Bangkok: Rivers, Canals and Golden Temples 

The Chao Phraya River and its web of canals shaped Bangkok, and boats continue to carry a lot of the traffic: commuter ferries behave like buses, and entire communities live in stilt houses just minutes from the main waterway. Golden temples rise between glass office blocks. When evening comes, food carts roll onto the sidewalks and much of the city eats on its feet. It is noisy, sweltering and very easy to love. This guide covers hotels, things to see, restaurants that welcome children, and a handful of useful facts.

Places to Sleep

• Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok: The city's most senior hotel, welcoming guests since 1876 and standing directly on the Chao Phraya. Rooms look over the water, a little shuttle boat takes diners across to restaurants on the opposite bank, and the staff have had well over a century to perfect their routine.
• Banyan Tree Bangkok: A tower of suites in the Sathorn business area. Most guests book it for Vertigo, the open-air rooftop restaurant and bar on the sixty-first floor, where there is hardly a wall in sight.
• Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort: A low-rise riverside resort on the calmer western shore, with gardens, a few restaurants and a spa. A complimentary shuttle boat crosses to the Skytrain, the way most guests reach the centre.

What to See and Do

• The Grand Palace: A walled complex of throne halls, courtyards and temples where Thai kings lived for roughly 150 years. Within its walls is Wat Phra Kaew, home of the Emerald Buddha, a jade statue far shorter than a metre whose robes the king changes personally three times a year. Dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered, or you will not be let in.
• Chatuchak Weekend Market: Open on Saturdays and Sundays, with around 15,000 stalls divided into 27 numbered sections. Expect plants, antiques, used clothing, furniture and an enormous amount of food. Arrive early, before the heat gathers beneath the roofs, and accept that you will lose your bearings.
• Longtail boat trip: Narrow boats peel away from the main river into the Thonburi canals, gliding past stilt houses, temples, monitor lizards and residents' backyards. Forty minutes afloat reveals a side of Bangkok that no road reaches.

Kid-Friendly Places to Eat

Dining with kids in Bangkok is easy. Dishes are designed for sharing, the heat can usually be turned down on request, and no one minds a pushchair. These places are dependable:

• Cabbages & Condoms:
  Where: Sukhumvit 12 Alley no. 10, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110
  A garden restaurant just off Sukhumvit Road with classic Thai dishes served beneath the trees. Its profits support a family-planning charity, which accounts for the name and the decor. Tables are shaded and there is space for children to wander.
• After You Dessert Café:
  Where: Several branches, including the Siam Paragon mall, CentralWorld and the Thonglor area A dessert chain famous for Shibuya honey toast and shaved-ice bingsu.
  You will find outlets in most large malls, the air conditioning is strong, and the sweets are big enough to split among three.
• Eathai at Central Embassy:
  Where: 1031 Ploenchit Road, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
  A basement food hall at Central Embassy that brings street snacks and regional specialities from every part of Thailand into one air-conditioned space. Each person chooses a different dish, then everyone regroups at the table.
• Chocolate Ville:
  Where: Soi Nawamin 74 (Yaek 3-8), off Kaset-Nawamin Road, Bueng Kum district, Bangkok 10230
  An open-air restaurant styled like a little European village, complete with a lake, bridges and street lamps. It serves Thai and Western food, and there is enough to look at that children stay occupied between courses.
• Siam Tea Room, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park:
  Where: 199 Sukhumvit Soi 22, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110
  Traditional Thai dishes plus a few Western ones, served inside the Marriott Marquis. The room is peaceful with tall ceilings, high chairs appear without a second request, and no one rushes you.
• Coco Ichibanya:
  Where: Several branches, including the Siam Paragon mall and the Terminal 21 mall
  A Japanese curry chain where you tick boxes on a form to set the spice level, the amount of rice and the toppings. Handy on the evening when nobody at the table can agree.
• Hemlock Restaurant:
  Where: 58 Sukhumvit Soi 23, Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana district, Bangkok 10110
  A small restaurant reviving older Thai recipes that most tourist menus skip, with well-known dishes alongside for anyone who prefers the familiar. The menu is short and the regulars are many.

Good to Know

• City of Temples: More than 400 temples lie within the city limits. Wat Pho houses a 46-metre reclining Buddha, the central tower of Wat Arun is decorated with shards of Chinese porcelain once used as ship ballast, and Wat Saket crowns Bangkok's only hill, which people built by hand.
• Street Food Capital: Street carts are part of everyday life here, not a tourist gimmick. Pad thai, som tam, boat noodles, grilled pork and mango sticky rice each cost only a few dollars, and the best stalls tend to have the longest line and the fewest seats.
• Bangkok's Floating Markets: At Damnoen Saduak and Amphawa, vendors still sell from boats, paddling fruit, noodles and grilled seafood along the canals. Damnoen Saduak operates in the morning and draws bigger crowds; Amphawa is smaller, starts in the afternoon and carries on after dark.