How to spend (exactly) 24 hours in Bangkok?
 

At the end of our upcoming trip to Indonesia, we fly home from Bali to LA through Bangkok and have a 24 hour layover from 7 PM to 7 PM. We were in Bangkok a few years ago and, in addition to doing the floating market, tigers, and fishing village with one of Tong's crew, we visited many of the sights in Bangkok proper, such as the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Golden Buddha. Any suggestions on how to spend our 24 hours (assuming a few of them are spent sleeping)? We are a family of 3 including a 14-year old who will probably have had his fill of temples and museums by that point. Food is overwhelmingly important to us, so some suggestions for an interesting area or two to walk around plus some good eating suggestions might do the trick.

With such a short time I would hang around a mall or two doing shopping, eating, massage etc. By the time you'll get to your hotel it would be after 8.00PM so you will only have time for a dinner and sleep. The next day you will only have a few hours after breakfast before you have to return to the airport for your flight back home. If it was me I would stay in a hotel near or connecting to a shopping mall like the Centara(Central World mall) or the Siam Kempinski(Paragon Mall). Lots of food option but if you would like a specific recommendation then let me know on what type of food you like.

Hanuman--

Do we really have to leave for the airport before lunch? We'll presumably already have our boarding passes for the BKK-LAX segment and our luggage will have been checked through from Denpasar to LAX. I thought that we'd have to leave for the airport at 4:30 PM at the earliest (the flight actually leaves at 7:30 PM, not 7, as I stated above).

We're not much for shopping. Walking and eating, street food or otherwise, is more our style.

Zainib,

If you already have your boarding pass and your luggage are checked through you can leave your hotel at around 5.00 - 5.30PM. If it's a weekday and rush hour traffic I would go a bit earlier.

i would allow 3 hours before flt time to leave bkk... it is always always to be safe.... walk in bkk airport are long...

i would pick a hotel with a good swimming pool and good nearby restaurants and hqtr there....

marriott resort and spa
royal orchid sheraton
nei lert
sheraton grande
chatrium suites on the river
hilton
conrad
4 seasons
hyatt
plaza anthanee
are all some examples

How about doing a class at a cooking school? The Blue Elephant is convenient to the sky-train and has a morning class that includes a market visit. It would keep your 14 year-old engaged and you get to eat what you make at lunchtime.

Usually book amariwatergate.com bidding Priceline.com

betterbidding.com from $50/nt great area eats etc.

cruise around do what I like many options sawadee.com

www.amari.com/package.aspx?pid=147

amari.com/watergate

good values on agoda.com asiarooms.com sales also

if u do not want to bid.

In the heart of things my fav for price/value.

A highlight in BKK for my wife and I was taking a two hour private longtail through the canals leaving from near the Grand Palace. We paid 1500 baht and got every minute of two hours in the boat = we never got out of it. Had it all to ourselves so despite the price, it was priceless. Sitting down, in shade, with a nice breeze and the best views in Bangkok is such a great way to spend your precious time there. And your 14 year old will love feeding the fish from the boat at the temple - the fish take the food from your hands.

Untraafan, that's a great idea. I love love love doing klong tours. If the OP has not done one in the past, I agree that this would be a nice relaxing way to pass some time in BKK. And you really do see a different life along the klongs. You can also make a quick stop at the royal barge place and see a handful of the ornately decorated barges that escort the King when he travels on the Chaophraya River. And yes, feeding the fish is fun!

Zainib, do you have status with any hotel chain, a status that would get you a late checkout around 4-4:30? That way, you have a place to freshen up before heading to the airport.

Because you will be wanting to leave for the airport during rush hour, I would think a hotel in an area that gets you to the expressway very quickly would be best. The red lights in Bangkok stay red for a very long time! You can sit in traffic for an hour, barely moving.

With that in mind, the Intercontinental is on the 'right' side of the road to get to the expressway with maybe only one red light? (am I right hanuman?) The Bangkok Holiday Inn (which is really not a bad hotel) is right next door to the Intercontinental. Both are right beside the skytrain station. The skytrain would get you quickly to the river for that klong tour, should you opt to take one.

In any case, enjoy your 24 hours in Bangkok!

Carol

Thanks Ultraafan, a klong tour is a good idea--we didn't get to do one on our last visit. Is this something that we just arrange on the spot? Where exactly do we go to do it?

