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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not up to the usual LP standards, July 10, 2009
I've relied on LP for over 10 years of traveling, and generally think that their publication is better than Moon, Rough Guide, etc. Since I now live in Bangkok, I feel qualified to review this book. This version is definitely not up to the usual LP standard. I understand that Bangkok changes quickly, but the locations of temples and such do not change (one example - Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Ayuthaya is about a kilometer off). They have also mislabeled restaurants and they sight a restaurant that is apparently right next to my house in Silom... but there has never been a restaurant there. Further, on page 115, the description of the "Riverside Ramble" just cuts off in mid-sentence, which is fine, since they mislabel steps 8-10 anyway. I think that these authors took a lot of short cuts and just assumed that things listed in the previous version were correct. Sadly, this was not the case. If you are coming to Bangkok and have the previous edition, you'd be better off keeping that and buying the much cheaper (and more accurate) Nancy Chandler's map to get around. LP - please pick up your standards on the next version.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wish it were more accurate, July 12, 2009
I took this guide with me for a month-long trip to Thailand, most of which was spent in Bangkok. The guide did a good job of pointing out major sights and attractions, as well as a handful of hotels and restaurants in each district in Bangkok. A lot of the information, though, was either out-of-date or just plain wrong. Recommended restaurants no longer exist, hotel prices were consistently way off, and at least 50% of the web addresses listed in the guide were wrong due to spelling or typographical errors that were obviously never checked. The included maps are hard to use and have many errors. Until this guide is overhauled and updated, I can't really recommend it. If I hadn't had Nancy Chandler's map of Bangkok with me as well, this guide would have driven me bonkers!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
underimpressed, December 29, 2010
This review is from: Lonely Planet Bangkok (City Travel Guide) (Paperback)
This is a review of the ninth (October 2010) edition of LP Bangkok. I've recently purchased this guide and been extremely disappointed. Lonely Planet has really gone downhill in the past few years. First, this edition eliminates the usual collection of color maps of portions of the city at the back or front of the book. Instead, in its place is a plain paper fold-out map perforated into the back of the book. This map itself is little better than what the tourist office can provide and what this means is that to use the book in daily walks is to carry two different objects, one of which you must constantly fold and unfold. After a few days my map was falling apart. Worse, especially in a city like Bangkok, is the fact that this fold-out map is the only place in the entire book where you can find a diagram of the metro system. In the past maps were LPs strong point. Second, the repeated griping about how Bangkok is not what it used to be. Bangkok, like all cities, changes, and authenticity is an invented concept. To continually whine about how "old-school" Bangkok is lost is annoying. Finally, the index is, for some reason, split up into various subindexes - so if you want to look for a particular shopping area, you need to be in the shopping sub-index, rather than the general index; a frustrating and useless trouble that could have been avoided by simply listing places in both locations. Otherwise, you will find standard Lonely Planet write-ups. It includes all the historic sights in moderate detail, a bunch of hotels (but Trip Advisor will give you more information), lots of restaurants - though there should be more space devoted to street food, and normal write-ups on shopping. The more in-depth health sections that used to be a part of LP guides are also long gone. Buy it if you have to.
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