30 hours in Bangkok

In order to deal with some confusing and annoying visa stuff for Thailand, Emiliya and I had to take a quick trip over the border to Thailand's neighbor Laos. We went with a tour company that does weekly visa runs and handles all of the confusing aspects for you, so we just had to show up in Bangkok and they handle the rest. 

We left Thailand on Sunday evening so we decided to come into Bangkok on Saturday to do a little exploring beforehand. 

Day One

We headed to our local bus station and took one of the countless daily buses from Pattaya to Bangkok for 115฿ ($3). We arrived in just under two hours and headed to Bewel Hostel where we had reservations. We picked this hostel because it boasted about it's walking distance to The Grand Palace and Wat Pho (home of the reclining Buddha). We headed out in that direction, stopping off at the beloved party street of Khao San Road (5-10 minutes from our hostel) for some much needed Mexican food to start our journey. After filling ourselves with some long-awaited tacos and margaritas we strolled another 20 minutes to The Grand Palace and arrived just in time for closing time, womp womp. Who would've thought that place closed at 3:30?! Rookie mistake. So we marveled at the huge white walls surrounding the palace and vowed to return some other day.

The Grand Palace is one of Thailand's most visited temples and up until 1925 it was the home to the royal family. It is now used for both public and private events and this walled area is home to 35 buildings/zones. 

The Chao Phraya River and Wat Arun

Fortunately there are other sites to see within walking distance of The Grand Palace, so our day wasn't wasted! We headed the next block over and finally got our first view of the Chao Phraya River, which winds throughout the country and flows into the Gulf of Thailand. Bangkok is known for being built around this river, but because Bangkok is such a huge area it took us three visits to actually see the river!
On the other side of the river is Wat Arun (formally titled Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan) which is named after the Hindu God of Aruna who is personified in the flow of the rising sun. Wat Arun is known for radiating the first light of the sun each morning. 

Wat Pho

After relaxing and watching the various boats race up and down the river we headed to our next destination of Wat Pho which is home to the world's largest reclining Buddha, and also holds the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand. Wat Pho is considered to be the birthplace of Thai massage and to this day is still known for it's education, especially for Thai medicine. Wat Pho was built with the intention of being a place for education and as a result it is one of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok.

The longest reclining Buddha, measuring
in at 46 meters (150 feet)

It was a nice afternoon and we had every intention of walking the 1.5 miles back to our hostel but there was a persistent tuk tuk driver who wouldn't take no for an answer, so without even trying we got ourselves a 100฿ ride (just under $3) back to our hostel! I've read many blogs stating that tuk tuk rides are unsafe, a tourist trap and a waste of money and many writers urge foreigners not to partake in this stereotypical Thai transportation. I, however, love tuk tuks and find that they're an enjoyable and quirky way of buzzing through the streets, and they're much safer than a motorbike taxi.

Enjoying our tuk tuk ride through the streets of Bangkok

Next up on our list was a traditional Thai massage. I can't even defend how I've gone 2.5 months living in Thailand without getting a massage, and it was definitely time to change that. I've heard rumors that Bangkok is the best place for cheap massages, and supposedly you can find an hour massage for 100฿ ($3). However near our hostel we had to settle for 250฿ ($7) for an hour. 

I'd been told that a Thai massage isn't an hour of relaxation and I was forewarned that I would most likely be walked on and stretched in painful ways. That proceeded to be true, but I will definitely do it again. It was an hour of massage mixed with yoga and a visit to the chiropractor. As warned, I was walked on and folded into tiny pretzel shapes, but after that hour I was much more relaxed and felt like I just finished an hour of stretching class.  

We found ourselves a cheap Thai meal for dinner and then retreated to our hostel for the evening where we chatted with the ever-fascinating collection of backpackers that are present at each hostel.

Day Two

Day two had high standards that quickly dissipated as the day went on. We originally planned on waking up at a decent hour to head to the Grand Palace, but that plan was ruined when we woke up with no running water in our hostel. Because we would be spending the evening sleeping in a van bound for Laos, we desperately wanted a nice shower to start the day, so we lingered at the hostel much longer than originally planned in order to take advantage of a real bathroom. Fortunately for us Bewel Hostel provided a free breakfast and had endless supplies of coffee and tea, so we still enjoyed our time lounging around. By the time we were up and moving we decided to nix the Grand Palace and save it for our next trip to Bangkok. Instead we took the BTS (Bangkok metro) to the end of the line and went straight to Chatuchak Weekend Market (nicknamed JJ Market) which is any shopper's dream come true. With over 8,000 vendors present at the market you are guaranteed to find at least one thing on your wish list. JJ Market sells practically everything including snacks, thai meals, leather goods, antiques, clothing, art, jewelry and any other souvenir you could think of. We had originally intended to spend a good chunk of our day there, but temperatures quickly soared into the mid 90s and we were seeking air conditioning much sooner than planned. Instead we took the BTS to Siam, which is one of the biggest stops in Bangkok and spent the rest of our day inside the mall of Siam Paragon where we enjoyed the cool temperatures and western food. 

Day two was somewhat of a bust, but because we're only living two hours away from Bangkok we weren't too considered with wasting a day. Although the temperatures in Thailand are getting much easier to handle, a full day out in the sun definitely takes it's toll and it's important to plan a day that involves both indoor and outdoor activities so you don't end up exhausted or sick. 

Our short trip to Bangkok allowed us to check off a few items from our Bangkok bucket list, but this city is huge and there's still so much to explore on our next trip! 

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Logistical Info 

- There are endless bus stations throughout Bangkok, but the two most popular appear to be Eastern station and Victoria Monument. Eastern station is located at the Ekkamai BTS stop so it's easy to hop off the bus and quickly transfer to a van or jump onto the BTS and transfer to a new location around the city. Victoria Monument offers the same convenience as it's located at the BTS stop of Victoria Monument and is more centrally located in the city 

- The BTS is similar to any other metro system around the world, however it's less widespread as other metros. It's essentially a straight line that runs north to south and hits the center locations, but doesn't offer much availability to areas east and west of the center. For our most recent trip to Bangkok we rode the BTS as far as possible and then switched to a taxi to take us the rest of the way.

- Taxis in Bangkok follow the same convenience as the rest of Thailand: they're cheap! A 20-30 minute metered ride will only end up costing about 80฿ (under $3).

- We stayed at Bewel Hostel in a mixed dorm room for 300฿/night. They had the comfiest hostel bed I've ever experienced, free tea and coffee out all day and offered free breakfast each morning.

- Normal hours of The Grand Palace are 9-3:30 with an entrance fee of 500฿

- Wat Pho is usually open until 6:30pm and has an entrance fee of 100฿

- All temples in Thailand have a dress code that require shoulders and knees to be covered, but most popular temples (those with an entrance fee) will provide sarongs or robes to those who aren't dressed properly. Personally, this is a much better alternative than carrying around a sweater or wearing pants all day while touring the city.