Bangkok is the city that changes people’s understanding of what a city can be. It is simultaneously ancient and hypermodern, chaotic and somehow functional, overwhelming and immediately addictive. The temples are among the finest in Asia. The food — eaten at plastic tables on the pavement, in air-conditioned shopping mall food courts, in rooftop restaurants 60 floors above the city — is extraordinary at every price point. The traffic is legendary and the Skytrain is the solution. Give Bangkok more than two days; it requires at least four to begin making sense.
1. Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace
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The Grand Palace complex contains the Temple of the Emerald Buddha — Thailand’s most sacred site, housing a 45-centimetre jade Buddha that has been in the country since the 15th century. The complex covers 218,000 square metres and the density of gilded spires, mosaic-covered walls, and mythological guardian figures is unlike anything else in Southeast Asia. Dress code is strictly enforced: shoulders and knees covered. The entrance fee includes entry to the adjacent Wat Pho. Go early — by 10am it is seriously crowded.
2. Wat Arun
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The Temple of Dawn on the west bank of the Chao Phraya is the most photogenic temple in Bangkok — a 79-metre prangs covered in fragments of Chinese porcelain that sparkle in sunlight. The river crossing by ferry costs 5 baht. Climb the central prang for views across the river to Wat Pho and the Grand Palace. At sunset, seen from the east bank of the river, Wat Arun turns amber and the reflection in the water is the photograph that appears in every Bangkok photobook. The temple at night, lit from below, is equally striking.
3. Chatuchak Weekend Market
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Chatuchak is the largest weekend market in the world — 15,000 stalls covering 35 acres, open Saturday and Sunday. It sells everything: antiques, live animals (the live animal section has been significantly reduced but still exists), street food, vintage clothing, plants, furniture, ceramics, silk, and an entire section of nothing but Buddhist amulets. Navigate by the numbered sections — the antique section (1-26), the clothing section (2-4, 5-6), the food section (near the clock tower). Go early before the heat peaks; it is punishing by noon. Arrive by BTS Skytrain to Mo Chit station.
4. Street Food on Yaowarat Road
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Yaowarat is Bangkok’s Chinatown — a kilometre of neon-lit street food stalls that operate from dusk until 2am. Roast duck hanging in restaurant windows, seafood grilled over charcoal at pavement tables, mango sticky rice, pad see ew, boat noodles. The correct approach: walk the entire length once, decide what you want, eat it standing or at a plastic table. Thip Samai on the adjacent Maharaj Road is often cited as the best pad thai in Bangkok — the line forms before opening and moves quickly. The seafood restaurants on the side streets that run off Yaowarat operate at a higher price point but serve excellent crab curry and steamed fish.
5. A Long-tail Boat on the Klongs
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Bangkok was built on a network of canals (klongs) and the inner canals — particularly Khlong Saen Saeb, which runs parallel to the main roads — are still used as public transport by people who need to cross the city faster than the traffic allows. The long-tail boat express service costs 15-30 baht per journey and passes through a Bangkok that exists at waterline: wooden houses on stilts, temples visible between apartment blocks, markets selling from boat to boat. Charter a private long-tail for a klong tour of the older canal neighbourhoods west of the city; the tourist boats from Tha Chang pier organise this.
6. Rooftop at Lebua or Vertigo
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Bangkok’s rooftop bars are the most spectacular in Southeast Asia. Lebua at State Tower’s Sky Bar (the bar from The Hangover Part II) is at 63 floors; the minimum spend is significant but the view over the Chao Phraya and the city grid is extraordinary. Vertigo at the Banyan Tree Hotel is a restaurant at 61 floors with no walls between you and the city. Both require a reservation in advance and smart casual dress. Drink one drink at each and eat elsewhere — the food at Bangkok street level is better and significantly cheaper.
7. Day Trip to Ayutthaya
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Ayutthaya was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam from 1350 to 1767, when it was sacked and burned by the Burmese army. The ruins — headless Buddha statues, collapsed prangs, brick walls covered in fig tree roots — are a UNESCO World Heritage site 90 minutes from Bangkok by train. The most famous image is the Buddha head entwined in the roots of a bodhi tree at Wat Mahathat. Rent a bicycle at the station and cycle between the main sites; the distances are manageable and the side streets between ruins have local restaurants that serve excellent rice dishes.
Practical Information
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Bangkok has two airports — Suvarnabhumi (international) and Don Mueang (budget domestic and some international). The BTS Skytrain and MRT Metro cover the central city; the river ferries cover the waterfront. Grab (the Southeast Asian Uber) is the most reliable way to cross the city when the Skytrain does not serve the destination. Accommodation ranges from excellent guesthouses for 500 baht per night to luxury hotels. The best months are November through February — the cool, dry season. March through May is hot and dry. June through October is monsoon season with daily afternoon rain.
