Bangkok

Visiting Bangkok can be overwhelming, and planning a trip to this bustling city is a real challenge. Thailand’s capital is a mix of ancient culture, food paradise, and shopping heaven, but to get it right is not that simple. After so many emails from readers asking us to help them planning a Bangkok itinerary, we decided to list the best travel tips for your first time in Bangkok: what to do and where to visit by following these article below.

1/ Grande Palace and Wat Phra Kaew
Location: Na Phra Lan Rd, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, Thailand
Open: Daily from 8.30am to 3.30pm
The Grand Palace and Wat Prakaew command respect from all who have walked in their sacred grounds. Built in 1782, and served as the home of Thai Kings and the Royal court for 150 years, The Grand Palace continues to have visitors in awe with its beautiful architecture and intricate detail. Wat Pra Kaew enshrines Phra Kaew Morakot (the Emerald Buddha), a sacred Buddha image meticulously carved from a single block of emerald.

2/ Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha
Location: 2 Sanam Chai Rd, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, Thailand
Open: Daily from 8am to 6.30pm
There’s more to Wat Pho than its gigantic reclining Buddha and traditional Thai massage. This iconic temple harbours a fascinating collection of murals, inscriptions and sculptures that delve into various subjects, from warfare to astronomy to archaeology. The vast temple complex also contains a landscaped garden with stone sculptures, stupas adorned with glazed porcelain, a souvenir shop, and the College of Traditional Medicine.

3/ Wat Arun
Location: 158 Thanon Wang Doem, Wat Arun, Bangkok Yai, Bangkok, Thailand
Open: Daily from 8am to 6.00pm
The impressive silhouette of Wat Arun’s towering spires is one of the most recognised in Southeast Asia. Constructed during the first half of the 19th century in the ancient Khmer style, the stupa showcasing ornate floral pattern is decked out in glazed porcelain. It’s especially stunning up close. Apart from its beauty, Wat Arun symbolises the birth of the Rattanakosin Period and the founding of the new capital after the fall of Ayutthaya.

4/ Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
Location: Damnoen Saduak, Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi 70130, Thailand
Open: Daily from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm
The pioneer of Bangkok floating markets, Damnoen Saduak continues to offer an authentic experience despite its increasingly touristy atmosphere. Imagine dozens of wooden row boats floating by, each laden to the brim with farm-fresh fruits, vegetables or flowers. Food vendors fill their vessels with cauldrons and charcoal grills, ready to whip up a bowl of ‘boat noodle’ or seafood skewers upon request. The market is around 100 km southwest of Bangkok.

5/ Chinatown
Location: Yaowarat Road, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100, Thailand
Bangkok’s Chinatown is a colourful, exotic and pleasingly chaotic area, packed with market stalls and probably the highest concentration of gold shops in the city. During major festivities like Chinese New Year and the Vegetarian Festival, the dynamism and spirit of celebration spread across town like wildfire, and if you happen to be around, don’t miss an opportunity to witness Chinatown Bangkok at its best.

6/ Chatuchak weekend market
Location: Kamphaeng Phet 2 Rd, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Open: Friday from 6:00 pm to midnight, Saturday–Sunday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Once only popular among wholesalers and traders, Chatuchak Weekend Market has reached a landmark status as a must-visit place for tourists. Its sheer size and diverse collections of merchandise will bring any seasoned shoppers to their knees. The market is home to more than 8,000 market stalls. On a typical weekend, more than 200,000 visitors come here to sift through the goods on offer.

7/ Jim Thompson House (Siam)
Location: 6 Rama I Rd, Wang Mai, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Open: Daily from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Jim Thompson’s 3 decades of dedication to the revival of Thai silk, then a dying art, changed the industry forever. After he mysteriously disappeared into the jungles of Malaysia, he left a legacy behind, which is reflected through his vast collections of Thai art and antiques now on display at the Jim Thompson’s House and Museum. It’s a lovely complex of 6 Thai-style teakwood houses that are preserved in their original glory.

8/ Chao Phraya River & Waterways
One of the most scenic areas, the Chao Phraya riverside reflects a constantly changing scene day and night: water-taxis and heavily laden rice barges chugging upstream, set against a backdrop of glittering temples and luxury hotels. The areas from Wat Arun to Phra Sumeru Fortress are home to some of the oldest settlements in Bangkok, particularly Bangkok Noi and its charming ambience of stilt houses flanking the complex waterways.

There are so many interest and beautiful things to explore the capital of Thailand. However, it is quite hard to do it at all if you have only couple of days here, therefore we would love to roll the best highlighted of Bangkok in this suggestion.

Day 1: Main attractions of Bangkok

AM: Once you’ve settled into your accommodation and got your bearings, it’s time to get started with the most popular and spectacular sights that Thailand’s capital has to offer; The Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew. These attractions are amongst the busiest in Bangkok with thousands of guests descending on the grounds each day. However, it’s worth braving the crowds (and the heat!) to see these beautiful iconic structures.

PM: Just a short walk away (10 minutes) from the Grand Palace (tuk-tuk drivers will try to say it is further and offer you a ride but you should only accept if you struggle to walk that far!) sits Wat Pho; which houses the famous Reclining Buddha. Wat Arun is the final stop of the day and is a short ferry ride across the Chao Phraya River from the Grand Palace.

Day 2: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market – Night food tour

AM: The best time to visit is from 07:00 a.m – 11:00 a.m. The vendors, wearing traditional farmer dresses and hats, are mostly local peasants that bring in their things to sell on their rowing boats. On and along the canal, you can find delicious Thai food, wide variety of tropical fruits and vegetable and many colorful home-made products – A very pleasant scene to see and remember! You should not miss the opportunity to experience by yourself sitting and eating on one of these rowing boats on the canal.

