Sam and I recently traveled to Bangkok, Thailand for a short holiday and I was surprised by how much the city has evolved after the pandemic. I guess the pandemic was like a wake-up call to everyone as it kind of propelled everyone forward to use technology to bring about more convenience. There has also been an emphasis on tourism so I wasn’t surprised that tourism here is booming after the pandemic. There has been an influx of tourists visiting Bangkok each day.
So this trip was quite impromptu so we did not exactly cover many places. Besides, we only spent 3 nights here which was rather short. Bangkok has evolved quite a bit over the years and there are many more attractions and places of interest to visit. If we had known, we would probably have spent a week here.
Our Hotel in Bangkok: ASAI Chinatown
We chose a 3-star hotel which is near one of their subway stations. The location was perfect because there are lots of good food in this area. The hotel was also very clean and minimal. It costs us less than SGD 60 a night for a basic room with a queen-sized bed. The room was surprisingly quite spacious too.
It is an eco-friendly hotel so they don’t provide a lot of bath amenities. If we need toothbrushes and cotton buds, we have to retrieve them at their reception desk.
Unfortunately, I did not take many photos during this trip as I wasn’t planning to write a blog post about it. But I did take quite a number of videos and will be uploading them in my Instagram.
How did we travel around Bangkok?
You can purchase 1-day unlimited subway or BTS pass to get around Bangkok but the quickest way to get around town is via Grab, Bolt, or their local taxis. We heard that tourists often get scam by local taxi and tuk-tuk drivers so we did not take the chance at all and avoid them at all costs. Instead, we tried out their ride-hailing apps like Grab and Bolt.
Grab or Bolt?
Traffic in Bangkok is horrendous. Because the jam is so bad, sometimes the drivers on Grab and Bolt do not want to pick you up. Hence, there are times when our rides were cancelled especially on Bolt. Bolt rides are way cheaper but there’s no guarantee that the driver will accept the ride.
Grab, on the other hand, was reliable. We did not get any ride cancellations so far but sometimes it is quite difficult to get a driver. With Grab, we can get around from one place to another in the downtown area for around SGD 5. It is on average around 120 baht. If you travel in a group of 4, the transport costs per pax is even lower.
Travelling via BTS might not be the cheapest option
We also tried traveling via their BTS which was easy to navigate around. We purchased a single journey card via the machines at the control station. The only inconvenience is that every time you need to change to another subway line, you have to purchase a new ticket. When we did the math, we realized that it was slightly more expensive to travel via BTS. The travel fare costs around 16 baht to travel from one station to the next. And the total subway ticket costs for the 2 of us are sometimes higher than if we were to take Grab.
In summary, just take Grab when traveling in Bangkok.
Dining in Bangkok
There are so many good restaurants, cafes, and eateries in Bangkok catering to all budgets. You can enjoy cheap food in Chinatown or at the night markets. The prices gradually get steeper as you travel closer to the city center. The food at the shopping malls and cafes can be quite expensive, but still slightly cheaper than in Singapore.
The cafe culture here in Thailand is even more vibrant than in Singapore. There are so many beautiful cafes that also serve good food and drinks. We came across this little cafe that offers good drip coffee at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.
Visiting the floating market with Klook
I have been to Bangkok several times since young but for Sam, it was his second time here and he has not visited the floating markets. So we decided to book a half-day tour with Klook to check out the floating marketings in Bangkok. There are several floating marketings but you can only choose between 2 major floating markets via Klook. The popular one is the Amphawa Floating Market and the other is Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is nearer to the city centre so we signed up for the tour with Klook which also includes a trip to Maeklong Railway Market. It works out to be around SGD 50 per pax.
If you’re interested, you can use this promo code ‘DEENISE5OFF‘ on Klook to enjoy a 5% discount.
Journey to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
We have to meet the guide and the rest of the tour group at Siam Paragon, near this BTS exit. It wasn’t too difficult to locate the meeting point as the instructions given were clear. Once we were there, the guide asked us for our personal details as they said that the travel insurance for the trip was covered.
