Bangkok Travel Bible - The Perfect 5 Day Guide (Day 02)
Welcome to day two of our Bangkok travel guide.
In case you didn’t know, Nuno and I created a complete itinerary for Bangkok, divided it into 5 parts, and organized it by days to make it easier to process. Each itinerary is sequentially planned with all locations mapped in the most convenient order. And you can sort the days as you want.
This is day two. ✌️
If you already finished your second day, here’s day one, day three, and day four.
Something to have in mind:
As the day-two itinerary includes the Chatuchak Weekend Market, it’s better if you’re doing it on a Saturday or Sunday. If that’s not possible, don’t sweat it, we got you covered: there are 2 museum visits to fill the hole.
Bangkok Itinerary Map for Day 2
(All spots for day 2 are marked by yellow pins).
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Chatuchak Weekend Market is one of the biggest and most popular markets in Bangkok. Its sheer size and hecticness can put to test the sense of direction of any scout. The market is organized and divided by countless corridors that spread from the central square.
Even though you can find anything here, you will not always find it at the best prices. Regardless, Chatuchak is a great place to visit.
Opening hours
It opens on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 6 pm and on Fridays from 6 pm to 12 am You’ll need at least half a day to see it. We recommend going in the morning and have lunch there.
Transport to Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market
🛺 Tuk-tuk
A Tuk-tuk from downtown Bangkok will cost 50 Bahts per person.
🚝 Skytrain
You can take the Skytrain (BTS) to Mo Chit station. Leaving at exit Nº1 you’ll find the market easily. Tickets cost 59 baht.
🚇 MRT
Or the MRT (Bangkok Metropolitan Rapid Transit) and get off at Chatuchak Park, but it’s better if you do so at Kamphaeng Phet Station. Leave the station through exit nº2, and you’ll exit directly into Chatuchak Weekend Market. Tickets cost 42 baht.
Alternative museums for weekdays in the morning
If you’re doing the second day of the itinerary on a weekday, we suggest the following museums as an alternative for the morning:
Bangkok National Museum
A great museum to learn about Thailand’s history from the Sukhothai kingdom up to the present day. You’ll find collections of decorative textiles, weapons, precious stones, gold objects, masks, musical instruments, etc.
Opening Hours
Opens Wednesday to Sunday from 9 am to 4 pm.
Museum Ticket fees
Tickets cost 200 baht.
For 350 baht you can have a combo ticket that gives you entry to the National Gallery and the National Museum of Royal Barges as well.
🚌 Buses to the National Museum
Nº 3, 6, 9, 15, 19, 30, 32, 33, 39, 43, 47, 53, 59, 60, 65, 70, 80, 82, 91,123, 201 and 203.
To find out which bus is the most convenient for you, go to www.rome2rio/Bangkok and enter your starting point.
Royal Barges Museum
This museum is a boathouse where you get to see up close a collection of the most beautiful barges used by the royalty on special trips and ceremonies from the kingdom of Ayutthaya to the present day.
Location and opening hours
The museum opens daily from 9 am until 5 pm and is located on Khlong Bangkok Noi (near Phra Pin Klao Bridge).
Ticket fees
The entrance fee to the museum is 100 baht plus 100 extra if you want to take pictures, or 200 if you want to make a video.
Transport to the Royal Barges Museum
You can get to the museum by Chao Phraya Express Boat and stop at the Wang Lang Pier (Stop nº10). Ticket fares depend on the distance and start at 9 baht up to 20 baht.
Dusit Palace
In the afternoon you can visit the Dusit Palace, a European-inspired royal palace built by King Rama V. The palace complex consists of several impressive buildings, such as the white marble palace Ananta Samagom Throne Hall, and the Vimanmek Mansion that was converted into a museum.
⚠️ Under restoration
There’s a lack of information regarding the completion date of the works.
But we’ll keep you posted as soon as it reopens to the public.
Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple)
Visiting Wat Benchamabophit was a magical moment that Nuno and I still talk about today. We arrived at the temple in the late afternoon, just at the perfect time. The complex was almost empty (something very uncommon in Bangkok). The marble floor was warm after a beautiful sunny day and the only thing we could hear were the monks’ prayers echoing through the atrium.
Opening hours
Opens from 8 am to 5 pm and there’s no entry fee.
Nang Loeng Market
About a 15 minute walk south of the Marble Temple you can find the Nang Loeng Market – one of the oldest markets in the city. This is a great spot to sample many Thai cuisine specialties.
