Bangkok – quick travel guide

Big city Thailand, many areas, many vibes, restaurants, shops, nightlife, locals and foreigners living in harmony.

Bangkok has many versions to experience. For typical tourist, it’s the noisy old town area. Lots of street food, outdoor restaurants and bars, many tiny commercial establishments all crammed together. Tours and weed shops every 5m. Lots of running around to temples and markets. And it’s funny how many visitors think it’s just a developing country with old buildings and nothing else.

For expats, it’s the modern city life. Modern skyrise apartments with city skyline view. Nice restaurants, nice bars, everything nice and air conditioning, no walking around in sweaty hot swamp weather. You can find everything and anything. So much to appreciate aside from usual historical tourist things.

Most travelers arrive in Bangkok, and stay only 3-4 days to rest before running north to Chiang Mai (elephant/jungle) or south to tropical beach/islands. Bangkok itself is big with so much to do. 4-5 days to feel like you got a proper taste, stay 1-2 weeks to know you could live here for a month, stay a month to know you could be here a year and still not run out of things to do. Bangkok is so much more than just Grand Palace and Khao San Road (crazy party area).

Where to stay:

• Old Town* (cultural center) – definitely where first-timers belong. Very lively with every bit of Thai culture…restaurants, street food, massage, markets, nightlife, historic architecture, temples, river, local Thai neighborhoods. Very fun to explore and seems area never sleeps. Stay off of Khao San Road and you won’t have noise issues. Once you get the hang of Bangkok you’ll want nicer area, more posh, maybe rooftops with views (elevated away from noise), more locals, less in-and-out tourists/backpackers.
• Chinatown* (hipster) – authentic, lively, centrally-located area. Full range of restaurants, street markets and street food, Chinese stuff, also great bars and nightlife. Many people say too crowded, dirty and touristy. But I argue it’s lowkey the place to be, kind of like Bangkok’s version of Brooklyn. Harmonic balance of locals and foreigners co-existing side-by-side. You just have to know where to go. And don’t forget great location…10min drive to old town, short walk to river ferry, transport to busy Sukhumvit line areas.
• Silom bluegreen line (bit of everything)*:
  • Vibrant triangle area beneath Chinatown, between blue metro line and Silom bluegreen line. Has everything within it and close enough to other areas. 20min drive to old town, 30min transport to Sukhumvit areas, near the river. Full range of everything from old temples to modern skyscrapers. Seedy redlight district to fancy rooftop bars. Street food to fine dining. Near Lumphini Park, the most central big green space.
  • Many people debate Silom vs Siam area. Silom more gritty and authentic, more local vibe and local food, cheaper accommodations and dirtier appearance (especially redlight areas). Siam is fancier but it’s just malls and commercial buildings, not much local flavor. Siam is more central but has congested traffic. I also hate Siam’s big streets with dividers so you can’t just jaywalk anywhere, have to use designated crosswalks or skywalk bridges (very annoying using stairs to cross the street). Main benefit of Siam area for me is being close to fancy dining and rooftop bars. But Silom wins easily in authenticity and overall experience.
• ARL line (convenient travel) – stops along airport rail line can be reached with one direct ride from BKK airport. Perfect convenience for 1-2 day stay to spend time enjoying rather than in transport. Areas are not most exciting but still pleasant, plenty of eating and shopping nearby. Near many tourist spots (by car or transport). And cheaper accommodations.
