Tourist Attractions in Bangkok
We don’t consider ourselves as typical tourists, but from time to time it’s actually worth to go and see things and places all tourists visit and talk about. Right? Especially in such a country like Thailand where everything around is completely different from what we normally see and what we know from Europe. Plus you need some kind of proof for friends and family that you’ve been there 😉
Thailand was our first Asian country to visit so we were completely lost in all aspects of that word. Therefore we decided to hire a guide who will be able to help us a bit and show what we “supposed” to see. My online research brought me to CityPals website where we found Wayz. After a few conversations when we presented our plans and expectations we hired him and I think it was the best decision we made. He exceeded all our expectations and not only showed us around but also helped with so many things I’d need to write a separate post to list it all. If you are in Bangkok and need a guy search no more!
First day of our guided trip we visited all those most important and known places: Wat Arun, The Grand Palace/ Wat Phra Kaew, Wang Lang Market and Temple of Emerald Buddha. The heat was unbearable and although we planned to see one more place after that we simply gave up. It was way too much for the first day. Especially for two geeks like us who spent the last few years on chairs by the laptop desk! All the places we saw though were well worth the struggle. With just one “but” – everywhere was so many tourists it was actually difficult to even take pictures without them! Obviously, it’s understandable, after all those are called tourist attractions for a good reason. We’ve read online to avoid crowds we should get there early, and early we were there. So as many other people who probably read the same good advice so thank you internet 😉
All those places have a very strict outfit conduct so it’s better to go there prepared. No shorts, mini skirts, tight trousers, sleeveless tops, tops borrowed from a younger sister (showing belly and/or bust) and no see-through clothing. If you want to see temples inside you will also be asked to take your shoes off so it’s better to wear something that can be easily taken off and put back on.
Many times online in blogs and vlogs I’ve seen people complaining that local people go to those temples for free while tourists have to pay and it’s not cheap. There is one thing they obviously don’t take into account: those places are places of worship, people pray there, meditate. Tourists, on the other hand, go there simply to take some amazing pictures to brag on facebook or other social media. What I don’t understand and don’t agree with are separate queues and prices for other places like National Park for example, but that’s not a subject of this post. Anyway, all those temples are well worth seeing, even with all those crowds there and quite high ticket prices.
Other place worth visiting is Chatuchak Weekend Market. I personally loved this place from the very first time I saw it. Huge market covering 27 acres of land. Thousands of stalls with literally everything starting from food, through clothing and art and ending with live animals! Everyone will find something interesting here.
For me, the best part of the market, are food stalls with all kinds of mouth-watering dishes. Amazing smell of food surrounds you there no matter what part of the market you are in. We fall in love with Thai food the very first time we tried it and we were trying all different kinds of Thai food ever since.
Another interesting and must see market is a floating market. There are few different floating markets in and around Bangkok, but I asked Wayz to take us to the most traditional and possibly the oldest one he knows. This way we got to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.
I loved the place and people there. We were there just before stalls and boats were ready for business, but that also means we were there first. First clients in Thailand are very important for sellers. The bigger first sale the better the day will be. For this reason, we were treated like kings and in the end, even got some souvenirs and hugs from shop ladies. I have never been served like there. I wanted to buy new sandals. One lady was coming with all sort of sandals, the other put it all on my feet and another one was offering blouses and dresses that will go with those sandals! My man had there a head massage that he didn’t ask for. It was fun to watch him trying to run away and the lady trying to make him happy not understanding she’s doing something completely opposite.
