Any visitor to Bangkok who claims the city is beautiful has never taken a good look outside the hotel window with the skyline dominated by skyscrapers, clogged streets and smog.
But at the same time the city is becoming a trendsetting city in modern Asia, changing its image from a stopover for bargain hunters and sex tourists. The designer and fashion scene in the city is rapidly taking it up with competitors in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
"For years Bangkok was seen as the city for design imitation and cheap mass products. On the other hand there is high creativity here and a tradition of talented tradesman craft lasting several centuries," says Rolf von Bueren, a German artist and businessman who has lived in the city for 40 years.
Von Bueren and his Thai wife Helen established in 1985 the Lotus Arts de Vivre -- a mixture of furniture and household accessories including artwork, jewelry and fashion they design in an old house surrounded by a small forest in the middle of the city.
It is just one example of the new Bangkok in offering high quality handcrafted goods made out of raw materials from the region such as bamboo, shells, coconut, silver, gold and emeralds.
The luxury items find buyers from all over the world which is one reason why the Lotus ships (www.lotusartsdevivre.com) can be found in the luxury hotels of the city the Peninsula, the Oriental and the Sukhothai.
Another immigrant, Ernest Lee from the US, has built an art gallery in a former timber house built in Anglo-Thai style. The gallery, "H'' displays various works from local artists.
A Thai business is Kit-ti's Jewelry (ittipol@kittijewelry.com). The young sales chief Ittipol Rerkdee describes the Kit-ti jewelry creations, which enjoy star status in Asia, as modern ethnic art. Kit-ti creations stick out with their colors and unique designs. Prices start in the lower three-digit dollar figures.
Handwoven Thai silk has traditionally always had a good reputation. The largest selection can be found in Bangkok at Almeta (www.almeta. com). More than 30,000 colors and patterns are available for dresses, cushions, pillows and other items. A showroom has recently been established where customers can choose materials that can be tailored according to personal taste.
An expanding concern for the fans of Asian living is Cocoon. It offers everything from porcelain, blankets, candles, vases and Buddha statues to give your home an Asian look. The firm was established four years ago by a multi-ethnic trio -- a Swiss, a Dane and a Thai. Cocoon shops can be found in the shopping center Gaysorn Plaza and in the hotel Peninsula.
"We combine traditional style and materials with modern design,"?says the Swiss co-owner Carlo Hostettler. The concept is similar to that of von Bueren but the products are more internationally orientated. The first Cocoon shop in Europe has just opened in the House of Frazer in Birmingham.
Most of the trendy shops are situated centrally and not far apart. But that plays no role as the city of some seven million people still has no underground railway and traffic jams are the order of the day.
A journey of between 4km to 5km in a taxi can last anything over an hour or longer.
The two Sky Train lines that link the big hotels with the markets and shopping centers provide some relief but still demand Buddhist patience for the Western visitor.
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