Bangkok – Go with the Flow

Wellness options blend work and play in Bangkok.

- By Nicole Bergstrom

The 1985 song “One Night in Bangkok” mentions many of the overindulgences of this city. One of them is massage parlors. Today, however, a Thai massage is considered an activity that improves one’s physical and mental well-being. The city has shed its former reputation as a place of wild nightlife and decadence, over the past few decades emerging as a major center for international commerce, wellness initiatives and tourism.

Since the 1980s when the Asian investment boom began, Bangkok transformed into a hub for many multinational corporations. Now the economic center of Thailand, it bustles as one of the major cities in Asia for finance and business.

Executives usually arrive in this city after a long flight and fatigued from jet lag. To acclimate to the new city and help alleviate travel weariness, many visitors combine business and wellness activities, as Bangkok offers an ideal location for a leisure trip.

Thailand also proves an economical place to host a business retreat. The current exchange rate of approximately 30 Thai baht to one U.S. dollar makes Bangkok an ideal place for business conferences, as opposed to the United States or Europe, where the American dollar has less buying power.