Touristy Thursday: Bangkok – More than Just Shopping & Food!

It’s a picture heavy post!

Over the long weekend, I took the opportunity of public holiday and had a quick visit to Bangkok. It was my first time visiting the city and I was fascinated! Even the word ‘fascinate’ is an understatement. I was so overwhelmed by the low prices of almost everything!

Accommodation– Bangkok Loft Inn

BTS: Wong Wian Yai

We booked a budget hotel very near to the BTS station Wong Wian Yai, it is about 20mins train ride to the central and it’s only RM120 (tax included) per night without  breakfast. It has a king bed, kettle, mini bar and all the basic amenities.

The downside is the walls are thin, and if you room is facing the main road, it will be noisy. We didn’t spend much time in hotel other than sleeping at night so it wasn’t much of a bother. If you are staying there, try to ask for room facing the alley.

The cab ride from Suvarnabhumi airport to this hotel only cost about RM50.

Immediately we checked into hotel, we wasted no time and took the train to the central area.

The cabs in Bangkok are all in beautiful colors and it’s a beautiful sight to behold….when you look down at a standstill traffic.

Shopping

1. Central Area

BTS: Siam/Chit Lom

The are so many malls around the area  namely, Siam Paragon, Central World, Platinum Fashion Mall, Siam Square, and Big C supermarket within walking distance.

There’s also a new mall called Terminal 21 at 2 BTS stop away from Siam.

And of course, no trip to Bangkok is complete without visiting the famous Erawan Shrine (4-faced Buddha).

It was still quite crowded at 5pm, but most of the crowd was just standing around it. The offerings for prayers can be bought from inside, at the cheapest price of RM5/set.

We visited Platinum mall after shrine but the shops were closing at 7pm, so we only had 2 hours to browse, and to our shock, it consists of 5 zones! Fortunately, and unfortunately,  there was not much for me to buy.

2. Terminal 21

BTS: Asok

 

One of the newest malls in town, and each level represents a city. Not much of branding representation but it is more for fun.

There’s an interesting shoe/clothing shop selling pumps and flats. I bought 2 pairs of pumps at 900baht each, they seem to be really good quality!  The shop is located in level 1 room no 1016, the shop name is Geraffee.

3. Chatuchak Market

BTS: Mochit

The famous Chatuchak Market only opens on weekends, until 6pm. The best time to visit is as early as possible at about 9am to beat the crowd.

There’s just so much to buy from clothes, bags, accessories, pets, furniture, home deco, anything and everything under the sun! There are about 15,000 stalls in total and it is just insane. I think if  I went all crazy, I could spend all my money there!

If you see something to buy, you should not contemplate because you will not be able to find the shop again! Wear as minimal as possible because it’s hot! Best to carry a slingbag and foldable shopping bag so you will have free hands for shopping bags.

You can even courier your stuff home right after shopping!

Food:

We decided to settle for street food at one of the stalls along the street in front of Central World shopping mall.

From top left to bottom right:

Salt grilled fish, seafood tomyum, papaya salad, and clams.

There are about 5 stalls and all of them selling similar dishes at similar prices. But I recommend the first and last stall. Food was yummy and we had dinner at the same street for 2 days. However, it was MSG laden and I was feeling miserable after that.  The fish was only RM15 for that size and it’s definitely worth it!

 

Yummy sausage in ‘apom’ (crepe), grilled squid, mango sticky rice & coconut ice cream.

Street food is generally clean, minus the invisible dust. It’s cheap and yummy!

Then, we had the world’s best toast in Siam Paragon in a shop called ‘After You‘, it’s located at LG next to the Gourmet Market. This toast cost 190baht but it was worth it! It was thick, soft and buttery. Yummmmmm!!! It’s a very popular shop which you will definitely have to Q. But the Q system is very efficient and you must be present when number is called, if you come back after a missed number, you will have to Q again.

Sight-Seeing

The Grand Palace:

BTS: Saphan Taksin

Dress code: Blouse with sleeves and long pants/skirt. Capris are not allowed, but there is batik skirt for loan. I have seen people going in with sandals although shoes are advisable.

It was a scorching hot day when we visited the Grand Palace. We stopped at BTS  Saphan Taksin and took the boat pass for river tour to hop to the tourist spots. A river day pass was 1500 baht, however, I’d advise NOT TO take the day pass as it is a lot cheaper to pay for single trip boat ride if you intend to just visit 1 or 2 stops. You can pay for the ticket once you are on the boat.

Me enjoying the windy ride before the long walk began.

The boat ride from terminal to Grand Palace was about 20 minutes.

The walk to Grand Palace from boat stop was about 8 minutes and the entry ticket is 500 baht. Not cheap but it was worth it with this majestic view.

Some of the statues and wall deco in the Grand Palace. Everything is so well-maintained, but unfortunately, the heat was so intense we could not walk anymore after about 1.5 hr, I am surprised that I did not faint even with sun burnt!

It was picturesque and deserved more pictures because of the rather pricey entrance ticket.

After having enough of the palace, we headed to Wat Arun, which is on the opposite side of the palace, which means, you have to take a boat to cross the river at 3 baht. Day pass is not applicable to the crossing river ride.

Wat Arun

By the time we reached Wat Arun, it was almost 1pm. We had to wait for the crossing boat as it must be fully loaded before it will start.

We were too tired, and had no energy to get up to this temple. So, we just took a photo and left after that.

Perhaps we will revisit in our next trip.

Within the 4d3n trip, we spent so much, and ate so much. I wish I had taken a picture of our shopping loot when we came back with almost 20+kg worth of shopping loot from tooth paste to dog biscuits!

Bad bad blogger, but will remember to take a picture of all the haul before dispatching them to family 😉

 

There’s just too much to see and to eat, and can’t believe it took me so long to visit this city!!!

We will definitely be back!!! Till then.