  • Phaya Thai* – farthest you can get into center with direct ARL ride from BKK airport. Also connects to Sukhumvit (green line) making it the most convenient metro stop for short stays. Phaya Thai and Ratchathewi are best central location (transport-wise) since you have fast green line access to busy places, and only 10min drive to old town. Great for people who already know Bangkok.
    • Ratchathewi – one stop south of Phaya Thai (on green line not ARL) but also a good option and some accommodations here are still easily walkable to Phaya Thai.
    • Ratchaprarop – one stop east of Phaya Thai and right next to Pratunam Market, 10-15mins walk to Siam shopping area.
• Sukhumvit green line (modern city) – staying near green line has convenient access to busiest areas on west, and BKK airport on east. I explain key stops below. There’s truth to comments that all Sukhumvit BTS stops are the same, basically just malls and fancy restaurants and then rooftop bar for nightlife. Perfect for metropolitan city life, living in modern skyrise and going nice places everyday. Expats and locals live on this line and stay further out than usual tourist stops.
  • Siam – known as “shopping area”, many malls/markets next to each other. Very busy and can find everything here. But feels overly commercial, nothing but shopping and restaurants. Not much nightlife except fancy skyrise hotel bars. Not much cultural stuff like temples or small streets with local life. Too chaotic, many people trying to get somewhere. Street traffic always bad, slow to call Grab. I don’t recommend Siam, stay only if you’ve been before and know how it is. (How many days do you really plan to go shopping?)
    • National Stadium – 1 stop west (5mins walk closer to old town), calmer but still lively place near Siam area. Has big MBK mall here. Centrally located near 2 transport lines, and short drive to old town.
  • Asok* – good area with mix of everything (shopping restaurants nightlife), highend and lowend. Right at Asok stop is Terminal 21 mall with cool theme-design floors, many shops and great food court. Also has Soi Cowboy street (redlight district with clubs and gogo girls) but is tame and safe, just make sure not to stay exactly in Soi Cowboy. Go 1-2 stops in either direction for even more malls and nightlife.
    • Nana – 1 stop west of Asok (7min walk). Redlight district area with in-your-face sex shops, indian/mid-eastern food, street girls looking for western sex-tourists. Toxic, noisy, do you trust the cleanliness for cheaper accommodations here? But yes, there’s nice parts too if you’re willing to walk past the sleazy stuff.
    • Phloen Chit – 1 more stop west is still close to sleazy area. Chit Lom, 2 more stops west is boring business district.
  • Phrom Phong* – upscale area with highend shopping, nice restaurants (also street food too), next to a park, and next to Thong Lor with nightlife and more fancy stuff. Phrom Phong and Asok are next to each other, making this combined area the “best of everything” in terms of city life.
    • Thong Lor – 1 stop east. Tall business buildings with fancy restaurants and popular rooftop nightlife (e.g. Tichuca & Octave). But no local flavor on the streets. Considered Japanese area (along with Phrom Phong) with lots of Japanese food.
    • Ekkamai – 2 stops easts of Phrom Phong. Area is boring, quieter than Thong Lor. Has ok mall with more Japanese shops and restaurants. Don’t go further east on this line, getting too far from center.
• Sathorn (river views):
  • Staying by the water on either side (Sathorn on east, or Klong San on west) is nice because of the views, modern skylines. Things cost more here but still cheaper than the same thing elsewhere. Lots of nice cityscape views from high-up restaurants. Many hotels. Check out the 6th floor of the ICONSIAM mall, and look at all the restaurants with outdoor seating. If you’re tired of bars and malls and noise along every BTS stop.
  • Definitely better area for families. More family activities and cultural things to see, river has nice viewpoints and photo-ops. Less likely to run into seedy redlight district nightlife.

