Customer Reviews

Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

This map is a MUST for anyone going to Bangkok as it is comprehensive and detailed. I just got back from Bangkok and with this map in tow, there was no need for me to lug around guidebooks as the map had all I needed.

The colour and "design" minded approach to this map may require a few minutes learning curve but once you grasp the way the map and booklet work, you will find yourself referring to it constantly.

The map is available in Bangkok at the larger Western hotels as well as in English language book shops, but I would suggest you pick it up prior to your trip to familiarize yourself with this wonderful city.

My husband and I have travelled to Thailand over the last five years and we always take the Nancy Chandler map with us. It is informative and excellent in finding specific types of shops. Highly recommend it as it is fun and easy to use. The detailed part on the chatachuk markets is excellent.

I am definitely glad we purchased this map of Bangkok before our trip. We used it help plan our itinerary and we used it frequently while in Bangkok. Nancy does a great job of telling local secrets and best options to choose from. It is very well done, up to date, very colorful, and I am 100% satisfied with the map. It is a little different than what I am used to, but it was a nice change. Thank you for the great product.

I should preface this review by saying I am a cartographer (mapmaker) by profession and perhaps I am fussier about my maps than most. I should also add that I haven't gotten to Bangkok yet so I can't comment on the accuracy of the map. I ordered this map without seeing it first.

The pluses - it is a nice concise map. Different areas of the city are shown in different sections. It also comes with a booklet that organizes information by topic and gives you references to find things on the map.

The minuses - Not all the streets are shown. A lot of information is on the map, too much I think. For example instead of labeling a museum Sampantawong Museum it says, "the small Sampantawong Museum (temporary - ask teaches to open if closed" IMHO that is too much information to put on a label for a building. Many things are similarly labeled with too much information. It makes it very difficult to find anything on the map. I am also less than pleased by the lack of grid lines on the map. Areas are divided by the fold lines on the maps but maps tend to get folded irregularily in use. Most of the lettering is in a handwritten style font which is pretty and artistic but not easy to read. At one point I was looking for a particular store on the map which I knew was in Chinatown. It took me almost 5 minutes to find it because of all the clutter. I can't imagine what it will be like on the streets of Bangkok. By the way not all the streets have streetnames. She is also not entirely consistent in her choice of color codes and symbology.

Some of the notes on the map are odd, to say the least. One note says, "Please do NOT order shark's fin or birds's nest soup" Huh? Ones environmental views shouldn't be on a map.

I would also put a street index on the map, a scale so you have some idea of distances, an insert that shows where suvarnabhumi international airport is in relationship to Bangkok, as well as other major locations off of the city map. I would also print it on sturdier paper. It is printed on shiny paper, like magazines are printed on and too thin. It tore very quickly.

I should also add that also included is a booklet that lists hotels, some streets, and other information. That helps in finding things because it will tell you something is at A8 for example although you still have the problem with the overly cluttered maps.

I am not sure what else is out there in the way of maps of Bangkok. It may be that this is the best available. I certainly hope not. I am not impressed by this map and would not recommend it at all. I don't want a work of art or a pleasing but less useful graphic. I want a map that is clear, concise, easy to read, well indexed and accurate. I hope I will find something better when I get to Bangkok.

Edited to add: I just returned from Bangkok, after a 10 day stay. We used this map and the booklet but found it difficult to use. The lack of grid lines, e.g. item x is in a7 and the use of fold lines instead is difficult. The areas are too big and it takes a while to find anything. The booklet is useful, but not as well organized as I'd like and needs a better index. I continue to dislike the handwritten labels, the wordiness on the map and capricious design. I also found the Chatuchak market information inaccurate in some cases.

I ordered a copy of Groovy Maps as well as one of Nancy Chandler's maps. The Groovy map provides useful detailed information in a concise easy to read format. It is first of all a map as most people are familiar with them. Nancy's map looks like it should be framed in a cheap frame and hung on the wall of a hostel. Yes, it has a map with just about every place in Bangkok listed on it even if you are looking for an Office Supply store. It is absolutely overwhelming for the casual tourist. That said I do not regret purchasing this item as I did find it useful and the accompanying booklet provided some tips, just be aware that this is probably best purchased well in advance to make notes about places you wish to see on your visit but I would purchase another tourist map (personally I like the one by Groovy Maps and I have no affiliation) for use getting around during your trip.

I found Nancy Chandler's Map (& accompanying book) of Bangkok really helpful during my 3-day visit to Bangkok and I'm delighted that I was led to it online. I was travelling on my own & if I hadn't had the map to fall back on, I'm not sure that I would have seen as much as I saw, or been as adventurous as I was! I believe this map played a major role in me enjoying my trip as much as I did - so much so, I plan to visit again as soon as I'm able to! In addition to the map, I also found the Nancy Chandler website to be an excellent resource.