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Bangkok for families

A massage in the pavilion at Wat Pho

Amazing beaches are what draw most travellers to beautiful Thailand. But no visit is complete without time in Bangkok, says Paul Gogarty

As the woman plied my muscles, untying knots I didn't even know I had, I looked across to the next bed and there was my 16-year-old daughter Larne, eyes closed, drifting up to heaven. To my left, my wife and 14-year-old son appeared to have been kneaded into equally blissful states.

We were lying in a pavilion in the temple compound of Wat Pho, the largest temple in Bangkok, a brief transcendental meditation away from a 46-metre long, 15-metre high reclining gold Buddha lying in similarly peaceful repose. Over the previous couple of days in Bangkok, we'd already peeled back the centuries of the world's most extravagant royal palace, strolled in Di Caprio's steps through the bedlam of Khao San Road, and bought up half of Bangkok at the department stores and markets.

A river trip on the Chao Phraya River

We'd whizzed along the Chao Phraya River in a long-tailed boat, feeding bread to 10 lb catfish. And we'd glimpsed a Bangkok slumbering centuries behind the city's 21st century skyrise dream.

The world's most family-friendly cities are not always the most predictable. As far as my family was concerned, Bangkok is unbeatable for interest, shopping and value. Here, fresh fruit milkshakes and comuter games cost under 50p, a superb three-course meal about £5, and a luxury five-star apartment with tropical garden and swimming pool £14 each a night.

So you don't need to be super wealthy to really push the boat out. here’s the Gogarty family guide to a perfect break in Asia's bargain basement.