Busiest and most recommended tourist areas of Bangkok are either Old Town, Chinatown, or along one of the 3 main transport lines…Sukhumvit green line, Silom bluegreen line, or Sathorn ferry line (river area). Public transport is really good, but Grab is also very fast and not expensive. I used it all the time, very cost effective especially if you’re not traveling alone.

Anybody wondering what is the tourist area. It depends.

• Cultural tourist – historical, stuff, and postcard viewpoints…definitely old town, Chinatown, and river area.
• Commercial tourist – eating, shopping, nightlife…definitely Sukhumvit line but can also be river area.

First-timers mostly stay in Old Town. It’s a good base for exploring Bangkok, do touristy things at day, then come home for AC, dress up and go out somewhere for night time. Naturally, they explore more east to see modern city places, different from old town. Those who really know Bangkok or just don’t want a party vibe will choose a chill hostel along the river somewhere. There are so many to choose, I didn’t list them all.

Don’t worry about choosing the wrong place. Because you’ll likely spend each day exploring different areas anyway. As long you’re in the center, everywhere is easy to reach by public transport or Grab. There are many busy areas so it feels like everywhere is pretty vibrant.

Hostels & Hotels:

• Jam Hostel Bangkok* (Old Town) – well-rated hostel in perfect old town location but not on the crazy street, nice, clean, social but not crazy party, rooms are nice but kinda small (claustrophobic if you have a big bag). Big advantage: you have AC remote in dorm room (use as you want). Next door from Mad Monkey party hostel if you wanna join their festivities, Jam Hostel guests can come in no problems, but buy a drink to support. But Jam Hostel is plenty social, you won’t have time for more friends.
• Khao San Social Capsule Hostel* (Old Town) – highly-rated, perfect location, chill but still very social, clean, capsules feel like your own little room.
• Suneta Hostel Khaosan (Old Town) – well-rated. Close to party area, but chill and quiet. Perhaps not very social, and the vibe seems anti-social. Nice comfy, private, pod-style hostels that feels super secure and private.
• Once Again Hostel (Old Town) – highly rated and nice rooftop, curtains, fast WIFI everywhere, great location still central just outside of noisier Khao San. But more of a hotel feel, not social (no atmosphere at all), staff not engaging either, rooms kind of dark and musty because of no window, some say there’s no space and you sleep with luggage on your bed…but otherwise a nice hostel. Great if you’re already in your own group, or can be social if you’re extroverted enough.
• Revolution Khaosan by Bliss (Old Town) – highly rated party hostel, free shots, lots of social activities, free group dinner, great location to other tourist stuff (not only party area). There’s noise from Khao San Road but guests are respectful inside the hostel. Clean rooms, spacious shower/toilet areas. Some complaints about bed comfort and wifi on top floors. Age restriction 18-35 only.
• Yard Hostel* (green line) – lovely vibes, peaceful, chill but still social, garden. Not the most central but still easy to get to the central areas. Top rated.
• Born Free Hostel (Old Town) – cheap but well enough for the price, friendly well-meaning owners. Comforts are low, smaller curtains, fans instead of AC.
• Everyday Bangkok Hostel (Silom) – good reviews, good service, good price. Location further out from main touristy area but great access to public transpo. More chill vibe but still very social. Highly recommended and beloved. Complaints: no curtains, not well-maintained, no free breakfast, bad English. Others say not bad but you can get better for the same money. Has cheap privates.
• Bed Station Hostel Khaosan (Old Town) – party hostel with a pool, good location, cheap price, tons of English over here. Noisy at night, not so clean, can be overwhelming, some complaints about bad food and AC (too hot or too cold). Also that the pool is in the shade, so perhaps less desirable to use.
• Mad Monkey Bangkok (Old Town) – infamous party hostel, has pool, many social party activities…but cramped space, unfriendly staff, expensive bar/restaurant and don’t allow outside food. Generally not good value for the money. Seems people who like it had epic night experiences. Used to be crazier party hostel before COVID.
• SleepLab Hostel (green line) – literally right across from BTS Phaya Thai station, perfect for fast transport to airport.
• Diff Hostel* (green line) – 8min walk from BTS Phaya Thai station, nice enough place and cheap. Comfy, clean, slow WIFI. Dorm rooms have control of AC remote to use as needed.
• El Biografo (Silom) – chill cozy hostel with high ratings. Not party vibe but very relaxed social. Feels like shared home more than hostel. Some foreigners live here, nice sense of community with wide age range from young to really old, students, retirees, nomads, backpackers. Maybe slow-paced if you want new friends everyday for tourist adventures. Many common areas for working, relaxing, games, smoking. Beds not most comfy but very stable frame w/no noise, good internet, AC control in dorm room. 12-bed dorm had plenty of space (much more than Jam Hostel 4-bed dorm).
• Meemaw’s House Hostel (river) – more like a homestay, has 1 dorm and maybe 4-5 private rooms, only common area is kitchen. No social vibe, more like save money and quiet place. Good internet, clean, good AC, great price. Stiff mattress, older lady not friendly, expensive laundry rates, bathroom on different floor from my private room.

Accommodation factors are vibe, comfort, internet. Do you want party or chill? Social place for meeting people or where everyone just runs off? Place with strong AC throughout the day? (Many have limited hours of AC for dorm rooms, and sometimes even common areas only have fan and no AC.) Many have crappy internet, but you can hotspot your unlimited mobile data anyway. Having outdoor patio is nice, encourages people to hangout but reality is mosquitos won’t let you stay outside for too long.

Cost is another thing. For the price of a shared dorm in well-rated hostel, you can find private room in cheap guesthouse. So it’s a matter of paying to socialize and meet other English speakers.

