Bangkok is probably one favourite shopping cities in the world and is one of my faves as well as it is known to have the cheapest bargain of clothes and the like. It is where you can both shop cheap local design on the street as well as luxury brands in the mall nearby. There are also weekend markets, bazaars, night markets and left and right shopping malls everywhere around where every fashion lovers would totally love.
And aside from all the shopping malls, Bangkok is also famous for stunning temples that you should not miss when you visit the city. Here are the places we visited when we visit the country last year 2016.
Wat Pho
Wat Pho or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha is the largest and oldest wat in Bangkok. It is a must-see for all the visitors of the country. The gigantic Buddha measures 46 metres long and 15 metres high and covered in gold leaf. The temple is located next to the Grand Palace and behind the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Wat Pho is also the birthplace of traditional Thai massage so if you're planning to experience one, this is the right place.
Visitors must pay an entrance fee of 100 baht at their booths and when we visited the place, the ticket also includes one free drinking water that you can claim just before you enter the temple. You can visit every day between 8 in the morning up to 5 in the afternoon.
Floating Market
Samphran Riverside | Sampran Elephant Ground and Zoo
Chatuchak Market
Visitors must pay an entrance fee of 100 baht at their booths and when we visited the place, the ticket also includes one free drinking water that you can claim just before you enter the temple. You can visit every day between 8 in the morning up to 5 in the afternoon.
Source: http://www.bangkok.com
Floating Market
You need to experience floating market when you are in Thailand because it mainly serves as one tourist attraction of the country. Hence to the name it is a market where goods are sold from boats. The Damnoen Saduak is the most popular floating market in Thailand. It is located an hour and a half hours drive from Bangkok, so if you want to go, the easiest way to get there is to join a tour.
By the way, before I forgot to mention, bargain as much as you can if you're planning to get some souvenirs while your boat guide roars you in the stores because I remember my experience when I ask the price of a toy and it cost triple the price in another area of the market. Well, I actually suggest that you don't buy anything from there because everything is for sure over-price. Tho, you could try their food if you like.
Boat service cost 150 baht.
Boat service cost 150 baht.
Samphran Riverside | Sampran Elephant Ground and Zoo
The Samphran Riverside or formerly known as Rose Garden Riverside is a family-run eco-cultural destination in Nakornpathom and just an hour from Bangkok while the later is not really a place where you can watch an elephants perform tricks and you can feed them as well. The place also has crocodile show where the trainers place their heads and arms into the mouths of their crocodile. I'm not really sure which place we visited, we only got to see the cultural performance as we didn't pay for the animal show (you'll know why later on).
But if you want to see some animal show in Bangkok, Sampran Elephant Ground and Zoo is one of the best places where you can see elephants and crocodiles. Do visit this site to see a half day tour her. I don't know what site my brother booked our tour that day but I suggest you book yourself in a package tour aswell, it's probably the best way to get here.
I do remember their is a travel agency table in the lobby area of our hotel where you can book a whole day, half day and even one destination tour package for us tourist to have an easy access to their tourist attractions. So if you can't do a booking online, better look for this kind of agency who can help you in your stay in Thailand.
I do remember their is a travel agency table in the lobby area of our hotel where you can book a whole day, half day and even one destination tour package for us tourist to have an easy access to their tourist attractions. So if you can't do a booking online, better look for this kind of agency who can help you in your stay in Thailand.
Source: http://sampranriverside.com/
And after watching the cultural show, other people gathered to watch the elephant show but since we didn't pay for it, we waited for them outside and I found this sad looking giant.
Anyway, have you heard or read any articles on how these elephants are trained for a show? I found out about it after reading a blog post from Enciso sisters on why they will not gonna ride an elephant after their trip to Thailand. So I did my research and found out why we shouldn't ride or participate in any elephant show in the country. Better read this article to know more about how they treat these animals.
Anyway, have you heard or read any articles on how these elephants are trained for a show? I found out about it after reading a blog post from Enciso sisters on why they will not gonna ride an elephant after their trip to Thailand. So I did my research and found out why we shouldn't ride or participate in any elephant show in the country. Better read this article to know more about how they treat these animals.
The Grand Palace
This is probably the most famous and visited landmark in Thailand, The Grand Palace is where the most powerful people in Thailand live for over 150 years. Today, the royal family doesn't live here anymore but it still used for many ceremonial occasions and some part of it became a tourist attraction.
As to pay respect to the monarch and in the Palace as well, you need to dress appropriately as they have a very strict dress code. Shorts, sleeveless and bare feet are not allowed inside! For women, they could wear anything long or at least down to your knees and top that covers your shoulders. Men, on the other hand, should wear long pants. And if you are not wearing the appropriate clothing just like us, do not worry. You can rent everything in some stores located next to the entrance or there is also a booth that you can borrow as well, or just like we did, we bought pants from those vendors walking around so you don't need to fall in line and take so much of your time.
