Bangkok Photo Diary

I felt absolutely overwhelmed experiencing the great energy and vibe in Bangkok. I have never seen such vibrant streets and life in any city I’ve been to before. Let me take you through my amazing three day journey…

I had the pleasure to stay at the Novotel, on the 22nd floor with the coolest view over the city (photo 2 and 4). I’ve always loved staying in sky high hotel rooms, somehow it makes me feel like the happiest girl in the world.

Our whirlwind stay in Bangkok has been filled with some of the most spontaneous days I’ve experienced while travelling and I enjoyed every part of it. My boyfriend and I arrived to Bangkok late afternoon on a Thursday and didn’t do much more that day than exploring the huge mall right next to our hotel (hello Zara!) and indulging in a unlimited-eating for 1 hour in a Japanese restaurant.

The next day we decided to do like the locals and take the water taxi to visit the Grand Palace (photo 1,3,6). We didn’t know where to get off exactly, so we followed the instructions of a Thai lady sitting next to us. When we got off the boat, we felt a bit lost standing in the streets without a clue which direction to go. At that moment we ran into the sweetest Polish couple and somehow we ended up spending our whole day together. They were much more familiar in Bangkok and knew exactly what are the good places to go. With them, we visited the Grand Palace, had lunch at a random street stall with the most amazing food for $1 and spend the rest of our afternoon in the Backpackers district strolling around, having foot massages, eating insects (yes really! see photo 18) and we even ended up in a massive protest/concert in one of Bangkok’s squares (photo 5). Like we didn’t do enough that day, we went out that night in Soi 11, a cool district with lots of nice bars, restaurants and it’s also famous for its crazy amount of ‘mobile bars’ in the form of vans. We went to rooftop bar ‘The Nest’, which is a beautiful place with good music, a great vibe and even greater drinks! Definitely a must-go if you are visiting Bangkok. To finish off a crazy fun day, a massive rat decided to walk right over my Polish friends foot while we were waiting for a taxi. It was terrifying and hilarious at the same time. We didn’t know whether to scream or laugh, so we did both at the same time.

The day after (slightly hangover) Hassan and I decided to explore the area around the Chao Praya river in Bangkok where you can find several amazing temples such as Wat Arun (photo’s 21-23) and Wat Pho (last 3 photo’s). The temples in Bangkok are absolutely stunning and have all been made with a great attention to detail and plenty of bright colours. Later that day we took a tuk-tuk to China town, which is super crowded and overwhelming with its countless stalls selling fake designer goods, foods, toys or actually every random thing you can imagine that can be sold. We didn’t stay out there too long, as it didn’t feel like the safest place to hang out and there were just too many people around. That evening we went to visit another of Bangkok’s big shopping centres, Siam Paragon. It’s in my opinion the best one and its whole appearance screams luxury. It was a lot of fun to see the stylish Thai parading around in the latest designer wear, but it made me a little jealous as well. Sigh. Give me those Balenciaga and Chanel bags! Siam Paragon also has a lot of high street stores, so don’t worry, even if you don’t own a fortune, you can still do some shopping.

Sunday the 17th around noon it was time to head to the airport and get ready for the next adventure in the South-West coast of Thailand: Phuket! More travel tales on Phuket later, for now I will give you a little overview of the must-see’s and do’s while in Bangkok.

–  Use water transport as much as you can. It’s a lot cheaper than a normal taxi and it takes a lot less time to get to your destination, as traffic on the road in Bangkok is absolutely crazy.

– Most street stalls in Bangkok serve very clean and hygienic food and are a lot cheaper (and even tastier!) than normal restaurants.

– Visit three of Bangkok’s most beautiful temples: the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho.

– Spend an evening in Soi 11, a very lively district with plenty of cool places to hang out or eat. Enjoy a drink at rooftop bar ‘The Nest’ or sit down at one of the mobile bars in the streets.

– Take some time to stroll through the Backpackers district. The perfect place to have a cheap massage, eat good food or simply sit down at a café and watch people in the streets.

– Visit at least one of the countless malls in Bangkok. I’ve visted 4 different one’s and my favourite is Siam Paragon.

– Do something out of your comfort zone: eat insects. I’ve tried both a grasshopper and a yellow bug which I don’t know the name off (see photo 18). The grasshopper was a little too crunchy but the yellow bug wasn’t that bad.