Top 5 Things to Do in Bangkok, Thailand

From temples to nightclubs, Bangkok, Thailand has it all! You can admire the city sites on foot, a motorbike taxi, from a tuk-tuk, a boat or on from the top of the 61st floor of the Banyan Tree Hotel. Bangkok is always buzzing with people and traffic and you feel if you blink even for one second you may miss something amazing.

If you would rather listen to a podcast on Thailand, check out Podcast 8: In LOVE with Bangkok (and a Visit to the Hospital).

 

1) Wat Pho (Temple of Reclining Buddha)

This is without question one of the most impressive statues I have ever seen.  The temple is the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok.  There are over 1,000 Buddha images on the entire temple site and contains the largest single Buddha image at 46 meters in length.  The temple itself is also considered to be the “birthplace” of Thai massage and there is a massage school located on the temple grounds.

2) Tuk Tuk

A tuk-tuk is a taxi of sorts.  There are no walls, no doors, no seatbelts.  Think golf cart.  Tuk Tuks have the ability to get in and out of traffic faster than a taxi due to their ability to weave in and out of traffic due to their smaller size.  The fair must be bargained prior to departure.  I did not find this difficult during our stay.

We had taken taxis to and from several places during our stay in Bangkok.  Prior to negotiating the price of our tuk-tuk ride, we would simply look up on Google Maps how far our destination was and base our asking price on what we had paid for a similar taxi ride.

3) Motorbike taxi

In addition to taxis and tuk-tuks, you can also take a motorbike taxi in Bangkok.  Instead of taking a taxi car or tuk-tuk (similar to high-speeded golf cart) you can take a motorcycle.  The taxi drivers wear orange and green uniforms and they are located on nearly every street.

We took a motorbike taxi in Bangkok on our way to the bar to watch a Cricket match.  My husband and I hailed 2 motorbikes, put on helmets, gave them the address of the bar and on we went.  After about 20 minutes of zipping in and out of the Bangkok traffic, we soon came to realize that we were lost.

The drivers asked us to pull up the address of the bar on our iPhones and my husband realized that he had written the wrong street number down.  Back on the motorbikes, we went zipping in and out of the afternoon Bangkok traffic for 15 more minutes.  It was honestly one of the most exhilarating and thrilling experiences of my life.  We were weaving in and out of traffic.

Our legs at times were inches away from the cars next to us.  I had to tuck my knees into the motorcycle so that my knee did not hit the car next to me.  The hot Thailand air blowing in my face, the sun shining down on me, the sounds of the cars and trucks and busses and the smells of the street food, I was fully immersed in the streets of Bangkok with all of the feelings of warmth and smells of food coming at me at 35 mph.  We finally arrived at our destination about 35 minutes later. One of the best errors we have ever made.

Travel Tip: On crazy adventures or just walking the streets of the city you are visiting, your shoes will likely get very dirty. You don’t want to have to put dirty or dusty shoes into your backpack or suitcase for your next destination. Some places it is almost impossible to get the dust off so we always pack our extra shoes or sandals in these Shoe Bags before putting them into our backpacks. Find this and other tips on our Travel Tools page.

4) Nahm 

When in Rome…  This restaurant was voted by the prestigious World’s Best Restaurants (No. 22) and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants (No. 7) in 2015.  How could we not try it?  I wanted to love this restaurant.  I wanted to be in Bangkok, eating at the No. 7 restaurant in all of Asia, sipping on my vodka club soda and eating the best edamame and thai vegetables a girl could dream of.

I will say the ambiance and service was great.  The food was average.  The best part of the dining experience was watching about 30 teenage girls hover around the front of the restaurant by the hostess stand and outside the entrance to wait for the singers of One Direction to finish their meal so they could possibly get an autograph or catch a glimpse of the singers for one millisecond provided they were not taken away out some private exit in the back.

 

5) Moon Bar

Head on over to the Banyon Tree Hotel for a late night cocktail on the 61st floor at the Moon Bar where you can see all the twinkling lights of Bangkok down below.

Traveled March 2015