Things to do in Bangkok

[Guest beachlover]

What do you do when you're in Bangkok? Both during the day and at night...

 

Here are some suggestions I wrote on another forum...Any ideas to add?

 

I have not done all of these (so no guarantees), but the ones I haven't done are on my list to do...

 

During the day:

- Go for a walk around Chinatown - lots of great little markets, shops and eateries there.

 

- Visit Chatuchak Market. World's biggest weekend market. Saturday/Sunday. Better to go there early in the day but it is fine later in the day too (just hotter). You can spend hours walking around. Stuff is also the cheapest here too. For example, while you might pay 180 baht for underwear at the Patpong Night market, here they can be bargained down to 100 baht (rough comparison from memory).

 

- Visit one of the Floating Markets (have to be up early for this).

 

- Go for a walk or run in Lumpini Park. Or just laze around there beside one of the lakes. I was sick with a stomach/gastro bug once and was staying in a crappy room at the time so instead of resting in my hotel I went to the park and laid on the grass all day until I got better. Really nice spot.

 

- Check out Gaysorn Shopping Mall (spelling?). It's near Central World Plaza. It's a high end retail mall and quite spectacular. Worth a walk around even if you don't buy anything. But you might end up buying a few items as they have many brands you would see back home at ordinary prices like Lacoste etc.

 

- Check out MBK mall... it is huge and very messy.

 

- Check out Siam Square and all the malls and stuff around there. It's the bustling centre of Bangkok.

 

- Feast on the breakfast buffet at the Dusit Thani or Le Meridien Hotels. Both pride themselves on their breakfast spreads. I think they're somewhere around the 600-800 baht/person range. But well worth it. Or go higher and have breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental overlooking the river. I've heard this is spectacular.

 

- Eat lots of street food... I love Bangkok for its streetfood On days where I'm working out of my hotel, there's nothing like ducking downstairs every couple of hours to grab a delicious skewer of meat or a bag of jack fruit to munch on.

 

- Take a Thai cooking class...

 

- Have lunch or dinner at one of the Scoozi Pizza restaurants (there are a few of them, one on Surawong Rd in Silom, a few blocks West of Le Meriden, same side of the road). The pizzas and desserts there are to notch and absolutely delicious. http://www.scoozipizza.com/

 

At night:

- Obviously, go to DJ Station

 

- Check out some of the famous straight nightclubs like Bed Supper Club

 

- There's also another straight club (plenty of gays there too). I can't quite remember the name. It opens very late, until 5 or 6am. Thai style (dancing at tables). It's in a huuuge hall and seems to get packed with over 1,000 people. There are pillars inside and each pillar has a little elevated dancing platform running around it. Had a few crazy nights there. Anyone remember the name of this place?

 

- Have a drink at the rooftop bar (70+ floors high) at the Lebua State Tower at Sunset. Highly recommend everyone do this at least once. It's probably the most spectacular spot in Bangkok. It opens at 6pm but there is a bar next to it, which opens at 4pm so don't be afraid to arrive early. It's one of the most spectacular bars I've ever been to. Drinks are at Western prices. Martinis are 400-500 baht but very well made and still less than I pay back home. (Dress code applies). Wine is 400-500/glass too.

 

- Vertigo Bar at the Banyan Tree Hotel is meant to be taller than the Lebua but I don't think it's as spectacular. Felt more crowded too.

 

- Watch a Thai Kickboxing match at National Stadium in Lumpini.

 

- See the show at Boys Bangkok in Soi Twilight

 

- Have dinner at one of the riverside restaurants a the Shangri La or Mandarin Oriental... romantic.

 

- Have dinner at the Suan Lum Nightmarket at Lumpini. There's a great big food hall with a stage where cover bands of varying talent play. Food stands on one side. Beer stands on the other. Cheap but good food. And walk around the market too, obviously.

 

- Take a dinner cruise on the river

 

- Have dinner at this huge restaurant: http://www.royal-dragon.com/aboutus.htm - Haven't tried it yet but it looks pretty cool. The staff bring the dishes out by rollerblading, "walking on water" or flying through the air (attached to wires). The food is meant to be ok/normal... but looks like a good experience.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZucdpkOyis

 

- Try and get some sleep. I hardly sleep at all when I'm in Bangkok. On my last trip I was there for over a week and think I had less then 3-4 hrs of sleep each night. Yet I feel more awake than ever in that city...

 

Might think of more later... Hungry now.

