Bangkok, which is also known as “City of Angels” is vibrant and urban big city with best nightlife, delicious street food, beautiful parks, collections of rivers, and some of the biggest shopping centers in the world.
The sad part was we went few months after King Bhumibol's death so all the tourist place was stuffed as people flew from all over the world to pay tribute to the king. As a result, few of night clubs and pubs were closed and the Khao San road was a bit quite :( So that was the saddest part of our trip.
But the most fun part was meeting my best friends after a long time and exploring the vibrant city with them, that was super fun! We spend 5 days in Bangkok exploring and learning the culture of the city. Bangkok has it all and there is never a dull moment when you hit the streets of this city.
Beneath the dust and chaos, Bangkok is always so much packed with things to do and places to see. From street-side restaurants with plastic chairs and road-side food stalls to top-notch restaurants the city offers you everything you need.
Here’s my suggested itinerary for the City of Angels that will have you ticking off the major sites and some of the lesser known ones too.
Feeling super refreshed, we woke up bright and early and started our sightseeing. Our first stop was The Grand Palace (Royal Palace). The place was absolutely MOBBED by tourists, but the palace was so beautiful that the crowds and heat didn't sway us from staying a bit longer.
It is an unmissable part of Bangkok. Right in the heart of the city, the Grand Palace was built in 1782 and is made up of truly magnificent architecture – glittering gold stupas and shinny mosaics.
The Royal family doesn’t live in the palace and you can’t go into any of the buildings, but wandering the craftsmanship in architecture and some beautiful temples are worth the visit.
Take your time and wander through the halls, gardens and numerous temples on the grounds.
If you want, you can hire a guide to get the most out of your visit.
One quick note:
Make sure you're dressed conservatively. A dress code applies for all the temples, where your shoulders and knees must be covered.
If you don’t, you can rent pants or shirts at the palace. At Wat Pho, they give them out for free.
Located near the Grand Palace walk (about 10 minutes), Wat Pho is home to the famous reclining Buddha and massage school.
Wat Pho – the gigantic reclining Buddha is amazingly beautiful covered in gold and some pearl ornaments inlaid in his feet. It is a remarkable 46 m long and 15 m high, and illustrates Buddha entering nirvana.
Wat Pho is also Thailand's headquarter for the teaching of traditional Thai medicine and Thai massage. After this walk around the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, nothing beats a relaxing head or foot massage.
You can go and try some Thai massage.
We started our day by taking a quick tour of the Chao Phraya river. A relaxing and beautiful experience that shouldn’t be skipped. Don’t take an overpriced tour and try to bargain as much as you can.
We started at the central pier, went to the end, and come back. It was an instant tour.
On our way we saw lots of local people doing their regular daily stuffs and lots of small temples. We saw some glimpse of local life, including bits and parts of floating market.
After taking a relaxed boat ride we crossed the river and headed over to the pier and took a ferry across the Chao Praya River to Wat Arun "Temple of Dawn". Taking the ferry was ridiculously easy and cheap.
It is most impressive after dark when it is lit up and looks like some fairy tale. Unfortunately, it closes before nightfall.
In the middle of this temple lays its most prominent feature, a 82 m high beautifully decorated Khmer-style tower where you can walk up the steep stairs and admire the view of Bangkok and its rivers.
Ah, the view was amazing!
Unfortunately, much of Wat Arun was under construction when we went there, so there was a lot of scaffolding, so we kept our visit a short one.
After all this walking and sightseeing we were starving! So time to stuff our tummy. From Wat Aron, we took the cross-river ferry back and then grab a tuk-tuk to Chinatown.
Chinatown in Bangkok is famous for vibrant culinary. We walked through the narrow street and did some shopping and bought lots of souvenirs, but the food was something that took all our heart.
On this busy street, you’ll find a lot of vendors selling food that you hardly see anywhere else in the city. This is a crowded and busy part of the city, but one of the most visited tourist attractions. At night, the area is one of the best places to try some delicious food.
When in Bangkok don't forget to try Pad Thai, some of the best Pad Thai you will ever taste. Not bad considering that they sell Pad Thai EVERYWHERE in this city.
