Bangkok, Thailand my first step into Asia!
Want a great place to start your Asia travels? Thailand is it! With numerous flight deals to Bangkok, Thailand is a cheap option to make your first step into Asia. Plus you can easily jump over to Phuket for some beach days after spending some time in the city. Read my Phuket blog post for more tips! Check here for your visa requirements.
Getting to Thailand
Bangkok does have two major airports BKK (Suvarnabhumi) and DMK (Don Muang). BKK hosts international flights while DMK has more domestic options going to Phuket. Check flight prices to each of these airports to find the best deal from your area.
We found an amazing deal on Qatar Airlines from Miami using Google Flights, a great resource to track your upcoming vacations! If you haven’t started using this booking agent, I highly recommend you check it out. The journey from the US to Asia is at least 26 hours or more with many flights connecting in another city. Upgrading to Business Class for the first 14 hours of the trip made this journey a lot more bearable!
Where to stay in Bangkok
Sofitel Sukhumvit
For our first few days in Bangkok we stayed at the Sofitel which was reasonably priced, within the city and easy access to the Sky train, an easy and affordable way to get around. The drive from the airport into the city is about an hour regardless of the airport you fly into.
Banyon Tree
On our way back from Phuket we opted to stay at the Banyon Tree Hotel, an iconic place in Bangkok. I would highly recommend staying here, the service is impeccable and you have the option to dine on the tallest roof top bar in Asia called Vertigo. This open air restaurant sits on the 61st floor of the hotel, as you can imagine the views are out of this world. The restaurant itself is shaped similar to a boat, be careful looking down as you can easily get weak in the knees from the height.
Another great place to eat in this hotel is Bai Yun, a modern Cantonese restaurant with the most amazing dim sum I’ve ever tasted! With lit up blue walls and a low light setting, this place is another must do while in Bangkok. We also took advantage of the afternoon high tea available from 1-4pm at Vertigo Too on the 60th Floor. Be sure to make reservations for any of these restaurants upon check in as they can get booked very quickly.
While staying at Banyon Tree we also took advantage of the spa where we had a full body scrub and drank Hibiscus juice which turned out to be Sorrel! A local drink typically from the Caribbean region. I highly recommend taking some time in the spa to rest and rejuvenate before heading home!
If you are a fan of infinity pools with a view there are also a few options in Bangkok including the W Bangkok and the Royal Orchard Sheraton. Two great options to use those SPG points!
Currency
US dollars are widely accepted in Bangkok but as always I recommend getting local currency at the airport to buy goods at the local markets and for taxis. The exchange rate is typically US$1 to 30 Baht, check online for the most updated rate before traveling.
Getting around Bangkok
There are many taxis in Bangkok which make it easy to get around, but you will have to negotiate your rate and carry around local currency, something I found pretty frustrating as the price of our ride would change all the time. Unfortunately, Uber is no longer available and was bought out by Grab, a similar service but not as structured as Uber. I’ve read many negative reviews about Grab online, be sure to pay cash rather than linking your credit card in the app and always get your price up front. Grab is known to be cheaper than Taxis and gives you the option to take a car or a motorcycle! I would avoid the motorcycle, driving in Asia is very hectic and could be dangerous.
You can also use the Chao Phraya River Express boats which is what many locals use to get around on water. A very cool experience zipping through the canals of Bangkok at only 15 to 20 baht per trip, you can also purchase a day pass for about 150 Baht that will allow you to visit all the hot tourist spots, we opted to see all the tourist spots with our local tour guide. As you can see in the photo above, the water is a bit brown and seems polluted but overall the experience alongside locals going through their day is worth it.
Things to Do in Bangkok
Visit a roof top bar
After a long two days of travel, we finally arrived in Bangkok. Once settling into our hotel, we took a short nap and then visited one of the many sky bars. Roof Top bars are another one of my favorite things to explore in every city. Who doesn’t like city views? Really a great way to spend any evening in a big city.
Take a city tour
As we do in most major cities, we hired a local tour guide to take us around to all the major hot spots. We were lucky to find Pauline who took us on a walking city tour where we learned how to use the local Skytrain and water taxis. One of the great benefits of Pauline was that she spoke English, something a bit challenging in Bangkok.