[Guest df358]

During the day:

 

- Take BTS to the National Stadium Station, visit the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Admission is free and the shows are interesting. Then visit the nearby Jim Thompson House (a traditional Thai house) which is about 10 min on foot from the art centre.

 

- Take BTS to the Saphan Taksin Station, get on the river bus and have a tour of the Chao Phraya river. One can take the river bus to the Grand Palace area or switch to the hotel boat to the Oriental Hotel or the Peninsular Hotel for lunch/ dinner.

 

At night:

 

- Visit the bars along Soi Sarasin (behind the Lumpini Park). There are 5 to 6 bars operating along the soi, some are gay and some are not. Go to Brown Sugar to enjoy the live jazz then the gay bars next door to meet some of the BKK middle-class gays. The gay bars there are more upmarket and the drinks are more expensive than Silom bars.

[Guest beachlover]

Thanks, DF358... The Soi Sarasin bars sound interesting. Really convenient location too. That area on the Northern side of Lumpini Park looks interesting. Will go for a walk there.

[Guest Motel69]

Wait a minute. What bars along Soi Sarasin? And what do you mean behind Lumpini Park? I'll have to look into this Soi Sarasin.

 

And is the gay bar you're talking about a club, like DJ Station, or just a regular bar?

 

By the way, last time I was in Bangkok, around New Year's 2010, DJ Station was dead. Sparse crowd. No young Thais. No hot guys. And the place kind of smelled. Anyone been there lately? Has it rebounded? Or is there any other club that is taking its place?

 

OK, here's my to-do list:

 

During the day--

-Sleep in.

-Make breakfast out of a lunch at Dusit Thani or one of the fine restaurants in the Emporium.

-Nurse my hangover and listen to an audiobook while gulping espressos at any Starbucks that has an open seat.

-Perhaps munch on a slice of carrot cake or chocolate cheesecake at Secret Recipe.

-Shop for Thai designer clothes (Greyhound, Bean of Jack, etc.) at Siam Center, still the best shopping experience for gay men.

-Head over to the fifth floor of MBK for a large mango and sticky rice and ask for a lot more sticky rice.

-Work off some of those calories at California Fitness.

-Don't work off any of those carbs and instead soak up some vitamin D by the pool, with occasional dips in the pool.

 

During the evening--

-Wonder why the fuck, at my age, I bought those bright red skinny jeans from Bean of Jack earlier in the day.

-Take a nap; it's gonna be a long night.

 

Late at night--

-Try to fit into those skinny jeans.

-Start at DJ Station, hook up with a native who knows the city.

-Let myself be talked into going to an after-hours club. Sometimes it will be just down the street at Freeman's (which like DJ Station was also rather dead during the most recent New Year's holidays), other times it will be a place called Foxy (straight but with plenty of gays). Please don't ask me how to get there or even where it is.

[Guest beachlover]

Some nice ideas Motel69.

 

I was at DJ Station a couple of months ago and it was terrific. Absolutely packed on weekends and relatively quiet, but still with a substantial crowd on week days. Love the place. The energy of it on a Saturday night and the number of cute boys looking around for a cute guy to meet is awesome.

 

GOD was busy some nights earlier in the year but really lacking on the one or two nights I went a few months ago.

 

Wait a minute. What bars along Soi Sarasin? And what do you mean behind Lumpini Park? I'll have to look into this Soi Sarasin.

 

And is the gay bar you're talking about a club, like DJ Station, or just a regular bar?

 

Yeah, I would really like to know this too. Anyone?

[Guest df358]

Wait a minute. What bars along Soi Sarasin? And what do you mean behind Lumpini Park? I'll have to look into this Soi Sarasin.

 

And is the gay bar you're talking about a club, like DJ Station, or just a regular bar?

 

 

Well, if u take the Lumpini Park entrance opposite to the Dusit Thai Hotel as the front of the park, then walk along the side of the park (Ratchadamri Road), at the end of the park, about 10 min on foot, is Soi Sarain. The bars there are not discos, they are Thai style bars similair to Expresso, the bar opposite to DJ Station. Use Google Map to look up Sarasin Road Bangkok.

[Guest beachlover]

Cool... Thanks DF358. I'm going to check this area out next time I'm in Bangkok. This might be where I choose to live if I ever make a home there. Looks ideal...

 

Sounds like you know Bangkok pretty well...

[pong]

remembered this thread-but due to some comp.errors in another webshop my contribution seems not to have gone through.

For ideas for BKK-daytrips: check a site like bangkok-daytrips (iuts linked via the paknamfora-on thailandqa).