Jim Thompson House, which used to be the home of James H.W. Thompson, who was the spy and silk merchant and was known for the development of the Thai silk industry. This is a great place for the people who want to understand about the architecture of the Thai houses.
The house is a fine example of Thompson’s interest in design and color, and became the most popular town. They say suddenly he disappeared while holidaying with friends in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Until today, sadly no one knows what happened to him there.
Visitors are only allowed into the house in groups, so first we paid the admission fees and then we were waiting around until the guide brought us into the house.
Near the ticket counter was a pond with some fish in it, and it was surrounded by some beautiful flowers.
About the house so it has some six Thai-style buildings made of teak. Even though it was constructed in 1959, some of the buildings were at least two centuries old. They had been purchased from different parts of the country and brought to the present site.
Before going up the stairs into the house, we had to take off our footwear, following Thai tradition. The house was elevated a full storey above the ground so to avoid flooding during the monsoon season and prevent animals from getting in.
All the things were obviously pretty old, so no photography was allowed. Also, we saw headless Buddha in one of his rooms. This statue of the Buddha has the head missing, which was highly praised.
On our way to the exit we saw a guy extracting the silk from the cocoon, which was kind of interesting to see. We saw the silk thread winding out of the cocoon on the pot… So neat!
Following our tour, we stopped by the Jim Thompson restaurant and bar.
Kao San Road is a crazy street packed with partying people, street food and street stalls selling clothes and souvenirs.
On Kao San Road you will see many shopping stalls selling all kinds of strange Thai snacks like barbecued insects, hand painted shirts, beautiful lanterns, crazy party hats. Grab a cold drink and relax in a chair at one of the street-side restaurants and bars while you watch the street life go by.
After finishing all sightseeing and temples we finally went crazy on a shopping! Siam Square is shopping bonanza for gifts, souvenirs and everything you did not know you needed!
Malls in Bangkok are more like social hubs where people eat, drink at bars, see movies, sit in coffee shops. You will find all the stuffs extremely cheap some of it includes cheap phones, fancy mobile covers, T-shirts, bags etc.
Later we went to Terminal 21 and try some delicious food at the food court.
If in Bangkok, Siem Square is a must place to go for shopping.
** Experience the Siam Rush Hour
Make sure you’re in the Siam BTS train station at 6pm. A unique cultural thing happens there. They sing their anthem song everyday. We were not being able to experience that we reached a bit late. But I have heard its worth it.
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) is a nine-storey art gallery building displaying a variety of Thai and international contemporary art works. The exhibitions are changed regularly and there are also nice artist shops, cafes, and bookstores inside.
There is NO entry fee! It was a really good place to enjoy nice pieces of modern and contemporary art. There were many interesting exhibits, including installation art, photographs and sculptures from local artists.
We have really enjoyed our time here.
If you are staying in Bangkok during a weekend, Chatuchak Weekend Market is a real MUST!
We were so excited about shopping that we reached market way too early Ha-ha. We spend our entire day exploring it.
They have all kinds of things, such as bags, clothes, accessories, food, household stuff, toys etc.. There are almost 20,000 over stalls open on weekends, and it’s really no exaggeration. It’s impossible to visit every stall because there are just too many, and it’s almost like a maze. To avoid getting lost, remember the booth number or road number of where are you standing at. So can easily gather back with your friends if you come here for the first time.
The food here was also good!
Few tips on Chatuchak
1) It’s best to visit Chatuchak around 10 am when most of the shops open and it's less crowded.
2) You can get great discounts when the shop just opened. Thai people are very superstitious and believe the first sale of the day is the most important. They will take the cash you give them and rub it on their products.
Some other options to try in Bangkok:
1) Take a cooking class - Learn Thai cooking and try your hand at making some food. You’ll find many cooking classes throughout the city.
2) Watch Muay Thai kick boxing - If you have time go and check one of the Muay Thai kick boxing tournament, but make sure to book it in advance.
3) Short Escape to Pattaya - If you have enough time you can plan a quick getaway to Pattaya and enjoy the beautiful beaches.
There is so much to do and see in this amazing city. It’s a city whose charm emerges slowly. With five days, I think you can see the major and minor attractions of one of my top three cities in the world!
The options and variety of things to do in Bangkok are almost endless! Hope you enjoy this city as much as we did :)
Keep Exploring :)
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