5 Days in Bangkok – Did I love it or hate it?

When I told people I was starting my South East Asian travels in Bangkok and NOT heading straight out, I either got “I love Bangkok, you’ll have a blast!” or “Really? I hated it!”. People seem to love it or hate it – there’s no in-between! With that in mind I was really curious about this big city and couldn’t wait to get there and form my own judgement. I was also warned to expect a culture shock, but after spending the past 4 months in Africa I doubted anything I saw in Thailand would shock me!

I left South Africa on the 23rd December and after 18 hours of transit I arrived in Bangkok on Christmas Eve (local time).

Day 1: Getting to my hostel.

When I arrived I took the local bus from the airport to my accommodation (the stop was lite

rally a minute from where I was staying…RESULT!). The bus cost me less than a dollar and I had to pay no toll fees – I would definitely recommend getting this over a taxi. It’s super simple, has AMAZING aircon and is wayyy cheaper! I believe it was 60 Baht which is about £1.40. It’s the S1 and you can catch it outside gate 7 on the first floor.

I booked my hostel in Bangkok for 3 nights before I got there, just so I didn’t have to worry about finding something when I got there, as I knew I’d be really tired – which was the case! I crashed out as soon as they showed me to my bed. The hostel I stayed at was called Krit Hostel and it was in a really good location in the Old City; I could walk to all of the main sites which saved me a lot of $$$. The staff were just the sweetest, they were so

polite and helpful. The place was also really clean, which is always good – I’ve heard horror stories about some hostels in Bangkok!!

Day 2: Meeting new people and eating gooood food.

I woke up the next morning around 10am (I’m lazy, I know). I spent my morning on the cute rooftop patio at my hostel, eating some fruit and contacting my family and friends to wish them a Merry Christmas. In the afternoon I decided to go for a “short” walk that actually turned into a 3 hour adventure, as I got lost wandering down the many streets of Bangkok! I wasn’t mad though, it gave me a good feel for the city and grasp of the Thai culture.

When I was back I had a shower, freshened up and then decided to head up to the rooftop again to see if I could meet some fellow travellers. It wasn’t long before I met another solo female and we planned to go out for some vegan food later that evening.

We went to this cute little restaurant called “Mango Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurant and Art Gallery”. It is really popular and has glowing reviews on Trip Advisor. They had a whole menu full of delicious vegan food – I was in heaven! After dinner we decided to try and find this cool Jazz bar she’d read about online, unfortunately we couldn’t find it so instead ended up walking around for an hour until we found this cute, little bar down a side alley (not as dodgy as it sounds, I promise haha!). We had a couple of beers and then decided to head back to our hostel via the night market so we could get some more food and check out some local crafts.

We arranged to meet at breakfast in the morning so we could do some more exploring together.

Day 3: Temples, food, more temples and oh, a few beers 😉

I woke up early and had breakfast at my hostel. Then I met my new friend and we set off for the day.

The first stop of the day was Golden Mountain. We were there pretty early so there were only a handful of other tourists there, which was great! The walk to the top was very easy and gave us views of the whole city.

On our way out we found some smaller temples so decided to have a look around them. There was nobody else in them so we got to enjoy them all to ourselves. They were extremely peaceful and calm. I felt as though I’d been transported to a mountainous small town, rather than being in the middle of the bustling city of Ban

gkok!

Next we had a wander down the street to garb some fruit from the street vendors and have a look at the wooden goods market we spotted on our way to the temple. After that we hailed a tuk tuk and went to one of the most famous temples in Bangkok, Wat Pho.

We spent a good few hours looking around the temple grounds. The nearer you get to the Giant Buddha the busier it is so we hung back for a while and took in the other temples, statues and monuments – I do have to say it wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be, perhaps it’s something to do with the time of year I wa

s there? Not complaining though 😉

Wat Pho was beautiful and we got some great pictures there. When you go in to see the Giant Sleeping Buddha there is a queue to take pictures. I however didn’t realize this and accidently pushed in to get a picture – oops! I got a little telling off but honestly, I think I’d rather that than waiting for 20 minutes!

