In 2014, I visited Bangkok for the first time on a babymoon holiday with my husband. We stayed near Lumpini Park in Saladaeng and avoided wearing red due to the symbol of a political protest nearby.
We checked off nearly all the must-see spots and must-do activities during that 5-day trip. We explored top shopping areas like Chatuchak Weekend Market, Siam Paragon, Central World, and Platinum, and visited cultural landmarks including the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), Queen Sirikit Textile Museum, and Wat Pho (the Temple of Reclining Buddha). We tried almost every type of public transport, such as MRT, BTS, riverboat, tuk-tuk, and Songthaew (except bus and taxi, while Grab didn’t exist yet). We even got local massages. Since I was pregnant, I opted for a gentle foot massage instead of the famously intense Thai massage.
We also joined a day tour to Ayutthaya, the old capital of the Siam Kingdom, including lunch and a stop at Bang Pa-In Royal Palace. We even went to Pattaya, about 2 hours from Bangkok, staying around the Beach Road, which had vibes similar to the Kuta Beach in Bali.
I didn’t return to Bangkok until June 2023, and by then, my memories of past visits were blurry (I didn’t even remember to check my old posts in this blog!). It was a short business trip with just one night at Happy 3 Hotel in the Siam area. At night, my colleagues and I walked along OneSiam Skywalk in front of MBK towards Siam Square, an open-air shopping place. We had dinner at Chester’s, a local chicken fast food chain, and stopped by Gentle Woman flagship store (the popular totes bags were sold out, and the staff suggested coming back in the morning when the stuff would just be restocked). We later met a friend over desserts at the After You in Siam Paragon. Despite two meetings the next day, we squeezed in souvenir shopping and lunch at Yana, a halal Thai restaurant in MBK, before my evening flight back to Jakarta with just a cabin bag.
My next business trip to Bangkok was in March 2024, directly from another work trip in Vientiane. I stayed three nights, but only had evenings free. On my first night, I went with a colleague by Grabcar to Central World to buy a replacement suitcase (I got mine broken in Vientiane), as one interesting store there showed up when I searched nearby. I stayed at the fancy chic Amara Hotel with Byredo toiletries, though the rooftop pool was small. After dinner at the food court, we waited outside for our Grabcar when the wide walkway (like in Orchard Singapore) and the nearby shrines sparked a memory: I’d been here before with my husband! We had walked from a budget mall (Platinum) to the upscale Central World. It felt good to suddenly remember.
The next night, we took a Grabcar to a nearby pier and then continued by boat to Iconsiam, a riverside mall with great views of Chao Phraya River and a unique local food market. We stayed until it closed at 10 pm, and waited about 30 minutes for a Grabcar back to the hotel.
The next day, I switched to the more budget-friendly I-Residence Hotel Silom (since I was covering the last night myself), got a one-hour massage, and met my friends for dessert at After You, famous for its Shibuya Honey Toast and Thai Tea Kakigori. The new hotel, near Chong Nonsi BTS Station, had a better location, though I didn’t use the BTS during my stay there. The dessert spot was located inside Silom Complex, just beside Saladaeng BTS, and I realised I was close to where I’d stayed in 2014, another nice moment of nostalgia. At the Suvarnabhumi airport the next day, I claimed a 7% tax refund (for a purchase of at least 2,000 baht) for my new luggage.
On my fourth visit to Bangkok in October 2024, I stayed at the Ariston Hotel in Sukhumvit. Although it was also three nights, I had more time exploring the city this time because I arrived at noon (not evening) and flew back in the evening (not morning). In addition, my sister joined me in walking around. After checking in at the hotel, we walked to the nearest mall called Emporium and had lunch at its food court. Then we took a bus from Benchasiri Park to Wat Saket (the Golden Mountain). The tourism office in front of Benchasiri Park said we could pay by cash inside the bus. Okay, we’d try. The bus arrived, we hopped on through the middle door, and the bus took off again… but we still did not know how to pay. Should we walk in front of the bus to pay the driver? Suddenly an old lady who appeared to be the bus conductor rose from her seat and collected the money from us. We informed her about our destination, and she told us how much to pay. Despite the bus being rusty, old, with no AC, it still had a stop bell and announcements, very impressive for its condition.
Near the temple bus stop, we passed by the Democracy Learning Centre and King Pradjadhipok (King Rama VII) Museum, and both had free entrance. So, we looked around these two museums first before continuing our walks to the Golden Mount. Though less touristy, the temple offers lush greenery and stunning views after climbing 344 steps. We then took an AC bus to Pratunam Market, explored alleys towards Indra Square, and had dinner at Everything Halal restaurant. Too tired to take a bus back, we called a Grabcar.
The next day, I had a full agenda at Skyview Hotel nearby, including a networking dinner, but my sister managed to go shopping around Pratunam again, and what impressed me more was a visit to Talat Phlu Railway Station, a film location of How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, a famous Thai movie in 2024.On our last evening, we went to Chatuchak Weekend Market using BTS from Phrom Phong to Mo Chit stations. What a bad decision, because many shops were closed. It was more usual to visit on Saturday and Sunday (hence the name Weekend), but we managed to buy some stuff and had dinner at Muslim Food. Later, we explored EmSphere Mall near our hotel. The next morning, we went to Asiatique Riverfront. The Grabcar driver must have questioned our motives because no shops had opened yet! It is famous for visiting in the afternoon or evening. We should have switched the plan: going to Asiatique the night before and to Chatuchak in the morning. Anyway, we got great pictures with the river, ship, and Ferris wheel backgrounds, and other cute photo spots. Afterward, we grabbed a car to Siam Square, shopped for cosmetics at Eveandboy, had lunch at Chester’s, watched people queueing for PopMart’s Labubu, and bought the famous milk buns from After You.
(Continue to Part 2)