Guidebook feeling outdated and lacking in local colour about Thailand's amazing capital city? Check out the local press to find out the real deal when it comes to Bangkok
Guidebooks like Lonely Planet Bangkok are great, but they can't hope to be up to the minute - published every couple of years, they can point you towards the timeless favourites of Bangkok, but aren't much help telling you what's going on in this huge, confusing but fascinating city in the week you arrive. Luckily several local companies have noticed this problem and now produce magazines and newspapers that make it easy for travellers to tap into the real local scene.
BK Magazine is a weekly free newspaper that provides listings and articles, while Tom Yum magazine is a beautifully produced monthly magazine, also free, that covers events all over the country as well as providing an invaluable directory of Bangkok, Samui, Phuket and Krabi complete with maps. You'll find both in virtually every coffee shop and restaurant. The Bangkok Post, one of Thailand's two daily English language newspapers - the other being The Nation - has also launched Guru, another free colour newspaper designed to appeal to the nightclubbing, fashion-loving set. It's worth picking up copies of the Bangkok Post and The Nation while you're in town to get an idea of what's going both news wise and across the city.
Online, each of these publications has its own website but frankly they are nowhere near as good as their print incarnations - better look towards 2Bangkok.com, the daily updated Bangkok news site that is absolutely packed with info about the city, and also BangkokRecorder.com, an excellent site that updates weekly about the best clubbing places but is well written enough to entertain old farts like me too. There's also the Bangkok variant of Craigslist too for social contacts and events. The more illicit side of Bangkok nightlife is explored on Bangkok Tonight and NanaPlaza.com, if that's what you're after.
Between all of these magazines and websites, you'll know exactly what's going on in BKK the moment you get here - and have the best possible time as a result.
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