Bangkok, Thailand: Tips for Travelers

We had a great time wandering around Bangkok for a few days, eating and drinking our way around the city. If the food, drink and culture of Bangkok has captured your attention, then book a flight! But first, learn from our experience:

• Eat new things! We ate so much during our few days in Bangkok, and everything was delicious. We followed our gut and ate primarily at food stalls and restaurants that were filled with other people eating. We figured that crowds meant that places were popular, and that food would be fresh. 

Very busy food market. The food and drinks were delicious.



• Look both ways before you cross the street. Seriously. Thais drive on the left side of the road, and it's easy to forget that the cars aren't coming from where you think they should! You may also want to look behind you before you cross a road. We found that tuk-tuks and motorcycles weren't shy about hopping up on the sidewalk to get around traffic. 

• Bangkok is a pretty sprawling city, and it takes awhile to get from Point A to Point B. If you only have a few days in Bangkok, try to map out the places and neighborhoods you really want to see, and spend one day exploring each area. This might save you some time commuting back and forth.

• Take full advantage of Bangkok's public transportation. It's very modern, clean and easy to get around. We found the people at the information booths to be pretty helpful. You may have to switch modes of transportation (sky-train to metro to river ferry and so on) but transferring is fairly painless and all signs are in English as well as Thai. Cabs are also pretty reliable and cheap.  Drivers use a meter in central Bangkok. Take the advice we received from our good friend who lived in Bangkok for awhile: skip the cabs during rush hour! You'll pay big just to sit in traffic. Grab a drink or a snack until traffic cools down. We recommend the fruit smoothies.

• When riding the river ferry, keep an eye out for your stop. When the whistle blows, you have  approximately 3 seconds to get off of the boat. If you don't hop off quickly, you may get stuck on the boat, separated from your traveling partner. Not that we speak from experience or anything.

The river ferry

• If you have respiratory problems -- or even if you're just planning to be in Bangkok for more than a few days -- consider using an air mask. Between the humidity and air pollution, it was hard to breath at times. If we had remained in the city for a bit longer, we would've invested in some masks. And apparently, you can now find "fashionable" face masks. Very end-of-the-world chic.

• Don't take sightseeing advice from persistent strangers. Most of the people we met in Bangkok were incredibly friendly and went out of their way to help us find our way. Perhaps because of this, we fell for a harmless but annoying tuk-tuk "scam." (Here's one blogger's account of a similar situation. Thankfully, we figured out what was going on by the time our driver dropped us off at the tailor's shop and just walked away, so all we lost was a little bit of time.)  On the other hand, we did get a pretty cheap ride in a tuk-tuk for about a dollar.

• And one last tip: If you're one who normally prefers peace and quiet and small towns, ease yourself into chaotic Bangkok. Especially during our first day or two, we got burnt out after a few hours, and needed some time to retreat into our hotel room or a quiet restaurant. When we allowed ourselves breaks from all of the hubbub, we were able to take a step back and really appreciate the city just as it is.

If you have other tips on traveling to Bangkok, please leave them in the comments below!

-R

Sensory Overload in Bangkok, Thailand

Note: We'll be bouncing back and forth between Europe and Southeast Asia posts for the next few weeks while we get caught up. Don't be confused: we've left Europe, and are planning to stay put on the other side of the world for awhile!

We arrived in Bangkok a few days ago, and I'm still overwhelmed by all of the sights, smells and sounds of the city.

Market of dried fish.

Food stalls

 

Walking around town

Shopping!

In some ways, it's exciting to constantly see, hear, or eat things you've never experienced before. But on the other hand, my brain has been in a state of constant stimulation for the past few days... and that can be tiring, to say the least. It seems that I go from exhilarated to exhausted and back again every hour or two. Travel writers often like to describe cities or countries as having contrasting elements. Bangkok is the first city I've been to where I've thought the description to be fully accurate.

Take, for example, the city streets. They're chaotic and messy, and crossing one as a pedestrian is like playing a game of Frogger, except with motorcycles and tuk-tuks that weave in and out of lanes at random, all seemingly aiming for anything on two legs. Even the sidewalks aren't safe; you must constantly watch all around to make sure some vehicle isn't headed straight towards you.

Tuk-tuiks and motorcycles. This is very calm!

But, if you head to any one of the three train systems, you'll find a completely different world. The chaos is gone. Instead, there's serene music playing and everything is scrubbed clean. The citizens and tourists of Bangkok line up in straight rows to enter and exit trains, and while traveling, they sit quietly or talk in hushed voices. It's so different from the honking cars lining the streets.

This is a great system. People queue up along the sides and enter on a diagonal. People exit the train down the middle. 

Even more shocking, people seem to follow the arrows!

Tom riding the skytrain. Take note of the calm behind him.

On a more serious note, you can see vast differences in income and lifestyle from one block to the next. In many areas of the city, people live in crumbling homes and wash their pots and pans on the sidewalk. But right around the corner, there are brand new skyscrapers and gleaming malls filled with stores like Cartier, Valentino and more.

No matter what area of the city we were in, we felt completely safe, and we found friendly and helpful people in all parts of Bangkok. A nice young woman helped us order some delicious minced pork with basil from a street vendor. Three men who worked on the river ferries helped me reunite with Tom after I got stranded on a ferry while Tom was onshore. (Yeah, that was a fun half hour of worrying.) And many, many more people helped us navigate our way through public transportation, crazy intersections, and more.

The temples all around Bangkok are nothing I've ever seen before -- at least not in person! It seemed like every surface was covered in glittering gold or intricate tile-work. It was absolutely beautiful. While we saw some of the major "must-see" tourist stops, I preferred our time wandering around the streets of Bangkok, just taking in all parts of city life. Enjoy the rest of our photo tour after the break, and check back tomorrow for a few tips we've picked up for those traveling to Bangkok!

Photo Tour: In, Above, and Around Dubrovnik

I'll admit it. My fascination with Dubrovnik, Croatia probably started around the time that I learned that part of the HBO show, Game of Thrones, is filmed in the old city. Nerdy, and kind of weird, I know. So when we arrived in Dubrovnik, I was kind of surprised to see thousands of people in modern clothing swarming around the city walls. I shouldn't have been, of course. Dubrovnik has entered the 21st century along with the rest of the world. Even the travel industry hasn't perfected time travel yet-- particularly not time-travel to a fictional universe. (One day, I hope, one day.)