The city of Bangkok is one of my favorite big cities I’ve been to. It is the capital of Thailand and home to 11 million people. While this city sometimes gets mixed reviews, I loved its chaos, grunginess, rich culture, and incredible food. 

Bangkok was our first stop on our Thailand trip. Mike and I spent four nights and three full days here. One thing to note is that it is incredibly hot year-round, so I recommend planning an activity or two for the morning, getting lunch, having some down time in the afternoon when it is hottest, and then going back out for the evening.

After we’d arrived at the Bangkok airport and made it through customs, we navigated to the Grab (similar to Uber or Lyft) pickup line to get a ride into the airport. It’s a little chaotic because there is a large mass of people all waiting for their rides in the same spot. However, we only had to wait for about 10 minutes, and it was easy to see our car approaching since the app displayed its license plate. 

Our Grab driver took us into the city via the toll highway, which is the fastest way. Be aware that the driver may pay the toll for you and charge your card through the app, or they may ask you for cash. We had each of those options happen to us during our time here. 

Hotel Check-In

We stayed at Lebua at State Tower for our four nights here. We had paid for a river-view one bedroom suite, but they upgraded us to a two bedroom suite! It was a massive suite, complete with two bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, living room, kitchen, and two large balconies. Our view of the skyline and river were incredible! 

Day 1

We got up around 7am and headed to breakfast at Cafe Mozu in the hotel. The breakfast buffet was included for hotel guests and it was delicious! 

We took the tourist hop-on-hop-off boat from Sathorn Pier, which is about a ten-minute walk from Lebua. The boat was easy to navigate – there were several workers around and we told them where we wanted to go and they pointed us in the right direction. The boat was cheap – only 40 baht each (about $1.25 USD) and it took 15 minutes to get to our first stop. We got on the first boat of the day at 9am. If you want to go earlier, you can take one of the commuter boats. 

Grand Palace

We exited the boat at the Grand Palace stop and walked about 10 minutes to the Palace entrance. There were throngs of people all walking to the entrance. It was already incredibly hot outside. Getting in was fairly easy. We had to pay the entrance fee of 500 baht each, and then security checked our backpacks. It was completely packed by the time we got in around 9:40am.  

We wandered around for about 45 minutes, but the gobs of tourists made the experience unpleasant for me. I think the Palace is definitely worth seeing, but I would recommend getting there right when they open at 8:30am. 

Note that you must dress conservatively at the Palace and temples. Both men and women must have knees and shoulders covered. Since it was so insanely hot, I wore a tank top and lightweight linen pants, and then threw a button down shirt over the top just while we were in the Palace. It was a major relief to take that button down off after we left!!

Wat Pho

From the Grand Palace, we walked next door to Wat Pho, a temple that is famous for its 46-meter long Reclining Buddha statue. When I heard that it was next door, I thought it would be quick to walk over, but the Palace grounds are massive, and it probably took us about 15 minutes to walk from the Palace exit to the entrance of Wat Pho. Don’t underestimate the heat and drink plenty of water! 

We entered Wat Pho around 11am, and it was not nearly as busy as the Grand Palace. The entrance here is 300 baht each. The grounds aren’t nearly as big here. We headed straight to the Reclining Buddha statue and had to remove our shoes to enter the temple. There was a little wait to get into the temple, since you walk down the length of the Buddha statue essentially in a single file line. I was impressed by the massive Buddha statue!

We then wandered a little around the property, admiring the beautiful spires and architecture. 

Lunch

We decided to conserve our energy in the heat and took a tuk tuk to lunch. This was such a fun experience! We ate at Moomgapao, a popular spot for pad kra pao. This restaurant has several locations around Bangkok, but we ate at the one near the Grand Palace since we were closeby. This particular location only has a small area indoors for eating, and it was not air conditioned. We were already very hot from the outdoor temperature, and eating the spicy pad kra pao dish was difficult in the heat. The food was very good though! I recommend taking the food to go or eating at another of their locations. 

Massages

We took the hop-on-hop-off boat back to our hotel to drop our things off. Then we headed for some relaxation time at Serene Massage. We had an amazing experience here! We got a couples hot stone 90 minute massage, and it was probably the best massage I’ve ever had. The location was also very convenient, only about a five-minute walk from Lebua. 