PM: A street food tour is a great way to sample a variety of dishes that you might otherwise never have heard of, and at the same time, explore different neighborhoods of the city! We highly recommend the Bangkok Street Food Tour with A Chef’s Tour where you’ll visit a food market that’s over one hundred year’s old, and get to explore an authentic local side to the city that many tourists do not see. Plus, you get to eat lots of delicious food and learn a bit of the local language which will assist you in your further travels in Thailand.

1/ Crab dishes – Nhong Rim Klong
Address: 30 Ekkamai 21 Alley, Khlong Tan Nuea, Bangkok
Nhong Rim Klong may be small but it’s packed with big punches. What makes Nhong Rim Klong stand out is the quality of ingredients, the seafood is always fresh and the size of it is unbelievable. Most of the must-try dishes here are all crab-based. The Drunken Crab might be a plain looking dish of huge white chunks of crab meat, but it’s so, so unbelievably good.

2/ Fish soup in Bangkok – Khao Tom Pla Kimpo
Address: 1897 Soi Charoen Krung 73 ,Charoen Krung Rd, Wat Phraya Krai, Bang Kho Laem, Bangkok
Look out for big fish hanging in front of a food stall in Charoen Krung area at night, and you’ll know that you’re at the right place. The fish are the catches of the day, and what you see is what will go into the soup. It’s guaranteed to be fresh! The soup here is to die for. Made from fish bones, this bright, fragrant, peppery, and sweet sustenance will make you want more and more.

3/ Tom Yum Pork Noodles! – Roong Rueng
Address: 10/3 Sukhumvit Soi 26, Khlong Toei, Bangkok
For the past 50 years, this food stall has been a lunch staple for office workers in Sukhumvit. (You can tell by the big crowd of well-dressed people queuing for a table during weekday lunch hour.) From different types of noodles (thin, flat, vermicelli, egg noodles, and wonton), to different soups (clear, spicy soup, or without soup) – there are also different add-ons, like poached pork, seasoned ground pork, fish ball, pig liver, pig small intestine. The noodles here are so good, you won’t be able to stop at 1 bowl.

4/ Braised pork trotters – Khao Kha Moo
Address: 492/6 Charoenkrung Soi 49, Charoenkrung Rd, Bangrak, Bangkok.
This legendary food stall has served hungry locals for over 50 years. What makes people keep coming back to Charoen Saeng Silom, is the size of pork trotters and a very unique sweet taste of the meat and broth. Each pork trotter weighs about 2kg and is braised in the combination of Chinese herbs and spices for over 4 hours daily. So every bite that you take, the meat practically melts in your mouth.
Tip: To eat like locals, try the dipping sauce. It’s a mixture of vinegar, garlic, and chili. You can easily spot it in a big glass jar that usually gets passed around from table to table.

5/ Super crispy and crunchy pork belly – Thanee Restaurant
Address: 1161-3 Soi Phahonyothin 5 Alley Phahonyothin Rd Samsennai Payathai Bangkok.
Voted the best Moo Grob (crispy pork belly) for many years for its famous super crispy skin, the Moo Grob here is so crispy that every time you take a bite, you can hear that shattering crisp sound in your ears. The popular dish is Kho Moo Grob which serves crispy pork belly over rice, douched with sweet gravy sauce and the sides of a half soft boiled egg and Chinese sausages.

6/ Thai stink beans and more
Address: 273/4 Soi Nawasi ( Soi Ramkhamhang 21 alley), Thanon Ramkhamhaeng 21 Road, Hua Mak, Bang Kapi, Bangkok.
Janhom has been serving native Southern Thais who relocated to Bangkok, and still crave the authentic flavor of Southern Thai cuisine for a good decade! Janhom’s signature dish is the classic Gaeng Leung (Yellow Curry). It’s bright yellow in colour, with a pungent smell of turmeric and thick curry – and usually comes with young bamboo shoots and fish. It’s salty, sour and HOT.

Bangkok enjoys a tropical climate which means it’s warm year around and can also be humid and rainy. The city might not have seasons in the same way the non-tropical world does, but some months are still far more enjoyable than others. Extreme heat and humidity and a long rainy season mean that some months are better for visiting Bangkok than others.

The best time to visit Bangkok is between November and February. This is Thailand’s cool season, with daytime temperatures slightly under 30°C and relatively low humidity. This is also Thailand’s peak season for tourism, which means prices are slightly higher overall.
While November to February might be the best time of year to visit Bangkok, you’ll still have a good time in the city at any other time of year. There’s no “winter” in Bangkok like there is in a cooler country, so you’ll never need to pack a coat.

Bangkok’s hottest months are from March until late June. In this period, daytime temperatures can reach 35-40°C and humidity can be extremely high. Expect to sweat if you visit during this time of year and pack some cool, comfortable clothing.

Bangkok’s rainy season lasts from July until October. Although some people expect relentless all-day rain, the rainy season is usually a mix of drab, overcast weather and rainstorms in the late afternoon. When it’s not raining, it’s still easy to enjoy Bangkok’s sights and attractions.
You’ll get the best value for money by visiting Bangkok during the rainy season, when hotel rooms are marked down significantly. You’ll pay the most to visit Bangkok from November until February, when hotel bookings and prices are at their highest.

We wish that the article would be a part assistant of your plan to Kanchanaburi and you will find it as a hand out information for your trip. If you are looking for a local travel agency who is specialist in making the tour to the destination, please let us know. We are more than happy to make your trip to be once in life time.