Have in mind that many stalls close in the late afternoon and some on Sundays.
Wat Intharawihan
Since we arrived in Bangkok, all Tuk-tuks drivers we came across kept insisting on taking us to this temple. So much so that it sparked our interest.
After walking 20 minutes from the Marble Temple, you can also end your day visiting Wat Intharawihan (the big standing Buddha). It stands out from the other temples due to the 32 meter Buddha statue in the atrium.
Opening hours
The temple is open from 8 am until 8 pm and is located on Wisut Kasat Road, at the beginning of the Rama VIII Bridge. There’s no entry fee.
If you want to keep going, check day one, day three, and day four.
Bangkok Travel Bible - The Perfect 5 Day Guide (Day 01)
For some time now, Nuno and I wanted to create an itinerary with all the essentials of Bangkok.
With that in mind, we created a Bangkok Travel Guide, divided it into 5 parts, and organized it by days to make it easier to digest. The order in which you start is up to you, and if you don’t have 5 days to visit Bangkok, just pick the days that best suit your traveler profile.
Each day of the itinerary is sequentially planned with all locations mapped in the most convenient order for you. We’ve considered the time it’ll take you to visit each site, as well as moving within the city from point A to point B. Oh, and we’ve also included launch breaks and suggestions of places to eat. It’s all covered.
Welcome to day one. Let’s do this! ✊
(And if you’ve already finished your first day, here’s the day two, day three, and day four).
Bangkok Itinerary Map for Day 1 | The temple day
(All spots for day 2 are marked by dark blue pins).
Grand Palace and Wat Phra Keaw
Entrance fee
Tickets cost 500 baht.
If you don’t want to waste time in queues, buy your tickets online at www.royalgrandpalace.th/buy-ticket
Opening hours
The Grand Palace opening hours are 8:30 to 15:30.
We encourage you to wake up early and to be there in the first hour of the morning. Being a very popular site, be prepared to encounter a lot of people at the entrance — and we’re not just talking about tourists. Swindlers love to hang right outside the palace like vultures flying over a carcass. We still remember being approached several times by people telling us the palace was closed for foreigners that day (lie), or that we had to buy special clothes otherwise we wouldn’t be allowed in (half-truth).
As the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Keaw are considered sacred, all visitors must dress according to the stipulated rules: trousers or long shorts, and no sleeveless t-shirts. If the staff members consider you’re revealing more than you should, you’ll be guided to a booth near the entrance that will lend you the appropriate cover-up. The lending service is included in the ticket price.
⏲️ A proper visit will take you at least 2 hours.
Lak Mueang
Near Wat Phra Kaew is a shrine called Lak Mueang that represents the guardian spirit of the city. Inside is the foundation pillar raised in 1782 when King Rama I established Bangkok as the capital of Thailand.
Thai people come here regularly to leave offerings and to pray. Traditional Thai dances are performed daily and are free to watch.
Lak Mueang is open from 6:30 until 18:30.
Wat Ratchabophit
With a typical Thai exterior reminiscent of the Grand Palace, this temple has an interior with clear European influences similar to a gothic cathedral. Here, are also stored the ashes of several members of Thai royalty.
It’s open from 9:00 to 18:00 and free to enter.
Wat Ratchapradit
A very beautiful temple close to Wat Ratchabophit that stands out for its Khmer-influenced prang structures — like the ones you can find in the Angkor Thom Temple in Cambodia.
Opens from 9:00 to 19:00 and admission is free.
Wat Pho
By now, you’ve probably seen countless pictures of a humongous golden reclining Buddha somewhere in Thailand. Well, here’s where it is: Wat Pho Temple, in Bangkok.
Wat Pho is just a 10-minute walk away from the Grand Palace.
It’s open from 8:00 to 17:00 and tickets cost 100 baht. However, don’t think you’re only paying to see the famous Buddha. The temple grounds and gardens are beautiful.
Wat Pho is also one of the best schools of Traditional Thai medicine and massage, so if you’re interested in a quality massage here’s your chance! These are the prices:
Traditional Thai massage
• 420 Baht for 1 hour
• 260 Baht for 30 minutes
Foot Massage
• 420 Baht for 1 hour
• 280 Baht for 30 minutes
For more information on what to expect from a Thai massage at Wat Pho visit: www.thaizer.com/getting-a-thai-massage-at-wat-pho
Lunch Break
If you started the day early as we suggested, it’s probably lunchtime by now and you’re likely to be hungry.
