My Bangkok Recommendations After Living Here for a Year
Bangkok is one of my favorite cities in the world. So much so that after sampling different places for a year and a half, Bangkok is the place I ultimately decided to move to and sign an actual long-term lease.
After having friends visit at various times over the past year, I have a whole bunch of recommendations and advice scattered through docs and notes and messages. This is my attempt to consolidate all my thoughts about Bangkok for someone visiting.
This post is long, so jump to whichever section you care about.
Expectation setting: you might not like it
Bangkok is like an ogre. It has layers. And the first layer isn’t very pretty.
I was kinda indifferent about Bangkok after my first visit. Lexi downright hated it. Most people I’ve talked to who love Bangkok didn’t really like it at first.
Personally, it took like 2-3 weeks for Bangkok to start growing on me. And one year later, it continues to grow on me. Every time I travel somewhere, I get excited to come back home to Bangkok at the end of the trip.
My point is that if you’re planning a short trip to Thailand (less than a month) and it’s your first time in the country, spend less time in Bangkok and more time in the northern regions (Chiang Mai, etc) and the southern islands/coasts (Phuket, Krabi, Samui, etc). A short trip isn’t enough time to truly appreciate how awesome Bangkok is, whereas other regions have more of a “love at first sight” impact, making them better for a short trip.
Some places are great for visiting. Others are great for living. Bangkok is definitely the latter.
Touristy stuff
You can find a million blog posts and videos about the classic touristy stuff. My main piece of advice is to avoid cramming in too many temples, especially if you’ll be going to Chiang Mai.
The one thing I’d say is totally worth it is the Reclining Buddha. Photos really don’t do it justice.
Areas to explore
A lot of tourists spend their time near Khao San Road, which is fine for a night if you want to get shitfaced, but there are far better areas to spend time.
I’m ordering this from quickest to most time-consuming.
For an hour: Lumphini Park
I mainly like this park because of the giant monitor lizards. They might look big and scary, but they’re harmless if you don’t provoke them. It’s never guaranteed that you’ll see one, but I usually see a few hanging around this area or this area near the water. They’ll usually either be swimming in the water, or wandering on land just outside the water. Sometimes they climb the trees near the water, which is really cool to watch.
For an evening: Train Night Market Srinagarindra
Thursday-Sunday night only starting at 5pm. This is my favorite part of Bangkok. Thailand is famous for its night markets, but most of them are glorified tourist attactions all selling the same mass-produced stuff, with flavors toned down to appeal to the average tourist. This market (also sometimes called Rotfai or Rodfai) is far enough out of the way that not many tourists come all the way here. It’s mostly Thai people here, so you can come here to get the real local market experience.
This part is the main food area to explore if you want to sample a bunch of small things while walking around, which is my preferred way to eat at a market. If you want a sit-down meal, there are tons of restaurants along the edges.
There’s so much more to explore than just food, though! Check out the airplane on top of a gas station and zigzag through all the alleys up to the northeast corner past all the antique shops and vintage cars.
There’s also a bunch of live music in this area and this corridor with actual Thai music.
I recommend taking the train here, especially since traffic can be horrible in the early evening. Take the Sukhumvit (light green) BTS to Samrong, then transfer to the yellow line and take it to Suan Luang Rama 9. Then walk through the covered corridor just north of this street until you reach the market. (Do NOT go through the Seacon Square mall. There’s a barrier between the mall and the market.) This route looks kinda rediculous on a map, but the train moves MUCH faster than cars and will get you there quicker than driving.
For an afternoon: Talad Noi
This is my favorite neighborhood to wander around and get lost in. There isn’t really a “must do” activity here, but there are so many delightful things to see just by walking around.
If you want a general walking route, here’s what I’d recommend.
- Take the MRT and get off at Hua Lamphong
- Follow the signs for the “Railway Station” and get out at that exit.
- Walk cross this pretty bridge
- If it’s lunchtime and you’re hungry, get an oyster omlette at Daeng Racha Hoi Tod. If there’s a long wait, wander around this area and go to any hole-in-the-wall spot that looks good.
- Walk past the Optimus Prime statue.
- Stop in this Chinese temple. Even if it’s closed, the wall across from the temple has some cool 3D artwork.
- Look at this cool map of Bangkok made out of random junk. See if you can figure out where your hotel is. It’s on the north end of the LEO Self Storage building, facing the street.
