Bangkok, Thailand🛺

As the capital of Thailand, Bangkok is a great place to start your South East Asia travels. You have easy transport links, giving you the choice to head up North or down South to the different beaches and surrounding islands. Overall, Bangkok gets mixed reviews, with some travellers not liking the city and others never wanting to leave. In my opinion, I loved it! For me, maybe it was because Bangkok was my first stop of my South East Asia travels and I was just excited to be there. But for others it can be too much of a culture clash. Either way, I definitely think you should go and stay for at least three days to explore the capital.

Top Tips

1. The traffic in Bangkok is a nightmare! If you have a flight or a night train leave plenty of time ahead! If you think you have left enough time, double it, maybe even triple it, so you don’t have to stress. I made this mistake and missed my night train to Chiang Mai and had to get a last minute flight instead.
2. As the traffic is so bad, I would recommend going on Grab Bikes instead of taking Taxi’s. Do it only if you’re comfortable enough to be on a moped. This is because they can weave in and out of traffic easier meaning you won’t be stuck in any traffic jams!

How to Get Around

1. Taxi/ Grab: You can get a taxi and they are pretty cheap. However, the traffic in Bangkok is awful, so sometimes it is easier and faster to get a grab motorbike instead.
2. Train: You can get an overnight train to Chiang Mai, if that is your next stop after Bangkok! These trains are pretty iconic and definitely a big part of the experience but don't expect luxury or comfort!
3. Buses: If you don’t get an overnight train to Chiang Mai, you can get a small mini bus shuttle to your next stop. Most of these buses can be booked from your hostel as they work with local businesses for transport. From Chiang Mai to the rest of the north you can get these mini buses.
1. Tuktuks: Tuktuks are so fun to get around in and they are all over Thailand! Be careful though because they try to scam you every chance they can get. I was told that any fare should not be any more than 100 baht at any time if you’re travelling around the city!
2. Flying: You can fly either up to Chiang Mai to continue exploring North Thailand, or down to Phuket to explore the South. Domestic flights can be surprisingly cheap so have a look before committing to a long uncomfortable overnight train/bus.

Things to do in Bangkok

The Temple Tour

There are many Temples to visit in Bangkok and if you have time to spare and really enjoy exploring and learning about temples, I would say try and see as many as you can. There is probably around 10 significant temples, if not more to see! I didn’t particularly want to spend more than a couple days exploring the temples, and after talking to some locals, they recommended these four temples as the best ones to visit. When visiting the temples, make sure to dress in appropriate clothes, which covers both your knees and shoulders.

The Grand Palace
The Grand Palace is a huge complex of royal residences, ceremonial halls, and gorgeous temples. You can spend the morning exploring the grounds seeing all the beautiful buildings.

Wat Pho
Wat Pho and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, is one of Bangkok’s oldest and largest royal temples. The grounds house the largest collection of Buddha images, over 90 stupas, which are a collection of Chinese stone statues and the Reclining Buddha.

The Temple of the Reclining Buddha
The Reclining Buddha is colossal statue, which stretches 46 meters (150 feet) long and 15 meters high, symbolising the Buddha's entry into Nirvana. It is an incredible statue, covered completely in gold leaf. The soles of the feet are intricately inlaid with 108 auspicious symbols, which represent a holy map of Buddhist cosmology and spiritual perfection. It is open 8am-6pm daily and now costs 300 BHT (nearly £7). When we went in 2022, right after Covid-19, it cost us £1, showing how incredibly touristy Thailand has become.

Wat Arun
Wat Arun, is known as the Temple of Dawn and is one of Thailand’s most iconic and beautiful Buddhist temples. It’s stunning, intricately decorated spires make it a cultural landmark. It is famously known for the way it lights up in the morning from sunrise and glows during sunset. It also lights up in the evening making it a huge lightening symbol in the heart of Bangkok.

Khao San Road

You cannot go to Bangkok and not go to Khao San Road! I spent practically every evening here and I was in Bangkok for a collective of nine nights! As I was staying in the hostel around the corner, it was a pretty easy spot to get to.

It is a 410 meter long street, renowned as a vibrant backpacker and budget travel hub, for those seeking a fun, affordable nightlife and culture. The road is lined with all kinds of bars and you can get lot of drinks and buckets for a cheap price! During the day, it is a calm street with stalls selling souvenirs, clothes and street food and then by night, it transforms into a chaotic, neon-lit party place. Bars blast music and street vendors sell exotic snacks, like barbecued insects and scorpions. Within minutes, bars are crawling with backpackers looking for a fun night out!

Chak Tu Chak Weekend Market (Saturday & Sunday Only)

The Weekend Market is another must when in Bangkok. It is the world’s largest outdoor market, with over 15,000 stalls. It is only open on the weekends so make the most of it because you can spend a good few hours here browsing the different shops and finding some good buys. We spent one afternoon here and all ended up buying something, they have food stalls, drinks stands, and some really cool fashion and jewellery shops.

Chinatown (not open Monday)

You must visit Chinatown in Bangkok! They are open everyday but Mondays and you need to go there to eat at some of the most incredible restaurants. The food here is next level and incredibly cheap for what you get! I went to Chinatown four times because it was the perfect place to grab a bite to eat.

Old Siam Shopping Plaza

Visit all the different shopping plazas and malls in Bangkok because they have some pretty insane shops! We spent a couple afternoons browsing the markets and buying souvenirs and clothes!

Damnoen Sauak Floating Market

We spent one day doing a day trip to Damnoen Sauak Floating Market and Maeklong Train Market. As there were ten of us in the group, we were able to split a small minivan between us to take us there for the day. The drive was about an hour or so drive away from Bangkok and then we spent the morning there. The market offers a vibrant scene of vendors selling fresh fruit, local street food and souvenirs. Sadly, a lot of the markets were closed due to the pandemic at the time, but it is a lot busier now!

Maeklong Station

Second stop was the Maeklong Station and Market. We spent the afternoon here walking along the tracks, stopping at different food stalls and restaurants. We timed it so that we would see a train pass through, which was pretty cool! Unlike the train tracks in Vietnam, every time a train went through, all the stalls have to quickly pack up shop. It was really interesting to watch how accustomed the locals are to this and how easy they made it seem to pack up their entire stall within one minute! We spent around an hour or so here browsing and picking up a sweet treat.

Mojjo Rooftop Lounge and Bar

One sunset bar to go to is Mojjo Rooftop. You don’t get the full sunset view, but the bar is gorgeous and you can see the sky start to go a beautiful orange. It is a much smaller rooftop bar, but a great place for some evening drinks!

Sirocco Sky Bar

Another sunset bar you can go do is Sirocco Sky Bar, which is famous for being in the Hang Over movie. It is a very boujee bar, with gorgeous panoramic views of Bangkok. You will be able to watch the sunset perfectly. However, a cocktail was around £25 pounds, which is unbelievably expensive!

Food in Bangkok

There are so many incredible foodie spots to go to when in Bangkok. Some highlights are street food, where you can get the cheapest, delicious food! Another food spot is China Town, for some unbelievable dishes. I ended up going to the same dumpling lady because she served the best dumplings I had ever tasted. Lastly you have to go to 711, it is a must do! And then Khao San Road for some delicious midnight snacks after going out!