“What is Bangkok like?” asked an American visitor, rhetorically in 1903. Some answer the question by relying on cliches ‘Venice of the east’ or ‘city of places in temples’. Others insisted that its contrasts and contradictions made an easy description impossible.<\/p>\n
Bangkok at the turn of the 20th century was a city in transition, mixing as it did east with west and traditions with modernity. Here live the diverse communities which made it what it is today but this collection of writings by a huge variety of visitors to Bangkok captures the city through foreign eyes. <\/p>\n
In Bangkok<\/em><\/strong> is a collection of texts which reflect the foreign experience of the city the foreigners in question being both long-term residence and short-term visitors. It draws on a wide range of sources including travel books, memoirs, novels, short stories, verses, inscriptions, newspaper reports, directories and advertisements. It is richly illustrated with contemporary artwork and photographs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A fascinating and diverse collection of travel writings from visitors to Bangkok 1895-1935. Richly illustrated with contemporary artwork and photographs.
Preface 8
\nIntroduction: Bangkok in 13
\nthe Early Twentieth Century
\nBound for Bangkok 23
\nFirst Impressions 43
\nIce 53
\nThe Sudden Death of an Engineer 56
\nPalaces and Royalty 58
\nDoing the Wats 66
\nBuilt Upon the Waters 72
\nThe City of Magnificent Distances 76
\nPost and Telecommunications 92
\nAlong New Road 95
\nAn Up-to-Date Building for Business 98
\nAlmost a Danish Colony? 101
\nGermans and the Great War 105
\nThe People of Bangkok 114
\nOne of the Truly Great 136
\nMen of the World
\nDinner at the Room of the Moon 139
\nFood Production 145
\nCeremonies and Festivals 148
\nThe Foreign Colony 154
\nLegations and Consulates 163
\nAt Home 170
\nShopping 181
\nChummeries 190
\nBeer 194
\nX’mas 197
\nLanguage 201
\nMias 206
\nServants 209
\nFlora and Fauna 214
\nThe Snake Farm 223
\nNight Life 227
\nVice 253
\nCrime and Punishment 266
\nMissions 275
\nIn School 283
\nHealth and Hygiene 296
\nSports and Games 313
\nWongkit’s Dream 320
\nThe Press 324
\nScholarly Pursuits 330
\nThe Visual Arts 339
\nTourists 345
\nThe Aerodrome 365
\nWhat Price Progress? 369
\nThe Protestant Cemetery 373
\nGoing Home 377
\nSources 382
\nFurther Reading and Visits 387
\nIndex 389<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":51821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[5508],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-51820","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-travel","7":"author-edited-by-graham-jefcoate","8":"publisher-river-books","10":"first","11":"instock","12":"shipping-taxable","13":"purchasable","14":"product-type-simple"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n