- Wander down this alley. If you see a stand selling pandan and taro snacks, GET THEM!
- If you’re still hungry, get some fishball noodles at Jay Hieng.
- Look at all the cool art on this corner, including the elephant made of car parts.
- Walk down this street and admire all the art.
- Stop at Mother Roaster cafe. Even if you don’t go in, check out the ground floor underneath the cafe, which is basically a junkjard full of wheels.
- From there, slowly walk through the little streets near the river towards Hong Sieng Kong.
- Stop in Hong Sieng Kong for a drink (either tea/coffee/juice or something alcoholic). It’s in a really cool old building and IMO it’s one of the most interesting cafes in the city.
Definitely deviate from this route if something catches your eye! And as you’re walking, don’t forget to look down and admire all the artistic manhole covers.
For a day: Bang Kachao (the “green lung”)
Bangkok can be kinda chaotic, and this is the perfect refuge from all of that. It’s a 5 minute boat ride (literally) from the city, and feels like it’s a world away.
Keep in mind that the bike rental place closes at 6pm, so you can’t really do anything after that. So go early enough to give yourself time to explore. Heading there any time before noon is fine.
Start your day by taking a Grab to this pier. (This is the of the only places I recommend getting to with a car rather than a train.) If you’re hungry, there’s a little market nearby where you can get some snacks.
Ask for a boat ticket with a return ticket. As of Dec 2025, it costs 20 baht ($0.64 USD) each direction. Go to the river and take the next boat across. Keep your little slip of paper safe for the return journey.
On the other side of the river, rent a bicycle. As of Dec 2025, it’s 100 baht ($3.18 USD) for the whole day. They’ll hold onto your ID as a deposit, and it’s safe to give it to them.
From there, spend the day biking around! Here are some spots to check out:
- Get Growing Community Farm has a giant wooden horse that kinda cool, plus a bunch of random animals that are fun to watch.
- Cycle aimlessly around the big park.
- Check out the bird watching tower. Even if you don’t see any birds, it’s really pretty to see the trees from above.
- This Hindu temple is unique since most temples in Thailand are Buddhist.
- Bang Nam Phueng Floating Market is a must visit spot on weekends before 4pm. It’s the most “local”-feeling market I’ve been to, even more so than the one at Srinagarindra. This area has old people singing Thai karaoke, and it’s a nice place to grab an iced tea and chill for a while.
- The Ozone is a great spot for lunch. The food is very good, and there are sometimes big birds (chickens, geese, peacocks) walking around as you eat that are less annoying that you’d think.
- Hiddenwoods Cafe is a nice spot to chill with a drink by the river, or get some air conditioning.
Don’t forget to be back at the pier by 6pm to return your bike!
Malls
This is a misleading word. I hate malls, and I hate shopping. But many of the malls in Bangkok aren’t what I’d typically think of as a mall. They’re more like entire neighborhoods that just happen to be inside a building.
I love killing a few hours wandering through various malls and not even going into stores. When people visit, I always take them to 3-4 different malls.
Also, the food courts in these are amazing. If you’re from the US, you’re probably used to mall food courts being a collection of big fast food chains. The mall food courts in Bangkok are basically the complete opposite of that. They’re mostly a wide variety of local restaurants, and the food is as good as anything you’d find outside a mall.
Here are some of my favorite malls. These are ordered from east to west, so if you’re going to a bunch of these, it makes sense to go in this order (or the reverse order).
Emquartier (best plant life)
Phrom Phong BTS stop
Enter through the main building. That’s the eastern building, or the one on the right if you’re coming off the BTS. Go down to the basement and do a lap through the food court just to see what it’s like. If you’re hungry, I really like the Indian place.
Then go to ground level, take the exit that gets you in between the buildings, and check out the waterfall flowing down the north building. There’s often an outdoor market in this area too.
Go back into the eastern building, go up one or two levels (doesn’t matter which floor), and walk across the short bridge to the Helix (west) building. There’s often some cool art or deecorations on those bridges.
Once you’re in the Helix building, take the escalators up to the 5th floor. Look up as you’re going from the 4th floor to the 5th floor. Yes, those are real plants.
Once you’re on the 5th floor, go outside towards Starbucks. There are a bunch of meerkat statues, and in general I just love all the greenery they’ve incorporated into this part of the building. The Starbucks patio is a nice place to take in a view of the city.
