Bangkok Itinerary: Two Days in Bangkok
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Our Southeastern Asian adventure began with a flight to Bangkok. We gave ourselves two full days to explore the Thai capital.
Two Day Bangkok Itinerary: (Jump To)
Bangkok Two-Day Itinerary Day 1:
Wat Arun
Wat Pho
The Grand Palace Complex
National Barge Museum
Shopping on Khao San Road
ASIATIQUE: The Riverfront
Bangkok Two-Day Itinerary Day 2:
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Shopping at Three Local Malls
ICONSIAM
Thailand Rideshare and Tour Services
Our flight landed shortly before midnight. We pre-booked a driver to take us to our hotel with Klook prior to leaving the States. Our driver slowly and carefully dropped us at our hotel moments before our heads hit our pillows.
Klook was a handy friend while in Thailand and Cambodia. We used them almost exclusively for tours and drivers. A lot of people told us that it was easy (and cheaper) to do everything in person in Thailand, but I preferred to pay a little bit extra so we could enjoy the day and not spend time figuring out how to get to the next stop.
Additionally, we relied on an app called Grab. It’s essentially Asian Uber. We used it for transportation between destinations while in cities. It was extremely cheap. In Bangkok, the app was all cars, but outside of the city and in Cambodia, the app also had cheaper options for tuk-tuk rides. It was so easy and cheap that we used it instead of the subway.
We woke up at the Millennium Hilton Bangkok, an amazing hotel on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. The breakfast buffet at the hotel was legendary. It was easily, unequivocally, the best hotel breakfast I have ever had. I think about that breakfast when I need to remember that there is beauty in this world.
Bangkok Two-Day Itinerary
Day One, Stop One: Wat Arun
We broke our two days in Bangkok into a day of temples and culture and a day of shopping. We hopped into our Grab to the first temple of the day, Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. This is one of the most famous temples in Thailand. It’s notable for its large prang (steep pyramid-like tower) covered in pastel-colored porcelain tiles.
The towers are ornately decorated with statues and florals created in the same porcelain tile that decorates the entire plaza. Stairs and landings allow visitors to climb part of the way up the towers.
Day One, Stop Two: Wat Pho (via ferry)
We took a short ferry ride across the river to Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The temple has the largest collection of Buddha images in all of Thailand. The star of them is the eponymous Reclining Buddha. Laying down the statue measures 151 feet.
Numerous other buildings are included in the UNESCO-listed temple complex including a beautiful ordination hall, a cloister surrounded with numerous golden Buddha images, a library, and chedis containing ashes of members of Thailand’s royal family. The temple is also famous as the birthplace of Thai massage.
Day One, Stop Three: The Grand Palace Complex
Adjacent is The Grand Palace. There is a lot to see here. The giant complex is surrounded by a tall white wall. There are a lot of places that look like entrances, that are not accessible to visitors. We managed to find our way in through an entrance on Thanon na Phra Lan after literally walking around the entire complex. A nice way to enjoy the warm Thai sun, but kind of annoying if you’re in a hurry.
Upon entrance to the temple, you will be inspected by security. It is worth mentioning here that a modest dress code is strictly enforced. I wisely bought and wore an unflattering pair of pants that have zip-off legs. My pants become shorts in a snap! Elliott was not as prepared so he was forced to buy a pair of elephant-themed, MC Hammer-inspired pants to cover his scandalous legs.
Inside the Grand Palace complex is Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This place is a stunner. Considered the most sacred temple in all of Thailand the tightly packed temple contains the namesake Emerald Buddha, a library containing sacred texts, a giant golden chedi housing Buddha relics from Sri Lanka, a model of Angkor Wat, and numerous statues of mythological figures.
The temple is surrounded by a covered corridor protecting an enormous, beautiful mural depicting the entire history of the Thai national epic containing nearly 200 scenes. Twelve huge tiled guardian statues also surround the temple entrances.
