When traveling southeast Asia, you won't be able to not go to Bangkok at least once. Bangkok is just the central metropolis for everything in the region. In my opinion, being forced to go to Bangkok is not necessarily a bad thing though. It's one of the most vibrant cities I've ever been to and there is so much to explore here. In this post I will talk about my experiences in Thailand's capital and give you some advice about what you should and shouldn't do. I will also talk about why Bangkok is in my opinion the least Thai place I've been to in Thailand.

About Bangkok

Bangkok is Thailand's capital and with a population of close to 15,000,000 in the metro region, by far the biggest city in Thailand. The city is the most important center for the national economy. It is an important regional force in finance, business and pop culture as well as an international hub for transport and healthcare.

Many rankings consider Bangkok to be the most visited city in the world. It is known for its cultural landmarks like temples or the Grand Palace, as well as the nightlife and the corresponding red-light districts.

The first settlers settled down in what now is Bangkok in the 15th century. Back then it was a trading post, which grew and became the site of the capital in 1768. The city has since been the center of modernization and politics in Siam, which later became Thailand.

My experience in Bangkok

Traveling to Bangkok

Unsurprisingly, it is really easy to travel to Bangkok. There are tons of trains, buses, fights and ferries going to the city. What might be a bit more challenging is getting to where you want to go in Bangkok, but if you know how, even that gets really easy. The public transport system in Bangkok is really great. You can choose between 8 urban rail lines and dozens of bus lines. The subway goes around all the important parts of the city and it does it fast and for a pretty low price.

This massive amount of options, makes it a bit complicated to not get lost and find your train / bus. Luckily all of the signs around the stations have an english translation and therefore are easy for a foreigner to understand. Once you understand the general system of the public transport in the city it gets really easy to get around. Buying tickets is also really easy even if you don't have a commuter card. In that case you will get a free token, that you will have to give away when you are at your destination. This system is in my opinion better than the ones I have seen in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, where you sometimes have to buy a commuter card in order to be able to use the public transport.

Finding your destination in some parts of the city might be a bit tricky as well. My hostel for example was in the middle of China Town behind all of the markets in a small street and was therefore not very easy to find. Looking for it was a nice experience though, because Bangkok's China Town felt more like China than any China Town I had seen up to that point.

China Town

My first hostel in Bangkok was in China Town, which itself is located pretty centrally in the city. Bangkok's China Town was by far the best I have seen anywhere in southeast Asia up to that point. Not only was the food they sold Chinese, but also the architecture and the houses around here were really Chinese. I really liked the tight walking streets between multi-story buildings with dozens of shops selling everything from little snacks to toys.

China Town is especially nice at night, although it gets really crowded. As soon as the sun goes down, all of the food stalls are being built in the streets. At around 8pm China Town is full of people selling food and people wanting to buy said food. I've seen one of the broadest selections of foods in that market and all of the food I tried tasted really good.

The only thing I really disliked about China Town was that it felt way too commercialized. There were pretty much only tourists in the streets and all of the food was really expensive (for southeast Asia that is).

City center

While China Town is pretty much in the city center, it really does not feel like it. While Bangkok's actual city center does not nearly have a skyline, that is anywhere as impressive as Kuala Lumpur's it still feels very advanced and modern. I am especially impressed with the public transport, which from my experience works way better than anything I have seen in Germany, while being a lot cheeper.

When walking through most parts of Bangkok, it seems like every second house on the major roads is a temple. Some of the most beautiful Buddhist temples I've ever seen where in Bangkok, but after a while you get sick of all of the temples and just ignore them (at least that's what it was like for me). I found it was really interesting to see the modern city combined with the really traditional and old temples.

It's always the little things, that make you really appreciate a city's vibe. For me one of Bangkok's highlights was the Rimwat Café. I'm pretty sure it was the best café I've ever been to. I especially enjoyed the attached book store with one of the best selections of books I have ever seen (they had Nietzsche, Saint-Exupéry, Camus and many more). Rimwat Café is a really great place for a break from the hectic city around it and I highly recommend giving it a try.

The Wat Phra Chetuphon temple is one of the most popular buddhist temples for tourists in the world and while it might be really big and beautiful, I prefer to just go to a smaller and less known temple. All of the big temples didn't really feel like temples but more like tourist attractions to me. In my opinion the only way to get the buddhist experience is to go to a smaller less crowded temple. It might still be worth walking past one of the big temples, because they are gorgeous.