Now go up the outdoor steps, past all the meerkat statues, and go back inside. The rest of the floors are kinda cool because they all blend into one. Instead of stairs leading to distinct floors, it’s 4 stories of a gradual incline in a circle, which is kinda neat.
Bridge to Emsphere
Phrom Phong BTS stop
If you go to Emquartier, I highly recommend checking out Emsphere as well. Don’t walk on the street level. One level up (where the trains are), there’s a bridge that connects the two malls, and it goes really hard with the plants and decorations. Just a really lovely 5 minute walk. You also get a nice view of Benchasiri Park.
Emsphere (most artsy)
Phrom Phong BTS stop
Probably the most “artistic”-looking mall. The ground floor is really cool. The market area in the center of the ground floor is a place where everyone visiting us has wanted a picture.
Over by Shake Shack, there are some really cool neon lights and giant statues of food. Nearby there, there’s a hallway with a really pretty mosaic ceiling that leads to the western exit.
The 2nd floor has a bunch of car dealerships, including some fancy cars, if you’re into that.
The entire 3rd floor, going across two entire buildings is an IKEA. It’s supposedly the largest urban IKEA in the world. It’s cool because it’s the same size as those massive IKEAs you’d find in the suburbs, but they managed to put it in a super dense urban area.
Definitely do a lap through the 5th floor (Em Wonder) as well. Bunch of fancier spots here that I’ve never actually been to, but it’s a cool open-air area to wander around.
Terminal 21 (most unique/themed)
Asok BTS stop
Probably the most unique mall on this list. Every floor is themed after a different city (G: Rome, M: Paris, 1: Tokyo, 2: London, 3: Istanbul, 4+5: San Francisco, 6: Hollywood).
The area near the southeast enterance is the best part of the lower floors. I especially like the Japanese latners on the Tokyo floor and the Turkish lights on the Istanbul floor.
The highlight is the San Francisco floor, where there’s a Golden Gate Bridge going across the open area between floors 4 and 5. Look at it from the 5th floor, and you might notice the cars going the wrong direction 😂.
The food court on the 5th floor is legendary for being extremely affordable. It’s certainly not the best food (although it’s pretty good), but it’s extremely cheap and the portions are pretty small, so it’s a good place to go sample a bunch of different dishes.
Platinum Fashion Mall (cheapest / most janky)
Chit Lom BTS stop
Despite the name, this is the opposite of luxury. This is where to go to get stuff CHEAP. It’s less of a mall and more of a market with a bunch of little shops crammed together. Stuff here is like 1/5 the price that you sometimes find for the exact same products at other markets. This is the one I actually shop at when I want cheap clothing. I’ve bought anything from specific clothes for a costume, to athletic clothing, to a custom suit for a wedding.
It’s a bit out of the way, so only go here if you’re acutally looking to shop for cheap clothing. Despite what it looks like, you don’t need to go down to the street to get here. From the bridge that connects all the malls, you can walk through Gaysorn Village on the north side of Sukhumvit and follow signs for Platinum.
CentralWorld (biggest)
Connected to both Chit Lom and Siam BTS stops
This one is HUGE! I don’t have specific recommendations other than marveling at the scale of it. There are usually some massive decorations outside on the east side of the building, which you can see from the bridge that connects the BTS to all the malls.
Siam Paragon (best food court in the area)
Siam BTS stop
The food floor. Go to the food floor (ground level). If you’re in the Sukhumvit area and want to check out a lively mall food court, I think this is the best one to visit. (ICONSIAM is the only one that’s more impressive, but it’s not in this area.)
The western enterance around here is also pretty cool to see. There’s always some insanely huge decorations both immediately inside the enterance, and outside in the plaza area.
Aside from the food court, the mall itself is more known for luxury shopping, and I find it kinda boring.
This is also a good BTS stop to get off at if you want to check out a bunch of malls in one stop, all with different feels. There are 4 malls at this stop that all kinda blend into each other. To the west of Siam Paragon, you have Siam Center and Siam Discovery, which are both far less luxury than Siam Paragon, and more funky. On the south side of Sukhumvit Rd you have Siam Square One, which has a lot of nice outdoor walking space.
MBK Center (for fakes / knockoffs)
Siam BTS stop, but not connected by a bridge
This is an enormous mall full of fake stuff. Like knockoff designer clothing and handbags and stuff. Cool place to browse if you’re into that kind of thing. If you look like you might have money, you might get invited into some of the back rooms that have higher quality fakes.
