Bangkok

How to get there Bangkok is a long flight from Boston. It usually requires a stop in Asia, which can make the total travel time as long as 29 hours, including a seven-hour layover in Japan. Lowest round-trip air fare between Boston and Bangkok available at press time started at $3,615 on Continental Airlines in association with Thai Airways and Air France, connecting through Newark and Hong Kong. What to do There's so much to do in Bangkok. Every street offers a world to explore.

Lady Gaga has met Thailand's premier "lady boys" at a Bangkok drag show featuring busty dancers who were not born that way. Diving in to the city's nightlife, the pop diva and an entourage from her "Born This Way Ball" took in a show at the well-known Calypso Cabaret, where she cheered on a transvestite review of Broadway show tunes. "A million people have to pay to see a Gaga concert, but Gaga paid to see our show!" cabaret manager Nipon Boonmasuwan told Friday's Thairath newspaper.

BANGKOK - Barriers protecting Bangkok from Thailand's worst floods in half a century held firm yesterday as the government said some water drenching provinces just north of the capital has begun receding. That restored hope that Bangkok, with 9 million people, could escape unharmed. But outside of the city, thousands of people remain displaced, and hungry residents are struggling to survive in half-submerged towns. The military yesterday rescued terrified civilians from the rooftops of flooded buildings in the city of Ayutthaya, one of the country's hardest-hit.

Thousands upon thousands of devoted Thais feted their 84-year-old monarch Friday on his first trip outside the capital in almost three years, a period marked by his ailing health and national political turmoil The elaborate tribute to King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the old capital of Ayutthaya was a celebration of values and unity overshadowed in recent years by the turmoil. Bhumibol, the world's longest reigning monarch, actively worked for decades on behalf of the country's poor but has almost disappeared from public life since he was hospitalized in September 2009 for what the...

BANGKOK — Thousands of defiant antigovernment demonstrators fanned out to other parts of Thailand’s capital and threatened firms with ties to the government yesterday after ignoring police orders to leave Bangkok’s paralyzed commercial district. Some protesters pushed their way into their newest target, the Election Commission, in anger that the body has yet to decide whether the ruling Democrat Party violated laws on financial donations, which could lead to the party’s dissolution.

Bangkok has always been a breeding ground for great hotels. So it's no surprise that Christina Ong, the Singaporean behind Como Hotels, has chosen the ascendant Thai capital for her Eastern debut. The Metropolitan Bangkok is a striking yet understated place with 177 rooms and a quiet perch near the bustling Silom/Saladaeng area and tranquil Lumpini Park. Global trends shine through in the minimalism of the lobby and staff outfitted in all-black Yohji Yamamoto. But the sensuous warmth of Thailand is afoot as well.

BANGKOK -- Nine bombs exploded across Bangkok as the Thai capital celebrated the New Year, killing three people and driving thousands of revelers home after the city canceled festivities. Hospital staff and officials said 38 people were injured, at least nine of them foreigners. There were two waves of bombings. Some people initially mistook the sound of the bombs for fireworks. Mayor Apirak Kosayothin canceled major public celebrations and sent home about 5,000 gathered in Central World Plaza, the downtown venue for Bangkok's main New Year...

BANGKOK - Bangkok's flood defenses continued to fall yesterday as rising waters from months of flooding began entering seven city districts, forced the closure of the domestic airport, and drove more people from their homes, while authorities tried to offer reassurances over farmed crocodiles that have escaped their pens. In the capital, many grocery shelves had been stripped of water and other essentials, and traffic was light as people parked their cars for safety in raised garages or on highway overpasses.

BANGKOK, Thailand - Dawn here sees hawkers peddling polyethylene bags full of fresh and fiery green fish curry to morning commuters. By lunchtime, entrepreneurs with hand-drawn carts line every street with makeshift grills charring small bananas or pounding shredded green papaya with dried shrimp and chilies into som tom, a salad that's simultaneously searingly hot and refreshingly cool and crunchy. After dark, waitresses in Tiger Beer miniskirts at the vast outdoor food court at Suan Lum serve kua mu yang (grilled pork neck)

BANGKOK -- Even past midnight, well after the summer monsoons, the stagnant air slides under my clothes, spreading a damp, sticky coating that fills my pores. It's a greeting of sorts from this sprawling tropical metropolis, one of the hottest cities on the planet. I have spent more than 24 hours in planes and airports, so the soupy air almost feels pleasant, particularly when it moves. To do that, I hop a tuk-tuk, one of countless motorized rickshaws that provide an airy perch to breathe in all the chaos of the capital's crowded streets -- ...

