Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok [Paperback]

Nancy Chandler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2005

Described by top guidebooks and travel writers as "the best tourist map of Bangkok", "an indispensable guide" and "the very best resource", Nancy Chandler's colorful, handlettered Map of Bangkok (now in its 23nd edition) includes detailed area maps of not just Central Bangkok but also Greater Bangkok, the Central Shopping Area, Chatuchak Weekend Market, Chinatown, the backpacker's haven of Khao San and the more upmarket expatriate haven of Sukhumvit area, with clear indications of where each BTS skytrain station and MRT subway station is. The map is accompanied by a 72 page pocketbook size index including secrets rarely shared with visitors (for example, shops and sales supporting good causes, and dining tips "For the Sweet Tooth"). Bars are categorized by their crowds for those who want to befriend fun Thais, hang out with other travelers, meet expatriates, listen to live music, test the local brew pubs, support their rugby team at a sports bar, go pub crawling, or just enjoy a sunset drink atop a quiet riverside guesthouse. Restaurant listings include Nancy's favorites and contact details. Other listings include cooking classes, cinemas, hobbies, spas, sports, supermarkets, etc.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A unique, hand-drawn chart of the city's quirks, shops, stalls and under-noticed attractions -- Time Out Bangkok, 2003

Oft-imitated and never equaled...contains a whole host of information -- Lonely Planet Thailand, 2003

One of Bangkok's best-selling city guides -- TravelAge West Magazine, September 2004

About the Author

American artist Nancy Chandler has been creating unique maps, cards and gifts celebrating life in Thailand since she moved there in the late 1960s with her young family. A native of San Francisco, her unique style is characterized by the use of bright colors, humourous comments and witty insights, and the ability to make sense out of chaos when creating detailed market maps. She now spends much of each year in the US with her youngest daughter, Kim, a high functioning Down Syndrome young lady (and an artist as well). Nancy does however return to Thailand annually on research trips and to visit friends and family, including her two other daughters, Nima (now her business partner and responsible for much of the footwork involved in updating Nancy's maps) and Siri, a teacher at an international school in Bangkok.

Product Details

• Paperback: 2 pages
• Publisher: Nancy Chandler Graphics Ltd.; 23rd edition (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9749274792
• ISBN-13: 978-9749274798
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,855,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #89 in Books > Travel > Asia > Thailand > Bangkok

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're going to Bangkok - Get this Map!, March 9, 2004

By 

Bob Stern (San Francisco Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok (Paperback)

Recently our family spent 4 days touring Bangkok. We had a great time and this map was always in our hands. We had no trouble getting around with the boat taxis, sky train, and walking using the map as a guide. And we went to several of the restaurants that Nancy recommends in the booklet that comes with the map, each of which was good food, good prices, and, you guessed it, (easy to find) Of course, you can always find restaurants on your own, but why take chances when you only have a few days in a city?

* It's hard to find a map with the right amount of detail, yet one where you can still find what you need at a glance. For tourists on their own, it's hard to imagine a better map than this one

* The boat taxis are a great an inexpensive way to get to many of the key spots you'll want to visit. Map makes it easy to make sure you get off at the right stop and can walk to Grand Palace, etc. that you are heading to.

* Chatuchak market - If you like to shop for bargains you have to go here. It's a huge market and very popular with the locals and tourists alike. Nice, detailed inset layout of the market; we took the sky train, and found a great hand-made paper shop from the map. Bought a multi-year supply to be sure! Also checked out the rooster fights, exotic pets, etc. Totally fun.

* Golden Buddha - This is 55 tons of gold Buddha! Don't miss it. We had no trouble walking directly to it from one of the boat taxi stops using the map for walking directions!

* Sampeng Lane in China town - we read about it in the map/book and decided to walk it on our way back from the Golden Buddha to a boat taxi stop. Great tip, this was quite an experience for our boys.

* And if you go to Chiangmai, Nancy has a great map for there too!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars surprisingly useful!, January 6, 2005

By 

ioana1 "ioana1" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok (Paperback)

I spent 6 weeks in Bangkok by myself, using two maps at all times - one, Nancy Chandler's map, and another one that had all the street names on it. Without Nancy's Map, it would have been a lot more difficult to find my way around and to get to all the destinations that I wanted to see, because the map has the brilliant feature of overlapping touristy information on top of the map itself, which makes it easier to find and have an idea on the distance between different interest points. I still needed a second map with all the small street names, when I got lost and had to find out where is Soi Bla bla so I can trace my way back. The map has the exact information that a tourist might be interested in. Where to have Indian food, where to see dance, where to see puppet shows, where is Wat Arun, where is the night market, where can you see Thai boxing, what can you do in the Lumphini park etc.

Make sure you get as recent a map as you can, because Bangkok changes quite often as subways and skytrains are developed.

The map comes with a little booklet which has an index of all sorts of exciting things you can do in Bangkok.

I must admit when I first received the crayon-colored map in the mail, I was very skeptical about it. But, I highly recommend it now and I wish Nancy Chandler would provide similar maps for other cities I want to travel to.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bangkok's Best Map, March 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok (Paperback)

I purchased Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok before a recent visit
to that city. It was absolutely invaluable. It is very detailed
without being confusing and showed information that was not available anywhere else. I visited places in Bangkok purely on the recommendation of this guide and was never disappointed. Great value.