By the way, there is a huge number of visitors every single day so you might want to be prepared for the extreme heat and thousands of people. Admission to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Central Court of the Grand Palace is 500 Baht and open every day from 8:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon.
Source: https://www.theblondtravels.com
Chatuchak Market
Or also known as the JJ Market. This is one place I requested we must visit when we were in Bangkok as this market is the largest in Thailand and the must-visit place for tourist. As they say, this market is where you literally shop 'til you drop' with over 8,000 stalls to shop and get more than 200,000 visitors every single day. So you better squeeze a day trip in Chatuchak market when you're in Thailand.
And speaking of squeeze, we really just squeeze in some time to visit the market which I regret on doing because shopping here is life! We went here on our last day just to do some last minute shopping before packing our things for our afternoon flight but even if we just got to 1/4 part of the market, I got to buy and see stuff I'm looking for.
This is an open market so you must be prepared for the heat, the size of the market and the thousand of people here and there, everywhere. And as for us, we went there early as 8 AM and some store are still not open but the good thing about it, there are still few people. We easily got to roam around in some area of the market because of that. So I suggest getting to the market as early as 8 or 9 in the morning to avoid some of the crowds and the heat of the sun.
By the way, it's a weekend market so you can fully enjoy it only every Saturday and Sunday. Do visit this site to know more about Chatuchak Market, how to get there and their schedules as well.
Malls in Thailand
Bangkok is a shopaholic paradise with having multi-storey shopping malls it may be luxury, bargain or even weekend bazaar. Name it, they surely have it! I can't really say a particular favorite mall to tell since I didn't even get to visit all of them and picking one favorite is just impossible to decide. Though the photo above is in Siam Paragon mall where we usually eat dinner, we fall in love in a pecking duck food stall in the food court area that even if we're really tired, we still prefer dropping by to this mall to eat.
Like what I said, malls are everywhere in Bangkok, if I'm not mistaken there's a mall in every train station in the city and those shopping malls are worth the visit if of course your a shopaholic.
Wat Phra Kaew
Or commonly known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It is located on the ground of the Royal palace and it is the most revered Buddhist shrine in Thailand.
After making a research about all the temples we visited and checking the temple photos I took, I can't figure out which one we visited and the one we didn't. Please do correct me if I'm wrong about the photos I posted.
Wat Arun
And another must visit place in Bankok is the Wat Arun or the Temple of the Dawn. This temple is named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn. This is also one of the top 3 temples a must-see tourist attraction in the city.
When we visited the temple, the spire of Wat Arun was closed due to renovation. Visitors can still enter the compound though it's not allowed to climb the tower. And since this temple is on the opposite side of Wat Pho Temple and the Grand Palace, we visited this place on our last day in the city. And just like the other temples, the best way to get here is by boat in Chao Phraya river.
The Wat Arun is open daily from 8 am until 530pm. Admission is 50 Thai baht per person.
Source: http://www.bangkok.com
Khao San Road
This is one place I really enjoyed in Bangkok and probably one of the reasons I would go back to this country. Khao San Road is a haven for backpackers, the center of backpacking people in Bangkok. The street is surrounded by numerous restaurants, shops, entertainments, bars, and club especially during the night where everything comes to life. The street transforms from a daytime market into an all-night party zone.
And we went here to experience the night life and I did enjoy people-watching while drinking a bottle of beer. I see different kinds of people from around the world while they dance, drink and enjoying the company of friends. This place is the great place to meet new friends as most of the people are either backpackers or solo travelers who also wants to find a companion or just wanted some random conversation.
We didn't get to meet new people that night since we decided to just chill, relax and enjoy people-watching but I told myself the next time I visit, I'll make sure to say hi and meet new people! Who knows, I might find the one. Kidding!
By the way, this is where I found the exotic insects you can eat. I wasn't able to take a photo because you have to pay 10baht for a picture with their insect menu.
Do you have any place recommendations I could visit nextime? Do drop some comments below.
Wow Thailand looks beautiful from your photos!!! And I bet it's a lot cheaper than Singapore. I should go here next. <3
ReplyDeleteAngelica|The PolyHobbyist
Hi, Rej! I'm not really looking forward on my trip to Bangkok because my main purpose of going there is to do my biometrics at Sweden Embassy. BUT STILL. I want to enjoy my stay there. I can't plan ahead because I only have one full day - and my time will be spent on the embassy. LOL. I'll see what I can do there. Thanks for letting me know about this post <3
ReplyDeleteHi Rej! How are you? I'm going to Bangkok next year and I'm so excited to do "BKK Temple Run". :)
ReplyDeleteIs it true that Grand Palace is overcrowded? Still hesitant to include it on my itinerary. But I will go to Wat Pho and Wat Arun. :)
Regards,
Ulyssa Elaine
https://www.iamulyssaelaine.com
I hope this blog entry can help you in your upcoming BKK trip. Enjoy! Anyway, yes, it is crowded and hot in there so I suggest na be prepared by bringing some sunscreen like hat and towel and also water. :)
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