BANGKOK TRAVEL GUIDE

Bangkok is one of my most favorite cities in the world because it reminds me a lot about my own hometown Jakarta. Visually, both might not be the best organized cities, they are rather packed, crowded, full of traffic that it's my daily bread, but there is something about the imperfection, the friendly people, the fascinating F&B scene, the cheap prices and how easy this city to travel at that makes me love this city more and more after every visit. I have been to Bangkok several times in my life that each visit is different and left me with a better point of view of how I see Bangkok, the only thing you need to do is dig deeper.

Bangkok in general is the perfect destination for shopping and to eat (should I say Heaven for foodies), it is indeed the foodie-est city in the world with literally everything that I ate there being good or either really good (I never encounter bad food experience here I've been lucky :*). It is not the city for activities, sports or beaches, people often go outside Bangkok like Phuket to enjoy the beach and sea, or Hua Hin for a sweet escape from the busy city.

I hope this travel guide can help you in planning the most awesome trip to Bangkok! Let's get started.

CURRENCY AND EXCHANGE RATE

Bangkok (Thailand) currency is Baht, some people mistaken the writing to be Bath, they're so wet they don't know.

By July 1st (as this post is written), 1 Baht = IDR 375 and changing on a daily basis, visit this website  for exchange rate update

WEATHER

Being a tropical country in general, Thailand's weather is either hot, hotter and OMFG hot. I am not joking, at its peak, the weather could go up to 38 degree celcius, but there was one time on the early winter days in 2015 where the weather magically touched 18 degree! Cray.

COMMUNICATION

If you're someone like me who can't live without the internet, when I say can't live I mean I have to stay connected to keep in touch with work stuff, not necessarily the social medias, as long as there's oxygen I will always be fine lol.

My top recommendation will be the Happy SIM Card that I am always using, it costs 299 baht (IDR 120k or $8) including unlimited internet access for one week and 100 baht call balance. The internet is relatively fast.

ACCOMMODATION

Accommodations in Bangkok is terribly cheap! I have never experienced staying in their hostels, but I have stayed at some of Bangkok's nice 5-star hotels, boutique hotels and Air BNB. I really like the Tower Club at Lebua State Hotel Bangkok for its location, big room, beautiful view (make sure you stay at the high levels of the hotel like 50 above) and reasonable pricing. I once stayed at The Residence Rajtaevee and it's another one that I would recommend for their affordable price per night and perfect location (5 minute walk from Siam Paragon), bed might not be the most charming tho (you get what you paid for). Decent AirBNB starts around 350 baht per night at Siam area.

Average cost for:

Hostels in Bangkok: 100 baht/night

Boutique hotels: 150 baht/night

5-star hotels: 1500 baht/night

TRANSPORTATION

Tuk-tuk and BTS (Bangkok Mass Transit System) are probably the most famous public transportation for locals here. BTS is the perfect option to stay away from Bangkok's crazy traffic, but Uber is the most convenient and cheap as fuck, I literally couldn't believe how cheap they are. Taxi is not very recommended to be honest as some taxi drivers won't turn on their meter fare and instead negotiate the price with you beforehand, and sometimes it can be a rip-off for you. The cheapest of all would be the boats that most people take to go from Khao San Road to Siam Square).

Average cost for:

Public bus: 10 baht (no AC), 15 baht (with AC)

Bangkok BTS: 27 baht-depending on where you're going

Tuk-Tuk: negotiation, no fixed price

Boat: 15-20 baht/ride

Taxi: 150 baht - Taxi fare from airport to city can go from 350 baht-500 baht depending on the traffic

Car rental: 800 baht/day

I just came back from Bangkok last month and I use Uber and BTS pretty much wherever I went!

FOOD AND EATING OUT

Eating out in Bangkok is relatively affordable, if your idea of eating out is eating at the food stalls then they are freaking cheap! I am the kind of guy who loves cafe hopping and what I spent in Bangkok is almost the same amount as my spending in Jakarta. The cafe scene in Bangkok is crazy, they have tons of coffee shops and dessert cafes spread around the city.

Food at street stalls all around Pratunam/Chinatown starts around 35-70 baht (pork, pad thai, tom yum, noodle), bottled fruit orange/pome drink starts around 20 baht, fresh cut fruits also around 20 baht. Restaurant meals starts around 100 baht and up. Spending money in Bangkok for food is something I happily do! Fancy concept stores, coffee shops and dessert cafes are mainly located at Siam, Thong Lor and Ekkamai, one of a kind theme park restaurant Chocolate Ville is also a hot topic for locals and tourists!

