Destination 2: Bangkok, Thailand

Another goal in my traveling experience is visiting Bangkok, Thailand. A friend of mine went to study abroad, and I heard awesome things about this city. I've had the urge to go since she told me stories about her visit. You can make a long weekend visit out of Thailand or a semester-long visit (or as long as you want). My teacher went to Thailand from a Thursday-Monday and said it was totally worth the trip.

I'm always looking to save money, and I've heard from many people that you can make a trip to Thailand for a really good price. While researching, I've come to realize that is very true. I found many 5 star hotels for less than $100 a night! That's very unlikely to find a price that cheap in my hometown.

The further I researched, the more attractions I wanted to visit. I am interested in traveling to many of these destinations, but I will name a few that I found that look extremely fun/exciting.

Overview:

Thailand is a great travel destination. It is cheap to American citizens, very nice people, many beautiful scenic views, cheap and easy transportation from place to place within the country and to surrounding countries as well. They are known for street food, so their food is amazing.

Transportation:

The most effective, efficient, and cheapest way to get around the city of Bangkok is either to walk or get a tuk tuk driver, which is a 3-wheeled motorized vehicle that is used as a taxi and is very cheap. If the place you are visiting is too far to walk, it is advised to get a tuk tuk driver.

Attractions/Food

Tour the River:

Take a tour of the Chao Phraya River. It costs less than one US dollar. The tour guide gives brief descriptions of each place you pass along the river, if you were interested in going to those places as well. It is a very relaxing and enjoyable ride along the river. The little boat that gives the tour is pictured below:

Grand Palace:

Buddhism is the main religion that takes place in Thailand. No one really preaches the religion, but everyone feels it. It creates a slow and simple life. The Grand Palace is in the center of the city and is where the king lives sometimes. It is a gorgeous attraction, but is packed with many people.

Tour the temples:

Bangkok has many, many temples to visit. I'm not too big on stuff like that, but since this would be a once in a lifetime experience for me to go to Thailand, I would most definitely be interested in touring certain temples. To tour the temples, you would take a tuk tuk driver. The most beautiful temples I found were Wat Saket and the Golden Mount, Wat Traimit, Wat Benchamabophit, and Wat Kalayanamit. The picture below is the Wat Saket and Golden Mount. Beautiful, right?! The monetary amount in Thailland is called a Baht. It is 20 Baht to enter the Wat Sakt and Golden Mount. Translated into USD, that is $0.605. Incredibly cheap.

Khao San Road:

While talking to my friend about her experience, I heard an unlimited amount of stories about Khao San Road. I had to read more up on it. It seems very interesting and unlike anything else. It's the backpacker capital of the world. It's an extremely long road where you will find endless bars, shops, vendors, restaurants, and activities all day and all night. It also has a lot of nightlife such as clubs. This is a very popular spot, especially on weekends. There are many ways to meet new people along this road too, which would be nice to get in with the locals so you can get more of the Thai experience and soak in their culture. As you can see in the picture below, it looks very chaotic, so this may not be a place you'd want to visit, but I know that I love seeing other people's culture and being in large crowds. I love meeting new people and doing new things. I also love exploring different night life. This looks like my kind of place!

Floating Market:

What really caught my attention and interest to want to go was the floating market. This is exactly what you think it is. There are many people who are going around on canoe-type boat and float around different parts of the city and float up to you to try out new foods, drinks, etc. This is a very touristy area, as well, so if you are not big into large crowds, I would avoid this too. If you do decide to visit, you won't leave this place hungry!

Chinatown:

Chinatown is another area where you can get different types of food along with souvenirs. They sell tons of different foods that you will hardly find elsewhere in the city. If you love seafood as much as I do, you'd want to visit Chinatown. They have the best seafood at night time.

Malls:

If you're as much of a shopaholic as I am, visiting the malls will definitely be on your bucket list while visiting Bangkok. Their malls look incredible! The malls aren't JUST malls, either. They're places to hangout and socialize. There are bars, movie theaters, coffee shops, bowling alleys, etc in these malls. I have to go! I've been told if you want to understand the city, your first stop should be one of their malls. This mall in the picture looks like a maze, and i'd be perfectly okay with getting lost in it!

Bangkok Art and Culture Center:

After spending many days soaking up the culture of this city, I think going to one of their culture centers would be awesome. This arts center highlights art, music, theatre, film, design, and cultural events in the performance spaces. This city lacks a lot of art, so seeing this center would be very interesting.

Food Tours:

Bangkok is all about food (my favorite)! They have the freshest foods and they are cheap and delicious!The variety of food can almost be overwhelming. There are many food tours that you can take in the city, but the two best food tours I found are called Bangkok Food Tours and Migrationology.

Diversity:

There is a lot of diversity in this city. The diversity seems astounding to me. There is a huge mall called Siam Center (pictured below). You can walk across the street from this mall and there are hundreds and hundreds of homeless people living on the streets, which I thought that was very interesting.

Experiencing another culture and a place outside of your comfort zone is something that could be hard for some of us to do, but I think once you do it, you will not regret it and have the experience of a lifetime! I'm so excited to try new things and I hope you are too!

If interested, check out the video I posted of some other "must see" places in Bangkok!

Thanks for reading!

~Emily~

#Acai #Rio #Health #Fruits