Bangkok was one of those places that when researching was very hot & cold. Some people absolutely loved it & could stay for a week to 10 days; others skipped it entirely. We were there for 2.5 days and I was ready to get out. Bangkok itself has a population of 8.2 million people and it looks, smells and feels exactly like it.
After arriving from our 15 hour travel day we checked into our hotel ‘Hotel De’Moc’ which in its description was, “a retro style 60’s urban hotel” with gorgeous remodeled rooms when in all actuality, it felt/smelt like it hadn’t even been touched since the 60’s. It was one of those instances we searched for bedbugs, wore socks in the room & were thankful we were OUT of the hotel most of the time. Definitely the most outdated hotel we’ve ever stayed in, but for around 40 euro a night it included breakfast, we all survived; and didn’t leave with any odd bites or rashes so it was alright. The pictures are very misleading (I left a review stating as much) but if your in the market for a budget hotel fit for a low budget backpacker – it will definitely work for you. However, if you are looking for something a little nicer I would recommend THIS HOTEL that my friend Summer recommended. Check out her Travel Guide on Thailand HERE.
Chad researched some food locations & found a place to eat before we wandered the bustling streets of Bangkok. We spotted 37 stray cats in about an hours time and refused to let Presley touch any of them (she is obsessed with any living creature). So when we walked by a Cat Cafe we decided we’d head there the following day to snuggle some cats and get an iced coffee.
Then, we decided to make our own Cafe Challenge and found a popular Unicorn Cafe so we headed into the city to check it out. There are actually two Unicorn Cafe’s a few doors apart and not only can you get rainbow unicorn styled sweets and treats, but you can also rent unicorn costumes to photograph for the full effect.
We even managed to make a cat vs. unicorn cafe challenge for Presleys little youtube channel…..how do you think it turned out? I seriously LOVE giving her creative freedom over her videos while picking the music and gifs. She would like to add, “please tell them to Subscribe mom.”
Next we headed to Lumphini Park a 142 acre park complete with workout equipment, an artificial lake with rental boats and a path around the park for joggers/bikers. There is no smoking or dogs are allowed & we heard we could see giant lizards moseying around so we decided to go walk around and explore since we were still dealing with jet lag and enjoying the warm weather.
The following day we did a Tuk Tuk Hop On/Off Tour that I found on Get Your Guide. It was a fantastic way to get around, but it would have been cheaper to just find individual tuk tuks to take us to our desired locations instead of requesting and waiting for a certain Get Your Guide Tuk Tuk driver to take us to our next destination. We did manage to see a bit in our day though, first up we explored Wat Pho to see the 46 meter long reclining Buddha & Presley even got to make 108 wishes as she put coins in the pots representing the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha.
After exploring the many little corners of Wat Pho, we then jumped on a water taxi across the river to see What Arun. The water taxi was included in our Get Your Guide purchase and we definitely would have used it more if we had the time. The view from the water was incredible & I would have loved to do a full lap on the water. Wat Arun was the temple that I was most excited to see – pictures just don’t do it justice – it was absolutely incredible in person. You can see it from just about anywhere on the water & the sun makes the spires literally sparkle.
Next up on our Tuk Tuk Hop On/Off Tour was a trip to China Town which I didn’t think could be busier than downtown Bangkok but it definitely was! We grabbed a coffee, people watched & just wandered around a few of the incredibly busy streets.
Khao San Road offered us not only a great dinner, mango sticky rice and a 5 dollar half hour massage. We listened to amazing music, watched street dancers, and got to soak up our last bit of time before packing up to head to Chiang Mai in the morning!
On our list of things to do in Bangkok was definitely to visit a floating market and while I wish we had time to visit the Dameon Floating Market – we made due with this market just outside of town before we headed to the airport.
WOW. Thailand was definitely an eye opening experience. If you’d like to see some more pictures and videos – I’ve shared them on my Instagram and of course, see all my inspiration and travel tips on Pinterest.
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