Few other cities summon up images of steamy Oriental exotica quite as much as Bangkok. It has a seedy reputation - not without reason, as anyone who has visited the Pat Pong area will breathlessly tell you - but among the hot and sticky streetlife there is still almost unimaginable beauty.

The best way to see Bangkok is still by boat. From the rickety river taxis you can see many of the city's exquisite temples, or wats, glittering with colour in the smoggy evening twilight. First among them is the Jade Buddha Temple that thrusts its huge golden stupa up from the heart of the royal palace complex.

All human life is here, from the ladyboys and hookers to the nouveau riche of Thailand's big business elite. It's a shoppers' and foodies' paradise with more silks, handicraft markets and green curries than you can shake a stick at. Sometimes it seems every man and his dog is out to win your trade, whether it be tailored suits, bootleg binoculars or Tuk-Tuk rides.

Bangkok is also undoubtedly one of the world's backpacker capitals, and in dives like the Khao Sanh Road (where begins the bestselling novel The Beach) you'll meet all kind of waifs and strays: earnest students; wizened hippies; hardened party animals. As long as you don't stay here too long, Bangkok is the most explosive introduction to Asia you could ever hope for.