Tag: Bangkok

Travelling to Bangkok

We flew to Bangkok on the 30th December 2017 from Heathrow via Kuala Lumper. Basically we had to do this journey due to using Mike’s staff Travel. Although it was a bit of a journey it was worth it as we got Business Class seats. Also we were able to have access to the Executive lounges in both Leeds and Bradford Airport and Heathrow.

Accommodation

We stayed at the Navalai River Hotel which has the name suggests is on the river.  There is a stop for the waterbus directly outside the hotel which you can get to through the hotel. The hotel was very clean and service was exceptional. The rooms were decorated to a good standard with all toiletries included. We found that the hotel was ideally situated for what we needed. The cost of the hotel at the time of booking was £70 per night which we thought was a good price for the standard of hotel. 

Also the hotel has a roof top swimming pool which we didn’t have time to use. Although it was a small swimming pool it looked nice and very inviting. 

Site Seeing

On our first day of arrival we decided to go for a walk. As we walked out of the hotel we were stopped by a man on a Tut tut who offered to ride us to some areas of interest for a small charge. We excepted his offer and he took us to where he said was of interest (which was a small sort of temple) and to a tailor’s which he did not say he was going to take us there. Afterwards we had a bit of a struggle getting him to take us back to our hotel without buying anything from the shop but he finally agreed.

Kao San Road

During the evening we walked down Kao San Road which is a famous street known for bars and street food. Some of the street food was very strange fried scorpions on sticks, fried crickets on sticks etc. Also there were venders selling more traditional Thai food like Pad Thai at very low cost. Some of the bars were put up purely at night. They would bring the tables and chairs and drinks on a small cart and set up a bar.

Significantly bigger bars had live music in them and cost a lot more than the smaller bars but still at a reasonable cost. We did go in one small bar where all drinks were served in buckets. We got a vodka and coke bucket at a cost of £2.50 which went straight to our heads. Kao San Road is buzzing with people drinking , eating and even shopping all night long.

Bangkok Palace

We caught the waterbus from our hotel to Bangkok Palace. Unfortunately we were not aware that both males and females had to cover shoulders and legs so we were not prepared but they did sell clothing to cover up with at the palace.

Certainly the clothes are not very flattering clothing so ensure you take your own. Eventually when you have paid in to the Palace and you are covered up you can wonder around at your leisure. Hence we were there a good few hours as there is so much to see and take in. It is the most spectacular building we have ever seen .

If you ever go to Bangkok then the Palace is a definitely must see. Make sure you have your phone/Camera fully charged as you will want to take a lot of photo’s.

There is also guards similar to our guards at Buckingham Palace which is interesting to watch when they do their march. Not sure if they minded having a photo taken as with our Palace guards they don’t say anything.

Wat Arun

Also we caught the waterbus to Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) which is not far from the palace. Although this is a much smaller place to look round it is very impressive. As this was a hot day we went to a near by street to get a cold drink on our way we noticed a little alley way where an elderly couple were cooking and selling Pad Thai.

We decided that we would go in to their little place and have something to eat. It was the most amazing Pad Thai we have ever tasted. It cost 50p including a drink. If we had have had more time in Bangkok we would have gone back there for the Pad Thai.

Summary

Bangkok is a truly amazing place with a lot to offer people of all ages . Bangkok is a colourful and vibrant city with such ornate buildings and so many places of interest. Because we were only here for a couple as we were on our way to Koh Sumui we did not enough time to see and do everything we wanted to do. We will definitely be going back to Bangkok at sometime.

Images

Things to do

• Visit Bangkok Grand Palace
• Take a boat trip along the Chao Phraya River
• Visit Koa San Road
• Sample the street food
• Visit one of the large markets
• Visit Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn)

Top Tips

• Take clothes to cover up if going to the Grand Palace.
• Ensure camera and phone are changed up as there are so many photo opportunities.
• Try the genuine street food which is amazing.
• Kao San Road is a great place to visit for nightlife.
• Our hotel was on the river which made it easy to travel to various places via the waterbus.
• Do not under estimate the amount of wonderful places there are to see in Bangkok allow enough time.
• Don’t be put off by stories of how seedy Bangkok is. Of course there are some seedy areas which we did not see but the beauty of Bangkok and the places to see far out way this.
• Check out Government information before visiting Bangkok https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/safety-and-security
• Check out other destinations we have visited in Thailand. Please click on the following link Koh Samui
• Check out chart below for best time to visit Bangkok

Images

Temp – Celsius Rain – mm	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp	32	33	34	35	34	33	33	33	32	32	31	31
Low Temp	21	23	25	26	26	26	26	26	25	25	24	21
Rainfall	10	10	50	110	180	180	180	170	220	190	40	10
Number of days	2	2	5	8	17	18	19	21	22	16	5	2