Neighborhoods, walking areas, public squares:

• Old Town –
• Chinatown – yaowarat
• Sukhumvit green line areas –
• Iconsiam – cross the river
• Night markets
• Temple walks
• Floating markets
• Silom area

Activities to do:

• Viewpoints, landmarks, sunsets, hikes:
  • Gold Mount temple –
  • ICONSIAM – upscale mall, beautiful interior, with many panoramic view of city across the river below. Can view from 6th floor outdoor terrace restaurants/bars, or 7th floor free viewing deck.
  • Rooftop bars/restaurants – Bangkok has tons and tons. Look’em up!
• Buildings & architecture:
  • Wat Pho temple – many say their favorite and prettiest. Because of decorative pyramids, and smaller size. Go early 9am when nobody’s there, get many great photos of just you. Can see in 1hr easily, 1.5hrs if you take many photos or there’s crowds.
  • Wat Arun – another popular one, right by the water and lights at night. Recommend to go 1hr before sunset and then hang around dark to see it with lights. Others say not worth going inside, just have a cafe (or Eagles Nest bar) across the water at night and take a photo of it from outside.
  • Wat Saket (Gold Mount) – pretty temple structure, 218 steps up to rooftop with panoramic view of city. Most popular at sunset time. Arrive at top 1hr before sunset. Depending where you stay, it’s nice to walk to here. I walked from Jam Hostel along the Khong Khwang River passing lots of local restaurants and shops. Saw nice vibey hostels as well.
  • Grand Palace – large beautiful temple complex with many picturesque structures. But many say their favorites were the others because this one is too crowded, too expensive (500baht compared to most being 0-100baht), and only unique thing was the Emerald Buddha. Still worth seeing IMO, but see others first to know if you really want more temples. Usually everyone likes Wat Pho and Wat Arun more than Grand Palace. See debate for yourself whether Grand Palace is worth it.
  • Wat Paknam – many who explored numerous say this is their absolute favorite. I haven’t been.
• Parks, gardens, green spaces:
  • Lumphini Park – most popular big green space in central area, peaceful escape from city, nature and some wildlife. Hang around the area until dark if you want to wander into Patong redlight district.
  • Queen Sirikit Park – 3 combined parks, beautiful with scenic views, nature and wildlife. Located beween Chatuchak Weekend Market and Union Mall if you wanted to put all that together.
• Beaches, bridges, water-points:
  • Ferry hopping – explore all the different water stops.
• Arts, museums, culture:
  • Erawan Museum – famous 3-headed elephant statue. Heard many good things, very peaceful.
• Street Markets**:
  • Bangkok and Thailand in general is full of incredible street markets, hundreds of small stalls selling food and things. Tons of foods, products, souvenirs, live performances, and many things to see. Some are called “street markets”, others called “night markets” (open at night), or “weekend markets” (open only Sat and/or Sun). Usually street markets are most lively at night (5-11pm) when it’s less hot. There’s also “floating markets”, same thing but on the river and only daytime (closes 4pm).
  • Street markets are usually cheap street food and cheap products, but they have some official restaurants and premium products as well.
  • Chatuchak Weekend Market** – huge must see market only on Sat or Sun. Opens early, closes 6pm but still worth seeing even if you come late (4pm). Takes 2 days to see everything but you can walk around within 1.5 hours and feel like you saw enough. I recommend exploring first outside part, then inside stalls, then inside big air-conditioned malls, also see back area with exotic animals. Lots of great food, cheap massages, and everything priced competitively.
  • Lat Mayom Floating Market** – biggest floating market, widest variety of vendors and things to see. Very fun longtail boat rides to other markets. Must see!
  • Chinatown
  • Khao San Market – many vendors all around Khao San Road tourist areas, staying open much later because of people pouring out of clubs nearby.
  • Pratunam Market – street market, mostly women’s stuff.
  • Asiatique – riverfront market, open during day but more lively at night (when less hot). Has boat rides, shopping, ferris wheel, and city views across the water.
• Shopping malls:
  • Malls are popular place for Thai locals to hang out. Not about shopping, but overall indoor cultural experience. Staying in AC away from heat, live performances, people watching, elevated city views, food courts. Many places to just lounge and hangout. Reminds me a bit of Las Vegas casinos with many connecting malls for you to wander.
  • Foreigners visiting Thailand actually go to malls for shopping, and may find their head spinning from all the options. Generally, most malls have similar mid-range options. Difference is some go more highend while others go more lowend. Outside of store offerings…some have better food courts, are prettier to look at, or other extras like terraces with city views, aquarium, etc.
  • Recommendation – go to ICONSIAM for beauty and views. For actual shopping, go to CentralWorld and Siam Paragon, then maybe MBK and Chatukchat Weekend Market. That should cover everything everything you can possibly buy in Bangkok.
  • ICONSIAM:
    • Recommended for 1st-time tourists. Start here because it’s absolutely beautiful, and great city views. Come around sunset to see both day and night views, from 6th floor terrace restaurants or 7th floor viewing terrace. I took foreigners here and they were shocked Thailand had places this nice, they thought Thailand was all old buildings (hahaha).
    • Also see floating market and Starbucks balcony lounge. Nice shopping and food options, more upscale. Not just boring chain food stuff. Getting here by public transpo is fun. You can take the public ferry across…it’s very cheap 10baht or less, don’t be fooled by private ones charging 30-100baht!