Once we were relaxed, we headed back to the hotel for a little downtime before heading back out for the evening.

Dinner Cruise

One of the top recommended activities in Bangkok is a river cruise along the Chao Phraya river. We picked the company ChaoPhraya Cruise based on reviews, and booked our tickets about a month ahead of time. The cruise leaves from Asiatique, which is an open-air mall and night market located a little south of where we were staying. There is a free boat shuttle that goes between Sathorn Pier and Asiatique. The shuttle runs every 30 minutes and takes about 15 minutes. We were supposed to check in for the cruise by 7pm, and it departed at 7:15pm. We got in line for the shuttle at 6pm, had to wait 30 minutes for the next shuttle, and then arrived at Asiatique around 6:45pm. 

By the time we found the correct company’s check-in desk (there are so many companies, and several with similar names!), they had already closed up the desk. We ran to the boat and fortunately the check in person was looking for us and gave us our stickers to board the boat.

The boat was two levels, and our assigned table was outside on the top floor. The weather was perfect for sitting outside with a nice breeze as the boat started to move. There were two hosts that essentially sang karaoke all evening and a buffet for dinner. The food was mediocre, but we really enjoyed seeing the city and all the temples from the water. 

Overall, we had a good experience. I would just recommend not getting your hopes up about the food.

Day 2

We woke up on our second day and headed to the breakfast buffet in the hotel. It was delicious once again. It was a rainy morning, so we didn’t rush to get going. Mike started feeling like he was getting sick, so he decided to stay at the hotel, while I ventured out to my next temple visit.

Wat Benchamabophit Dusitwanaram

This temple is far less touristy than the ones we visited the previous day. The temple is made of Italian Carrara marble and is absolutely stunning! I took a Grab to get there. It isn’t located near the river, so a Grab or tuk tuk are the best options if coming from Lebua. 

I arrived around 10am and paid 100 baht to enter. It was lightly raining on and off, so I had the temple almost completely to myself! They offered free umbrellas to use while I was there, which I ended up using a few times. I wandered around for about an hour, taking lots of photos. The grounds are much smaller than the temples we visited the prior day, so an hour was plenty of time. I called a Grab to go to my next stop, and ended up waiting 30 minutes for it to arrive. The traffic is no joke!! There were a couple tuk tuks waiting out front of the temple. I would recommend taking one over a Grab.

Thipsamai Pad Thai

My driver dropped me in front of a very popular restaurant called Thipsamai Pad Thai, famous for their pad thai. They do not take reservations, so I’d read to arrive on the early side of lunch. I got there around 11:30 and was seated immediately. I ordered the original pad thai with shrimp oil, fresh prawns, wrapped in egg. It was incredible. One of my favorite meals of the trip and the best pad thai I’ve ever had. I am still dreaming of this meal!

After lunch, I took a tuk tuk that was waiting nearby back to our hotel for some downtime. 

Song Wat Road

Mike was still not feeling well, so I ventured out on my own again for the late afternoon. I wanted to get some steps in, so I walked from Lebua to Song Wat Road. This is a trendy neighborhood that has been ranked as one of the 50 coolest neighborhoods in the world. It’s located along the river and has lots of cool boutiques and restaurants. It was about a 30 minute walk from the hotel, and I enjoyed taking photos along the way. 

I was very hungry and thirsty when I arrived, so I stopped at Gu Long Bao for a dumpling and Thai tea combo. It was so good! It is a popular spot and there was a line there. There isn’t really anywhere to sit down, I found a random bench to rest on and eat my dumplings. 

Chinatown

I then walked over to the next neighborhood, only about 5 minutes away, Chinatown. Chinatown is centered on Yaowarat Road and is one of the world’s largest and oldest Chinese communities. This is the spot to go if you’re in the mood for Chinese food. There are tons of street vendors, offering a wide array of food options. I wasn’t really hungry after eating all those dumplings, but I found a mango sticky rice vendor that had tables to eat at. The tables were literally on the road, with some temporary fences separating us from the vehicles. This was the best (and cheapest) mango sticky rice I had during our time in Thailand. It was delicious!

