There’s 3 THINGS that anyone should know about a vacation in Bangkok. Having this information will make your stay in Bangkok not only better, but unforgettable.

We all want to make the most of our vacations. So here’s how.

 

3 THINGS: Where to stay, where to eat and where to have fun!

 

My trip to Bangkok started with a flight of 10 hours from Vienna. I handle long flights quite well, but usually I like to fly at night to be able to sleep on the plane. I left around midnight from Vienna and I got to Bangkok around 2 PM. Got my visa on arrival, really simple process and you only have to wait 10-15 minutes max.

I had landed just when they announced that the king died. Yes, sad, I know. But the saddest part was that their mourning is a little… long. Officially one year, but it was strongly felt during the first 30 days. That means no parties, no alcohol and only black and white clothes.

Ok… It wasn’t THAT bad! I actually had a lot of fun! So now that I provided you with the context for my trip to Thailand, let’s move on to the more interesting parts!

I started searching for rooftop bars and made a random list with the nicest ones.

Here’s the first one: Above Eleven.

WHAT TO EAT: They have in their menu seafood, pasta, fish, meat, but I would strongly recommend their Japanese food. The sushi and sashimi are amazing. Also they have a large list of drinks, especially cocktails. They usually have DJs on thursdays, fridays and saturdays.But the menu is less important when you have this absolutely astonishing view of Bangkok. Above eleven is at the 33rd floor of the Fraser Suits building and it actually has 2 floors.

This was my favorite rooftop in Bangkok.

Even though, as you’re about to learn, I’ve been to other more impressive rooftops, this one was very intimate and easily to fall in love with.

So if you follow my advice and go to Above eleven, you should know that just across the street there is one of the nicest secret bars: Havana Social.

HOW TO GET THERE: You head to the small dead end alley and on your right you’ll see a phone booth. You’ll have to call the place from your modern-day phone and they’ll give you to code that you’ll have to dial on the old phone inside the phone booth. Once you dialed the code, the wall behind you will open and you will enter a 1950’s Cuban speakeasy bar.
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WHAT TO DRINK: What do they have in their drink menu? Rum, and lots of it. The cocktail list is split into two sections: classic and experimental, dubbed Pre- and Post-Revolution .

Don’t forget to put on one of their hats and dance the night off to Cuban sounds!

Next on my fun list? Another rooftop, of course.

The next rooftop is a very classy and elegant one. And you probably have seen it before but you can’t remember where. Lebua Skybar is the rooftop bar where they filmed a scene of the movie Hangover 2.

 

TIP: I strongly suggest, and this goes for all the other rooftop bars that you’re gonna go to, that you go there right before the sunset so you catch both views: day and night, plus the amazing sunset scene.

Lebua Sky Bar is located at the 64th floor of the State Tower in Silom and it is a breathtaking experience. You can also have dinner there at their Sirocco restaurant, which you can see in the picture above, but you have to make a reservation at least a few days before.

OK, off to the next one.

Octave Rooftop Lounge & Bar features a lounge, a private room and a 360º view bar, at the 45th floor of the Marriott Hotel.

WHAT TO EAT: They have good sushi and great cocktails in their menu. Yes, their prices may be a little higher than usual, but the view makes it all worth it.I picked the table in the corner for a much wider view. The photos taken there are incredible.Enough with the rooftops for now? Ok, let’s switch it up a bit. Here another secret bar. Or better said club.

HOW TO GET THERE: The entrance is through a noddle shop and it’s a little hard to spot. It’s just a small wooden Chinese door next to Novotel. Climb down the stairs and the entrance is through the curtain with the emergency exit sign above it.Welcome to Maggie Choo.

They usually have live Jazz music, dancers in swings hanging from the ceiling and dancers in cages above the bar.The speakeasy atmosphere is easily created by the dimmed lights and good music. The place is filled with velvet seats and big leather sofas, bust statues, old paintings and swings hanging from the ceiling.

From time to time 2-3 dancers gather at a small table and play card games.

They also have some small private table where you can shut the doors enjoy the music and the solitude.

WHERE TO EAT: After a magnificent night at Maggie Choo’s, or better yet before going to Maggie Choo’s, you could enjoy a dinner with an amazing view at the Mandarin oriental on their Riverside Terrace.

The food is good, prices are decent, but the view… oh, the view… The riverside ambiance together with a good meal will make your day  a day to remember. The idyllic scenery will make you think that nothing is real and that you’re in a fairytale or in a really vivid dream.

But wait! There’s more!

Once you’ve finished your dinner at the Riverside Terrace, head back down the alley and on your left you’ll have the Bamboo Bar. Do go in!

​The original bar, Bangkok’s oldest Jazz institution, dates back to 1953 and this is how it looks like after going through the first renovation in 18 years in 2014.
Its design seems a combination of the old and the new, african style and thai style. Even though it is a quite small, it looks very elegant and sophisticated.

MY SUGGESTION: I suggest this combination of dinner at the Mandarin Oriental’s Riverside Terrace and drinks at the Bamboo Bar on a friday night where you feel like dressing up and going somewhere classy.There are some quite amazing rooftop bars in Bangkok. I’ll let you discover the other one on your own.

But of course there are a lot of things to do and to see by day. They have some astonishing temples which I recommend you visit. Actually you can’t just go to Bangkok and not visit at least one temple!

WHAT TO VISIT: The one I visited was Wat Pho – The temple of the reclining Buddha. I could only visit one because the other ones where close to public due to the death of the king.Visiting Wat Pho takes more than one hour, so arrange your schedule that day around it. Take at least two hours to visit. You will want to take a lot of because and to linger a while in the quiet areas where the monks pray or sing.It is really impressive if you catch them singing. If you have time, sit there with them and even though you don’t know the words to sing, listen to them, enjoy and take in all the good energy that they spread.
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WHAT’S THERE TO SEE: You will be impressed with how many golden Buddha statue you’ll see here. Well, if you want to know, it actually has more than a thousand Buddha statues. . The reclining Buddha statue is a gold statue of 47 meters and 5,5 tons (5,500 kg). There are a lot of beautiful temples in Bangkok and you should skip visiting the temples as it is a beautiful and unique experience.

​Bangkok is a city that has a lot to offer.

Delicious food, shopping malls, street food, temples, rooftop bars, secret bars, elegant restaurants, nights markets and shows.If you would like to experience a show in Bangkok, a ladyboy show, I would recommend one in Asiatique, at Calypso Cabaret, being a safe and clean area. Asiatique is a thai market with clothes, jewelry and traditional decorative objects. Right by the river there are also some nice restaurants where you can dine before the show.

If you want to experience a truly traditional thai night market, that would be at Khao San Road. It is a little dirtier, but you can drink and have fun and enjoy the whole thai experience.
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FUN EXPERIENCE: I am almost sure that everyone will want to experience the thai “ping pong show”, but be very careful because they will ask for a price to enter their club and they will promise you that you just pay the ticket and that’s it, but in fact the ladies will corner you and ask for money over and over again if you want to see anything. So you will leave the place paying at least 5 times the entrance fee. One last thing that you just HAVE to experience in Bangkok is a ride with a tuk tuk.

Keep in mind to always negotiate! They will know that you’re a tourist and their initial price will be twice as much as their last price is you know how to respectfully negotiate.

Thank you for reading this. I hope you enjoyed it, but most of all I hope it will make your stay even more interesting.
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