Grab lunch in the square right behind Wat Pho by the Tha Tian Pier. There are plenty of street food stalls to choose from. After lunch, you can catch the ferry to Wat Arun right there at the pier.
Wat Arun
Open from 8:30 to 17:30.
The admission fee is 50 baht.
Being one of the most visited temples in Bangkok, stopping by Wat Arun after lunch is a smart move. Here’s why: since the internet decided that Wat Arun was a popular spot to watch the sunset, many tourists started to cross the river in the late afternoon. That’s why we assigned the visit to Wat Arun after lunch because we know it would be a particularly quiet time in the day.
Tip: If you’re not following the sequence in this itinerary, early mornings are also a good time to visit.
Climbing Wat Arun’s central prang will give you a privileged panoramic view of the river and the old part of the city. The last time we visited it, the prang was under restoration, so send us some pictures if you can.
Crossing the Chao Praya River to Wat Arun
To get to Wat Arun (on the other side of the river) you have to take the ferry departing from Tha Tien Express Boat Pier every 10 minutes or so. The trip takes around 5 minutes and gets you right by the temple for a 5 Baht fare.
2 extra sites close to Wat Arun (to visit if the day is going as planned)
1. Santa Cruz Church and the Kudeejeen neighborhood
Santa Cruz Church is one of Bangkok’s oldest Catholic churches, built to cater to the religious needs of the Portuguese community that lived in this part of town.
For 200 years, the peaceful communities of Catholics, Buddhists, and Muslims that settled around the church co-created a unique multicultural neighborhood (Kudeejeen) that is definitely worth exploring.
If you’re interested in a bit more history on the Portugal – Siam relations, read: www.tour-legacies.com/santa-cruz-church.html
2. Wat Prayoon
This temple stands out for its epic 80 meters high Chedi, the red iron fences made by ancient weapons, and the surrounding turtle pond and rock garden.
The peaceful temple grounds have many benches near the pond for you to relax. However, if you’re not into contemplative rest, visit the Buddha Images Museum. It has thousands of amulets, images, and artifacts that were found inside the base of the Chedi upon its restoration.
Wat Prayoon is open from 9:00 until 18:00 and there’s no entrance fee.
Bangkok’s Bonus Visit of the day
Artist’s House (Baan Silapin)
It’s the farthest place on the map, but worth a visit if you have time to spare.
Open from 10:00 to 18:00, this 200-year-old Thai wooden house it’s a creative space located along with one of the main canals of the Chao Praya River.
It’s a great place to chill after a hectic day in Bangkok. So grab a coffee, enjoy a traditional Thai meal by the river, or watch the free daily Thai puppet shot at 14:00.
The easiest way to get here is by taxi, but if you want to save some money (and don’t mind walking for a little bit) some buses can get you close-by.
Buses to the Artist’s House
From the city center 🚌
Hop onto the bus nº 68 and get off at the stop Wat Tha Phra. From here you’ll have to walk an extra 20 minutes.
From Wat Arun 🚌
If you’re at Wat Arun, take bus nº 710 to Bang Wa BTS station. Then, get off at Petchkasem 14 Tha Phra Intersection. From there walk 20 minutes north. See map above.
An evening on Rambuttri Alley
Rambuttri it’s a chilled and bohemian street enclosed with cool bars, lighted trees, and a mellow vibe that’ll make you want to hang out for the evening — especially after a full day.
If you want a super affordable meal, we suggest any food stall along Rambuttri Alley for dinner, drinks, and dessert. However, if for some reason you feel a little iffy about food stalls, most bar terraces will serve meals, just expect a more touristy price.
Not tired yet?
If you don’t feel like slowing down just yet or manage to thrive around chaotic energy, parallel to Rambuttri Alley is the infamous Kao San Road. There’s plenty of loud music, vodka buckets, and food vendors selling fried insects in their push-carts. Why not try some?
If you finished your first day, here’s day two, day three, and day four.
The sad smiles of Bangkok
After an eleven hour trip, we arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 7:30 am and a scalding breeze welcomed us as we left the plane.
Nuno was afraid that they wouldn’t let us pass through the immigration port because we didn’t have a return flight. The process ended up being quite simple, some minutes in the queue, a smile from us, a photo and two stamps from them.
We were officially in Thailand! Kob khun krap!
Hopped on a train to the city center for 45THB in a 25min ride. The train is above ground which allowed us to see the city from afar. First the neighborhoods with terraced houses, separated by greens lakes, waterways and banana trees. Here and there the golden roofs of temples peaked from between the trees. As the city got closer, the train got fuller with quiet locals absorbed by their cell phones and sniffing on Vapex inhalers.
