What to Do In Bangkok – Where to Stay – This year’s Bangkok experience was definitely one to remember for us.
Having visited Bangkok a few times, you can think that you’ve seen everything. But this time, Rachel and I are exploring the city together, and we’ve been able to make new memories and new food dishes to try in Thailand. Definitely added to our unforgettable things to remember while traveling together (that list is getting longer. ha!)
We decided Bangkok to be our first stop during a month traveling around Thailand. A 4 day Bangkok itinerary experience to jumpstart our Thailand getaway turned out to be an amazing choice. And we made sure we teamed up with the right brands to make sure we show you not only how to have a great time in the big city, but also for you to see the authentic side of Bangkok.
Read here how to get to Chinatown from Bangkok Airport and Bangkok airport to Sukhumvit.
What to Do In Bangkok – Where to Stay
Why we chose Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers
The Sheraton family (properties and staff) has our full trust. We’ve stayed with Sheraton in Kuala Lumpur, and in Batu Feringhi, and we have to say that the experience is truly one of great service, and great stay. If you are staying in Bangkok for a holiday or a quick getaway, a loyalty membership with a premiere hotel is definitely an option you can look out for.
These days we keep a balance, especially as we bring our work with us while we travel. Exotic places and unplugged days are still possible. It’s a matter of scheduling everything, planning, and efficient work. This is why the service we got with Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers is important. Helps set our travel for next month well.
Although we can say that it can get a little bit distracting, when you have these views just right outside your window. The Chao Phraya River at its best.
We definitely needed to go out, even with all the amazing services you already get from Royal Orchid. There are lots to see and experience just right outside the hotel, and that’s something we will not let us pass by!
A mere 5-minute walk outside the hotel and you’ll see a local street food area. Good for when you’re craving the authentic street life of Bangkok. Fried food, fried rice, the fresh fruits – you name it, they have it! There are even more local vibes when you go to Talad Noi, a small market where you can enjoy Thai food like locals do.
You can also visit the Klongsan Plaza, which is 15 minutes by foot including a boat ride from Si Phraya Pier, where Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers is located. Here you can do shopping with prices that are quite affordable. To add more to the local experience, you can ride a Tuk Tuk.
This is a private transportation to go so fast around Bangkok, especially if you want to skip the regular taxi rides. Time to experience something new, right?
We love local experiences! If you want more Thai massage options, you can even go around the neighborhood, and experience the local ones. Choose your own Bangkok experience. Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers offers a premier Thai massage if you’re looking to stay inside the high end comfort of the hotel.
Prices for local massages can start around TBH 250 ($8). Make sure you choose well. We’ve had our fair share of Thai massages, and we can attest to them being different depending on a lot of factors!
Want to find out more of what’s inside Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers?
If you love beaches, you can’t get one in Bangkok. Thankfully Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers has two of them! The Terrace Pool and the Garden Pool. There were definitely a lot of people staying by the pool area and we’re sure we know why. It’s tanning time. haha!
We had a look around, and look what we’ve found.
This guy here is definitely an eye-catcher. Can you guess how long we stayed just waiting for him to spread his wings?
Dinner at Giorgio´s
Giorgio´s is a premiere Italian restaurant in Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers. It is situated right around the terrace pool of the hotel. We dined here to try their cuisine, just to have a taste of how good their Italian food is. And we were definitely impressed. Our recommendation: Order Ossobuco in Salsa Gremolata with Risotto. The meat is definitely good.
All the dishes were great we enjoyed half of our pizza with seafood and the other half with prosciutto. Rachel liked it so much!
We also enjoyed Ravioli di Ricota with spinach and Parmesan cheese. Me loved it so much since I like eating cheese anytime, the flavours were amazing! First time that we tried Ossobuco in Salsa Gremolata with Risotto the stew was great and the rice with saffron was very delicious.
It was so much food for us but we made sure that we made space for the dessert. As recommendation, we chose Tiramisu Mascarpone with cheese layered and with espresso and brandy. Also we tried a traditional Panna Cotta with mixed with red berries in a red wine sauce.
How to find Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers located?
Sheraton is located at Chao Phraya River in Bangkok at Si Phraya Pier. The location is great, you can get a boat and you will visit touristic places like Royal Palace and What Po. If you want to visit around the neighborhood we mentioned above. If you are leaving Bangkok by train, it´s only 15 minutes walking distance. And also Chinatown is very close to Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers.
More Things To do in our Bangkok experience
We did a couple of tours at night around Chinatown eating delicious food and visiting Wat Pho. And also a tour during the day visiting The Royal Grand Palace, Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha, walking around Bangkok, eating as a local, visiting the Flower Market.
We also enjoyed the Canal Tour, where you can see houses around from the river point of view. We loved so much the view from the river to Arun temple. For these tours we teamed up with Thai Tour Guide, one of the most prestigious tours around Bangkok and Thailand. We had so much fun!
Visiting The Royal Grand Palace
The visit can last around 1-2 hours around The Royal Grand Palace. It´s huge and really beautiful but it´s little bit crowded, you need to have a lot of patience. The weather is usually really hot during the day and you need to make sure that you are wearing proper clothes to go inside Royal Palace.
Not showing your shoulders, not leggings and tight pants and definitely not showing legs for girls. And for guys, just make sure you are wearing temple appropriate clothes. I got kicked out for wearing “tattered” pants. But mind you, they are very little holes. I had to buy a new pair of pants in front of the temple. Good thing it costed THB 150 ($5), and you can still use them anytime you want.
