2 days in Bangkok: what to do

[Tech Tonics]

Family of 4. We like food, markets, food stalls, street food, etc. Also want to experience the sky train, big crazy shopping malls, etc.

Save the ladyboy/patpong/etc jokes

We are on Rambuttri, close to the lameness/mayhem of Khao San. A wasted teenager puked on my daughters feet. Good times. The massages, fruit shakes, and general vibe makes up for the douchebaggery though.

Thailand is fkn awesome.

[refried]

Somebody had to do it
Nothing constructive or helpful to add

[Fritz]

The outdoor markets are amazing if you're not doing ping pong show. Also consider doing a boat tour of the city w/ stops at the major temples, street food, etc. That was my favorite part.

[boltonoutlaw]

Bumping this.
Six days rnr in BKK. Since the last reply the foodie scene x social media mashup has uncovered some gems. Ate well from street and markets last time 34 years ago and looking to stuff my face for a week. Looking for your recs. Staying riverside near Phra Arthit terminal

[dan_pdx]

Somtum Der Bangkok is awesome: https://www.somtumder.com/home.html

I did a klong boat tour last time I was there that was really interesting.

I have some extended family in Bangkok and they took me to an amazing Thai restaurant when I was there sometime in the teens. If I can figure out what that place was called, I'll post it

[zion zig zag]

Chatuchak weekend market just to experience it. And once you get about a quarter mile into the stalls, and lose all sense of direction, and are almost overwhelmed with the heat/humidity and the crush of people, just imagine a fire.

And then buy some fake shit for Christmas presents.

[The AD]

Somebody had to do it
Nothing constructive or helpful to add

Did you know the music for Chess was written by Benny and Björn from ABBA?

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Any recent intel? Leaving on Tuesday.

No bar girl stuff, wifey and I are going to eat and look at stuff for a few days before heading to Koh Jum.

[irul&ublo]

Any recent intel? Leaving on Tuesday.

No bar girl stuff, wifey and I are going to eat and look at stuff for a few days before heading to Koh Jum.

What, you don't think the wife would enjoy watching ping pong balls being shot out of some girl's snatch?

[MontuckyFried]

My vote would be to hit up the Muay Thai scene! Huge part of Thai culture.

[CascadeCrudSkier]

Bangkok is an amazing city and a great time. Hopefully you're also getting away from it to experience the natural beauty of Thailand since that's pretty hard to find within the city.

My biggest recommendation when visiting any large Asian city is to sign up for a food tour for the first night you're there. Just google for companies that offer it and choose the one that's most convenient to your hotel or has the best reviews. Getting an English speaking local to show you the city, show you the best places to eat, and make personalized recommendations for the rest of your trip is worth far more than the tourist price you'll pay for the experience. Show up with an open mind and be ready to try whatever they recommend; including durian.

Make sure you've already downloaded and set up Grab on your phone, it's the Uber of SE Asia. You can schedule taxis or tuk-tuks with it so it's quite useful to get around the city without relying on your hotel.

Muay Thai is fun, as are the night or floating markets. We had a lot of fun years ago going to a Muay Thai fight in Pattaya where we just booked our taxi driver for the rest of the evening and bought him a ticket to join us for the fights. Even with broken English he was able to explain a lot of stuff that we wouldn't have understood about it.

If you work in a more formal line of employment and ever wear a suit then Bangkok isn't a bad place to get some tailored clothing. ANS Tailors is great and English speaking but there are tons throughout the city. It takes about 3 days to go from fitting to having it delivered to your hotel. They write all of your measurements down so you can always order more in the future and pay the postage to get stuff mailed to your home.

Definitely try a Thai massage, $20-35/hr is about the range for a respectable establishment in the city that's not based in a hotel. Outside of that is most likely either dirty or you're paying for more than a massage. It's not always enjoyable but your body will thank you after some old woman finishes walking over your back or re-arranging the bones in your shoulders. Your wife may not be too stoked when you bring it up but have her look into it; it's just a normal part of the culture there and isn't sexual. In the evenings you'll often see an entire (middle or upper class) family in the waiting room where even the kids are getting them.

Finally, Lumpini park, Baiyoke Tower at night (enjoy the seafood buffet near the top), and/or a river cruise are all good things to see. Enjoy the trip, Bangkok is one of my favorite places to travel to; I'd never want to live there but it's a must to experience.

[dunfree]

Any recent intel? Leaving on Tuesday.

No bar girl stuff, wifey and I are going to eat and look at stuff for a few days before heading to Koh Jum.

You could buy all kinds of crazy endangered species and rare woods in the markets if that’s your thing, otherwise some of thos insane shopping malls had wild ice cream shops, like durian ice cream

[Viva]

What, you don't think the wife would enjoy watching ping pong balls being shot out of some girl's snatch?

[exsparky]

Thai massage is different. Sometimes they really beat the hell out of you.

Muay thai boxing places can be very smokey, they also don't waste time on food they are there to smoke and gamble maybe drink.

[MontuckyFried]

If you work in a more formal line of employment and ever wear a suit then Bangkok isn't a bad place to get some tailored clothing. ANS Tailors is great and English speaking but there are tons throughout the city. It takes about 3 days to go from fitting to having it delivered to your hotel. They write all of your measurements down so you can always order more in the future and pay the postage to get stuff mailed to your home.

OH YEAH!!! Almost forgot! Their knock-off "Armani" suits are absolutely top notch. The tailors there don't screw around! Next time I need to stock up on some fresh duds, I got half a mind to make the trip back to Thailand and pick up a half-dozen suits or so. Even with airfare, hotels and food, I'd still probably come out ahead.

[bennymac]

Don’t do what I did and go there and do a bunch of hiking and sweating and then stop into BK tailors and the end of the trip to get suits and shirts made - and then have to have them all let out when I returned to regular life/diet

[skaredshtles]

OH YEAH!!! Almost forgot! Their knock-off "Armani" suits are absolutely top notch. The tailors there don't screw around! Next time I need to stock up on some fresh duds, I got half a mind to make the trip back to Thailand and pick up a half-dozen suits or so. Even with airfare, hotels and food, I'd still probably come out ahead.

What the fuck would someone even DO with half a dozen suits?!?

[subtle plague]

What the fuck would someone even DO with half a dozen suits?!?

Go to a very very classy pong pong girl establishment?

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Thankfully I've never had to dress corporate in my line of work.

Looking forward to getting out of this shitshow for a couple of weeks, not looking forward to trying to explain our actions to travelers from other parts of the world. It's going to be worse than 2016.

We're excited to eat good food and see some cool things, and hopefully some big monitor lizards. Not excited about any marauding monkey gangs. Or the upcoming 26 hours of flight legs.

[MontuckyFried]

What the fuck would someone even DO with half a dozen suits?!?

What WOULDN'T you do? With an actual plethora of suits, one could go full Barney Stinson! Going to McDonalds? Suit. Going to Wal-Mart? Suit. Going to play paintball? Suit. Sky's the limit!

[XXX-er]

My dad got the suits post WWII in Hong Kong, he was so impressed the next day he ordered shirts