Thailand Part 1 - Bangkok
Deciding where in Thailand we would visit and for how long was really stressful but I looooooooove planning trips so if you’re thinking on going to Thailand I hope you find these posts helpful. I’ve divided them into 4 parts but feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have.
Best Time To Go To Thailand:
In general, you can enjoy Thailand at any time of year but the best time to visit for perfect weather would be November to February. We were there from the end of December to the beginning of January.
Traveling to Thailand from New York:
There are no direct flights to Thailand from New York. We decided on doing our round trip out of Bangkok although Chiang Mai was also an option. I used Google Flights to find the best flight for our budget. Once I set the dates we were looking for I selected the “Track Price” option to monitor the lowest price for this trip, and receive price alerts by email. Once I received the e-mail with the flight that fit our budget I immediately booked it. This deal was gone within a few hours so it’s important to be ready to book the minute you get these updates.
Flight time from NYC: 16 hours to Seoul Korea with a 4 hour layover. 6 hours from Seoul to Bangkok = 26 hour travel time.
Booking flights within Thailand was really inexpensive. I used Google Flights again to book our flights from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and from Chiang Mai to Khao Lak.
Helpful Tip: If you have a lot of time to spare you can travel to Chiang Mai via an overnight sleeper train. It will take a lot longer but it’s a cheap and cool experience. Click here to find more information Overnight Sleeper Train
Bangkok
We stayed at the Pullman G Hotel. It was about 25 minutes away from the airport and in a really convenient part of the city and had the most amazing views and breakfast!
Erawan Museum in Bangkok
I think the Erawan Museum is one of the most beautiful places to see in Bangkok. It’s known for it’s huge three-headed elephant art display. The inside has three floors
The First floor of the museum is a symbol of the underworld.
The Second represents earthly life.
The third is representative of the Buddhist heaven
The surrounding gardens were also beautiful. We walked around and enjoyed the view. When you walked under the smaller elephant statues they made elephant noises.
Dress Code: The museum had signs that shoulders and knees should be covered. They provided skirts to be worn if you’re not in the proper dress code but this was not enforced. You do need to remove your shoes to enter inside though.
Dress: I got this dress on amazon.com. I cant find the original dress but here are other similar options: here and here!
Dinner at Sirocco Restaurant
Our first night in Bangkok we got all dolled up for some fine dining under the stars at the famous Sirocco rooftop restaurant. You might recognize this restaurant from the Hangover 2 movie. This place is absolutely breathtaking and the food was delicious. I recommend this place if you want to treat yourself and splurge a little.
The dress I wore to dinner was from Revolve.com. It also comes in black. I paired the gold dress with my magenta shoes.
The restaurant was walking distance from our hotel and we arrived around 6pm. This is a very popular time to dine here since the sunset is absolutely breathtaking. We ordered oysters, dover dole with saffron sauce & lobster but the oysters were my favorite.
The oysters were as big as the palm of hand and super delicious !!
Fine Tea at Sretsis Parlour
We visited Central Embassy Mall which is one of Bangkok’s many luxury malls. While we window shopped we stumbled across the cutest little café, Sretsis Parlour . As soon as we walked in I felt like we were in a fairy tale. It was decorated with pink and green Christmas decorations and the walls were covered in pink wallpaper. The menu is full of “too adorable to eat” desserts, coffee, and tea.
We ordered the fig and lemon sponge cakes with their signature fine tea which arrives in cute little tea cups & gorgeous latte art.
We were lucky that we had the place to ourselves for the majority of the time which allowed us to take so many pictures and really enjoy every detail of the decorations
My floral cotton dress was lightweight and perfect for the Bangkok heat. Its also really flattering if you’re a curvy girl like me, I got it on Amazon.
Almost every corner in this cafè is extremely Instagrammable and the floral wallpaper and teacups matched my dress perfectly!
Chao Phraya River Cruise & Wat Arun
We knew we didn’t want to spend too much time visiting all the temples so we opted to see most of Bangkok from a private cruise on the Chao Phraya River. We asked a tuk tuk driver to take us somewhere where we can get a private longtail boat for the river cruise. We had to do a lot of negotiating to get a good rate for this but it was worth it.
We only hopped off the boat to visit the Wat Arun (Temple of dawn) and saw the other temples from the boat. We were able to keep our shoes on but the general dress code of all the temples was enforced. What I liked so much about Wat Arun was that it wasn’t covered in gold like the other temples, the different colors started to pop out at you as walked closer to it.
It was not as crowded as the other temples we passed by and it was so much more peaceful. The river cruise was a relaxing and fun way to see the city and not waste too much of our day in traffic and long lines.
Mahanakhon SkyWalk
King Power Mahanakhon is a 1,030 feet observation deck and rooftop bar that has a 360-degree view of Bangkok. For a small fee, we took the elevator to the 75th floor to walk on a large glass platform & view the city from right under our feet. It was breathtaking but also really scary. They make you wear protective shoe wear to walk on the glass.
We were lucky to find a seat to enjoy the sunset while we ordered drinks from the bar. I recommend coming here during sunset but it is the most popular time and it can get very crowded but, the view is so breathtaking.
Art Box Market
We went to many night markets while we were in Thailand but the Art Box Market in Bangkok was our favorite one. It has the same vibe as the other night markets but with a modern twist. The atmosphere was laid back, there were picnic tables everywhere, surrounded by white outdoor lights, a large amount of food options, handmade gifts and live music.
Last Morning in Bangkok…
On the morning of New Years Eve 2019, we ordered the most delicious breakfast before heading to the airport for Chiang Mai. If you plan on staying at the Pullman Bangkok Hotel G I recommend you take advantage of their awesome room service.
There was so much we wanted to do in Bangkok but we ran out of time! Below is a list of things I wish we could have had time for:
1. Jim Thompson House - museum in central Bangkok, housing the art collection of American businessman and architect Jim Thompson.
2. Cloud 47 Rooftop Bar for sunset views of Bangkok and Bangkok nightlife
3. Central World entertainment & shopping - It is the eleventh largest shopping complex in the world.
4. Unicorn cafe for a quirky experience in Bangkok
5. Airplane Graveyard