Those Sarasin bars were/(never been-but from what I read) a fading wave for a few monthes-maybe 1 year. Sure-there are eternal, Sarasin V|bars/cafes, but a few went gay -and aimed at HiSo Chula students. That did not last long. And as all bars: late eve/night only=not daytime.

Frankly: this enormous city KrungThep Maha Nakorn is very low in sightworthy sites. If you are not into shopping (and most wats look like 13 in a dozen parking lots) it is very disappointing-compared to any European city. But thats Asian-multi-million cities like Jakarta or Manila have even less.

So maybe you follow up the cruising suggestions in another forum: visit all BigC supercentres and check out the loos for contacts-there are at least 30 in KTM.

As for the eves: that bentness on DJ (insure your ears for overloud music) will end-that means it gets time to visit the real Thai bars-gay students, in RamkamHaeng/Lamsalee or Chatuchak/Mochit (OToKo=along kampeng Phet Road). The blog ricequeendiary has various (a bit older) items on that.

[Guest beachlover]

Those Sarasin bars were/(never been-but from what I read) a fading wave for a few monthes-maybe 1 year. Sure-there are eternal, Sarasin V|bars/cafes, but a few went gay -and aimed at HiSo Chula students. That did not last long.

Bummer... I like the students from middle-class families.

 

Frankly: this enormous city KrungThep Maha Nakorn is very low in sightworthy sites. If you are not into shopping (and most wats look like 13 in a dozen parking lots) it is very disappointing-compared to any European city. But thats Asian-multi-million cities like Jakarta or Manila have even less.

Yeah, I do agree. I think the thing to do is feel and enjoy the energy and diversity of the city. It is an amazing city. I also think the best "sights" in Bangkok are simply in its nightlife, restaurants and skyline. I think one "sight" no one should miss is visiting the Sky Bar on top of the Lebua State Tower (with the dome) and having a martini there. It is just stunning. Best view in Bangkok by far and one of the most spectacular in Asia.

 

that bentness on DJ (insure your ears for overloud music) will end-that means it gets time to visit the real Thai bars-gay students, in RamkamHaeng/Lamsalee or Chatuchak/Mochit (OToKo=along kampeng Phet Road). The blog ricequeendiary has various (a bit older) items on that.

Yeah... been meaning to check these out. DJ Station is so good and I keep meeting better and better boys there that I never get around to it.

[PeterRS]

Best view in Bangkok by far and one of the most spectacular in Asia.

 

I suppose everyone is different. The view from Lebua and Vertigo at the top of Banyan Tree kind of leave me cold. Bangkok is just so flat there is really nothing to see but lights and a bit of river. Not that there's much river traffic after sundown. So I cannot put it in the same category of "views" as the bar at the top of the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo towards Mount Fuji, almost anywhere in Hong Kong, or even from the bar at the top of what used to be the Westin Hotel in Singapore towards the skyscrapers and river (don't know it's name now).

[Guest beachlover]

I suppose everyone is different. The view from Lebua and Vertigo at the top of Banyan Tree kind of leave me cold. Bangkok is just so flat there is really nothing to see but lights and a bit of river. Not that there's much river traffic after sundown. So I cannot put it in the same category of "views" as the bar at the top of the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo towards Mount Fuji, almost anywhere in Hong Kong, or even from the bar at the top of what used to be the Westin Hotel in Singapore towards the skyscrapers and river (don't know it's name now).

Agree Bangkok is rather flat. I find beauty in its size, vibrancy and never-ending sea of imperfect buildings. I always love the view out of any high rise in Bangkok.

 

I didn't find Vertigo that great but Lebua is amazing. Especially at sunset. Usually try to get up there once each trip.

 

A little talked about view is out of one of the top floors of the Dusit Thani Hotel, which overlooks Lumpini Park. The view facing the park with the sky line behind it is totally gorgeous, especially at sun rise.

 

I had this amazing "first kiss" up there on one of the balconies earlier this year. I met this really cute boy at a club one night... Our very first kiss wasn't until the end of the next day. But it was a really amazing kiss, high up on the balcony of the Dusit overlooking Lumpini Park, right at the tip of the building, with the sun setting and the Bangkok skyline all around us.

 

It was one of those unforgettable moments like Di Caprio's kiss on the bow of the Titanic and all... I wonder if anyone saw.

 

Haven't noticed any of the others you mention but the view out of one of the corner executive rooms in the Traders Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, or from the roof-top Sky Bar is insane...