From bad boy to a new consumerist dream: Bangkok, Thailand
angkok is big enough to be whatever you want it to be. You can spend your vacation negotiating with tuk-tuks to drag you from one temple to the next under the blazing sun. Or you can lounge in your hotel bed all day with the blackout curtains closed – only emerging at night like a vampire – to face the barhopping pink lights and prowl the endless nightlife scene, infinite bars, discos, VW drink vans small plastic stool restaurants all along the street.
You can shop in the numerous ultra-modern (and ultra-expensive) shopping malls, or pick through the cheaper local bazaar at Chatuchak weekend market. Can east street food, dine in the dark with just your fingers for eyes at Dine-in-the-Dark, or spend lavishly at some of the many (yummy) upscale restaurants. Bangkok is diverse enough to allow you to have wildly different trips each time you return.
Crazy nightlife, shopping, lavish temples, a 250 USD golden statue of Buddha, excellent (but spicy) food and people-watching opportunities like few other cities. Bangkok offers whatever you take from it.
1. Things to see
The main tourist areas are around Sukhumvit (Road 0 – 50), and Khao San Road (a traditional backpackers ghetto). Sukhumvit probably caters to an older crowd, with nicer hotels, restaurants and two of the main red-light districts (Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy). At night the street becomes an open-air market with vendors setting up booths along the already narrow sidewalks and tourists have to stop and let others pass just to get through.
Khao San Road used to be a cheap hangout for younger travelers with inexpensive street food and even cheaper fan rooms, however, now that’s changed too with upscale bars and clubs.
In-between you’ll find all sorts of other areas, numerous malls, more temples, Patpong night market, world-class hospitals, and plastic surgery centers, and even a gold shopping mecca.
The Grand Palace at sunrise
Buddha with gold leaf
Shopping in Bangkok
Sitting in some ultra bling!
Hotel pool deck above Terminal 21
Artisan installation blocking another new high-rise condo project
Bangkok life – fun and funny
More cute Instagram mascots
2. Nightlife
The Sukhumvit nightlife centers around the two red-light district, a bunch of English pubs, open-air bars, and pop-up drinking establishments. There are some cool DJ venues like Glow (off Sukhumvit 23), and enough discos and freelance joints to keep everyone busy. However, the police (boys in brown) have been shutting down bars and clubs for years not at 2 am. After-hours bars exist but they flaunt the curfew and can operate at risk.
Even 7elevens stop selling beer and alcohol during certain times of the day, and on public holidays. Bangkok is a strange clash of morality laws and loose morals – you just need to understand the rules and work around them.
Soi Cowboy with crowds
Oscars, Soi Cowboy, and Glow
3. Spend
Bangkok is shopping Valhalla – with upscale malls such as Emporium, EmQuatier, Terminal 21, Siam Paragon. My favorite is Terminal 21, I think there are 5 or 6 floors each decked out in its geographic Theme. You have San Francisco near the top – full of restaurants, London, Istanbul, Paris, etc. You can often find pop-up shops with handmade artesian (and just plain weird) clothes for reasonable prices. I also fell in love with the beads and lights for sale in the Istanbul section.
Compared to the other malls which often trade in big international names – Terminal 21 is the kind of mall where you’ll find something different each time you go.
Also, Jaspal – a store catering mostly to women clothes on the ground floor sells very good clothes at reasonable prices. If you manage to go when they have one of their 50% off sales you’ve hit the jackpot. I no longer buy many of my clothes in the Philippines from stores like Forever 21 and Guess. I just wait to go to Bangkok and fill up on Jaspal. The clothes are more stylish, last way longer and are trendier than what you can find in most of the Philippines.
Another great spot in Bangkok is the Chinatown gold market. Go early in the morning and get in line for the doors to open to the various shops. Millions of dollars of gold are on display and you can buy necklaces by weight (not really style). People buy and sell their gold as the price fluctuates. But you’re guaranteed high quality and high standard. You can also bring your gold back and trade it in for larger or smaller pieces on your next trip as each piece is branded with the shop.
Boots is another great shop found all over Thailand. They have a huge selection of body lotions, face creams, (Boots #7 is fantastic) and bubble baths. If you get sick you can also get your medicines without a prescription – just ask the pharmacist.
Opi gel nailpolish available at the airport, Jaspal for great clothes, soaps that smell like the fruits, a charm bracelet I built from Istanbul in Terminal 21, and items picked up from a trip to Boots!
4. Food
My food recommendations hold all across Thailand, so I’ll just copy what I said in Pattaya – Thai food is delicious but spicy (pet). If you want it less spicy just ask (mai pet). Tom Yum Goong (spicy shrimp soup), Som Tum (spicy papaya salad), Tom Kha Kai (coconut soup with chicken), Gaeng Daeng (red curry), Pad Thai (a perennial fave of cheap street eats), Khao Pad Kai (chicken fried rice) Pad krapow moo Sapp (fried pork and basil) and a number of other curries are delicious – Masaman curry, Penang curry etc. There’s also loads of English style pubs, and Fast food joints – Taco Bell, Burger King, Mcdonalds, Carls Junior, Pizza Hut. The street food is usually safe and equally tasty – from beef and chicken liver skewers grilled over charcoal while you wait to fresh-cut pineapple and mango.
A little bit of everything – traditional Thai food, comfort food, and Mexican.
5. Getting Around
Bangkok has the BTS SkyTrain system which seems to be efficient and inexpensive, however, I never seemed to master it. Between the stairs, getting tickets and trying to sort out the train stop I always found it easier to just flag down a taxi. Taxis (if they use the meter) are cheap and more comfortable with air-conditioning as you lazily roll through the very dense traffic.
If you need to get somewhere in a hurry, and it’s not too far, you can look for motorcycle taxis. They normally wear orange vests and hang out at the ends of streets and by 7elevens. Sometimes you’ll get a helmet, sometimes not. Riding a motorcycle taxi is meant for the brave as they weave in and out of traffic – the open sections of the road are the worst as they drive at impossible speeds. You need to negotiate the fare in advance, but it’s the best way of getting around if you don’t mind the risk and heat.
Tuk-tuks are also a must for the first time visitor. Open-air three-wheel vehicles they’re fun to ride in, although not cheaper than taxis, less comfortable and no air-conditioning. I’m surprised there are still as many as there are – I guess it’s a tourist thing. They’ll often try to relentlessly upsell you on massages, bars or shopping. One ride (with pictures) is normally enough.
6. Costs
The city is surprisingly expensive. 1,000 baht is easy to burn through, especially if you go to some of the bars at night. While you can have a cheap vacation here, you’ll be using the SkyTrain, eating street food and staying in smaller hotels. If you want comfort you’ll pay for it in Bangkok.
7. Tips
The same tips apply all over Thailand. If you’re unhappy don’t raise your voice unless you must. Bargain for everything on the street, and don’t be afraid to walk away. The vendors have seen millions of visitors and you’re just another face and potential buyer. If you want a more authentic Thailand you’ll need to go north to some of the smaller towns.
