Bangkok is a very unique city. We were only there for a day and a half so we didn’t get to do a few things such as the floating markets, China town and most of the temples. But we did cramp in quite a few things and had fun while doing it.
When we arrived in Bangkok it was 12:00am so we headed straight to the hotel to check in. We stayed at the ALoft which was pretty central to most of the activities that we had planned. We got a good night sleep and woke up bright and early the next day to start our adventure. Cabs are plentiful in Bangkok but my only regret is that I wished we hired a driver the first day as you can be easily stirred off course by cab drivers who will tell you that it is a national holiday and the temples are closed so that you can partake in their friends or relatives’ tours. Unfortunately, we were suckered into a river boat tour on our way to see one of the temples as we were told the temple did not open until 1pm. And when we finally did get to the temple, it was sold out. Once I came home, I read about how often this happens, so my tip for anyone traveling to Bangkok is to either hire a driver for at least one day or research the temples visit and activities you want to do to make sure they are open and it is not a national holiday in the country. Stick with your plans and do not let anyone through you off course as you will waste time and money.
We were able to visit the Wat Pho in Bangkok – Temple of Reclining Buddha. It is the largest temple in the city and measures 46 meters long and is covered in gold. The entrance fee is 100 baht and this includes a bottle of water. Make sure you have something to cover your arms and wear shorts or shirts that come below your knees. While you can wear shoes that show your feet at this temple there are several temples that requires you to cover your ankles or take your shoes off. I carried a back pack with a change of clothes as it was extremely hot in Bangkok. The temple is also located near other temples so if you leave early enough you can visit multiple temples in just a few hours.
The next place on our agenda was the Sofitel hotel. We wanted to go to a fabulous roof top pool and I read prior to visiting that this was one of the best roof top pools in Bangkok. There is an entrance fee of $30 USD if you are not a guest of the hotel and this includes full access to the spa. The drinks and food are expensive but it’s worth the price because of the fabulous view. Unfortunately, we did not get to experience the Sofitel on the last Saturday of the month which is when they have a DJ.
After socking up the sun at the Sofitel we headed back to the hotel to change and headed out to dinner and to the roof top bar, Sky Bar which was featured in the movie Hungover 2. The Sky Bar is a must if you visit Bangkok. It has one of the best views in the city and I highly recommend catching the sunset there. We didn’t stay long due to the price of the drinks and the wait staff being pushy about buying drinks. I did try the Red Velvet Martini which was honestly one of the best drinks I have ever tasted.
Once we left Sky Bar, we were off for some entertainment. We were told to go to a Pong Tong show. This as a very interesting experience if you are open minded. We paid 700 baht to get in. Please make sure if you go to a Pong Tong show to never take your phone out and be open minded as this is not a place for someone who is easily offended.
The last place we went to was a night club called Levels. The entry fee was 300 baht and included a free glass of wine or beer of choice. This club played house music which I’m not a fan of but it was located in our hotel and I wanted to experience the night life in Bangkok. I was not impressed but I do recommend getting a table at any club in Bangkok to avoid being uncomfortable.
Overall Bangkok was fun and the people there were pretty nice. I do recommend visiting for at least two to three full days because there are so many things to do there that we did not get a chance to do because we were only there for one full day. The top two things I would have liked to experience was fine dining in Bangkok and trying some insects as this is a popular thing to do in Bangkok.
