Best Things to do in Bangkok

Traveling to Bangkok is quite common, either because you want to visit Thailandor want to travel through Southeast Asia . Many people arrive at the Bangkok airport.

Krung Thep, as the city is known in Thai, is giant. Around 8 million people live there. It is a city that causes love and hate. I personally did not like it when I first arrived a year ago. I arrived on Kao San Road and found it crazy, but Bangkok is much more than Kao San. Little by little I found the charm and now I like it very much. I'm living in it.

1. Hallucination with Kaosan Road and surroundings

Kaosan Road and around are the tourist ghetto of Bangkok . Three or four streets full of hostels (usually cheap), bars, restaurants, massage stalls, tattoo shops, clothing stores, books, anything! I do not think there is another street in the world like Kaosan.

Almost all tourists end up here as this is where most of the accommodation is and where all the buses go. If you do not stay here come and take a look, it must be seen! Good place to grab something, meet other travelers and do some shopping but usually bad to eat. How many Thais have you seen eating here? To get around you will need taxi, bus (go cocoa) or boat (Klongs) that goes through the canals. There is neither the metro nor the skytrain.

2. Make the guiri (or farang)

Built in 1782, the Grand Palace was the king's house for 150 years. The architecture, the colors and the sculptures of the palace are interesting. After viewing the palace I suggest you continue with three nearby temples: Wat Phra Kaew is the temple of the Emerald Buddha dating back to the 14th century. The Wat Pho , also in the same area, contains the stretched giant Buddha that you will surely have seen in several photos and is also a massage school. And, finally, Wat Arun is on the other side of the river and is probably the most important of all. Going upstairs is worth it even for the views.

3. Enjoy a boat trip on the Chao Phraya River

In the different stops of the river you can catch some of the taxi boats (20 Bats or less) and go to another part of the city or use it to return to Kaosan Road. I suggest you catch it early in the morning or during sunset, otherwise it is very hot. Also around 18h ​​the sky takes on beautiful colors and the journey can be quite relaxing.
If your budget is high you can always catch some of the restaurant boats and dine on it.

4. Shopping in the markets

Bangkok is markets. There are countless of them. One of the most famous and largest in the world is the one that is done every weekend, the Chatuchak Market , near Chatuchak Park. You can reach it by Sky train (MO CHIT stop) or by metro (CHATUCHAK stop). The market is there, open early and close late (20h). It is a huge market with countless stops selling everything from clothing to animals. Bargaining is advisable.

5. Visit some park

The largest park in Bangkok is Lumphini Park . You can reach it in Skytrain (stop DENG ROOM) or in Metro (stop SILOM). It is good to disconnect from the chaos of the city. I recommend going a little before 6pm so you can see how the country's anthem sounds and everyone stops and waits until I finish to continue walking. Also from this hour, large groups of people gather to dance, do fitness, run, practice yoga and tai chi, make machines in the outdoor gymnasiums of the park, etc.

6. Eat in some of the delicious restaurants of Chinatown

Chinatown is quite large and very authentic. I recommend you go in the evening to dine at one of the many 100% Chinese restaurants you will find there. By day there is a lot of traffic and it is very hot to wander too. However the markets of the neighborhood are interesting and close them around 18h. They sell very cheap products in large quantities. Chinatown is close to Kaosan Road and Hua Lamphong Railway Station, subway stop (HUA LAMPHONG).

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