This was my third time Thailand.How much I love this country,it would be hard to express.Because every time when I come here,I find something new about the place and that leaves me with just a question "How much can a country really offer?"I must admit,the first time I came to Bangkok I didn't like it so much,I thought the traffic was so similar to India.In fact it gave me a feel of the chaos of Mumbai in some ways and so every time I came,my only motive was to either explore the Islands or the Nightlife - The two genres I absolutely love in Thailand.But this time,I made up my mind to stay.Thanks to my friends,who refused to take Bangkok out of my itinerary this time yet again.
To read previous posts on Thailand click here:
To read my article on Huffington Post on Thailand "5 Reasons Why You Should Travel Thailand In Time Of Crisis"
Best Place To Stay Near Khaosan
Me and a couple of friends ,we stayed at a cute boutique hotel called Tara Place at Samsen Road,centrally located and walking distance to Wat Pho and Khaosan Road(the backpackers favorite).What I liked the most about Tara Place was that,it had a free shuttle to the Phra Athit pier,to Wat Pho,Grand Palace and Khaosan though we couldn't avail any because we were too lazy to get up on both days and be there on time and we were too lazy to wait for the next after one was gone!Although we missed the shuttle on both days,we could very well walk or take a tuk tuk because the places were very near.
This place though is my personal recommendation,its awesome,the staff is friendly,and you have amazing Thai food joints along the road.Even the malls aren't far if you take the pier route i.e by the ferry.The malls are around half an hour from Khaosan if you take a taxi.Another great place to stay as my friend Sankara suggested if you are alone and on a budget in Bangkok is 3Howw hostel.
Best Place To Stay Near Malls
But If your main aim is shopping over sightseeing,probably a place near MBK would be a better option,i.e either Ibis or Siam Kempinski.However my personal favorite in shopping is Platinum/Pratunum , both these malls are wholesale markets of 4-5 stories catering to everyone's need,and way cheaper than the much popular MBK we are used to hearing about.I would be writing a short post on shopping as well because for the first time we dedicated two days just for shopping and even then we couldn't buy all that we had wished for due to lack of time.I love Asiatic Riverfront too,because it is where you get selected stuff at cheap price and the ambiance is really nice.
Beware of Touts:To Wat Pho
Now the first time when I went,I was sponsored by Thailand Authority of Tourism.However,this time we were on our own.One word of caution for people who are walking to Wat Pho would be beware of people trying to join you midway and guide you in completely different directions.It happened with us many times along the route,that we were either told that the Wat Pho is closed or we were misguided in another direction where some other fellow joined to misguide us even further.Why this happens,I do not know.Bangkok is a beautiful place to be at,however these are small glitches we faced of which we would want you to be aware of.In fact Tara Place has a notice which says that beware of touts.
Khaosan: Amazing Place For Just Anything
My friend's search for a Mc. Donald came to an end at the Khaosan Road.Khaosan is one of the central areas of Bangkok and also one of the places where you have the flea market for mostly clothes,souvenirs,just anything along with the branded eatery shops lined up.However if you walk by the night,you would find the street completely transformed with road side food comprising of fried Insects to the basic Thai Food.If you are experimental in terms of food,you must come here.Another great place to have food is Chinatown which I have mentioned in previous post.
Luckily we did manage to take "pic a bit" from our cellphones @ Khaosan at Night
Along with that there is loud music,bars,street shopping and pubs and Thai Massage centers running till midnight.Sadly,we were not carrying our cameras that night,because it was a rare personal trip were we wanted to just enjoy :) and Khaosan surely is one of the happening places both to be visited during daylight or night.
There are lot of stay options in affordable rates to stay in this area,that is why it is called Backpackers paradise however Tara place for us worked,because we wanted to be little away from the noise and too many people and yet at a walk-able distance to everything.
