A vibrant and wonderful welcome to Asia! Bangkok- the first and last stop of our trip. This city is big and feels like most big Asian cities to me. People watching and the hustle are my favorite aspects of any large city, and it was especially fun being able to introduce my boyfriend to this for the first time, as this was his first visit to Asia.

EXPERIENCE

Our time in Bangkok was spent walking. We began the day bright and early taking a river taxi along the Mae Nam Chao Phraya to the famous Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace. We briefly entered the palace but were put off by the swarming crowds and hot sun. We kept moving and walked the classic parts of the city from here, stopping to check out the Amulet Market, Sanam Luang Royal Field, and Wat Pho. Wat Pho was my favorite of the many temples we ducked into. This temple is home to the impressive giant Reclining Buddha. The tile work at this temple blew my mind. The detail was absolutely gorgeous, decedent in a way so completely different from the cathedrals of Rome or Peru. We walked along the city’s main drag, Th Ratchadamnoen Klang, a street very reminiscent of the main drag of Paris.

During the evenings we made ventures to Chinatown for a taste of the Lunar New Year festivities and to Patapong to check out the sleazy side of Bangkok. Tuk tuk was a fun way to get around for these longer excursions and much more efficient than taking taxis as it turned out.

STAY

On our first night in Bangkok we stayed in the W Hotel. This place was super rad and themed in Muiy Thai boxing décor complete with golden sequins studded boxing gloves on our bed. The room, view and pool were absolutely amazing here and we ended up enjoying more time in the hotel room than typical on a trip.

On our way back through Bangkok we stayed at the Bangkok Westin. This hotel is impressive in size and quality but perhaps not as new or stylish as the W. Both hotels offered us the best beds of the trip and by far the most comfortable sleep as we eased into the 12 hour time difference.

EAT

Eating is great in Bangkok. And by great I mean exotic, delicious and cheap as all get out. Street food is the name of the game in Bangkok, and we really did it up! We focused primarily on street food since we were walking for most of our stay. We really enjoyed the food stalls of Chinatown and the street market at Nai Mong Hoi. We attempted a dinner at the world famous Nahm, but were not able to get in due to the influx of visitors for Lunar New Year. On our final night in Bangkok we had an exceptional higher end dinner at a place called Smooth Curry inside of the Le Meridian, while the venue felt a little contrived, the meal was outstanding.

The real culinary highlight of Bangkok was the street food however. We enjoyed skewered mushrooms and meats, banana pancakes, doughnut balls with sesame seeds, noodle bowls, dumplings, and some of the best fresh fruit I’ve ever had. We ate lots of mini pineapple, baby bananas, jackfruit, dragon fruit, mango and coconut.