  • Siam area – best area for all-around shopping. (Siam metro stop on green Sukhumvit line and blue-green Silom line.) Multiple malls here all right next to each other, along with many restaurants and bars. Just about everything you could want. No need to look elsewhere unless you’re that curious. If brand store doesn’t have your model/size, they can look up nearby store just 3mins walk away.
    • Siam Square One – probably the first thing you notice when exiting Siam stop. Open-air mall in middle of Siam Square (outdoor space) across the street from Siam Center. Many shops inside and also around the building in small passage ways, has cheaper up-and-coming brands too. After running around in outdoor heat, you’ll naturally go indoors across the street to Siam Center (more midrange) or Siam Paragon (more upscale).
    • Siam Center – very first big indoor mall, right next Siam metro, across the street from Siam Square One. Has all kinds of mid-range stores. Siam Discovery just next to it slightly farther from Siam metro is not worth visiting, similar stuff to others already. Go to Siam Paragon instead.
    • Siam Paragon – tourist luxury mall with typical western brands, but also nice mid-range as well. Many shops to wander through, huge restaurant selection underground. Aquarium underground (expensive ticket but worth 1hr visit). Best mall for shopping if you need both mid and high-range. If you still haven’t found what you need, continue on to CentralWorld.
    • CentralWorld – 3mins walk from Siam Paragon via street or skywalk bridge. Great selection of mid to high range. I really like how well organized it is. You can quickly run up the center to sample many brands, or go around the outer circle for specific stores. I agree CentralWorld is the best midrange mall (for shopping), go here if you only have time for one place. At this point you should have seen enough, especially everything from mid to highend. From here, only thing left is to see cheaper stuff at other malls in this area or street markets.
    • Platinum Fashion Mall – just across the water from CentralWorld. Lot of wholesale items, fake stuff but also real/good stuff too. Mens is 5th floor. Kinda flea market warehouse vibe, some places fixed prices and others negotiable. MBK is a better version of Platinum Fashion Mall, and is located west of Siam stop (by National Stadium stop). So go there instead. Or if you want cheaper street market, go to Pratunam Market across the street.
    • MBK Center – wide range of everything, used to be cheap wholesale items laid out flea market style but now also has proper stores. Has everything but you gotta spend time looking, and some shops haggle. Known for the “secret room” fake goods market…some really good replicas, others not. Best stuff is hidden in the back as it’s illegal to have replicas. Some people hate the vibe…too many haggling places, has fake crap, that it all makes the whole place feel more cheap. MBK has more mens stuff than Platinum.
  • Central Embassy – highend mall with international but also local Thai brands, fancy cinema (with beds), great dining options, modern design and relaxing vibe. Central Chidlom is right next to it.
    • Central Chidlom – recently renovated to a beautiful design, exterior lights look nice at night. Inside is a smaller mall with beautiful modern layout (well-organized), and smaller but well-curated selection of many local brands. Excellent highend shopping but also has budget options as well, nice dining as well. Great shopping experience.
  • Terminal 21 – mall chain in Thailand known for cool international themed design, each floor designed like different world region (very Instagram-friendly). But outside of that, not much difference compared to other malls. Food court is good, similar pricing and experience to typical street food market. 2 locations in central Bangkok. Terminal 21 (Rama 3) is along the river, with nice views and sunset, common stop for boat tours. Terminal 21 (Asok) is right at Asok stop, a good area to stay.
  • Em malls – collection of 3 malls (Emporium, EmQuartier, EmSphere) surrounding Benjasiri Park, located by BTS Phrom Phong stop on green Sukhumvit line.
    • EmQuartier:
      • Rich people, boring mall, fancy vibe and overpriced food court. Main highlight is outside area at top with Starbucks, waterfall, great views or cowork at True Coffee and/or just feel the vibe, it’s a very thai setting, so you might enjoy seeing how students and thai workers work there. A bunch of expats too.
      • When you’re done, go down into the Benjasiri Park on the other side. Only after dark (18pm). Go for a walk around the lap. See the guys playing the acrobatic Tackraw game, it’s really something. Sometimes there’s group gymnastics, there’s also a lake in the middle, occasionally music. Many people running. Friendly outdoor cats, can feed them if you bring something.
    • Emporium – similar to Paragon, not worth going to.
    • EmSphere – weird layout, not recommended shopping experience.
  • Mega Bang Na – huge huge huge department store, supermarket, mall. For old school visit The Old Siam Plaza near Chinatown and Mega Plaza.
  • Union Mall – wholesale local mall, more local brands, local prices, local people. Smaller and more organized than Platinum. On other side of Queen Sirikit Park from Chatuchak Weekend Market if you want to combine multiple stops.
  • Outlet malls – similar to the US, Bangkok has outlet malls outside the big city with discounts on typical big international brands. One example is Outlet Square Muangthong Thani. But some people say not worth the trip because many sizes not available.
• Tours:
  • Boat tours – many top tourist things are along the river, so it’s an easy fun way to explore the city. However…there are also public ferry stops for all these usual tour stops. So you technically can do your own boat tour by using the public ferry. Jumping on and off at your pace, and it’s much cheaper.
• Massage:
  • Nutcharee Massage (BTS Phaya Thai) – good ratings, I tried and she was good. Opens till 12am.
    • Feliz Massage – nearby and also good ratings, but I didn’t try.
  • Orchid Thai Massage (Chinatown) – amazing massage in peaceful place with good music. Not chaotic energy with masseuses running around or talking to each other loudly.

