Bangkok

Where to shoot

• Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew — the dazzling former royal residence and home of the revered Emerald Buddha; arrive at opening time to beat both heat and crowds.
• Wat Arun — the riverside Temple of Dawn, its spire faced in fragments of porcelain, best seen from a longtail boat at sunset.
• Wat Pho — the 46-metre reclining gold Buddha and the temple complex that's also home to Thailand's original traditional massage school.
• Chao Phraya River & the Thonburi canals — express boats and longtail rides past temples, warehouses, and stilt-house communities that predate the skyscrapers behind them.
• Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew — a dazzling complex of gilded spires and the revered Emerald Buddha, calmest in the early morning.
• Wat Arun — the riverside Temple of Dawn, its porcelain-encrusted spire catching the last light at sunset across the Chao Phraya.
• Wat Pho — home to a vast reclining gold Buddha and the country's traditional massage school.
• Chao Phraya River — the city's central artery, traveled by ferries and longtail boats past temples and the old quarter.

When to go

November to February for cooler, drier weather; March to May turns brutally hot, and June to October brings the monsoon rains.

What to eat

Street stalls are the main event: tom yum goong, pad thai off a smoking wok, roasted duck over noodles, and mango sticky rice for dessert, Chinatown's alleys and the night markets are where it's best and cheapest.

Where to stay

Base yourself near the river or a Skytrain station, the Old Town around Rattanakosin puts you within walking distance of the temples, while Sukhumvit trades that for easy transit and nightlife.