Bangkok, Thailand
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
The more days that passed, the more I understood Thailand should be your first stop when coming Asia. A lot of things will be relatively new to you and Thailand offers the ability for it to be new and familiar at the same time. Most people here speak english, a tradition that started in the 1900s under the 5th king of Thailand. He successfully navigated his term to modernize Siam and laid the groundwork for the Thailand you see today.
My first step in Thailand was Bangkok, which meant landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) and let me tell you, apply for fast track ahead of time. Thailand is visa free for Americans and I still had to wait in a two hour line. The amount of flights that come in at once and the passengers are astonighing. In 2024, 35.6 million tourists entered Thailand and I could see why.
After clearing immigration and customs, I went outside to find transportation. I set up transportation with the hotels ahead of time, after a long flight I don't want to have much decisions but a useful option I found was Grab. I took Grabs, boats and trains in Thailand, and did a monumental amount of walking. I pretty much stayed away from taxis but thats a story for another day.
I arrrived at the hotel, got fresh and comfortable and then headed downstairs for breakfast. I stayed at the Hilton Millennium Bangkok, one for its location on the water and its proximity to everything I needed. I was in Bangkok only for three days and I panned on making it count.
I took the boat (30 baht) at pier 4 outside of the Icon Siam to the first stop, The Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is a 2 for 1. It has the palace and Wat Phra or the Emerald Buddha. In my opinion the Grand palace is the main attraction of Bangkok as it has multiple buildings built by each of its past kings and gives history of architecture during those times, not to mention most items were made of Gold. You can spend a day here and still not see everything. The statue of the Emerald Buddha is on the out grounds of the palace but also draws its own crowds. I went in to say a prayer, while simultaneously marveling at the statue. Keep in mind there are no pictures inside the building itself but pictures can be taken from the outside. Tickets for the Grand Palace also entitle you to Khon. Located a few minutes away, Khon is the Thai Masked Dance located at Sala Chalermkrung. It takes place at 1:00pm, 2:30pm and 4:00pm Monday through Friday and is a good added benefit to a great time in Thailand.
Next up was Wat Pho, which is a temple complex in Bangkok but also home of the Reclining Buddha. Pictures alone does not do it justice but the Reclining Buddha is one of the things you have to see for yourself. I poked around a bit in a few of the temples on premises and the best way to end a trip here is to visit the massage school and have a massage by one of the students, you will absolutely love this. It's also a great break from all the walking you've done until this point and breaks up the day while adding relaxation.
After a brief walk back to the pier, the final stop for temples would be Wat Arun. Otherwise known as the Temple of Dawn , its the only one of the three large sites on the other side of the Chao Phraya River. The fee is 5 baht or which comes in at a whopping USD 0.15. If your still feeeling it, this is one of the temples you can climb and see distict views of the city. There is also a souvenir market in the back.
I took the boat back to the hotel(30-40 baht) which served as a resting point for the day in order to get strength for later. A few great good options for night time activities are Khoa San Road, a vibrant atmosphere for for street food and all things Bangkok. It's more lively from Thursdays to Sundays as it has the element of the locals mixed in with the bagpackers and tourists. Ended the night seeing a show at Calypso Cabarets and a TUK TUK back to the hotel to see Bangkok at night. TUK TUKS are a bit pricier than taxis but the experience is what you're paying for.
Next day, I took the local boat outside of the hotel (10 baht) and crossed over to River City. At River City, there is a company there that sets up tours to the Floating Market and the Railway Market. The tours tend to mix you into groups of twelve who takes the two hour journey to Kalong. Kalong is a small town in Thailand where they make salt and where you will catch the train into Maekong Station. The train ride is about 30 minutes and the last 10 minutes is pulling into the station slowly as crowds wave you in.
Once you get to the station, you disembark and have an hour to enjoy the area. The area is a market both food and fish but you can also get souveneirs. The attraction is seeing the market vendors close up shop to let the train pass by as it moves directly through the market which is a great experience. From there we drove 15 minutes to the floating market where boats were waiting to take us through the 30 minute ride. It was truly an experience, seeing commerce on the water and vendors with coconut ice-cream and other items floating by on their boats or at their stalls. You pretty much make a loop around the area prior to lunch. I went with the Mango Sticky Rice and a local drink.
Not long after we embarked on the two hour ride back to Bangkok. Here I leanred a bit of history. Bang technically means village. Kok means olive so Bangkok means the village of olives. Even though it kept its name, it's largest attraction is not olives anymore. I pulled up to the MBK center where I got to see how the locals shop for a while. Also got the opportunity to take the train (59 baht) to my next stop, Lebua at State Tower.
The Lebua Tower is famous for a the iconic Hangover 2 picture but it houses a hotel and a Michelin star restaurant. Even though the picture is free you pay for it by having a minimum of one drink at the restaurant that could fetch up to 1000 baht (30USD). Even though the drinks are overpriced, the pictures are really worth it and you get great views of the city. The hotel was in walking distance followed by a boat crossing of 10 baht (0.30 cents)
On the last day of your trip, spend it at your hotel. Now there are those that say "the hotel does not matter, all your doing is sleeping" but I beleive the hotel makes the trip. This hotel in particular was picked mainly due to Hilton Diamond status but they did not dissapoint. The hotel is centrally located next to a busy shopping area and the ICON mall. The hotel has views of the river for breakfast and one of the best breakfasts i've had in a hotel for a while. There was also access to the executive lounge on the third floor which in my opinion got croweded at times, experically window views of the city. The pool on the 4th floor was closed since there was an earthquake two days before and the water was drained out pending an inspection but the hotels boat took you across the river to the Siam Yatch Club to use the pool there. There is also restaurants on site and a Bayan Tree with dresses for those that like pictures in traditional Thai attire.
The ICON mall next door was inpressive, with its water fountain on the 7th floor, its array of stores but most importantly the market on the basement floor. If you ran short on time or wanted to try great thai food, this is the place. I had durian for the first time and I agree, it smells bad but its an acquired taste. Having Pad thai in Thailand also was not a bad feeling. Ended the night with a river cruise and enjoyed the city at night with lights and a little bit of alcohol. Bangkok itself is a party and one I don't mind attending for a while.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any parties mentioned. None of the entities mentioned has reviewed, approved or endorsed the content listed in this post.
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