3 Day Itinerary in Bangkok

We planned a family trip to Bangkok to celebrate my sister’s 25th Birthday – although, we ended up celebrating her birthday without her.

Lesson 1: Do not look for your passport a few hours before the flight, have it ready at the point of booking your flight

My sister and brother had misplaced their passports, and only realised 3 hours before our flight from Singapore to Bangkok. I remained positive that they would find their passports and be able to catch the evening flight out, but this never happened. So it was just me, my mum and her partner.

I was convinced that I had been to Bangkok before, but my memory fails me at times and I cannot be 100% certain, I’ll have to ask my dad if he took us there as kids. But either way, I did not get any deja vu moments driving into the city from the airport. So I decided to take in the city with naive, curious eyes. Lesson 2: You always discover something new when you visit a place you’ve been to before

We were in the city from Monday morning to Wednesday evening, giving us a good two full days and 2 nights, I would recommend having a weekend in Bangkok to experience the famous Chatuchak market (it is also open on a Friday night). I prefer night time markets to avoid the heat.

I would say having an extra day or two in Bangkok would have just been perfect, the city deserves time to explore and especially if you want to eat to your hearts content, indulge in cheap, amazing thai massages everyday and shop, shop, shop!

Eat

Bangkok is southeast Asia’s food haven with endless street food and also great restaurants! We stumbled upon a placed called “once upon a time” and I can also say YOU HAVE TO GO. Not only did it have the most picturesque, tranquil setting, the food tasted amazing. Lesson 3: Walk around and get lost to find some of the best places, not everything is found on Google.

All the shopping malls also have food courts with great tasting food at such a steal, the one we tried at the MBK centre was heavenly, with all types of cuisines. The fried chicken rendang from the Indonesian stall went down a treat, I could eat it right now.

Shop

From night markets, day time markets to shopping mall, you can literally shop till you drop. We stayed near Asiatique which is slightly out of the main city and has a range of boutique shops on the river front.

MBK centre and platinum malls were also a great option for cheap bargains. Lesson 4: Do not accept anything for it’s face value unless you are in an actual branded store, apart from that, practice your bargaining skills.

Explore

Apart from the many temples and the laying Buddha, a morning at the grand palace is a must if you want to see how to live like a true king.

And if you get tired of the busy streets, then see the city from a different view with a boat ride through the canals! This is a great alternative to see the Venice of Asia and if you’re lucky you’ll get to meet a couple of monitor lizards too.

You get to see a few floating stalls, I wouldn’t compare it to a floating market, which is something you can visit if you have more time as the bigger ones aren’t in Bangkok but a couple hours by car.

What are some other things you would fit into a short city break in Bangkok?