Carol--no, we are unstatused when it comes to hotels! I was looking at Adelphi Suites based on your recommendations on other postings and the fact that the rooms look large enough that we won't be on top of each other with 3 in the room. Is it in a good location for avoiding the red lights on the way to the airport?

Because I'm presuming that our luggage will have been checked through to LAX from Bali, we will only have carry-ons with us. Would it therefore be feasible to take the train to the airport (the SARL), especially as we'll be fighting rush hour traffic on the roads?

zainib - I would recheck if you can check through luggage with a 24 hour stopover especially going to the USA.

I've not done the train out to the airport, but it might be do-able. But, from Adelphi Suites you would have to navigate several very busy intersections and streets where traffic could be stop and go.. like a parking lot, unless you take the skytrain. Re: the stoplights to the expressway from Adelphi... you have only the stoplight at Sukhumvit/soi 4 intersection to wait for. That should be pretty easy.

I assume, with three people, that you are thinking of a double bedded studio at Adelphi? That should be OK for one night. I would not want to do that for very long. I'm not sure, but I think the apartments all have just one king bed. There is also a sofa in the living room, or you can add a rollaway and not be too crowded in an apartment.

BTW, the restaurant at AS (called Monsoon) is really pretty good. And Via Vai/White restaurant and bar, right across from AS is also very good. Great people watching!!! Soi 8 is such an interesting location. You will see lots of street vendors and small businesses, plus many apartment buildings further down the soi that have their tuk tuks running up and down the soi to the BTS station on the corner of soi 8 and Sukhumvit.

Is your one day in Bangkok on a weekend? Have you done the weekend market before? What an array of items!! An amazing display. Huge. Crowded. Hot. I go there every weekend when I'm in Bangkok!

Carol

(I agree with checking on those checked bags staying in the hands of the airlines at the airport... not sure about that)

Hanuman & Carol--Well, to the extent that a conversation with someone at the Thai Airways Los Angeles office can be relied on (and she did put me on hold for what seemed like a check with a superior), we can check our luggage through from Bali to LA. So, we're potentially a little more mobile to get to the airport train. Can we just get on the Skytrain to the SARL station and then change over to the airport train?

Carol--I was thinking of one of the suites with the separate living room with a rollaway bed for our son. As you say, it's only for one night (and the next night we get to sleep in our own beds, if you don't count attempting to sleep on the plane).

Unfortunately, we will be there on a Friday, so no market this time. Any advice from anyone on how we go about arranging a trip through the klongs?

I've never done the airport link. But, I think you can get on the BTS at Nana (soi 8/by Adelphi) and go two stops past Siam station (where Paragon Mall is) to Phaya Thai station. It might be where you can connect to the Makasan station which would take you to the airport. I wish we could get an answer from someone who has taken it!! Don't rely on my information. I'm just looking at a relatively new BKK map I have.

You'll be fine in one of the one-bedroom apartments at AS. Hope you enjoy your stay there. I find the staff to be friendly and helpful. Rooms are beginning to show some wear, but I have not found anything any handier to the Sukhumvit places where I spend most of my time.

Klong tours are easy. Take the skytrain down to Saphan Taksin station on the river. When you are leaving the BTS station, you should see small desks with tour offerings. Or, go on down to the river and see if someone will help you get a longtail boat for a couple of hours. You'll have to negotiate a price. Typically 1500 baht??

Carol

You can consider book in advance a tour of Ayuthaya. They will take care of your food too. They can pick you up from airport and drop you back. Usually costs 1400 Baht.

To get to the klong tour, we walked from the Grand Palace to the pier. It was less than a five minute walk but we followed our "handler" through an interesting, hippy-like market and fruit stands. I think we would have gotten lost if we weren't following somebody. Price is negotiable- they started us at 2,500 baht. I'm curious what a good deal is.

I second simpsonc510's suggestion about the weekend market. I was very impressed by it, especially after seeing the market in Chinatown. Bangkok's weekend market felt upscale for an open air market - along the lines of artists shops with a foot massage stall and cool bar area thrown in.

We did the klong tour for 1200 baht but that was a few years ago. In your original post you said "food is overwhelmingly important to us" - maybe you did not see my post on the cooking school at the Blue Elephant?

Forgot to mention, if you want good Thai food while staying at Adelphi on soi 8, walk just a wee bit further into the soi and you will find Kinaree, a house that sits back a bit from the street, down a 'driveway' of sorts. Very nice selection of food. Nice atmosphere. You can dine inside or outside. This would make for a lovely dinner, imo.

Carol