This is the only one on this list so far that you can’t get to directly from the bridge that connects the BTS and all the malls. It’s still pretty easy to get to, but since there are so many others directly connected to the BTS, it’s only worth coming here if this particular mall interests you.
ICONSIAM (most impressive food court)
ICONSIAM pier, or Charoen Nakhon BTS stop
This is one of the newest and most “grand” malls. The food court on the ground floor is an EXPERIENCE, both due to the variety of food here (coming from every region of Thailand) and just the sheer amount of effort they put into creating an aesthetic. Just look up “ICONSIAM floating market food court” on Google Images to see what I’m talking about.
I think it’s worth going out of your way just to go to this food court. The ambiance is incredible, and you could spend hours exporing it if you wanted to. Aside from that, there are a bunch of luxury stores you can browse, and the riverfront plaza is really nice.
Google Maps makes this look like a pain to get to, but that’s only because it doesn’t include boats in its transit routes. It’s about at 15 minute boat ride from the main tourist attractions. If you’re coming from the Grand Palace, get on at this pier and the boat will drop you off right at ICONSIAM. If you’re coming from the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho), get on at this pier.
Food
Bangkok is such a top-tier food city. Not just for Thai food, but for other cuisines as well. Here’s a sampling of places I love. These aren’t necessarily recommendations, since everyone’s preferences are different. But these are places that I personally keep going back to.
Roughly ordered by how much I go there:
Uncle Liu
This is by far my most visited restaurant in Bangkok. Basically a street stand with an old grumpy couple cooking up some of the best food I’ve ever had. The food is a blend of Thai and Chinese cuisine and I’m obsessed with it. My go-do dish is the tomato+egg thing with crispy pork. I think I’ve had that specific dish at least 20 times and it never gets old. The tom yum with seafood is also really good.
Tsukemen Go Go
I’ve always loved ramen, but this placed made me like tsukemen even more. If you’re not famililar, it’s basically a variation of ramen where the noodles are served on the side rather than in the broth to avoid getting soggy. The broth sits on a stove throughout the meal, and you dip the noodles in as you eat.
Bangkok Banjom
Korean-Chinese food. The jjajangmyeon is delicious if you want a classic Korean-Chinese dish, but the Kkan Pung Sae Woo (fried shrimp w/ garlic) is what I’m really obsessed with. The sauce they put on it is addictive.
Bamee Kon Sae Lee
Great egg noodles. Great fried rice. Get anything with Chinese sausage or crispy pork on it. The cheese wontons are a weird blend of flavors that are surprisingly delicious.
Rung Rueang Pork Noodles
Probably the most well-known spot I regularly go to. You can probably find a ton of people talking about this online. The hype is well-deserved. My go-to order is tom yum dry (no soup), medium rice noodles, no pork entrails, large.
Thong Smith (lots of locations)
This is a great intersection of taste and convenience. I’m sure there are better or more “authentic” boat noodles elsewhere, but for a chain with a ton of locations, this place is really damn good. There’s one in almost every mall, so you’ll definitely be near one at some point.
(P.S. You’ll probably see the word “thong” a lot. It’s the Thai word for “gold” and is pronounced much differently than how you’d pronounce those letters in English.)
The chicken biryani stand next to the drink stand at Whale Market
Weekday mornings only. Go to this market, and on the south side (I think) there’s a stand selling Khao Mok Kai, the Thai version of chicken biryani. It’s immediately to the left of a stand selling drinks. You can probably find it by looking for the long queue. It often sells out by noon, but anytime before 11:30ish should be totally fine.
Mae Varee
You can’t leave Thailand without having mango sticky rice at least 5 times. You can get it all over the place, but if I had to specifically recommend a single place, it would be here. Mainly because this one has a unique spin on it, with the 3 different flavors of sticky rice (normal, pandan, and butterfly pea). Also, I think this place goes through so many mangos that they tend to be fresher than they’d be at a random restaurant.
Rangoon Tea House
Burmese food wasn’t on my radar until I lived in Bangkok, and now it’s become one of my favorite cuisines. My friend who visited for a long weekend said this was his favorite meal he had in Bangkok. This is the kind of place where you’ll want to get a bunch of different things and share them family-style. Definitely make sure the tea leaf salad is one of those things.
