My first solo travel to Bangkok: 2 days Itinerary

Sahana Kulkarni
Apr 27, 2019
6 min read

Would love to visit this country again!!

Sometimes you tend to question your ability to do the things, do something unusual and interesting. Inspired by few female solo travellers who has travelled to many countries, i decided to travel after so much of hesitation and fear. If the travel bug bites you then there is no healing. Choosing Bangkok as my destination with both fear and excitement was the best decision i made.

The very important thing to keep in mind is to exclude the days of your arrival and exit while planning your itinerary. All i did the day i arrived is to get the Visa on arrival in Bangkok and then travel to the hotel. Some food and rest is all you would crave for the day you arrive.

Day 1

I took the local ferry from Asok and reached Panfa Leelard Pier. Local transportation is the best way to travel and i liked it as it was faster and cheaper. The connectivity to the places in Bangkok is very good and one can travel without any hustle. From Panfa Leelard Pier, Grand Palace is at a distance of 2.6 kms, easily accessible via tuk tuks.

Golden Mountain

Golden Mountain is a Buddha temple also known as Wat Sraket. The temple dates back to 14th century Ayutthaya period. It is built on a low hill and has 300 steps to climb. Do not be worried, it is a very easy climb. It has a golden Chedi and the Buddha relic. Age old trees welcome you as you start climbing the steps of the temple. As soon as you climb half way you get welcomed by the bells. The strange thing I experienced is you can wear your shoes inside the temple but only have to be removed if you are entering the shrine.

When you climb the stairs inside the temple to reach the terrace you get to see the skyline of Bangkok city. If you are visiting this place be sure you visit by evening. Not a pleasant experience if you are visiting by morning or afternoon as it is too sunny. One more interesting thing about this place is during 18th century hundreds of people died due to Cholera everyday and the bodies could not be cremated or buried on time and was the food for vultures here.

Entry fee: 50 THB

Entry time: 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM

Mode of Transport:

By ferry : Panfa Leelard Pier, Tuk Tuks, Grab

Grand Palace

The Grand Palace is one of the much visited attraction in Bangkok. It is a huge place which once served as the Royal residence and also has the famous temple of Emerald Buddha.

Built in 1782, the temple is on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. If you are planning to visit the Grand Palace then do arrive as early as 8:30am because this place gets too crowded and you cannot enjoy much. It can easily take half a day with as many as 35 structures to see. When I visited, the Grand Palace was about to get closed by 12pm and temple of Emerald Buddha was closed for public as there was some royal event going on.

Do not forget to dress moderately as shorts, tank tops are not allowed.

Entry fee : 500 THB

Entry time : 8.30 am - 3:30 pm

Mode of Transport:

Skytrain to Saphan Taksin station and then from Sathorn Pier which is few metres away from BTS, take a Express boat to reach Grand Palace.

Nearest local ferry : Panpha Leelard pier (around 2.6 kms away )

Grab (like Ola and Uber), tuk tuks

Wat Arun

After visiting Grand Palace, I tried locating Wat Pho which i found was nearby. But unfortunately Google map did not provide me with the proper navigation. After walking back and forth from Grand Palace for about 1km in the hot sun I decided to have my lunch and proceed further to Wat Arun famously known as Temple of Dawn. It is a royal temple dedicated to 2nd reign of Chakkri dynasty.

Wat means temple in Thai and Wat Arun is a buddhist temple dedicated to the Lord Aruna. Beautiful temple with the colourful porcelain pieces is a must visit. There are also two small temples outside the Wat Arun where Buddha statues and bed stead of King Rama II are kept. Kings of Thailand are worshipped by the people and they have temples of their own.

Entry fee : 50 THB

Entry time: 8.30 am to 6:00 pm

Mode of Transport:

By Express boat which would cost around 20 - 30 THB

Wat Pho

From Wat Arun I hopped into an express boat and reached Wat Pho. The disappointment of not visiting the place had disappeared. Wat Pho is a famous temple of 46m long reclining Buddha which is made up of gold and the feet is made up of sea shells. It is a royal temple built during the reign of Rama I.

Legs and shoulders should be covered while visiting any of the temples in Bangkok. You will also get the clothes for rent while visiting the temple.

Entry fee : 200 THB

Entry time : 8.30 am to 6.30 pm

Mode of Transport:

By Express boat

Local flower market - Pak Khlong Talat

Pak Khlong Talat - Local flower market is around 1-1.5 kms from Wat Pho temple and I found the sign board to this market in search of nearest pier. If you still have energy left out after walking all day long then you can try visiting this place.

No entry fee.

From the market while returning back i reached Rajinee Pier and got a ferry to Sathorn Pier which is very near to the Saphan Taksin Skytrain station. The boats usually end their service by 7:00 pm - 7:30 pm.

Transportation

From Don Mueang International airport to reach the city you can take A1 bus and get down at Mo-Chit which is the last stop and it costs you around 30 THB. From Mo-chit you have the connectivity to SRT(Skytrain) or MRT - Underground metro (Chatuchak).

From Suvarnabhoomi International airport there is an airport link connectivity.

Bangkok is well connected through Skytrain, MRT and the local ferries which runs through the narrow canals. Ferry is cheap and MRT, SRT comes at double the price of the ferry like 30 - 40 THB.

Day 2

Chatuchak Weekend market

After walking for around 15-16 kms on Day 1, i thought the Day 2 would also be hectic and to add to it was the scorching sun. I made a move towards Chatuchak Weekend market. It is the biggest market in Thailand and is open only on weekends. It has 27 sections and is easy to get lost. You get almost everything here, you name it you get it. It has around 15,000 stalls!!

You can spend whole of the day here. But be sure you reach the place early in the morning like 9 am or so when the shop opens.

No entry fee.

Mode of Transport:

SRT : Mo-chit

MRT : Chatuchak

Grab (like Ola and Uber), tuk tuks

Jim Thompson House

An American who was an Architect prior to World War II, was serving as a military officer from US in Thailand. After leaving the service he returned back to Thailand and showed keen interest in the hand weaving of silk, a neglected cottage industry. Thai silk gained recognition and fame under him and his business flourished.

He built a home in Bangkok which elevated a full story as a precaution to avoid flooding and followed a traditional Thai architecture. The house painted in red from outside is all made of wood. The house has the antique collection of chandeliers from palaces, stone idols from Ayuthaya, antique crockeries, paintings, idol of the Burmese king who attacked Siam(earlier name of Bangkok) and set the country on fire.

The house also has a balcony which overlooks the canal. And the beauty of this place is it is surrounded by lush greenery. You get the feeling of being in jungle and there is also a pond with the fishes. On March 26th, 1967, Jim Thompson set out to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia and disappeared later. No one saw him or there is any clue about his whereabouts.

His house is now maintained by The James H.W. Thompson Foundation.

Entry fee : 200 THB

Entry time : 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Nearest BTS station: National Stadium Station Exit 1

Bangkok Art and Culture centre

If you are a lover of art and has a keen interest in it then this is the place for you to visit. It is at a walking distance from the Jim Thompson House at a distance of less than a km. You get to see the stalls related to art work, photography exhibitions, book stalls and some cafes inside. It is attached to the MBK Centre which is a mall.

Entry fee: free

Entry time: 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM

Nearest BTS station: National Stadium

Lumphini park

I loved this park which is a huge one. I have not witnessed such a huge park with greenery all around and that too amid the hustle and bustle of the city. Several joggers irrespective of the age where seen jogging in the park and also there were couple of Zumba sessions going on where people can just join and start exercising. There is a big lake where people can do peddle boating. i was happy to sit alongside the lake and have a relaxing time.