BANGKOK
Jim's Bangkok Tips
(updated Jan. 2017)
Important! Check
that your passport has 6 months left on it from the date of your arrival in
Thailand, a requirement for entry.
Get the app MAPS.ME on your iPhone, then download the map of
Thailand. I just discovered this recently and found it incredibly helpful
getting around Bangkok, a very complicated city.
Get Nancy Chandler’s map of
Bangkok on Amazon. The graphics are a bit cutesy but it’s full of great
information.
At the airport, ignore anyone offering
you taxi services and follow signs downstairs to 'public taxis'. Tell
the dispatcher where you're going. You get a ticket and will be shown to a
metered cab. You pay 2 tolls in addition the the meter fare if the taxi takes
the freeway (say yes if he asks). Give money to the driver at the tollbooths
(around 40 baht each).
Check www.kayak.com
for flights to Asia, www.airasia.com
for cheap flights within the region; also www.silkair.com
and www.nokair.com—these
small airlines often do not show up on sites like Travelocity.
www.fireflyz.com.my is a Malaysia based airline serving smaller towns in SE Asia.
www.fireflyz.com.my is a Malaysia based airline serving smaller towns in SE Asia.
A good website about Bangkok—
http://www.thaizer.com
Drink lots of water and have a good supply of moist towlettes--it's hot and humid there.
http://www.thaizer.com
Drink lots of water and have a good supply of moist towlettes--it's hot and humid there.
WHERE TO STAY
Check this
website--http://www.thaizer.com/accommodation/where-to-stay-in-bangkok/ which describes the various areas of Bangkok
with hotel recommendations.
Check www.asiarooms.com for all hotel bookings in Asia. www.agoda.com is another hotel site I frequently use. Booking online is
almost always lots cheaper than just walking into a hotel.
When booking a
hotel, try to get something near to public transportation--the Skytrain (known
as BTS, which, when spoken as in English, most taxi drivers will understand),
metro or the riverboat.
You may have
heard of Khao San Road, but don't stay there unless the idea of a non-stop
international frat party sounds good. For single travelers, it might be
fun.
We've stayed all
over town, but we often return to the Bossotel, which is close to both Skytrain (Saphan Taksim stop) and river
boat (Sathorn stop), reasonably priced and quite comfy, with a pool and nice
breakfast--around $50/night. Hotels in Bangkok can be great bargains. Make sure
to get a room with windows facing the street--some face interior
airshafts.
Another charming
place we liked, near to the Grand Palace is the Baan Dinso, in an old wooden house. (Make sure it's the Baan Dinso on Trok
Sin--they have a branch nearby but not as good).
Staying in
Chinatown is fun, especially since it avoids the trouble of getting a cab out
of there at night---drivers are notorious for overcharging. The area between
Yowarat Road and the river is great for exploring. We stayed here and loved it:
https://www.shanghaimansion.com
We liked the somewhat old fashioned, large Asia Hotel, near to Siam Square.
You can walk directly from the hotel onto the skytrain. The area behind the
hotel is good for exploring. http://www.asiahotel.co.th/asia_bangkok/
Right across the street from Wat Pho is the Royal Tha Tien
Village---nothing royal about it, but it's quite nice (lots of wood) and a real
bargain--great coffee at their nearby café. http://www.theroyalthatien.com/en-gb/
I plan to stay
here on my next trip: www.loylalong.com I've noticed this old wooden house
perched over the river for years, and now it's a B&B. And it's located
inside the grounds of a Buddhist temple!
TRANSPORTATION
Taxis are very
cheap, but you might spend lots of time sitting in traffic. Tuk-tuks are fun
once, and then you realize they cost way more than taxis, you don't see much
because of the low roofs, and you get to breathe in all the exhaust
fumes. The above ground Skytrain (BTS) and underground metro (MRT) are
very useful as is the riverboat.
SIGHTS
Any guidebook
will give you the greatest hits (Grand Palace, Jim Thompson House, Chinatown,
e.g.), but here's my list than includes some Top 10 stuff, plus other
off-the-beaten-track suggestions. What I love to do most in Bangkok is just
wander through different neighborhoods. There is always a surprise. (Find these
all on google maps or maps.me)
Don't miss Wat
Pho, the best of all the temples (you'll be templed-out fast) which is
covered in ceramic tiles.
