I lived in Bangkok for close to three years and I really enjoyed it as a City, so when people tell me they didn’t like Bangkok I get a little frustrated.  Bangkok offers the best insight in to Thai culture and life, has the best street food and some of the best things to do.  It is however huge, and unless you know where to go can be a little hard to figure out.

Arriving

Once you have cleared baggage you have a few options to get in to the city, as always, if it’s your first time then I recommend booking via your accommodation just to avoid taxi drivers that don’t understand you or take you to the wrong address - it happens.

Taxi - Follow the signs down to the ground level and head to the taxi que. There are three options, so make sure you get in the correct line. Once it’s your turn you take a ticket and head to the corresponding numbered lane, give the taxi driver the address and off you go. Note that whatever the metered fare is there is an additional THB 150 added as an airport fee - this is legit and not your driver ripping you off. 

Train - There is a train link to the MRT, it’s super user friendly if you’re on a budget and between the MRT and the BTS you can cover a lot of ground.  You’ll probably have to get a taxi to your accommodation from the nearest station but that should be a pretty short journey.

Grab - Technically grab aren’t supposed to pick up at the airport but they do. Your driver will tell you where to meet them, usually in the car park or at the departure drop off area, you don’t need to work about fare negotiation or getting the address mixed up and it’s usually quite a reasonable price.

Getting around

As stated, Bangkok is HUGE.  There are however, loads of ways to get around the city depending on where you want to go.

The BTS and MRT cover a lot of ground between them, if you have a few days in Bangkok then it might be worth getting a Rabbit card for the BTS. There are stops at the river, the weekend market, and some of the best areas for nightlife, restaurants and shopping. Both are very user friendly and if you go in the wrong direction you just jump off and change trains.

Taxi’s are everywhere, but possibly my least favourite mode of transportation, drivers are often difficult, you have to tell them where you want to go before getting in and often they refuse to take you. They can also be difficult about using the meter and sometimes even “misunderstand” where you want to go. If you need a taxi and there is a hotel nearby I recommend going in to the hotel lobby making like you’re a guest and having the doorman get you a taxi.

GRAB is more popular than Uber and thus a little more reliable, easy to use and no need to negotiate.

Motorbikes and motorbike taxis are another option, if you’re travelling a short distance then this is worth a go, most drivers don’t speak the best English so try to find out the main street and the sub Soi number (Street number). Wear a helmet if available and be careful.

You cannot visit Bangkok and not get a Tuk Tuk ride, you’ll probably get slightly ripped off if you compare it to the price of a normal taxi but they’re usually faster and it’s just fun. 

Water taxi, there are water taxis off of the Saphan Taksin stop on the BTS. One will take you across the river where you can walk to Never-ending Summer, another will take you to the Asiatique complex where there are restaurants, shops and amusements.

What to do

Bangkok is filled with cultural things to do so long as you know where they are, here are a few of my favourites.

Erawan Shrine - Erawan shrine is located at Chit Lom BTS station next to the central world complex and sky walk system.  The shrine is open to all and is always busy. You basically pay THB 50 to THB 100 for your four offerings including candles, incense and the flower garlands. You stop at each side of the shrine and have make your offerings to Buddha. After you made your last offering there is a water shrine at the back with holy water for cleansing your spirit. Even if you don’t want to partake in the offering it’s such a vibrant, noisy place that’s it’s worth just going in to absorb that. There is another shrine close by that on a Thursday night is the place to go pray for Love - that’s pretty special too.

Temple water cruise - Take the BTS to Saphan Taksin and then grab a long tail river cruise, it’s interesting in itself to see the houses built on the water, sail past the monk school, see the giant lizards etc.  There is a cruise that has a stop of at Wat Arun, or temple of the dawn. You can pay to make an incense offering, and there is a tree full of Bell’s so you can get a Bell, write your name on it and place it in the tree for blessings/luck.

Klong Toey Wet Market  - Wandering round Klong Toey wet market at night (Around 8pm - 9pm) is super fun.  Super busy, deliveries coming in, people buying their met and veg, super busy, super noisy and lots of great street food.

Early Morning or Evening Park Walks - Early morning and most parks will be full of locals partaking in their morning exercise routine, running, stretching, badminton, cycling.  Its a very social time and there is a great atmosphere.  Similarly in the early evening most parks usually have some kind of organiser aerobics class going on, a couple of run clubs doing laps, Male even some dance lessons.

China town - China Town markets make for a great walk around in the evening. Filled with locals buying or selling and again, loads of great street food.

Shopping

Shopping is huge in Bangkok, at every stop on the BTS there is a huge shopping mall, MBK is one of the more popular for tourists with over 2000 shops selling everything you could ever imagine. Chatuchak weekend market is also worth a visit, a high site with loads of little stalls for tourists and locals, if you see something you want to buy, I would recommend buying it as chances of finding the stall again are slim. 

The Train Night Market (Talad Rod Fai) is also worth a visit, great street food and local vendors sending their goods. It’s super popular with the locals too. It’s open from 5pm Thursday through Sunday.

There are western style malls such as Central World, Siam Paragon, EmQuatier, and Emporium which house western style stores such as H&M, Zara, Top Shop and various department stores.  Central Embassy is also pretty nice and has more luxury stores and a really nice, but pricy, nail salon.

Spa’s and Massage 

So Bangkok is pretty notorious for it’s massage parlours…. Everything you’ve probably heard is true, and then some.  There are however some pretty nice and affordable spa’s and beauty salons.

If massage with added special services is NOT your thing here is what to avoid: If there are ladies sitting out on the street shouting “massage” as people walk past, if there are only female staff wearing sarongs, if it just doesn’t feel right, if they lock the door and tell you to undress then it probably isn’t where you want to be. Here are some more upmarket but still affordable options.

Health Lands - there are various branches around Bangkok, they are clean, professional and the service is very good.  I highly recommend the packages as great value for money.  Book in advance as they book up pretty quickly.

Take Care - Take care is a great beauty chain that also has locations throughout Bangkok, usually located close to a mall.  They do everything from eyelashes to blow outs to great mani pedi’s.  Again I would recommend booking in advance as they do book up quite quickly.

20 Nail Studio @ Central Embassy - If you have a little more cash to spend and you want to indulge this place is great.  The service is fantastic and the Gel colour lasts a few weeks.

Yunamori Onsen - If you find yourself with a rainy day to kill or you just want to Onsen then Yunamori onset is a great place to go.  The onsen part is split between male and female, there are x different baths and a steam room and the water does amazing things for your hair.  There is also a little relaxation garden who if you’re with a partner or friend you can meet up for a coffee or tea or beer in the garden.  They also do massage of all types including couple massages and they are really good. Book in advance, the packages are definitely worth it.

Lek’s on Sukhumvit Soi 22 is really good, great foot massages, clean and open till late. A friend introduced me to post work foot massages with BYO champagne, made even better by people watching. They have other branches throughout Bangkok, this is definitely the most cheap and cheerful option.