Walking around all morning and early afternoon had worked us up an appetite so we went to find some food. Usually, I’m a big fan of street food but our feet were felling pretty sore so we found a sweet, small restaurant away from the touristy areas to eat. It was very reasonably priced and the staff were very helpful.

After Lunch we had a walk round Saranrom Palace Park. I don’t think the park is too well known with tourists as we only saw locals there. It was really pretty and a nice change from the concrete of the city.

We accidentally stumbled upon the street with the palace, embassies and Emerald Temple. We didn’t go in any of them but admired the views form the outside. I also slipped over in front of thousands of people so that was super fun… and embarrassing!

Back at the hostel I chilled for around an hour and then got ready for the night ahead. We met 2 guys and a girl who were also staying at our hostel and we headed out with them for some dinner. Well, dinner turned into one beer, which turned into 2, 3… until before we knew it we were back at the hostel armed with vodka, ready for a rooftop party!

Day 4: The day after the night before..

I was a little ‘fragile’ today so I didn’t wake up until around noon. After getting a shower and attempting to make myself look and feel slightly more human, I went for some vegan food with the girls. There’s a small street off of Khao San Road which is full of vegan and vegetarian restaurants. So if you’re vegan I would highly recommend you check it out next time you’re there!

I really clicked with one of the girls (Karina) and we decided that we would meet up in Koh Phangan on NYE so we could celebrate and then travel together for a bit. I was headed to Koh Phangan tomorrow evening and she was off to Koh Tao tonight.

The other people I met were also off today so we all exchanged social medias, said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways.

That evening the hostel was dead as most people were starting to head down south to

the islands for NYE. So, I got some Pad Thai from a street vendor and ate it on my roof while I booked my overnight bus for tomorrow online.

Day 5: Saying goodbye to Bangkok and reflecting on my time there.

In the morning I had some breakfast at my hostel and then checked out. My hostel was also a really hip coffee shop as well, so I treated myself to a nice iced coffee while I researched some things to do.

As I was leaving at 6pm I couldn’t venture too far as I had to be back in time. I decided to check out MBK as I’d spent a lot of time in the old city and thought I should visit the newer, more modern part of the city as well, so that I could get a well rounded view of Bangkok. I took the local bus from near my hostel, which took around 45 minutes.

I was there for a few hours looking around but didn’t actually buy anything. Most of the shops have a really weird rule that you can’t try on before you buy and I’m not down with that. A girl needs to know whether this super cute dress is actually going to make her awful!

I arrived back at my hostel around 3pm and realized I hadn’t eaten all day so I got my bags and headed to Khao San Road for some cheap food before I got my bus from there. The company I used were really nice and let me store my bag in their offices so I didn’t have to carry it around for 3 hours. I found a street vendor which had a coupe of chairs to eat at. I ordered a pad Thai and 6 little spring roles for 50 Baht (under £1.20/$1.60).

I got some snacks and water for the journey and then headed back to the office to catch my bus. Now, if anyone’s gotten an overnight bus in S.E.A you know it’s kind of an organized chaos; we were lead through back alleys, down tiny narrow streets, though a pet shop and all sorts. When we finally reached the pick up point they had forgotten to give out tickets so they were trying to read 100+ stickers to sort everything out. But hey, that’s the beauty of South East Asia, the transit is just part of the adventure!

After waiting for around 20 minutes we got on our bus and it was time for me to say goodbye to Bangkok.

I was actually a little sad as I’d really enjoyed my time here. As I said before, people either love it or hate it there… and I bloody loved it! It had a really good vibe to it and there’s lots of things to do. It was also really easy to meet other travellers (as it’s one of the most popular and cheapest hubs in South East Asia to fly into from other countries) which as a solo traveller was really good for me. Obviously, I took all the usual precautions as I would in any big city but overall I felt very safe in Bangkok and had no issues walking around as a female at night. Part of this is probably because it’s always so busy with locals and travellers 24/7, so you’re never really ‘alone’. I would actually really love to live in Bangkok for a period at some point in my life. It literally has everything I love; big city lifestyle but still with so much history and culture!

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Thanks for reading! Have you been to Bangkok, if so did you love it or hate it?