About | bangkokvanguards

Bangkokvanguards is a boutique travel operator that you takes on you on fun, off the beaten track insider tours in and around Bangkok with focus on food tours, heritage walking tours and bike tours

Bangkok day trip, Bangkok by locals, local trips, Thailand tours, Bangkok guides, Thailand holiday, Thailand adventure, Thailand off the beaten path, Thailand elephant

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WE SET OUT TO TRACE THE ROOTS OF OUR ANCESTORS

AND EXPLORE THEIR HERITAGE, FOOD AND UNHEARD STORIES

Find out more

WE DOCUMENT CHANGE AND SUPPORT CONSERVATION EFFORTS

TO KEEP THE MEMORY ALIVE AND REDISTRIBUTE TOURISM INCOME

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Dictionary: 1. A group of people leading the way in new developments or ideas. 2. The foremost part of an advancing army or naval force.

Our definition: 1. As a traveler to explore places that kindle a sense of being the first or the the first to gain such unique insight and experience of a place. 2. As an organization to go beyond traditional sightseeing and lead experiences through new approaches and perspectives. 3. As individuals Vanguard’s‘ stands for the people we work with, the curious and innovative who venture into new places and domains and the courageous who take action and lead. Bangkok is our home, thus Bangkokvanguards.

OUR APPROACH

Explore

We focus primarily on the Chao Phraya River (Specifically Bangkok's greater metropolitan area), Tha Chin, Maeklong and Bang Pakong River basins in central Thailand. We trace the trade routes of our ancestors and relatives (such as Michael's 96 year old grandmother) as well as the diaries of missionaries and poets traveling the region in the 19th century.

Document

Along those routes we trace and document what is left of the old world and to understand the present condition and the future of Thailand's historic communities and their heritage.

Content

In contrast to the splendor and promotion of Thailand's national monuments, the country's local heritage is neither fully recognized nor protected. Coupled with rapid and unchecked development and other factors it poses a formidable threat to Thailand's vernacular heritage. Thus our topics focus on cultural and environmental conservation, development, entrepreneurship, culture and history. Stories of people are at the center to better understand and promote local initiatives, ideas, solutions and businesses.

Integration & tour design

Our intimate knowledge of Bangkok and relationship with people enables us to help you to see Thailand through a wider yet deeper perspective. We believe that curiosity, exploration and documentation will not only inform the content of our stories and our experiences but share tourism income where it's needed the most.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to document the stories of Bangkok’s last historic villages, their community leaders and its people to help build and amplify their local tourism and conservation initiatives.

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

Message from the founder: Michael Biedassek

As a half Thai, half German (and mixed in some Polish and Chinese) I have been exploring Bangkok and its surroundings for the past 20+ years with the goal to maximize my potential of becoming a bridge between my Asian and Western roots.

I’ve always held held a deep fascination for both, the complex urban dimensions of Bangkok and the rural world of my Thai family. At the beginning my explorations focused on places that are not on the radar of society, from the abandoned skyscrapers of the 1997 financial crisis to the informal settlements along rail tracks and beneath elevated highways to the forgotten villages deep in the fabric of the city.

These urban microcosms and my ability to speak Thai opened up a whole new world of information about the complexity, diversity and reality of urban life. It allowed me to form bonds with locals, community leaders and civil society to better understand the city, its challenges in particular to development, inequality and the destruction of Thailand’s unique local heritage. My personal experiences are the fuel to rebuild (post-pandemic) a team of passionate tour guides, documentarians, creators and innovators to shine light on Thailand’s communities, heritage and social causes.

My journey as a Bangkok explorer has shaped the way I see travel. Travel coupled with empathy and curiosity can make us see the world differently and shape it positively for others. We want to share our insights, create empathy and the fun for exploration and adventure that allows for careful observation and insight into Thailand’s fascinating past, its unmasked realities of the present and those who build a better future.