Lady Gaga wants to go shopping in Bangkok — for a fake Rolex. The singer made the comment to her 24 million Twitter followers, sparking an online uproar Thursday in Thailand where some fans called it offensive, insulting and bad for the country's image. It's the latest publicity-making turn of events as "The Born This Way Ball" travels through Asia. Lady Gaga's provocative lyrics and costumes have angered Christian groups in South Korea and the Philippines and Islamists in Indonesia, where the show may be banned.

A 62-year-old Thai man who became known as "Uncle SMS" after he was convicted of defaming Thailand's royal family in text messages died Tuesday while serving a 20-year prison term. The case of Amphon Tangnoppakul, who had suffered from mouth cancer, drew attention to Thailand's severe lese majeste law last November when he received one of the heaviest-ever sentences for someone accused of insulting the monarchy. As news of his death spread, about 40 demonstrators gathered outside Bangkok's Central Criminal Court holding signs denouncing the royal...

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent The Sofitel So Bangkok recently opened in Thailand, and is offering "80 Dollars, 80 Days," now through May 18, which gives guests an $80 credit per room, per night for the first 80 days of its opening. The credit can be spent at any of the new 30-story hotel's restaurants, bars or So Spa. The credit extends to room upgrades as well, and can be accumulated during the same stay. The new hotel overlooks the city's Lumpini Park and has 238 rooms with themed decor centered around five elements: Water,...

BANGKOK - Chaleo Yoovidhya, the self-made Thai billionaire who introduced the world to "energy drinks" and co-founded the globally popular Red Bull brand, has died. He was in his 80s. Mr. Chaleo died of natural causes in Bangkok Saturday, according to media reports and state television broadcaster MCOT, which cited the Thai Beverage Industry Association. Forbes magazine, which ranked Mr. Chaleo the 205th richest man in the world this year with a net worth of $5 billion, said he was 80 years old. Several Thai media...

BANGKOK (AP) — Israel accused Iran of waging a covert campaign of state terror that stretched this week from the Middle East to the heart of Asia after a bungled series of explosions led to the capture of two Iranian nationals in Bangkok. Authorities in Israel ratcheted up security at home and abroad following Tuesday's explosions in the Thai capital, escalating a confrontation over Iran's suspect nuclear program and raising fears of war. On Monday, an Israeli diplomat's wife and driver were wounded in New Delhi when a bomb stuck to their...

BANGKOK - A series of explosions rocked a residential neighborhood here yesterday, leading Thai authorities to a cache of bombs in a rented house and the capture of two men identified in Thai media reports as Iranians. A third suspect was being sought. Witnesses said the three men, all of whom appeared to be foreigners, fled a house in the Sukhumvit neighborhood of Bangkok after an explosion in the early afternoon tore off the roof of the house. Two of the men ran immediately from the house, witnesses said; one was later detained at the city's main...

BANGKOK -- This is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of place. I still recall the time my friend Amanda, who had just spent a year living in Hanoi, first stepped foot in this city, eager for something not aggressive and communist. Wandering Chinatown, where we got turned around by the local system of alleys-off-lanes-off-roads (all sharing the same name) under highways, she broke into tears. She swore hatred, and repeated it that evening as she cleansed the gray-brown exhaust grime off her brow.

BANGKOK - Thai police were questioning a Lebanese man with alleged links to Hezbollah militants as the US Embassy and Israel warned yesterday of a "real and credible" terrorist threat against Americans and Israelis in Bangkok. Police said a bombing had been planned and another suspect was at large. The US Embassy urged Americans to keep a low profile in public and to exercise caution in areas where Western tourists gather. The warning comes during heightened tension over US and Israeli responses to the prospect that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

Worry. Apprehension. Anxiety. These were not what I thought I would be feeling. And yet, as I headed to the airport to meet my parents for our first long trip together in nearly a decade, a troubling thought dogged me: What if this was a bad idea? For the past eight years, I had made a vigorous case to my parents that they needed to visit Southeast Asia. But what if they hated it? What if they got sick? What if we weren't talking to one another when we got home? I realize I am not the first person to be racked by such questions.

BANGKOK - A foreign suspect with alleged links to Hezbollah militants led Thai police yesterday to a warehouse filled with materials commonly used to make bombs, as Thailand and the United States disagreed over whether Bangkok was the target of a terror plot. Police seized more than 8,800 pounds of urea fertilizer and several gallons of liquid ammonium nitrate at the warehouse in Samut Sakhon, on the western outskirts of Bangkok, according to police and media reports. The US Embassy had issued an "emergency message" Friday warning of a possible terror threat...