Bangkok has all the pleasures and facilities of globalised life, amid a chaotic streetscape and a culture rooted in tradition; it’s these contradictions and the city’s sensory overload that keeps it inexhaustibly compelling. Modern and crowded malls and skyscrapers coexist with historic landmarks, and architectural gems that take your breath away. A Bangkok guide should be as exhilarating and dazzling as the city. Where would you start?