If you are planning to go backpack around south east Asia, Bangkok is probably where you will be starting, as this is where all the cheap flights land.
Although Bangkok is very big and busy, I urge you not to skip it, but rather to spend a couple of days here to experience the city life before hopping on to a bus/train/plane to your next destination.
Where to stay?
Choosing your accommodation during a backpacking trip is a very important step in making sure that you have a good overall experience.
I recommend staying at Khao San Social hostel for a number of different reasons:
Firstly as it says in the name, it’s a social hostel.
The staff and volunteers are very friendly and they have social hours and activities like yoga everyday on the rooftop balcony where you can meet other solo travelers.
The location is also great as it is close to Khao San Road, however not too close that you can hear the loud music from the bars.
Visit some temples
Bangkok is very well known for its famous temples.
If you would like to visit multiple temples in one day. I would recommend these two as they are really close to each other:
10 minutes walking between each other including a short ferry to cross the river which costs only 5 Baht.
- Wat Pho- the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok, entry is 300 Baht
- Wat Arun- famous for its unique and beautiful decorations, entry is100 Baht
Bear in mind that you need to dress modestly when visiting temples. So tops that cover your shoulders and long trousers/skirts.
However you could just bring a sarong to cover your shoulders/knees which is what I did.
A lot of times you will also need to take your shoes off to be able to enter some temples
So I would recommend wearing sandals that you can easily take off and put back on.
I would also recommend doing this in the morning as they can get quite crowded in the afternoon, so by the time you have finished visiting it will be time from lunch.
You can then head over to a nearby market for some Thai street food. Wang Lang market is just a 20 minute walk from Wat Arun and has an amazing selection of Thai foods.
Long tail boat tour
This was definitely my favorite thing that I did in Bangkok, and you don’t even need to book in advance.
You just need to head over to the port opposite Wat Arun, but dont cross to go to Wat Arun, instead look for the sign that says ‘boat tour’
It was 4 of us so we all payd 550 Baht each for 1 hour and 15 minutes. So if it was just one person it would be 2200 Baht
However the boat was big, you could fit up to 10 people so the more people you go with, the cheaper it will be.
During the 1 hour and 15 minutes you will go past various temples, beautiful scenery and the highlight is that at the end of it you will also go past the giant, gold “Big Buddha” which is the tallest statue in Thailand
However my favorite part was going past the slums along the river where the locals live.
This is because I got to see the parts of Bangkok that tourists wouldn’t usually see.
I loved how extremely happy and friendly all of these locals were to see us, always smiling and waving at us as we went past.
We also got free water bottles on arrival and got to feed bread to the fishes which was fun!
Get a Thai massage
I did this on my last day in Bangkok and it felt so good and relaxing to unwind after such busy days of travel.
There are actually quite a few different types of massages you can do and here below are the average prices.
The main difference between Thai massages and oil massages is that instead of using oils and lotions to be gentle.
Thai massage incorporates stretching and pulling and using hands to rub the body which can then help to relieve tension or pain
Another difference is that with oil massage you need to take your clothes off, whereas for Thai massages you are usually clothed.
The place I went to is called “Shewa spa” and they actually provide clothing for you. I had an overall good experience here and I would really recommend it
Try the street food
Street foods in Bangkok range from 60 to 100 Baht and are honestly so delicious.
My personal favorite dish is called Pad Thai and its a stir fried rice noodle dish.
If you’re on a budget I recommend you to eat where the locals eat.
A lot of these places don’t have a really big menu but it gives you an authentic Thai experience.
If you would like to try a lot of things I would recommend food markets:
they have so many options of Thai foods and a lot of them are small snacks that you can eat on the go so you can try a lot.
