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Flying out on 30/01 and have 3 days there & will also be returning mid Feb to meet my son and spend another two days there with him.
I'd be interested to hear about any hidden gems of things to do on a backpackers budget.
Not interested in the Khaosan Road type side of things.
The creme de la creme of the chess world
In a show with everything but Yul Brenner.
Jack's bar off Charoen Krung road. Family run shack hanging off the river bank for cheap food and drink.
Harmonique, just north of that is a lovely restaurant in a courtyard.
We really enjoyed Chinatown, just wandering around rather than desperately ticking the 'big' temples off the list.
Lumphini park is a really nice bit of green and calm in the middle of the city, don't bother with Benchakitti "forest" park though.
The skytrain, metro and river & canal boats are a great way to get about rather than choking on fumes in a tuk tuk. You can get the train between the airport (Suvarnabhumi) and the city, it's pretty easy to navigate.
You can get an eSim (I used Maya mobile) so you have Thai data to use. And Grab is their equivalent of Uber in case you need to book a taxi. We used it a couple of times and it worked perfectly.
Hidden tips in Bangkok? Probably lots of them tucked away up ‘ladies’ dresses until the final moment 🤭
The river boats are good, jump on board and go as far as you can. Kick boxing, more for the crazy antics and gambling going on in the audience than the actual fighting.
Not interested in the Khaosan Road type side of things.
What are you interested in? Bangkok is a huge Asian city with fascinating history, crazy shopping malls, and horrendous traffic.
Khaosan road and surrounding areas is pretty unique, culturally quite significant in its own way, and easily justifies a visit just for people-watching if nothing else. There are not many streets in the world where you can walk 100m and find such a varied mix of interesting oddities to look at. (I visited 10 years ago, and 10 years before that. Take it with a pinch of salt, but I find it fascinating. I'd love to see how it has changed again).
Agree that getting around by boat is the way to go. And (away from Khaosan road) try something from every street food vendor you walk past.
And funnily enough, it lands on its wheels, and it starts first time and they just drive away.
We were there start of December (and have been quite a few times since the early 90's). Eat basically. Just eat.
I found a set of Street Food recommendations and swept them into a single pdf doc (they're from the second half of 23 so recent). If you like the food I'd really recommend a food tour - We've been with Chin twice now and are planning to go back for a cooking class next time we're passing through.
If you've never been the Khao San Road is still worth a visit. It's changed a lot - flasher bars now (and a lot of weed shops now it's legal in Thailand). Ram Buttri Aly just a little closer to the river still has some of the older more relaxed atmosphere and better places to stay. But theres not actually a metro stop nearby.
We stayed some way to the south here in a little square of heritage shophouses - https://maps.app.goo.gl/bizMA8C9ASS6ehQHA
The square and the streets to the north and south have some great, cheap, local restaurants and street food stands.
Take a trip on the public river boats, and even more fun the Khlong boats down the smaller canals. https://www.tripsavvy.com/getting-around-bangkok-by-boat-1658359
Chinatown for wandering and eating
Siam Square for both high end shopping malls but also MBK for bargain electronic/phone bits, fake clothes and bags etc etc.
Metro is good, quick and cheap once you've worked out you need to leave the station, buy another ticket and re-enter where there are interchanges (and the other line may be a short walk away)
Second on Grab for both taxis and tuktuks - gets you the best price and it's convenient but if you're going anywhere near a metro stop that's the best option.
easily spend a day in and around the MBK centre.
genuine branded goods (honest gov)
local tat
food
cinema
arcade games
sweaty chair massage.
its got everything
Recently returned after spending Christmas & NY in Thailand - fantastic place!
Definitely plan on using the underground (MRT) or skytrain (BTS) - the roads can be awful for traffic.
Lumphini Park is ok for a stroll around - search for some monitor lizards. A few minutes walk to the south on Saladaeng Soi 1, you'll find a few decent spots for food.
Ruam Sab Market was near our hotel - another food market that was very good for lunch.
Near Ratchathewi BTS, the best tom yum of our trip can be found at "Pe Aor Tom Yum Kung Noodle".
Make sure to stop by 7 Eleven (or a pharmacy) for some mosquito spray (small pink spray bottle worked well) and a Hong Thai nasal inhaler (I'm hooked...)
We ran out of time for this, but recommended was a boat trip from Sathorn pier to one of the floating markets.
Before travelling I purchased an eSim for the first time ever through Airalo. Worked well. If that's something you'd use, send me a message and I can provide a referral code - it includes a discount for both parties.
Make sure to let us know how you get on please!
dont try going anywhere from 4pm-7pm
Thanks for all the advice.
dont try going anywhere from 4pm-7pm
I land at 4pm.......
Maybe I'll waste some time https://thaiest.com/thai-food/reviews/food-court-at-bangkok-suvarnabhumi-airport before getting the ARL.
@dmck16 How much of an issue are mosquitoes in Bangkok city?
Unfortunately my phone's not esim.so I'll buy a SIM card from the airport.
I didn't have any issues with mosquitos in Bangkok mid January. No big bother with them around Chaing Rai/Mai either.
I had a meal up the top (81st floor) of the bayaioki tower sat at an outdoor table which had a good view. Food was ok but probably not worth it in comparison to street level food.
Did the main temples and made our own way to the big sitting Buddha by sky train.
As much as I'm not a shopper I enjoyed part of a day walking round the icon Siam shopping centre where I was able to take a spin on an ado air folding e bike on the car park. The food court in the ground floor was good for the variety of food. No booze tho between 2pm and 5pm due to the law.
Skytrain was worth the day ticket price. Cheap, around 100 bhat 🤔.
The city is huge. I would consider using tuk tuks from near the skytrain stations to complete journeys.
Great city. It's been a while but.
Any Night in Bangkok
Siamese cat
Chewing on a chicken bone
Screwed up face like
Quentin Tarentino
Screwed up face
Sucking on a cigarette
Western man
With his oriental pet
Stripy t-shirt
Shaved head and earrings
Lamplight glints
On his many cherished piercings
Lamplight glows
On the makeup sitting opposite
Cameras roll
On another nineties horror flick
Blacktied doormen
Grinning diabolically
Raised on deutschmark
Smiling stroboscopically
Raised on tables
Flesh arranged numerically
Black eyed girls
In a dance of infertility