We left the train at the last stop (Phaya Thai) and started to feel the real city: traffic noises, new smells, thousands of locals in every direction and the unforgivable heat. We barely started walking and we were already sweating profusely. We got to Bangkok on a flight from Stockholm, so we were still wearing semi-winter clothes.
After some minutes walking, we entered the first building that seemed to have air-con. It was a mall filled with teenagers and a nice food court, an opportunity to freshen up and grab something to eat. We ate Tom Yum Noodle Soup.
With a full stomach, the journey to the hostel started. It was quite an adventure under the scalding sun.
We walked and walked, turning and rolling the map* on itself, asking the locals for help, but getting back a smile and Thai gibberish that didn’t help at all. Every kilometer made the bags feel heavier.
*You can get the city map on the airport at the Tourism Authority of Thailand for free.
As soon as we found the right street a Thai guy approached us asking where we came from, how many days we’ll spend in Bangkok, and to where we were heading. He told us that being a Friday, some monuments were totally free and the tuk-tuks with the yellow license plates were cheaper and would gladly take us there.
He also insisted a hundred times that we should go see the Big Standing Buddha.
We just want to get to our hostel man. Not now.
So here’s the deal: if you go to Bangkok you will get approached by tuk-tuks non-stop.
And if not by tuk-tuks, by guys working on commission for them, or for a store that makes money selling overpriced crap to tourist. Be prepared.
To them, anything works as an icebreaker:
– Hey ma’ friend. Where are you from?
– When did you arrived in Thailand?
– Nice beard. How long did it take to get it like that?
– Where are you going?
– When are you leaving Thailand?
– I’m a University teacher and I’m not trying to sell you anything, but…
– Need help ma’friend?
Days later a tuk-tuk guy, after we refused his ride, actually lied to us saying the temple we were considering visiting was closed that day. After insisting on trying anyways, he sent us in the wrong direction, following us until we got completely lost, trying then to make the sell. Not cool man, not cool.
And the funny part was that in the end, he just wanted to take us to the Big Standing Buddha.
All of this persecution will make you feel like a Big Dumb Standing Tourist.
Bangkok is a worn down, full of life, hectic city.
A reflection of that is the famous Kao San Road, a place for the ones who like to party. Neon lights, hundreds of tourists, street shops, vodka buckets and loud music from the bars constantly competing with each other.
Parallel to Kao San is the mellow and bohemian Rambuttri Road. Good music, plenty of street food, fruit sellers, cool restaurants, nice bars, lighted trees, and plenty of Thai massage spots. It’s a great place to have dinner and spend your evening.
Definitely worth a visit.
Thailand is renowned for it’s cheap and delicious street food. It’s everywhere at any time of day. You can have a delicious pad thai from 50 to 80 THB.
There are plenty of iced sliced fruit to eat for 20 THB. Sweet mango, papaya, dragon fruit, watermelon and pineapples, all peeled off and sliced, laying in huge amounts of crushed ice.
You should also try the egg and banana pancakes, the coconut water, and all the fruit juices at hand.
You’ll also feel the need to drink insane amounts of water. We went to Thailand in March and the heat was intense! Fortunately, water was everywhere, you can buy them at any 7 Eleven scattered all over Bangkok. A big water is only 13THB, the same price we buy them in Portugal, plus, you can buy them cold. It’s also a good excuse to break your 500 or 1000THB bills.
Talking about money, there are ATM machines available everywhere, so no need to worry. But they’ll all charge you a 200THB fee for every withdrawal. To that, don’t forget to add your own bank’s fee.
I believe we’ve all heard about the famous Thai sympathy. Locals do have a constant gentle smile on their faces, especially to foreigners, but they’re also quite reserved. This narrowed our interactions to vendors and merchants, and according to our experience, they’ll drop the smile as soon as you drop the money.
Maybe you’ll get a robotic ‘Bye’ at the end.
But maybe that’s just in Bangkok.
By the way, we ended up finding the Big Standing Buddha by ourselves.
Couldn’t understand what was the fuss all about.
Bangkok travel expenses (daily average for 1 person)
Meals: 1,96€
Water: 0,27€
Hotel: 5,50€ (Private double room)
Subway from Suvarnabhumi Airport to city center: 1,00€
Tuk-tuk to Chatuchak market: 2,60€
Site’s entrance fees: 6,39€
If you have any questions or some extra info everybody can benefit from, please leave it down in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.