Restaurants & Cafes:

• So many amazing restaurants everywhere and every corner. I’ll list iconic ones, and let you find the rest for yourself.
• Je Daeng Thai Isan – local style big restaurant with long metal tables, delicious and cheap, stays open late.
• Shark fin bird nest

Bars, clubs, and nightlife:

• There many bars and clubs everywhere. But I’ll explain the main areas for you.
• Khao San (old town) – walk around and just follow the noise, or follow the crowd. Wide range of music, played at super high volume, both closed spaces and open spaces (with balconies overlooking the street). Very convenient nightlife actually. Tired people can wait for their friends outside. Plenty of street food (and beer) and massages just outside on the street.
  • crazy shit
• Thong Lor – fancy rooftop bars with city views, well-dressed people, rich Thai’s & foreigners. Some have long lines to get in, catering to a rowdier crowd. Others more chill and no wait time.
  • Tichuca – beautiful with the jellyfish shade sculpture, but my god way too many people in line on weekends.
  • Octave – loved this one, very quick to get in when Tichuca was too crazy busy. There’s other bars here as well on the floors below.
• Sleazy – ping pong show – safest is Suzi Wong without any tricks and scams.
  • Patpong Night Market
  • Soi Cowboy
  • Nana Plaza
• Chinatown – Soi Nana aka “other soi nana”. More classy, hipster scene, reasonably overpriced.
  • Teens of Thailand
  • Wallflower Cafe
  • Tep Bar
• Silom:
  • Sky Bar – the famous rooftop bar with beautiful city views from “Hangover” movie. Nice but crazy drink prices and pushy staff take away from your overall experience.

Miscellaneous tips:

• Thailand – quick travel guide
• Transportation:
  • Walk – Bangkok is very walkable, but just remember the weather is always hot! So stay near a BTS station or else you’ll spend more money on Grab.
  • Public transportation – is really good and cheap in Thailand!
  • Bus – can pay cash on the bus. Sit down after boarding, and payment person comes to collect from you.
  • Metro – fast and cheap.
  • Ferry – necessary to get from one river point to another.
  • Taxi – don’t use, they rip off foreigners.
  • Rideshare – Grab is the main app everyone uses. Can call car of different sizes (4-10ppl) or motorbike (good for beating traffic). Although, motorbikes are safe…make sure you ask for a helmet and perhaps cancel if they don’t have one for you.
  • Flights – many cheap flights to other destinations. Can buy domestic flights last minute, although direct flights may sell out faster. Choose DMK over BKK airport whenever you can, closer location and faster check-in.
• Bangkok Hospital – excellent services and English-speaking should you need something. It’s called “Bangkok Hospital” but they have branches in other cities as well.
• Safety –
  • Tuktuk scams –
  • Redlight districts –

Itinerary:

• DAY 1 –

Nearby towns:

• Ayutthana – nice temple city.

Unfiltered notes:

• The 3 best areas to stay in Bangkok – favourhoods