Grand Palace
As the most famous place to visit in Bangkok, the Grand Palace houses several temples and monuments within the grounds that showcase the stunning architecture and history of the country. One of the most famous places to visit here is Wat Prakeaw, a beautiful temple encased in gold that houses a sacred Buddha statue from the 14th Century carved out of a single Emerald stone. Truly a sparkly site to see!
At Grand Palace you will also get to visit a gold leaning Buddha statue measuring 46 meters long! The Buddha’s feet alone measure 5 meters long and is decorated in mother of pearl.
When visiting this temple you will need to remove your shoes at the entrance where you can also purchase a bowl of coins which you can drop in the bronze bowls against the walls (there are over 100 of them!). Dropping the coins in the bowls make a nice ringing sound and give you at least 100 chances to make a wish! All proceeds are said to go towards maintaining and preserving this structure
As with most temples, a strict dress code is enforced for both males and females. Both are asked to cover their knees and shoulders and wear closed toed shoes (no flip flops). Despite wearing long jeans, I was asked to wear a skirt on top as women cannot wear anything tight fitting. I’m not sure if this was just part of a scam to get me to rent a skirt but I do recommend that women wear a long flowy skirt just in case. You can always keep this handy in your backpack and change if needed.
The Grand Palace opens at 8:30am and tickets cost about 500 Baht and can be easily purchased at the entrance. We visited around mid-day and the area was quite crowded. Try to get there when they open and run inside if you want a few quick photo ops!
Wat Arun
Also known as the Temple of Dawn, another beautiful golden temple easily accessible from the main waterway is Wat Arun. We took a quick stop off the Chao Phraya River Express to see this beautiful structure. Try to visit this temple during the evening hours for a great lighted view of the temple, truly magical! You are able to climb up inside through small, steep, windy steps but this was unavailable when we visited due to construction. If this is open I recommend heading up for some stunning city views and photo ops!
Boat Trip down the river
After visiting all the temples, the last portion of our tour included a 30 minute boat ride down the canals where we were able to see a more intimate version of Thai life. A great end to a wonderful day exploring Bangkok!
Floating Market
One of my favorite experiences from the trip was the floating market. We coordinated our visit to the Floating Marketing with Pauline, our walking tour guide from the beginning of our trip. She picked us up in a comfortable SUV where we took a 2 hour drive outside the city to the Damnoen Floating market, the most popular market in Thailand.
Visit early in the morning to avoid the heat and some of the crowd, like everywhere else, this place can get quite busy! When we arrived, the market was already bustling with vendors selling souvenirs, fresh fruits, and Thai sweets. We bought most of our souvenirs here as the prices were very reasonable and bargaining was the name of the game. My favorite treat was the fresh coconut ice cream, available from many vendors sailing by.
Don’t be surprised by all the boats passing closely to each other (even hitting each other) and pushing their way down the canal, it’s completely normal! Some boats are motorized (a bit loud and annoying) but we opted for the non-motorized version to have a more authentic experience.
Get a massage
One of the popular things to do is get a massage for under $10! While that sounds exciting, we didn’t have the greatest experience. Trying to find a parlor that didn’t look super sketchy and unclean was a challenge for us. When we finally did decide on a place it turned out to be an unpleasant experience, we could have tried something else but decided to stay away from it completely. Do some additional research before choosing a place, maybe even ask the concierge at your hotel for something nearby.
Visit the night market
Visiting night markets is another fun thing to do in Bangkok and there are plenty of them to see! This is where you will find the famous street food stalls where you can eat crickets and other fried animals, something I did not try while in Thailand. Though tasting local cuisine is something I try to do on each vacation I do stay clear of things that my may potentially make me sick. My biggest fear is ending up in the hospital with food poisoning in a foreign country! I’m not saying you should avoid eating this street food but do take precautions. Here’s a list of the top 6 night markets, we opted for the Patpong as it was easily accessible from the Sky Train.
Things we missed
Airplane graveyard
A cool thing to do in Thailand recommended by The Points Guy is to visit an airplane graveyard, now home to almost 9 families. This isn’t your typical tourist attraction so there is no entrance fee, however a small donation to the family will probably allow you to enter. Take necessary precautions in visiting this site, but if you get in you’ll have some pretty awesome photos! Checkout the new Airbnb experiences for more things to do alongside locals, they offer everything from photo tours to cooking classes.
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