.
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Shopping is
one of the principal attractions of Bangkok and
the government hopes to make Bangkok the shopping
hub of SE Asia! Some favorite purchases
are genuine silk and Thai cottons, modern and traditional
jewelry with saphire, jade, zircon and other stones,
as well as Thai pottery. Other
favorites are fake Rolex watches, fake brand clothes,
shoes etc; maybe made by the same factory that
made the real stuff for American and European
major brands! One friendly bargains the prices
in most of the stores. Walk away at least once
to get a good price!
One night in Bangkok! Well, some spend many nights there, and nightlife varies from the very snobbish, expensive, (mainly catering to the local "Noblesse") fashion discos to the average tourist spots and then much more squalid nightlife, inadvertently also reflecting the ever present poverty and unequal educational chances of people in this strict class society. |
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The ancient and beautiful town of Ayutthaya, 76 km north of Bangkok, was the center of the power during 417 years (on 1350 in 1767). Nowadays, this site is classified as a world cultural heritage and proud of its numerous and magnificent ruins, showing that Ayutthaya was one of the most prosperous cities of Indochina.
Palaces and temples in ruins give evidence of the past greatness of this fantastic "island".
It is a must trip for the Bangkok visitor and also a possible volunteer opportunity for the Openminds volunteer!
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International Volunteer Overseas Information. Discover
Laos, volunteer in Laos! Discover Laos as a volunteer in Laos!
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Apply now
Support, Access and Information;
- 24 hours access to our staff, in case of emergency when you volunteer in Thailand
and Laos. We have English speaking people.
- You can contact previous volunteers.
- You can read about volunteer experiences and projects on our
Volunteer Work Abroad Community which you can join too.
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