Not far from Wat
Pho is the lovely Saranrom Park for a chill-out moment.
One of my
favorite things to do is to take the public canal boat from behind the
Golden Mount (also known as Wat Sakhet) along the klong (canal) Saen Saep to
the commercial shopping district (Pratanum stop).
Shopping malls: I can't imagine recommending a visit to a
shopping mall anywhere else in the world, but those in Bangkok are
exceptional--like going to an amusement park. My favorite is Central World (be
sure to visit the supermarket in the 7th floor!), which is best approached from
the Chit Lom sky train stop. You can enter the mall from the elevated
walkways--very sic-fi.
Behind Central
World is the Centara Grand Hotel,
whose Red Sky Bar has amazing views--go before sunset.
Very James Bond.
The Erawan
Shrine, across from Central World is a Buddhist shrine where you can see
traditional dancing around 6pm every night. It's quite a sight, right in the
midst of the busiest part of the city.
Pak Klong Talat is the wholesale flower market, which comes
to life very late at night--nice after-dinner outing.
Don’t miss the Bangkokian Museum, in an old house—a slice of the past. 273 Soi Charoendrung 43,
Bangrak (open Wed.-Sun. 10 to 4). If you’re lucky (and she’s still alive)
you’ll meet the elderly owner. This was our favorite of the old houses.
M.R. Kukrit’s
house is another good
one, more elegant, as is Jim Thompson’s house.
Parks in
Bangkok http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/01/13/bangkok-parks-and-gardens-a-breath-of-fresh-air-in-the-big-city/
Bumrungrad International Hospital is a stop on the 'medical tourism' route, and where you
should go if you have any health problems.
FOOD
After years of
experience, we've learned that the best Thai food is found on the streets. We
have never gotten sick. You will see food being sold all over. My advice
is--if you seem something tempting, try it! At worst, I've had some dull food,
but often it's great. Something I eat every day in Thailand (sometimes twice a
day) is green papaya salad (som
tom), sold from pushcarts on the street. They will ask how many chilies you
want--my limit is two (and I like hot food, but those Thai chilies are HOT!).
Lots of places
set up a night with tables and chairs on the street--ask at your hotel for best
street food areas, or you will just see them--if it's busy, it means it's
good.
The Chatuchak Weekend Market is fun for craft-y shopping (get there before
noon). There's lots of food here, but just a few blocks away is the Or Kor Tor Market , an amazing display of all kinds of food, which you can eat there.
It's right at the Kamphaeng Phet metro stop (the underground metro is known as
MRT).
In terms of
'real' restaurants, I can't think of one that has truly impressed me. Many Thai
restaurants seem to be mostly for tourists (I think when Thais go out they want
Italian or Chinese food) and it's often 'dumbed down' (less spicy). We did have
a good meal at Baan Chiang, not far from the Bossotel--in an old wooden house.
Check out this
article: https://www.eatingthaifood.com/best-restaurants-bangkok-2016/
BEYOND BANGKOK
We finally went
to Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand, on this last trip and loved it.
We took the train (90 minutes). The best part of the visit was staying at this
hotel:
Ruen Tub Tim, is on a no-car island just a short boat ride
from the main attractions. It was a magical experience to stay in this old Thai
house (some attached rooms are new but in the same traditional style). The food
at the night market at the boat stop was fantastic. If you go by train, call
ahead to arrange for them to meet you at the riverboat dock, which is just a
block away from the train station. Arrange for a boat ride around the big
island to visit the old temples and palaces.
A FEW USEFUL WORDS
SOI means alley
or small road. Important roads (Samsen, Charoen Krung, Silom, Sukhumvit) have
lots of sois off them in numerical order--odd numbers on one side, even on the
other, so an address might read ’12 Samsen soi 4’, which means building number
12 on the 4th soi off Samsen Road. Most address just have the soi number, not
the building number—you just head down the soi until you see what you are
looking for.
THA means pier.
THANON is another
word for road
TALAT means
market
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