So I’m admittedly a little late on these travel guides, but I honestly find these types of posts SO helpful whenever I’m planning a trip. I go wild pinning blog posts like this on Pinterest and take notes before planning a trip anywhere. I hope you find it helpful too!
This past December 2018 to early January 2019, we ventured out to Thailand to watch one of my best friends (that I’ve known since high school!) get married. We traveled as a big group of friends which was SO MUCH FUN. This is the second time we’ve traveled to another country for a wedding with a group of friends (see Greece) and I highly recommend traveling with a group if you ever get the chance.
We flew Air China as it was one of the more affordable flights (and with credit card points, I was able to get mine and Jesse’s roundtrip flights completely free!) That said, if I were to do it all over again, I’m not sure I would fly that airline again. We had a pretty long layover in the Beijing airport both ways due to flights being delayed over and over again and the airport was FREEZING and very uncomfortable. The food on the flights was also pretty meh. I was able to choose a special VGML (vegan meal) for all flights, so that is nice that they were able to accommodate that.
We arrived in Bangkok at night and basically went straight to bed. I honestly don’t even remember what hotel we stayed in, but it was mostly just a place for us to rest our heads since we were only staying one night. We woke up in the morning ready to rumble with the tourist shenanigans.
First stop: The Grand Palace
This place has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam since 1782! This is a must-see if you are in Bangkok. This was my first official taste of Thailand and I was absolutely in awe of the architecture and detail of these buildings and temples.
*PRO TIP* To enter The Grand Palace or ANY Thai Temple you will need to have your arms and legs covered. Even in December/January Thailand was incredibly hot and humid, but nonetheless you must obey the rules. These are where the famed “elephant” pants come in handy. On this day I wore a long skirt and denim jacket which allowed me to stick to dress code, but for the other days I packed nothing but shorts and tanks… so I would carry a pair of the elephant pants in my backpack along with a scarf that I would drape over my shoulders and arms. You can find the pants and scarves at nearly any shop, for a very affordable price tag.
Second Stop: Wat Arun
This temple is across the Chao Pharaya River, so you will need to take a boat to get there (you can see how we did that in this vlog). We had limited time to see things while we were in Bangkok but I knew this temple was at the top of my list. I quite enjoyed the boat ride over there, and once we arrived I was greeted by the tallest temple I probably saw the entire trip. Complete with stairs, you can walk up this temple from the outside, which makes for some really cool pictures. While we were there, there was some sort of celebration with Thai dancers, dragons, and more (likely an early New Year’s Eve celebration). It was so cool to see!
Khaosan Road
This is the street our hotel was off of, and it was a party street for SURE. Both nights were popping off and it reminded me a lot of spring break in Mexico, to be honest. People were partying in the streets and there’s tons of street food and shops. During the day I scored some amazing straw bags for $10 each, which would easily sell for $100 over here in the states. At night it was a little too wild for me. But if you’re looking for a party, this is the place to be.
Food
Since our time here was so limited we just ate street food most of the time. I do know there are many vegan and vegan-friendly spots in Bangkok if you are able to hit them up. Happy Cow is my favorite resource to find places like that. For the street food, I used the “Vegan Passport” app to clarify no egg, meat or fish sauce in my food. I found it extremely easy to communicate this with the app. These two apps will be your best friend while traveling anywhere.
Conclusion
I can definitely see why Bangkok is a destination for many Thailand travelers. I felt that a day was a good amount and I’m not sure I would want to stay any longer than 2 days, but I am glad we went.
Have you been to Bangkok? If so, how was your trip?