We had two guides for the tour and there were around 25 of us on the tour bus. During the 2-hour bus ride to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, the two guides shared with us some history and cultural background of Bangkok. To me, it was a rather good introductory tour especially if you’re in Bangkok for the very first time. One guide spoke in English and the other spoke in fluent Mandarin. And as a bilingual Singaporean, we were able to tune in to both channels.
The guides seemed very experienced and even told us what to look out for or try while we were at the floating market. He shared with us which Thai food is worth eating at the floating market and what we can do at Maeklong Railway Market.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
The market was rather quiet in the morning. We were given some coconut pudding and bananas to eat before heading for a boat ride into the floating market area. There weren’t many shops or locals selling on the boat. So to me, the authentic floating market vibe and atmosphere weren’t quite there.
But we got to try authentic Thai boat noodles from this Thai lady whom the guide claimed that she has won some local food competitions before. The noodles were tasty but weren’t exactly outstanding. It costs 40 baht for a small bowl. Then he also recommended us to try the traditional Thai milk tea which was good.
Maeklong Railway Market
After the floating market tour, we headed up to the bus and headed to Maeklong Railway Market. We were there just to witness the train that goes through the market at certain times of the day. Before the train arrived, the stall holders had to quickly fold up their stalls and shift their items in. I guess it is a way of them compromising with each other’s way of life.
Our guide also recommended this Thai restaurant which is right at the start of the railway track. The food was relatively okay but the prices were pretty steep. Then we head off for a Traditional Thai massage which is an optional activity suggested by the guide. I am pretty sure he gets to earn some commission from all of these but the massage was pretty good so we can’t complain. We were charged 400 baht each and that works out to be around SGD15 per pax.
He claims that the lady who owns the Thai massage parlor is certified and well-trained. In fact, he told us that all of the masseuse here in Bangkok needs to be trained and certified in order to carry out Thai massage. We did the massage and it was alright. It wasn’t exactly the best because the environment wasn’t very inviting. It looks old and run-down but the place is relatively clean.
We had some mango sticky rice right after the 1-hour traditional Thai massage.
After the half-day tour, we headed back to the city and they dropped us off at Siam centre which has an indoor floating market. The prices of the food are quite reasonable and the food was good. We actually had dinner there on our first night in Bangkok.
Cafe Hop
We visited one aesthetic cafe in Bangkok which is pretty secluded. It’s located right smack in some industrial area. The European-style cafe is indeed a stark contrast in this district where all the buildings seem to look dilapidated.
Holiday Pastry Flagship Store
We came across this cafe on TikTok and decided to check it out. The reviews are relatively okay and once we entered the cafe, we saw several local Instagrammers who were also there to take photos and videos of the place.
The staff could speak good English and we had no issues ordering from the menu. The prices here were similar to the cafe prices in Singapore.
We bought a drink and a pastry and the total was around SGD20 plus. You could say that it was certainly high-end. But at least, the O.M.G pastry tart we had was good. But given a choice, I probably would not dine here because you can enjoy the same quality of cafe food back in Singapore.
Must-visit: Chatuchak Weekend Market
We left Bangkok on a Saturday and our initial plan was to head to a spa near the airport for a massage. However since we had already tried the Thai massage during the half-day tour, we decided to cancel our spa appointment and head to Chatuchak weekend market. It was a good decision.
Believe it or not, I have not been to Chatuchak market. It’s unlike any market I have been to because it is so HUGE and you can find almost everything here – from food, clothes, and shoes to furniture, plants, and pets. It’s like an outdoor emporium. The Thai street food there is relatively cheap and good so I highly recommend you to include this in your itinerary if you are heading to Bangkok.
This brand of slippers seems to be really popular in Bangkok because almost every shoe shop is selling them. I bought this for around SGD 10. We also bought some clothes. This is why you don’t really have to pack so many items with you when you travel to Bangkok because you can get everything there at low prices.
Bangkok is also a land of mangoes and coconuts. It was such a treat to be enjoying fresh coconut ice cream and mango smoothies at reasonable prices. Bangkok, I am coming back for you soon!
Apart from the traffic, Bangkok is heaven on earth!