Another really popular thing for tourists to do in Bangkok is to go shopping in one of the countless malls around the city. I'm not really into shopping, but I had to buy a few books and therefore checked out a few of the malls in Bangkok. In my opinion the best place to go shopping is Pathum Wan. There are tons of malls, which however feel really western. They pretty much only sell stuff from western brands and there is almost no culture at all to see here.

As I mentioned before, Bangkok is also known for it's nightlife and the corresponding red-light districts. The most popular place to go out at night is Khaosan Road. I went there at night to see how it compares to Bangla Road in Patong, Phuket and I must say I'm kind of disappointed. I expected Khaosan Road to be way crazier, than it actually was. Maybe I was there a bit too early, but when I got there, there were a few bars, you got invited to a few ping-pong shows and it was definitely not family friendly, but it was not nearly as crazy as it was in Patong. Everything was way more expensive than on Bangla Road, though. So for me it seems that Khaosan Road is just a bit of a ripoff and not really worth it (even if you are into the Thai nightlife).

Bangkok also has some really nice food to offer. While it was one of the most expensive places to eat on my whole trip, it was also one of the best and the one with the broadest selection. There is hardly any cuisine, you won't find in Bangkok and all of the food tasted good and authentic. Street food is also really common in the city, but again a bit more expensive than elsewhere. The key is to not only look for street food in China Town, since the prices there are really high and the other regions of Bangkok also have some really nice street food to offer. Personally I really enjoyed the Family Restaurant right next to one of the rivers.

How Bangkok is the least Thai place in Thailand

To me Bangkok seems like a really odd capital, because it does not really represent it's country. From my experience, the culture, vibe and way of life in Bangkok is quite different from all of the other places I have been to in Thailand. That might be because Bangkok is by far the biggest and economically most important cities in Thailand.

The first thing where Bangkok is different from the rest of Thailand is, that it feels like a big city. None of the other Thai cities I've been to felt like big cities (maybe because none of them were). The next biggest city in Thailand after Bangkok is Nonthaburi with a population of about 250,000 (so a lot less than Bangkok). Therefore Bangkok is the only city in Thailand, that has this big-city-feeling to it.

Bangkok also feels a lot more western than any other place in Thailand. This is probably due to the the fact, that many international companies have their regional headquarters in Bangkok and therefore spread their influence in this region. Everything is very modern and up to western standard. One will also find a lot more clothes or cars from western companies, than in the rest of Thailand. From my experience the whole way of living in Bangkok is way more western, than anywhere else in Thailand.

The people in Bangkok are also very different. It seems like everyone is a bit more stressed in Bangkok than elsewhere. People are really nice, but from my experience, people are way less genuine and kind than in other parts of Thailand. Obviously there are exceptions, but that's what I and a lot of other people noticed during our stay in Bangkok.

In my opinion the biggest difference between Bangkok and the rest of Thailand is the vibe. All places in Thailand except Bangkok I have been to were really chilled and laid back. Bangkok on the other hand was really hectic and fast-paced. When I was eating food, I sometimes had the feeling, that the restaurant wanted me to eat fast and than immediately leave. Most people on the street were walking really fast and also the traffic was quite stressed. In the evenings it got better however. Then you could see a few people hanging out in the parks or just chilling, but over all it still felt a lot more hectic than anywhere else in Thailand.

What to do in Bangkok

Bangkok is not the world's most visited city for no reason. It has so many things to offer, no matter what you are into. My favorite things to do were

• Explore China Town
• Visit some of the big and small buddhist temples around the city
• Try out all of the different kinds of food the city has to offer
• Look around some of the book stores around the city
• Walk along one of the canals in the evening
• Go to a shopping malls

Conclusion

Normally I'm not a person, who is into big cities, but I had to go to Bangkok to catch a train anyways and figured, that I might as well check it out while I'm there. I ended up staying there for a few nights and in the end I did enjoy my stay in Bangkok.

It was especially the cultural things like temples and palaces, that you could see in combination with the modern high-tech city with people and foods from all over the world, that made me appreciate the city. However I also have to say, that I did not really like the hectic nature and western feeling of the place.

Some people say about Bangkok, that it's just another big city, and while I don't fully agree with this statement, there is some truth to it. So after all, I would recommend everyone who is going to Bangkok anyways and has a few days to spare to check out the city, but in my opinion it's not really worth staying there for long.