Dive with sharks
If the closest you've been to swimming with sharks is battling through the sales crowds then why not try the real thing? Take a break from premium purchasing at Bangkok's grandest mall, Siam Paragon, and descend to the basement for an experience like no other. Boasting over 30,000 marine creatures, Siam Ocean World (tel +66 2 687 2000, sow.champ.co.th) is the region's largest aquarium – and what better way to explore the briny depths than by taking an hour-long plunge (cost: £80) with sleek, beautiful underwater predators like the ragged tooth and leopard sharks?
Escape to Koh Kred
A gentle hour-long river cruise up the mighty Chao Phraya from Bangkok brings you to the sleepy car-free island of Koh Kred. A hideaway for local artists and former city residents seeking a less frenetic pace, the island of rustic stilted homes and temples is famed for its earthenware pottery studios, run by ethnic Mon villagers who migrated here from China centuries ago.
The shops and studios that spruce the narrow lanes leading from the island's main pier are lined with shelves of splendid sienna-hued terracotta sculptures. Contact Exotissimo (tel 66 2 636 0360, exotissimo.com) which arranges day and overnight tours.
Munch brunch
A Sunday institution here is that many of the city's best hotels serve up splendid gastronomic brunch bounties that draw in packs of well-heeled regulars. Fiercely competitive, the top properties try to outdo one another by offering a smorgasbord of local and global cuisine, with some spicing up the feast with live jazz music. The best deals, like those at The Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok for £35 (tel +66 2 250 1000) and the Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa for £21 (tel +66 2 476 0022), incorporate free-flowing wine and cocktails.
Flush out those toxins
If Bangkok's culinary and social excesses leave you tired and clogged, then rinse out the build-up of toxins at one of Bangkok's stylish well-being centres. At the recently opened Hydro Health (tel +66 2 250 7800, hydrohealth.co.th) on the fourth floor of Erawan, Bangkok's boutique mall, locals use their lunch hour for a quick colon hydrotherapy cleanse (£40) and nap at this exclusive detox den. Return to the office feeling flushed and revitalised.
Mix wine and tigers
Local vineyards are growing in popularity and quality with the fertile soil and balmy climate around Khao Yai National Park (an hour and a half north of the capital) considered ideal for grape cultivation. Wine connoisseurs can take cork-popping tours of three vineyard estates (PB Valley Khao Yai, tel +66 3622 7328; Gran Monte, tel +66 2 2653 1522; and Village Farm & Winery, tel +66 2 4422 8407), stocking up on bottles of the latest vintage and enjoying a safari through Thailand's oldest national park, where tigers and lumbering elephants roam free.
Ask your hotel concierge to contact vineyards for a tour.
Moonlit Margaritas
Ascend some of Bangkok's tallest edifices for superb sunset and moonlit panoramas, while sampling innovative cocktail creations and sampling some top-notch dining. The appropriately named Vertigo at the Banyan Tree (banyantree.com) sits atop the wafer-thin Thai Wah Tower on Sathorn Road, but even loftier and more opulent is The Dome (tel +66 2 624 9555, thedomebkk.com) on the 63rd floor of State Tower. Decked out in Greco-Roman grandness, the circular bar at alfresco restaurant Sirocco literally hangs off the edge of the roof!
Cycle the jungle
Try venturing the short cross-river boat ride to the city's biggest green oasis of Bang Kra Jao. Bordered on three sides by winding waterways and with no connecting bridges, this hidden wilderness is like a journey back in time with narrow traffic-free roads, peaceful canals, lush vegetation, sleepy villages and an authentic floating market. Spice Roads (tel +66 2 712 5305, spiceroads.com) operates scenic half-day bike tours for £13 along winding canal trails, passing lovely old temples and met by a constant chorus of hellos from locals passing by.
Catch up on trends
Whether you are here to gawk at Vivienne Westwood's sensational frocks, catch up on cutting-edge gadgets from Japan or peruse the best in home-grown innovation, it's all on view at the newly opened Thailand Creative & Design Center (tel +66 2 664 8448, tcdc.or.th), located on the sixth floor of the trendy Emporium shopping mall.
Bangkok's style aficionados now have a hip hangout to keep abreast of the latest buzz in the design world. Marvel at the state-of-the-art display galleries, before browsing through the tomes in the amazing resource library and listening to smooth live jazz sounds (open weekends only).