Chocolate Ville review -> HERE

Mango Tango review -> HERE

Kyo Roll En review -> HERE

Working on my Bangkok food guide article, they're coming very soon!

MONEY SAVING TIPS

Uber

If you can stand the traffic and not in a rush on something, Uber can be very cheap and way cheaper than Taxi or even BTS (depending on when you're going). I often sat on the driver's fancy cars here unlike the boring Avanza I always get in Jakarta.

Take BTS

BTS is perfect to fight the busy traffic, but it's always rather crowded especially on the day and peak and I did not find it very comfortable except for the fact that it's air-conditioned!

Eat from the street stalls!

They say bond with the locals, I say eat what the local eats! The street food in Bangkok is so delicious yet so cheap, it's almost depressing how I always gain several kgs everything I came back from Bangkok.

Negotiate with the Tuk-Tuk drivers

Tuk-tuk doesn't have a fixed rate, so it's all about negotiating!

Take the boat

If you're planning to travel from Khao San road to Siam, I suggest taking the boat to cut more time and budget. 20 baht is all you need baby!

Shop snacks at Asiatique or Chinatown

Tao Kae Noi has its own shop in Platinum Mall 6th floor, but I notice the price is a tad cheaper in Chinatown snack shops or Asiatique.

SPOTS TO CHECK OUT

Asiatique

People mostly go to Asiatique at night to enjoy the night scene of Bangkok, it's almost like a theme park (but not in the most significant way) and a bit like Singapore's Clarke Quay. They have this ginormous ferris wheel called Mekhong and it costs 300 baht (IDR 120k or $8.5) per 30 minute ride.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

Chatuchak Weekend Market is the largest weekend market in Asia (if not in the world), you can shop and get almost everything you fancy here. From fashion items to the most unusual food (fried insects and bugs), they're all here. Be sure to bring your umbrella because it can get very hot! I was lucky it was sometimes a bit cloudy the day I went there.

THIS SHOP IS LOCATED AT ONE CORNER OF THE MARKET, it's so big I can't tell you precisely where this was but it's located near the toilet. The fried items here are crazy good OMG I am salivating right now!!!

 When in Thailand: Thai Tea errday!

Chinatown

I love checking out each city's Chinatown if there is one. Bangkok's very own Chinatown is among my favorites. So many good and cheap food, snacks, cakes and souvenirs here!

 I had one of the best street seafood I've ever had in Chinatown Bangkok. It's called Fikeaw Yao Warat!

Chocolate Ville

Chocolate Ville is Bangkok's most famous and one of a kind theme park restaurant. I have been raving about it non-stop now you better read the review -> HERE

Floating Market

Grand Palace

No matter how touristy this place is, it's always nice to embrace a little foreign culture and infused our soul with it a little bit. The entrance ticket to Grand Palace costs around 500 baht.

Thai coke with Grand Palace on the background

Karmakamet

I love concept store and I'd be more than happy to recommend you guys to Karmakamet. If you've been following my Snapchat, I guess you should know my obsession towards perfumes, fragrance and home items. Karmakamet is a classy place to dig in to those beauties and the items are reasonably priced, not too expensive. I have been using their Tea Time home fragrance for my bedroom! Smells so damn good.

Madame Tussauds Bangkok

 The famous wax museum is in Bangkok. Click HERE for the full review.

Santorini Park and Sheep Farm

Still on my bucketlist

T-Fest

T-Fest is one of Bangkok's biggest flea market selling various items from fashion to food! When I was in Bangkok last month, the event was running and I paid a short visit here. This should be the right place for foodies to go and boy did it remind me a lot about Jakarta's very own bazaar, there were so many creative unusual meals that were unique and pleasing to the eye!

Thank you for reading! I hope you have a sweet time in Bangkok just as sweet as this Kit Kat ice creams in Bangkok. What a good finding <3.

BANGKOK BLOG POSTS
Madame Tussauds Bangkok -> HERE
Chatuchak Weekend Market -> HERE
Chocolate Ville -> HERE
Kyo Roll En -> HERE
Lebua State Hotel -> HERE
Mango Tango -> HERE

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email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

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