Bangkok: Impressive Metropolis

In 2002, Bangkok will celebrate 220 years as the nation's capital, a milestone that coincides with the opening of the city's first subway system. These two facts, the venerable age of Bangkok and the ongoing advance of modern develop­ment, epitomise a duality that characterises the city. It both preserves the old with respect and embraces the new with enthusiasm. During the past two decades the Thai capital has undergone more change than probably at any other period during its history. What had been reasonably steady growth from the city's founding in 1782 up to the mid 20th century surged spectacularly in the 1980s and 1990s. Fuelled by a highly successful export drive and foreign investment, the Thai economy boomed at that time, resulting in unprecedented infrastructure develop­ment. Concrete and glass high-rises reshaped the skyline and multi-lane expressways re-mapped the city's thoroughfares, while at the end of 1999 the Skytrain mass transit system was completed and now, soon to be finished, is the subway.

The modern cityscape, at moments seemingly reminiscent of Tokyo or Los Angels, is matched by new hotels that rank among the most luxurious in the world, smart shopping plazas selling top brand-named items, classy restaurants, Western fast-food outlets and all the other amenities of a 21st-century city on the move.

The ultimate impact of all the development is that Bangkok is now better than it has ever been - it's greener, it's more comfortable to experience and it's quicker and simpler to get around town. Imagine, a cross-town journey that previously would take one and a half hours by taxi or bus can now be completed in a matter of minutes by the Skytrain. Popular destinations, such as Chatuchak Weekend Market, are now much easier to visit, while the Skytrain also provides convenient links to and from many major hotels around town.

Likewise, the options for shopping, dining and entertainment have vastly expanded in the last couple of decades. Now, modern luxury buys are available as well as the traditional handicrafts; Thai restaurants are matched by others offering virtuallv the whole gamut of world cuisines, while entertainment can be as diverse as a classical concert at the Thailand Cultural Centre or an Irish band playing in an Irish pub.

Indeed, Bangkok can be all things to all people. Essentially a paradox in its blend of old and new, of traditional

Oriental splendour overlaid with a modern Western facade, the Thai capital defies easy definition. Yet the inescapable fact is that the city is ultimately totally enchanting, "impossible to resist", as travel writer Pico Iyer remarked recently in Time magazine.

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