WANDERLUST: BANGKOK
20:21:00The "Village in the plumgrove" or the "City of Angels" is one of Asia´s biggest Metropoli and one of the main tourist destinations in Thailand. To be honest: Thailand was not my absolute favourite country. Maybe it was due to my incredible trip to Bali and the Gilis beforehand or maybe I just cannot really deal with the constant bargaining and the feeling of being ripped off, but when I arrived in the crowded capital Bangkok it just didn´t feel right. Sadly this feeling didn´t fade away even though I liked the islands in the South a lot more than Bangkok.
Thailand has been a very touristic country since the 70s and I can absolutely understand that a lot of people try to make as much money by ripping off tourists as possible. If we can afford a trip to Bangkok we are so much richer, than they may ever be and I can fully understand that this huge gap in wealth is responsible for most of the aggressive street sellers, the constant detours to jewelery stores and tailors when you take a tuk-tuk and the recommendation of tourist offices, that charge prices twice as high as necessary. However understanding does not mean liking it and not being able to talk to locals without doubting every word the said, really made me sad.
Afterall Bangkok was still an impressive town and an exciting experience.
Afterall Bangkok was still an impressive town and an exciting experience.
Getting there & Accommodation
When you arrive at one of the two airports of Bangkok and basically anytime you take a taxi, make sure that the taximeter is running. Setting prices usually never goes your way, so the taximeter is always the better choice. Another great tip I got was to go to the arrival terminal and take a cab from there, that just dropped people off. They have to go back into town anyway and may be more likely to give you a good deal.
Also be sure to have the adress of your hotel or hostel in Thai and if the driver doesn´t know it, let him drop you off at a touristic hotspot like the Khao San Road. A lot of the taxi drivers are farmers, that work in Bangkok when there is no more work left on the fields and sometimes they know less about Bangkok´s map than you do.
The quarter around Khao San Road is ideal for backpackers, there are an abundance of hostels, bars and clubs and most sights are pretty close. Since this is the most famous tourist streets, there are also a lot of travel agencies to organize a mini bus to the aiport or further travels to the islands or up north.
We stayed at the Wild Orchid Villa and even though the receptionists are not necessarily the nicest you will ever meet, it is central, has a restaurant and the rooms are clean and cheap.
Sightseeing
Do not fall for TukTuk drivers offering tours for 10 Bhats, you will very likely stop at loads of jewelery shops and tailors instead of sight. Also do not fall for people telling you that the temples are closed due to buddhist holidays usually this is a scam. Do not follow recommendations for city tours, travel agencies and combined tickets unless they come from someone you honestly can trust.
The best technique is to plan your tour yourself and not to ask bypassers. If someone tries to bribe you just be polite smile, nodd and then follow the route you have planned. Sadly this prohibits nice talks to locals or insider tipps.
My favourite things to see where the Royal Palace and the temples there, a true dream out of glitter and gold. Other nice temples include the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho), the Temple of the big Buddha, the Temple of the Lucky Buddha... you see a pattern here. When visiting temples make sure to cover your shoulders and knees.
We also splurged on a boats tour through Bangkok´s canals, which was perfect for our first day, when we were still a little jetlagged. It is a very relaxing and easy going way of seeing big parts of the city and since a lot of families life right along the canals you also get to experience the daily life.
If you are an early bird you might want to go out to see the collection of donations by the monks at sunrise. You can also receive their blessing. If you are female you should watch out a little bit when dealing with monks, you should not sit in the same row as them on the bows, nor touch them or their belongings.
Food, Shopping and Nightlife
Even if you have the tightes budget, you do not have to starve in Bangkok, something that really made me happy. We almost exclusively ate at streetstands and I did not have any problems with my stomach.
My absolute favourite was Pad Thai, the national dish made up of noodles, eggs and vegetables sprinkled with peanuts sold on streetstands for less than a dollar. I also love Thaicurries with coconotmilk. You should generally make sure to tell them you do not want your dish spicy, even if you normally do here in Europe. Their standard really is different. Also delicious: green papaya salad (the non fried version) and all kinds of fresh fruit. Not for the faint hearted (and me): frogs and all kinds of bugs.
All of this can be found on Khao San Road, along with loads of bars and cheap clubs. If you want a rooftop terrace experience, head over to the more glamourus business district on the other side of the river.
Something I haven´t done enough: shopping! Once again Kao San Road is your choice here offering loads of beautiful jewelery, hippie pants and loads of nice T-Shirts. If you love books like I do step into one of the second hand book stores. The books are extremely cheap and if you bring them back after reading you get half of the price back.
The famous thai massages are very cheap, but in my opinion a little too harsh, so maybe opt for the oil massages instead.
8 Kommentare
Ich liebe es Reiseerfahungen zu lesen, da dabei sowohl die guten, als auch unschönen Seiten individuell berichtet werden :) und ein video mit den einkäufen fände ich interessant!
AntwortenLöschenIch muss sagen, dass mir dieser Post wieder sehr gut gefällt. Ich war selber noch nie in Thailand, aber finde es interessant, mal nicht nur die unheimlich lobenden Berichte zu lesen, sondern auch mal kritische Anmerkungen. Deine Bilder gefallen mir sehr sehr gut und ich liebe das Bild von dir in dem blauen Kleid. Du bist einfach unheimlich hübsch.
AntwortenLöschenxxx
www.henny-paula.de
Was für tolle Bilder! Da kommt bei mir ja richtiges Fernweh auf:)
AntwortenLöschenwirklich tolle Bilder <3
AntwortenLöschenwünsche dir noch einen schönen Abend!
So schöne Bilder, da bekomm ich ja schon fast ein bisschen Fernweh! :)
AntwortenLöschensuper schöne bilder und toller blog :)
AntwortenLöschenlg joana
http://miss-joana-blue.blogspot.de/
oh man!! ich wurde auch so gerne nach Asien!! bald geht es auch dahin aber andere Richtung, bei mir Japan!!
AntwortenLöschenOh wie toll. Ein toller Bericht. Thailand, oder allgemein grad Asien, fasziniert mich so sehr. Vielleicht, wenn ich meinen Bachelor fertig habe, plane ich eine längere Reise dorthin :)
AntwortenLöschenThanks so much for your lovely comments, constructive criticism and suggestions. I will try to answer all of you!