Much of the remainder of The Grand Palace is inaccessible to the public. We were able to access the middle court giving us a great look at some beautiful white and gold buildings that are part of the palace. There is also a museum dedicated heavily to the architecture of the palace and one about textiles.
Day One, Stop Four: National Barge Museum (fail)
From there we took a Grab to the only disappointment of the day, the National Museum of Royal Barges. It was nearly impossible to find and no one seemed to know what we were talking about. When we finally found it, we learned that it had closed indefinitely. Google Maps still lists opening hours, so maybe it was just a big misunderstanding. If you decide to go, proceed with caution.
Day One, Stop Five: Shopping on Khao San Road
From there we went to Khao San Road, a pedestrian street famous as a hot spot for backpackers. The street is lined with stalls of vendors selling food, Thai souvenirs, t-shirts, and everything else in between. It was a neat stop but felt inauthentic compared to our visit to the Chatuchak Weekend Market the following day.
Day One, Stop Six: ASIATIQUE: The Riverfront
We returned to our hotel to relax for a few moments before taking the free ferryboat from our hotel to ASIATIQUE The Riverfront. The free ferry leaves every 15 minutes from Sathon Pier and is accessible to anyone who wants to ride. ASIATIQUE is a large indoor-outdoor mall and entertainment zone with numerous shopping stalls with lots of fun little shops and interesting dining options. There are even carnival-style rides including a riverside Ferris wheel.
We had a traditional Thai curry dinner from an outdoor stall. The meal was good, but maybe not the best we had during our trip. The highlight was a tiny scoop of durian ice cream for dessert.
Day Two, Stop One: Chatuchak Weekend Market
Day two began with a few hours at Chatuchak Weekend Market. The market is primarily open on Friday nights and Saturday and Sunday during the day. This is Bangkok’s largest market with 15 thousand stalls. I would hazard to guess that if someone isn’t selling it here, no one is selling it anywhere in Bangkok.
The market is laid out in giant warehouse-sized buildings with narrow corridors between each vendor. The outside perimeter of the buildings is surrounded by another corridor of vendors. The vendors are loosely grouped together by what they’re selling. Literally, everything you can think of is available here. We left the market with a few T-shirts, a backpack with a monkey on it, and some kitchen gadgets.
Day Two, Stop Two: Shopping at Three Local Malls
After about three hours of exploration, we took our only subway ride of the trip from the market to Siam Station. Here we were able to access the modern malls Siam Square One, MBK Center, and Siam Paragon. The malls were lively and interesting, but we loved our time at Chatuchak much more.
Day Two, Stop Three: Hotel Refresh
We returned to the Millennium Hilton Bangkok where the hotel bartender introduced us to our favorite drink of the trip, a White Coke. The drink is a light and refreshing vodka cocktail made with Coca-Cola, lychee syrup, and a splash of lime juice.
Day Two, Stop Four: ICONSIAM Mall and Dinner
For dinner, we walked to the ICONSIAM shopping mall, located right next to our hotel. This was a beautiful shopping mall relying heavily on some international luxury brands as anchors. The mall included indoor water features and loads of interesting Thai culinary treats. The mall has a great outdoor space embanking the river.
We had a magnificent dinner at Coffeebeans by Dao. A two-story restaurant that didn’t seem to have anything to do with coffee. We both ordered spicy noodle dishes and I had some lemongrass soup. It was a beautiful meal to bring our time in the Thai capital to a close. Early the next morning we would head North via plane to Chiang Mai.
For more Thailand, check out our driving tour of Phuket.
Things To See in Bangkok:
Wat Arun
Wat Pho
The Grand Palace Complex
National Barge Museum (though it seems to be closed indefinitely)
Shopping on Khao San Road
ASIATIQUE: The Riverfront
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Shopping at Three Local Malls: Siam Square One, MBK Center, and Siam Paragon
ICONSIAM Mall