For taking pictures, is can get tough inside Royal Palace. We love the drinking water station for resting. On our day of visit, there were many locals that were doing a big waiting line, 6-7 hours, to visit the last king (died a year ago) and to pray for him. There is food and water outside the temples for people praying to the king. Prices for visiting The Grand Royal Palace is THB 500 for foreigners. Check the Snapchat shot of our temple attire below!
The Royal Temple (Wat Phra Kaew, The Temple of the Emerald Buddha)
The entrance here is already included in the entrance fee for The Grand Royal Palace. You can’t take pictures inside the Emerald Buddha. Temples around this area were really beautiful. Remember all the time you go inside the temple to remove your shoes.
Visit Wat Pho (The Temple of The Reclining Buddha)
We visited Wat Pho two times, first at night with our tour guide and it was very quiet. It´s free at night but not all the temples are open. During the day is much busier but not so busy like Royal Palace. You can visit the Reclining Buddha which is a huge one. The price for visitng Wat Pho for foreigners is THB 100 and you will get a free bottle of water!
Wat Pho also has a very nice waterfalls in the entrance and there are some places where you can rest or take pictures without many people around. This our picture of the Reclining Buddha.
Canal tour Around Chao Phraya
It was super fun the experience of going inside canals with the long boat. You can see the houses how close they are from the water. People swimming around, flamingos, lizards. Everything is quiet around the River than walking around the city. We really loved the views form the boat of Arun Temple.
Meeting Local Friends
We have been a few times in Bangkok and we have friends. We love walking around with locals who will recommend you the best places to drink, eat and visit around Bangkok.
Hanging out in Khao San Road
Going for a beer in Khao San Road is a must for a full Bangkok experience. It´s full of people all day long, and all night long. Never stops! There are many cheap places to sleep, shops, even museums, restaurants, street food and bars. It´s a perfect meeting point with other travelers or just for walking around.
Pak Klong Talad (Flowers & Vegetables Market)
Another interesting market is the Flower Market in Bangkok just a few minutes walking distance from Wat Pho. It´s very colorful and part of the Thai culture. They love giving away flowers and use for decorating their home and temples. The place is very colorful!
Eating at Chinatown
One of the best places to eat street food in Bangkok is Chinatown. You will find fruits, juices and tasty dishes. We tried duck with noodles and rices, fruits and desserts. Everything was really good and prices were very affordable.
We love so much Thai food and this trip was planned a month before. Since that day Rachel has been dreaming of Mango Sticky Rice. Finally she could eat her favorite dessert around Chinatown.
As you can see in the pictures you can find everything in Chinatown. We tried insects and it´s not our favorite food but it tastes fine despite of the photo. They are very crunchy!
Local Transportation in our Bangkok Experience
Bangkok is a huge city, 10 million people living around the capital of Thailand. We love to explore walking and taking local transportation. We enjoyed so much walking in our Bangkok experience. And also getting the crazy Tuk Tuk and the riding boats around Chao Phraya, this is the fastest, cheapest and most efficient way to move around Bangkok.
How to get from the airport
If you are coming from Suvarnabhumi Airport, here is a full article with all the information how to get to Khao San Road from the airport and what´s the one adapting better to your budget.
More about Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers
Breakfast at Sheraton
As all of you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. At Sheraton was amazing the choices. We had breakfast at Club Lounge and at Feast Restaurant with views to the river. If you want to eat healthy this is your place since vegetables, fruits, juices. We loved our spinach juice, first time trying it! Cheese, salmon, breads, omelette and Thai dishes for your breakfast.
Drinking Cocktails watching the sunset
We love chasing sunsets and we enjoyed really nice ones at Sheraton while having a beer. You can have beer, wine, cocktails and small snacks like sandwiches or sweets while having a conversation, working or just enjoying the views. It´s a perfect warm-up before going out at night around Bangkok.
And read here for more information for places to stay in Bangkok and the best party hotels in Thailand.
Check out this itinerary from travelFREAK and for more things that you shouldn´t miss in Bangkok!
Let us know if you like our Bangkok escapades in the comments below.
Happy Travels
Visiting Hong Kong: What To Do, Where To Sleep - Gamintraveler
Saturday 7th of September 2019
[…] click here to read our full travel guide to Singapore. And if you are planning to visit Bangkok, read here all the information that you need to know for visiting the capital of […]
Visit Chiang Mai: A Full Travel Guide - Gamintraveler
Monday 5th of August 2019
[…] got to Chiang Mai from Ayutthaya by train which is the same train line coming from Bangkok. It’s a long way, that’s why we recommend to get a night train. In this way, you will […]
How To Get From Bangkok To Melbourne - Gamintraveler
Wednesday 26th of June 2019
[…] from Bangkok to Melbourne. There is really no other way to reach Australia from Thailand. Bangkok is a great destination in itself, but it is also one of the main travel hubs for the country, so flights are the way to […]
Luxury in Bangkok: SO Sofitel and 137 Pillar Suites - Gamintraveler
Friday 24th of May 2019
[…] for more experiences in Bangkok, click here to read our local experience in Bangkok and night food […]
Panviman Resort Chiang Mai - Gamintraveler
Sunday 23rd of December 2018
[…] you want to read more our experiences in Thailand, read here about the beginning of our trip in Bangkok. Click here to read all the details of our stay in […]