From the editor

As a team of creatives at heart, we want to see and experience how local creatives live. We are habitual note-takers, map- markers and tip-takers (and now givers)

Why a city guide? ‘And why Bangkok?’ you might ask.The Design Anthology editorial team is a group of frequent, curious and passionate travellers. When we’re away from our Hong Kong home, we love to visit new places and old favourites, from the obvious to those off the beaten track — and more importantly, we seek out local recommendations that may not make it into other guide books. As a team of creatives at heart, we want to see and experience how local creatives live. We’re habitual note-takers, map-markers, tip-takers and, now officially, tip-givers.

An obvious place for us to start a series of guidebooks would have been Hong Kong. But, put off (albeit temporarily) by how quickly our home city changes, we deferred to another regional favourite. Bangkok also seemed an obvious choice given its popularity as a tourist destination, and given that we’d begun our research when compiling our Thailand edition (DA14) in 2017. After countless trips back and forth between home base and Bangkok for DA14, we had compiled an enviable map that was shared among friends both Thai and foreign so frequently that we concluded it would be much easier to just give them a guide book. Little did we realise that the Thai capital is as energetic, fast-paced and ever- changing as Hong Kong! So here it finally is; we were somewhat delayed but certainly not deterred.

We’ve done our best to make sure this guidebook is as current as possible, without skewing it towards only the newest places. It was also important for us to distinguish it from other Bangkok guides on the market. You’ll notice it’s geared more towards a young, mobile and creative audience. Co-working spaces and places to keep fit feature alongside the latest bars, restaurants and hotels. And as much as we love Bangkok, we also recognise that many people travel through the capital en route to another destination, so we’ve highlighted side trips to Phuket and Chiang Mai, each with its own tips and spots. And, because what we really love about most of the cities we visit is the people, there are several profiles and essays interspersed throughout this guidebook; we hope they give you a sense of the characters who colour Bangkok.

We’ve also included a special section for you to add your own notes, and blank pages for sketches. Ultimately, we hope that this book becomes a souvenir in and of itself, a memento of a trip (or maybe many) and an item to keep and treasure, even after some locations have closed or moved on.

Happy travels!

Suzy Annetta
Editor-in-Chief, Design Anthology

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