Bangkok was decidedly the best starting option for us. Not only is it one of the main international airports in South East Asia, but it was also the cheapest to fly directly from Perth. Bangkok is also fairly central to surrounding cities, so it was relatively easy to start our journey from there.
Bangkok is without a doubt a well-known city. It is bustling with tourism and popular amongst backpackers. But to be honest, it wasn’t on our bucketlist. We really had no desire to see Bangkok, the idea of it being so busy and riddled with tourists was not a selling point for us.
We kept our stay in Bangkok to 3 days. This allowed us enough time to see what we wanted to but also to ease into travelling. When researching what areas to stay in Bangkok, there was an option that was suitable for all types. Khao San Road was a well-known backpacker destination, famous for its night-life and social scene. We knew this wasn’t where we wanted to stay, we’d seen The Hangover movie….not our style.
Riverside was more family friendly and typically more expensive, Siam is a great shopping district, Chinatown is common amongst budget travellers.
Ultimately we decided to stay in Sukhumvit. This area is central and common among Ex-pats and Westerners. Great restaurants, modern supermarkets and easily accessible public transport. We wanted to ease into travelling since we were going to be doing this for a long while so we wanted to stay somewhere comfortable and suitable for first-timers.
We stayed in THA City Loft which was a cute, clean, new-york loft style accomodation. It was quiet and budget friendly, right outside a large supermarket and just a few minutes walk from restaurants and bars. The hotel room was a small but comfy with a private bathroom, kettle and refrigerator, all the main facilities we were after.
The hotel also offered complimentary “on-the-go” breakfast for guests to help themselves to. This consisted of toast and jam spread, a few selections of biscuits, fruit, tea and coffee. Very minimal but a great option for those who aren’t big on breakfast and prefer a light snack. In the afternoons, the hotel also offered 2 hours of complimentary drinks to guests in the common area. A small bar was set up with red wine, gin, vodka, sodas and a few fruit syrups that guests could help themselves to.
We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at THA City Lofts and would definitely return based on its facilities and proximity to shops and restuarants.
In terms of transport, we aren’t hugely familiar with train systems/public transport. Piki and I are from a small rural town where a bus and taxi are the only offered modes of public transportation. It is much more common to drive your own vehicles. Therefore when it came to transport in Bangkok, we opted for Grab. Grab is the Uber of South East Asia and is so convenient, affordable and easy to use. At one point, we walked up to the Sky Train in Sukhumvit and we had no idea what on earth we were doing. The routes made no sense to us, we didn’t know how many different train lines we need to take and no doubt we would end up miles from where we needed to be. Honestly, we were too shy to ask for help also. So Grab it was. It is probably little bit more expensive than catching the Sky Train but its not hugely out of pocket. It really comes down to what you are comfortable with.
Bangkok has many attractions to see, including a number of palaces, temples, parks and large markets. But none we were too interested in seeing. The main temple I was interested in visiting was Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen, commonly known as “the big Buddha temple”. We ended up catching a Grab to the temple and were severely disappointed to find it under construction and the whole temple was covered by scaffolding, I mean you could not see a thing! However that is our own fault as we did not do our due diligence in researching beforehand to find out more about it.
We visited Chinatown and whilst it was a cool experience, it was just so busy that it became unenjoyable in the end. We were being trampled by people, it was too hot, I was sweating, Piki was starving and we just NEEDED TO GET OUT. Wow, we are so dramatic but with me being hot and bothered and Piki being hangry, we were five seconds away from a war erupting. So what did we do? We caught a Grab straight back to our hotel and found ourselves at a cute retro restaurant called GiGi Eatery nearby that offered a Bottomless Brunch. It was serendipity.
For us, 3 days was more than enough in Bangkok. We had no intention to really sight-see and this was simply a starting point. I can say I enjoyed my time in Bangkok and maybe one day I will have a desire to return and do it justice but for now, I accept it as a stop over and nothing more.
