Places vturano Wants to Go

"Bangkok's Green Lung," a large park on an island, feels worlds away from traffic-choked Sukhumvit Road.

This Chinatown hole-in-the-wall serves what might be the ultimate oyster omelet.

A local Thai artist started building this gallery in 1980.

An eclectic Buddhist temple packed with pop-culture icons.

This neon-lit back-alley spot deals in good vibes and curries that pack a punch.

Time-travel through Thai cuisine drawn from vintage cookbooks and little-known ingredients.

Sidle up for this Chinatown watering hole for Thai moonshine accompanied by traditional live tunes.

Displaying religious art made almost exclusively in modern styles helps set this Buddhist temple apart from the myriad others in Bangkok.

In a strip mall parking lot, an airplane with a cafe inside, flanked by a giant statue of Fred Flintstone.

While it might look like an ordinary chain, this is the shop that turned Thai iced tea into a global phenomenon.

This sensational silver temple is the product of centuries of metalworking.

This enormous gold Buddha statue was hidden inside a stucco decoy for centuries.

Visit a century-old sweet shop serving gold-standard mango sticky rice.

This statue took 60 years to complete.

Thailand's country villages continue the tradition of gong-making, and invite visitors to watch the process.

This bridge made famous in a novel and on-screen wasn't actually built over the river Kwai.

A museum in a law office, filled with authentic and counterfeit goods.

Buddha shrines hide within dark tunnels at this unique forest temple.

This extensive collection of dead bugs may be the world's most idiosyncratic and personal insect museum.

Where an entire elephant skeleton, a snakeskin table runner, and thousands of animal remains become art.

Thailand's distressed elephants find peace at this Chiang Mai sanctuary.

A white Buddhist temple with a golden restroom.

A colorful kitschy temple and floating market off the beaten path.

Bangkok celebrated its shifting monarchy with a militaristic homage to democracy.