Khaosan: Learning Muay Thai Boxing
Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is the national sport of Thailand. Once a skill that was essential for survival in battle, Muay Thai is now one of the most popular fighting sports in the world. Sor Vorapin gym, run by former muay Thai boxer Tanomsak Ruangram, offers quick courses - some lasting just a week and others a month.Prices range from Bt300 per session to Bt6,000 per month. The classes are run twice daily, from 7.30am to 9.30am and from 3pm to 6pm.If my previous trip wasn't sponsored by TAT,I wouldn't have known this hideout.
"If in Thailand,then you must do Muay Thai"
After we had our cooking classes at Amita Cooking Class(yes,that's pending too but promise the recipes would be on the next post),we decided to burn the very fat we earned.So that is how we came to this place of kicking our sweat out,literally.What began as a warm up session with skipping graduated to kicking punches in the ring.And oh boy! This was the best thing I could have ever done in Thailand.From kicking under the belt to kicking with my legs and hands to the instructor,this is surely a must do in Thailand.Best part is its a quick walk from Khaosan. The advised clothes to wear are cotton in any form and shorts because you sweat a lot.
Khaosan:Eat Outs
We were mostly gorging on the street food most of the times,so the names obviously is not I remember so much,but I would highly recommend this restaurant called "De Osha",Samsen Road in front of Tara Place which we were so fond of,that for consecutive two days we didn't change our location to eat except from the occasional street food we had here and there.Everything about this place is really affordable and super yummy.
And it is also where I had the yummiest Pad Thai Egg Noodles.But the highlight of our trip was the fish we had at Phi Phi which we will know more about when we discuss islands.We will talk about food in the later posts,I know you guys are hungry,by now ! There are couple of eat outs in Khaosan as well as Phra Athit Road which you can try,if you have time.Also check these recommendations in Tripadvisor.
You punch me,I punch back
And that is what is taught :)
To read previous posts on Thailand click here:
To read my article on Huffington Post on Thailand "5 Reasons Why You Should Travel Thailand In Time Of Crisis"
Best Place To Stay Near Khaosan
Chao Phraya is a major river in Bangkok
Me and a couple of friends ,we stayed at a cute boutique hotel called Tara Place at Samsen Road,centrally located and walking distance to Wat Pho and Khaosan Road(the backpackers favorite).What I liked the most about Tara Place was that,it had a free shuttle to the Phra Athit pier,to Wat Pho,Grand Palace and Khaosan though we couldn't avail any because we were too lazy to get up on both days and be there on time and we were too lazy to wait for the next after one was gone!Although we missed the shuttle on both days,we could very well walk or take a tuk tuk because the places were very near.
This place though is my personal recommendation,its awesome,the staff is friendly,and you have amazing Thai food joints along the road.Even the malls aren't far if you take the pier route i.e by the ferry.The malls are around half an hour from Khaosan if you take a taxi.Another great place to stay as my friend Sankara suggested if you are alone and on a budget in Bangkok is 3Howw hostel.
Best Place To Stay Near Malls
But If your main aim is shopping over sightseeing,probably a place near MBK would be a better option,i.e either Ibis or Siam Kempinski.However my personal favorite in shopping is Platinum/Pratunum , both these malls are wholesale markets of 4-5 stories catering to everyone's need,and way cheaper than the much popular MBK we are used to hearing about.I would be writing a short post on shopping as well because for the first time we dedicated two days just for shopping and even then we couldn't buy all that we had wished for due to lack of time.I love Asiatic Riverfront too,because it is where you get selected stuff at cheap price and the ambiance is really nice.
Beware of Touts:To Wat Pho
Now the first time when I went,I was sponsored by Thailand Authority of Tourism.However,this time we were on our own.One word of caution for people who are walking to Wat Pho would be beware of people trying to join you midway and guide you in completely different directions.It happened with us many times along the route,that we were either told that the Wat Pho is closed or we were misguided in another direction where some other fellow joined to misguide us even further.Why this happens,I do not know.Bangkok is a beautiful place to be at,however these are small glitches we faced of which we would want you to be aware of.In fact Tara Place has a notice which says that beware of touts.