Prikhorm Curry Noodles
I’m gonna sound so stereotypical, but khao soi is possibly my favorite Thai dish. It’s everywhere in Chiang Mai, so don’t waste your time with this place if you’re going there. But if you’re not going up north, this place has the best khao soi I’ve had in Bangkok.
Daeng Racha Hoi Tod
A dude on the street making an incredible oyster omelettes. Tbh, it’s kind of an acquired taste and I don’t think many people would like this. But since this is a list of places I personally keep going back to, I had to include this. Side note, this is in Talad Noi, which is my favorite neighborhood to wander around for an afternoon.
Thong Lo Yokocho
I spent 3 weeks in Japan last year. Soup curry was my favorite thing I ate that whole trip. It’s a regional dish from Hokkaido, but this restaurant in Bangkok makes a very authentic version of it.
Nawa (Fancy/expensive)
I’ve only been here once because it’s expensive, and I generally go for street food rather than fancy places. I wasn’t going to include it on this list, but I’m putting it here because everyone we’ve sent here said it’s one of the best fine dining experiences they’ve ever had.
Drinks
I don’t really drink that much, so I’m not the best person to ask about this. There’s really just one spot I always try to get friends to go to with me when they visit.
Rabbit Hole
Every cocktail on the menu is named after a different city around the world (Paris, Tokyo, Mexico City, etc) with flavors from that city. While that sounds like a gimmicky way to get people to Instagram their drinks, they’re actually really really good. My favorite drinks are the Mexico City and the Bangkok.
Getting around
Grab (basically Uber)
Definitely have the Grab app on your phone and link your credit card. It’s basically the same thing as Uber. Use it when you want a ride somewhere, since taxi drivers will always try to rip you off if you don’t speak Thai, but the apps will give you a fair price. (Bolt is even cheaper, but I find it to be a little less reliable.)
Trains
However, I can’t stress enough how shitty the traffic is, especially on weekday mornings and evenings. If your start and end points are anywhere near a train, I highly recommend taking the train. The trains are super efficient and reliable, come every 5ish minutes, and almost never get delayed.
The MRT (the underground trains) take Visa (you can just tap your credit card on the turnstile without buying a ticket or anything), so that’s easy.
The BTS (the above ground trains) take Rabbit Card. You can also buy one-off tickets, but that’s a waste of time, so I highly recommend getting a Rabbit Card on your first day. You need your passport and some cash to buy one. Go to a ticket counter, tell the person you want a new Rabbit Card, and tell them how much money to put on it. The card itself costs 100 baht (around $3 USD), plus however much you want to load onto it for train fares.
Motorbike
The actual fastest and cheapest way to get around is by motorbike taxi, which you can call on the Grab app. These aren’t as affected by traffic because they can weave in between cars. I personally find these too dangerous and don’t take them myself, but it is a very common way to get around for people with a higher risk tolerance.
Safety
Bangkok is an extremely safe city. If you’re used to traveling around the US and Europe, Bangkok is probably safer than 95% of urban areas you’ve been to. Thailand as a whole is a very respectful, high-trust society.
In the touristy areas, take the same precautions you’d take anywhere else in the world. Outside the touristy areas, you really have nothing to worry about. I suppose anything can happen in a city of 10+ million people, but crime here is rare enough that it’s not worth being concerned about.
The reason I bring this up is because Bangkok can be such a fun city to explore if you just wander without a particular destination. If you see an alley that looks interesting, wander down it and get lost, even if it’s dark outside. You don’t have to worry about ending up in a “sketchy alley” or “bad part of town”, because that’s not really a thing here. It’s incredibly liberating, and one of the things I’ll miss the most when I leave.
Videos
If you have a bunch of time to kill before your trip, these are two videos I send to everyone visiting Bangkok.
The Bangkok List to Rule Them All
Most videos about things to do in Bangkok are from annoying kids in their early 20s who came here for a week and pretend to know everything. This middle aged Canadian dude lived in Bangkok for years, and actually knows what he’s talking about. I agree with most of his opinions, and his list goes into way more depth than just the overcrowded touristy spots.
Should We Move To Bangkok?
This gives a really good glimpse into why I love living in Bangkok. Which sounds kinda weird given that this video is a Swedish couple who doesn’t live here. But they made this video on their 30th visit to Thailand and capture the day-to-day experience here (as opposed to the tourist experience) better than any other video I’ve seen.