10 places to visit in Bangkok
Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is also the prime location for cosmopolitan towns with majestic small cities with some intriguing ancient and modern culture but majorly known for its Buddhist temples. The diligent city is extremely prominent for its lush nightlife, street life, and a remarkable red light areas, which is famous in all over the world. Also, the cultural heritage sites are an important element if one is visiting Bangkok, whether as a solo traveler or with a horde of nomads. However, if you are planning a trip to Bangkok, take a look at the list of 10 best places to visit in Bangkok.
Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan
Wat Arun, a Buddhist temple built in the 17th century, is a famous temple with its staggering architecture, located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river. This place is not only famous for its location on the bank of the river but for its stunning architectural design, which is unique from all the other temples in the whole capital and this temple has a rich history, unlike others. The’Temple of dawn’ is another name for Wat Arun, so the ideal time to visit this temple is during the sunset to avoid touristy crowd.
Also, due to the heartfelt and pleasant location, you can also enjoy the night city lights with a beautiful view of the Grand Palace. They have a visiting hour of 8:30 am – 5:30pm. To enjoy the view and explore this beautiful temple, 1-2 hours is enough for the time being, which costs 100 Baht. Also, the most interesting exploration here is, one can try climbing the pagoda for a view from the top or you can go to the opposite side of the river bank from Wat Arun to enjoy the view of the temple.
Considering, the reaching part to Wat Arun is very feasible, the nearest BTS train station is Saphan Taksin station and another way is tourist boats, taxis and bus.
Wat Pho
Wat Pho is the largest and oldest holy temple of the Buddha community built in the 16th century. It is home to a gold-plated reclining Buddha statue which is 46 m long and 150 feet tall. This temple is also home to a 394-gilded image of Buddha with 4 chapels in its complex. It is the best place to wander around to experience a restored walk around the verdant green beauty or can explore the stunner artwork and stonework done in this temple. Wat Pho is famously known for its traditional Thai massages, medicines and therapy studies. It can be said that this is the birthplace of these things. This place still has a university of its own for Thai massage and one can get the best experience possible. If a person is a massage lover, then this is a place to put on the 10 best places to visit in Bangkok.
The visitors’ timing is same as Wat Arun from 8:30am to 5:30pm and the ideal time to visit will be early in the morning to avoid touristy crowd as the rush starts from afternoon. Also, 200 baht is an entry fee for international tourists. Furthermore, the best possible way to reach this location is by river taxis. Which is reasonable in cost and cuts out all the city traffic. If one wants to explore the hush-push of the city and the oldest metro, so, Sanam Chai station is nearest to Wat Pho, which includes an 8-minute walk.
The Grand Palace
The Grand Palace is the busiest and most attractive tourist destination in Bangkok, which is located on the east bank of the river Chao Phraya just next to Wat Pho temple in a walking distance. This palace has rich history as this is the palace of Thai King Rama I from Chakri Dynasty, founded in 17th century. The royal family now has a different palace to reside in, but there are visits based on state functions. This palace has a complex of buildings because this exquisite palace has 30 royal buildings, halls, temples,museums, uncountable statues, monuments, artifacts and other beautiful figures to explore. To explore such a beauty it would take a minimum of 3-4 hours of spare time.
The daily opening hours of this place is from 8:30am to 4:30pm, no entry is allowed after 3:30. Though, there are days when the site visiting is not available, which is mainly because of some important royal commitments and functions taking place in the Grand Palace. The best time to visit Grand Palace is in the morning as it is a picturesque place to capture breathtaking views with no crowd. Tourists should be aware of the entry charges, which are 500 baht per person. This ticket also includes entry of other monumental sites like Wat Phra Kaew and Vimanmek Mansion for one day. Ultimately, Wat Pho and The Grand Palace are in walking distance.
Khao San road
This road in Bangkok is a wide street stretched up to approx 410 meters with large varieties of food carts, bars, restaurants, fascinating nightlife, cafes and massage parlors, also the most interesting market in south-east Asia. Surprisingly, this is also a challenge for faint-hearted people to walk past this road as there are live counters of fried insects for foodies to hop on and savor their taste buds. To be precise, these are common street food options here. Also, the most famous area for foreigners to meet-up and have the time of their lives. Adding to this, the place is meant for hardcore shopaholics with good bargaining skills. There is an enormous variety of products like branded clothing, footwear, souvenirs, sunglasses etc. It is noticeable that the streets are themselves loaded with dancers and street clubbing, making it an interesting place for bachelors and youthful crowds. The best time to visit this Khao San road for a spree is in the evening after dawn.
