Myla LaurelVisiting Thailand this year was not in our plans until I came across a good deal through Skyscanner. Without any second thoughts we jumped on the opportunity and booked our flights from Dubai to Bangkok for just 1,300 dirhams (350 USD) each with Gulf Air. Although the trip included an hour stopover at Bahrain, we were not bothered because we love a great deal and the flight and service was amazing!
Our aim was to see as much as we could on our brief trip, so we made sure to plan ahead for our itinerary. We decided to spend our first 3 days in the old part of Bangkok near Khao San Road and the following 3 in the newer Sukhumvit district.
It was our first time visiting Bangkok so you can only imagine the excitement we had. We couldn’t wait for the mouth-watering street food and cool cafes.
Without further ado, here is our 6 day itinerary:
Day 1
- Arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport around 9am Thailand time (3 hours ahead of UAE)
- Bought a sim card with 10 GB data for 7 days called AIS Traveller Sim – 299 baht
- Discovered Uber doesn’t work in BKK. Found out that Grab is popular in the city so downloaded and used the app throughout our trip. It costs around 200 baht from airport to our hotel (an hour drive)
- Arrived at Casa Nithra Hotel – dropped our bags and waited for 1 pm check in time. Greeted with a delicious lemon grass welcome drink (12pm)
- Went to Snooze Cafe for coffee / 150 baht for 2 coffees (just 2 buildings away from our hotel)
- Wandered around the area checking out street food vendors
- Went back to hotel to freshen up (1pm)
- Had a very cheap and amazing lunch at a cafeteria across the road owned by 3 lovely wifeys / total bill 250 baht including tip (Ordered minced spicy meal with rice) (2pm)
- Wandered towards Khao San road and had yummy Mango bubble tea / 60 baht (4pm)
- Walked towards famous pad thai restaurant Thipsamai (6pm) The queue was quite long – we waited for around 30 minutes but it was worth it! 650 baht for 2 pad thai’s and 1 fresh orange juice. Their pad thai has a sweet and tangy taste which is really nice.
- A trip to Khao San road for people watching; lots of backpackers and hippies / 100 baht for one Chang beer (8pm)
- Ricky eating local delicacies (bugs!) at Khao San. 10 baht to take pictures (10pm)
- Went to a local bar called Post Bar to end the night. They had a great acoustic band and a furry friend. / 100 baht beer (11pm)
Where we stayed – Casa Nithra
A 4 star hotel just 14 minutes walk from Khao San road; the party and backpackers haven.
Click right to view photos of Day 1
Touch down Bangkok!
Day 2
- Brekky at Snooze cafe: waffles, bacon and eggs with coffee for 2 / 390 baht (9am)
- Went to Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market where locals go / coconut juice and iced coffee for 80 baht. We didn’t eat streetfood because we were trying to starve for our big meal at Jay Fai (11am)
- Took Grab taxi to Chatuchak Market: Over 15,000 stores, bought a shirt, denim jacket and a necklace / 400 baht (1pm)
- The most exciting part of the day: Jay Fai – the Michelin starred street food queen in Bangkok. The legendary crab omelette was every bit as good as the hype. Tom Yum with its massive prawns has a wonderful spicy kick and stunning depth of flavour – you just know they’ve used the best ingredients. Drunken noodles packed full of delicious seafood with tender noodles that melts in your mouth. It was worth it! PS it is advisable to book for your visit 092-724-9633 / jayfaibangkok@gmail.com / 2,440 baht (3pm)
- Bought tickets for BTS metro / 200 baht each with 100 credit
- Met friends at Nana area in a Kiwi Bar / 500 baht (6pm)
The famous chef Supinya Junsuta of Jay Fai - the Michelin starred street food venue in Bangkok
Day 3
- Grand Palace. One of the most popular tourist destinations in Bangkok. Spectacular architecture with intricate details. Spent 1 hour inside. Recommended to go early since it’s packed with tourists / 500 baht per one ticket entrance / 200 baht for audio (10am)