Khaosan: Amazing Place For Just Anything
The hussle bussle at Khaosan is 24*7
My friend's search for a Mc. Donald came to an end at the Khaosan Road.Khaosan is one of the central areas of Bangkok and also one of the places where you have the flea market for mostly clothes,souvenirs,just anything along with the branded eatery shops lined up.However if you walk by the night,you would find the street completely transformed with road side food comprising of fried Insects to the basic Thai Food.If you are experimental in terms of food,you must come here.Another great place to have food is Chinatown which I have mentioned in previous post.
Along with that there is loud music,bars,street shopping and pubs and Thai Massage centers running till midnight.Sadly,we were not carrying our cameras that night,because it was a rare personal trip were we wanted to just enjoy :) and Khaosan surely is one of the happening places both to be visited during daylight or night.
There are lot of stay options in affordable rates to stay in this area,that is why it is called Backpackers paradise however Tara place for us worked,because we wanted to be little away from the noise and too many people and yet at a walk-able distance to everything.
Khaosan: Learning Muay Thai Boxing
Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is the national sport of Thailand. Once a skill that was essential for survival in battle, Muay Thai is now one of the most popular fighting sports in the world. Sor Vorapin gym, run by former muay Thai boxer Tanomsak Ruangram, offers quick courses - some lasting just a week and others a month.Prices range from Bt300 per session to Bt6,000 per month. The classes are run twice daily, from 7.30am to 9.30am and from 3pm to 6pm.If my previous trip wasn't sponsored by TAT,I wouldn't have known this hideout.
"If in Thailand,then you must do Muay Thai"
After we had our cooking classes at Amita Cooking Class(yes,that's pending too but promise the recipes would be on the next post),we decided to burn the very fat we earned.So that is how we came to this place of kicking our sweat out,literally.What began as a warm up session with skipping graduated to kicking punches in the ring.And oh boy! This was the best thing I could have ever done in Thailand.From kicking under the belt to kicking with my legs and hands to the instructor,this is surely a must do in Thailand.Best part is its a quick walk from Khaosan. The advised clothes to wear are cotton in any form and shorts because you sweat a lot.
Khaosan:Eat Outs
De Osha was where we enjoyed our food the most
We were mostly gorging on the street food most of the times,so the names obviously is not I remember so much,but I would highly recommend this restaurant called "De Osha",Samsen Road in front of Tara Place which we were so fond of,that for consecutive two days we didn't change our location to eat except from the occasional street food we had here and there.Everything about this place is really affordable and super yummy.
Yummies at our platter @De Osha
And it is also where I had the yummiest Pad Thai Egg Noodles.But the highlight of our trip was the fish we had at Phi Phi which we will know more about when we discuss islands.We will talk about food in the later posts,I know you guys are hungry,by now ! There are couple of eat outs in Khaosan as well as Phra Athit Road which you can try,if you have time.Also check these recommendations in Tripadvisor.
A lovely post Ankita. A side of Bangkok that I have not seen!
ReplyDeleteAnkita the sign in front of the bar is amazing :D :D .. This is probably the first sign I have ever seen where they talk about how strong the liquor is or how they do not check for the ID cards :D :D .. Great marketing I must say :D ;)
ReplyDelete@Mridula:Then you must next time :) This part of Bangkok is so different than rest and so lively,you'd love it for sure.
ReplyDelete@Vinay Nagaraju:He he he true dat.They have some shops/bars out there on the street with witty msgs,and this one was one of them :)
ReplyDeleteTo become a good Thai Boxer one must attend training sessions regularly, be
ReplyDeleteobedient to the teacher's instructions, focus on maintaining one's health, and
adhere to the prescribed pattern of training.
Consistently doing each of these four things results in a highly disciplined
fighter. Boxing in Connecticut