Mahanakhon Skywalk
This is the best tourist attraction in Bangkok with an exhilarating view of the lavish skyline of this city. It is located at the top of the iconic king power Mahanakhon building on 78th floor, this rip-roaring attraction provides glass observation deck and a rooftop seating, where you can enjoy refreshing drinks and cocktails in a romantic set-up from 310 meters above the ground with 360 degree panoramic view by watching the nightlife of this skyline. The best time to visit this attraction is around 4 pm to enjoy the sunset till the time it closes by 7 pm. This view will definitely take you to the stunning view of famous touristy places like Chao Phraya river, Wat Arun and many more.
To experience this luxurious 2-3 hours of your day is more than enough, you have to pre-book it for the cost starting from 880 baht and can also book an LED show that illuminates the tower at night which will blow your mind.
Chinatown
Chinatown is famous for its hustle bustle and here we get to see some different sides of Bangkok with loads of exceptional Chinese food choices, beautiful and vibrant decor and pleasant Chinese temples, one of the famous temple is Wat traimit, where Buddha is made out of pure gold which is estimated around 250 million dollar. This is again the busiest tourist attraction in Bangkok with some of the coolest markets which you would like to add on to the list of 10 best places to visit in Bangkok. Food here is again for the fearless people, who are fond of trying some unique varieties of seafood and insects. But, make sure most of the food stalls are closed on Monday and start early in the morning the rest of the days. Apart from all of this, there is also a famous Chinatown gate painted in different colors situated at the entrance of Chinatown in Bangkok.
Chatuchak Market
Bangkok is widely known for its famous markets. So, here it is, another market for all the explorers. Chatuchak market is basically a chor Bazaar of India but a better version of it where you’ll can experience variety of shopping products like, clothes, antiques, books, foot wears, furniture’s etc. The most important is here we also get pets and pets accessories all at reasonable rates. This market is only available on weekends from 6 am to 6 pm. To come here, one should be well versed in all the bargaining skills and smart enough to handle the crowd.
Emerald Buddha
The Emerald temple is also known as Wat Phra Kaew, which is one of the most important Buddhist temples in Bangkok. This temple is located on the grounds of The Grand Palace and is open from 10 am to 2 pm with audio guides, available in all languages. This temple has a spiritual value, so the dress code should be strictly followed, so, one should be well-dressed. For example, no see-through clothing is allowed for both men and women as they adhere to a strict dressing code to enter the holy ground and there shouldn’t be any bare feet as well. Lastly, the entry fee is included with the ticket to The Grand Palace, which costs around 500 baht.
Maeklong railway and Damnoen market
Maeklong railway and Damnoen Saduak market are the traditional and the most famous markets of Thailand that are now famous on social media sites. These are so famous that these two places are always recommended to visit, under 10 best places to visit in Bangkok. These places have gained utmost established popularity and to experience this beauty you need a day trip, which has a particular working day and time from 2 pm to 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Maeklong market is a railway market also known as “Pull down umbrella market”, where trains pass trough the narrowest street market on a busy hours. There are a lot of cafes, restaurants and shopping hubs and it is the freshest seafood market in Thailand to explore. Meanwhile, Damnoen is Thailand’s famous floating market, where you can shop from floating boats and shops with lots of products in food, clothing, drinks and gifts in a variety of designs. The best way to start your day for this is early in the morning to avoid the heat and capture the liveliest market with scenic photos and later can hop on to Maeklong market.
Chao Phraya river cruise
Chao Phraya river cruise dinner is the finest way to experience the greatest and iconic attraction of the city with a luxurious dinner on the cruise at night. Attractions like Wat Arun, the Grand Palace and many more are covered in this guide. You can indulge in some delicious food choices at the Thai buffet with the night city skyline. This dinner cruise also has some amazing live performances to amuse you. In addition, It costs around 800-2000 Baht per person depending upon the age and the best time to visit in the evening from 7 pm onwards.