- Stopped at a coffee shop for Mango smoothies / 120 baht (12pm)
- Lunch again at our favourite local cafeteria run by the 3 wifeys / 130 baht (2pm)
- Ringside tickets to watch Muay Thai fighting. Recommended to book online / 200 dirhams per ticket / 150 baht for a beer (6pm)
- Visited China town and had some delicious fish cake and spicy seafood noodles / 300 baht (10pm)
Day 4
- Had English breakfast in a restaurant called “The best English breakfast”; it was not so nice, the beans were watery / 350 baht (9am)
- Moved to the new part of Bangkok and checked in at Salil hotel Soi 11, Sukhumvit. This area is more modern with high rise buildings. (12pm)
- Wandered around Central World. Went shopping at Uniqlo. / 300 dirhams (2pm)
- Madcow Burger for lunch – people online were raving about it. One of the best burgers I’ve tried! / 700 baht (4pm)
- Had Japanese Lavender and popcorn flavoured beers / 300 baht (6pm)
- Followed by a chilled night and a nice bath at the hotel (9pm)
Where we stayed – Salil Hotel Soi 11
Day 5
- Early morning hair appointment at Boy Rikyu salon: cut, treatment and colored my hair / 5000 baht (10pm)
- Visited EmQuarter Mall: Mind blowing massive food court! Had the yummiest takuyaki / 10 pcs – 150 baht (12pm)
- Had the best Pearl Milk Tea I’ve tried at foodcourt / 80 baht (1pm)
- Went home to rest before heading out for drinks (3pm)
- Visited Rooftop Above Eleven – seated in a corner overlooking Bangkok. We were lucky to get seats as we didn’t book (6pm)
- Went to Brewski bar another famous roof top bar just few minutes away from Above Eleven (8pm)
- Ricky insisted to visit a whisky Japanese bar and met a lovely Japanese owner who’s passionate about whisky (10pm)
- Whilst tipsy we decided visit a secret Cuban bar near our place where you have to enter through a phone booth. We used Google maps and after walking for 15 minutes we passed by a phone booth. A guy suddenly came out of nowhere and gave us the secret code to enter on the phone. Unfortunately Ricky was too drunk to enter the correct code – after a few minutes the door at the side opened anyway and we entered a dimly lit area with a prohibition style with a DJ playing cool Cuban music. Definitely a highlight of our trip! Havana Social at Sukhumvit Soi 11, 41/3 Soi Sukhumvit 11, Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana (11pm)
- Fuelled with the munchies we stopped by a Daniel Thaiger burger joint before heading back to the hotel (12pm)
Day 6
- Went for morning caffeine fix at Starbucks across the road
- Paid another visit to Emquarter food court: Ramen and Rice for lunch. We loved this mall!
- Trip to the famous MBK for shopping – massive mall with endless stalls and stands
- Went to check out the hip Siam Square area: shopping bags and keds shoes
- It was our last day and the rain poured so hard. We were soaked and we loved it!
- Massage / 350 baht feet massage plus head and back (6pm)
- Visited a restaurant called Smoking Pug for amazing slow cooked pork brisket! / 700 baht (7pm)
- Met our friend Max at the cool Iron balls bar and then visited Iron fairies, both created by famous designer Ashley Sutton. (9pm)
Local Thai magazine at Starbucks
Tips
- Most Thai people doesn’t expect tips but it is always appreciated to give 5-10%
- The Grab App is popular and a very convenient way to get around the city (like Uber or Careem in Dubai)
- One of the safest cities I’ve been in but as a rule of thumb when traveling; always be aware of your belongings and cautious of your surroundings
Have you been to Bangkok? Do you know any hidden gems or local favourites? Would love to hear for my next trip! xoxo
This is really worth it Myla. A six days itineraries in Bangkok is super wonderful. Can you suggest places to see in a three days trip?