Then I wandered around and took more photos, enjoying the vibrant, bustling atmosphere. I walked all the way down to the end of Yaowarat Road to see the decorative gate at the entrance to Chinatown. I stopped at the 7-Eleven here to pick up a few things and then found a tuk tuk driver to take me back to the hotel.

If you have the energy, I recommend visiting one of the many rooftop bars in Bangkok! Since Mike wasn’t feeling well, we didn’t go.

Day 3

Mike was feeling even worse today, so I prepared to head out on my own again. There was one more temple I was excited to see.

Wat Arun

Wat Arun is an iconic temple, and a must-see when visiting Bangkok. Also known as the Temple of Dawn, it has a 270 foot tall pagoda that is decorated with Chinese porcelain. The grounds of this temple are fairly small, and it is easy to see everything within an hour.

I took the tourist boat to get there and arrived at about 9:20am. The majority of people on my boat were also getting off at this stop, so it got more crowded when we arrived. I was one of the first ones off the boat, so I paid the 200 baht to enter, and headed straight for the opposite side of the temple. I was hoping it wouldn’t be as crowded on the far side, and I was right! On the entrance side, there were tons of people taking their photos, and on the opposite side, I was one of the only ones. 

There were a lot of people getting their photos professionally taken. They were dressed in a traditional Thai costume that you can rent. I set up my tripod, took some photos before it got crowded, and headed on my way. I highly recommend getting here by 9am if you can, so you can arrive before the crowds. 

IconSiam

I took the tourist boat back towards the direction of Lebua, but got off at the stop before at the massive IconSiam mall. I’ve heard about the glamorous malls of Bangkok, and I wanted to see one for myself. This particular mall is 10 stories, has over 7,000 shops, and 100 restaurants. The entrance from the river takes you into Sooksiam, which is an indoor floating market showcasing food and crafts from the four regions of Thailand. There were several souvenirs here that were cute and original. 

I made my way up all 10 stories via the escalators, which really took some time! I knew I wanted to check out the terrace on the top floor to see the views of the Bangkok skyline. It really was incredible!

As I was walking through the restaurants, I noticed that Thisamai Pad Thai had another location here. I decided to have lunch here one more time and it was just as good as the previous day, although a touch more expensive. To get out, I found one of the hidden elevators, which saved quite a bit of time!

Next, I took the shuttle boat that goes from IconSiam to Sathorn Pier. This is cheaper than the tourist boat, only 8 baht per person, and it runs about every 15 minutes.

Massage

After resting at the hotel, I headed back to Serene Massage for one more Bangkok massage. This time I just got a hot oil massage, which was very nice, but not quite as amazing as the hot stone massage. I still really enjoyed it. 

Dinner near hotel

Later that evening, I walked about 10 minutes from Lebua to a local restaurant called Siamhouse Cafe. I had some very delicious Pad See Ew. Then I headed back to the hotel to pack up our stuff since we had an early flight the next morning.

Getting Around Bangkok

Grab

This is a nice way to get around if you are not near the river. However, I really only recommend it if you have somewhere comfortable to wait. I waited a minimum of 15 minutes for a driver each time, which is a little annoying if you’re standing around in the heat. 

Keep in mind that some of the bigger highways in Bangkok charge tolls, which you as the rider are expected to pay. Sometimes they will pay for you and charge through Grab on your card, and sometimes they will ask you to pay in cash. I experienced both.

Tuk Tuks

We loved riding on the tuk tuks! They’re a little more expensive than Grab or a boat, but you can potentially negotiate with them. I would always see how much a Grab ride would cost to know what a reasonable price was before approaching a driver. They also drive kind of crazy, sometimes on the opposite side of the road to get around traffic. This adds to the fun and helps cut down on the drive time when there is traffic! There were several tuk tuk drivers parked at every touristy spot, so it was never an issue finding one.

River Boats

This was definitely the most affordable mode of transportation we used, with reliable travel times since there isn’t traffic on the river. A one-way ride costs 40 baht (~$1.25 USD) each. However, you must be starting and ending your trip somewhat near the river. The tourist boat also only runs from 9am to 7:15pm. There are commuter boats that start earlier in the morning, so that would be another option.

Metro

The metro is similar to the river boats, in that the travel times are reliable as you don’t have to worry about getting delayed by traffic. The destinations we were visiting were not really near a metro stop, so it didn’t make much sense for us to use.