The Thai capital offers some sights and to ease your search for locations while visiting Bangkok, I gathered the most visited tourist attractions one shouldn’t miss while visiting this wonderful city.

Pị kạn t̄hexa!  (Let’s go). Our tour will start with…

Wat Arun

“Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchaworamahaviharn”, or simply known as “Wat Arun” as the temple is called by its full name, is named after the Hindu deity Aruna, the god of the dawn. Therefore, the temple also bears the nickname Temple of the Dawn. Even though the most beautiful to look at is the temple at sunset and at night when hundreds of lights let the Wat Arun shine golden.

Take note: some of the temples have some simple dress code before they allow you to enter, shorts and sleeves will easily deny you an entry.

Once on the temple complex, you can climb up the steep stairs to the Phra Prang, the central tower with a height of 80 meters. At the top you can enjoy a wonderful view over Bangkok and the nearby Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaeo. Also the tower itself with its colorful mosaic tiles and Buddha figures is well worth seeing.

The Wat Arun is located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, opposite of the Tha Tien Pier, from which a shuttle boat crosses to the temple on the other side of the river for 5 baht. You get the best pictures from the entire temple from Pier, because otherwise the Wat Arun does not fit that well into the normal camera picture unless you’ve got a wide angle-lens or a gopro. ?

Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo

“Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram”, as the Wat Phra Kaeo is called with its real name, is the temple of the Emerald Buddha, which is now situated in the ancient Grand Palace. Since the King is greatly admired in Thailand, actually every Thai visits here at least once in his life. I would even claim that the Grand Palace with the Wat Phra Kaeo is the most important attraction of Bangkok. Due to a public holiday, We almost missed our chance to see the Grand palace during our stay since we’re lucky enough we had the chance to enter in the Grand palace premises in our second day.

The interior of the temple is very impressive with its golden Chedi, statues and the chapel of the Emerald Buddha (Phra Ubosot). It is not easy to describe the temple and I think everyone should have seen it at least once. More information about the temple you can find on the net.

Take note:

• It should be ensured that the legs and shoulders are covered.

• Taking photos or recording videos inside the temple is strictly prohibited, though I sneaked  and took both photos and videos during our visit.

Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha

In the center of Bangkok’s old town is the Wat Pho temple, not far from the Grand Palace. It is still called Wat Pho, but its official name nowadays is “Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimonmangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan”. The whole temple complex with garden, Chedis and Prangs is well worth seeing, but the highlight is definitely the Reclining Buddha statue. The 45 meter statue is a very popular photo theme.

Reclining Buddha in the Wat Pho temple:

 

Boat tour on the Chao Phraya river

A tour up and down the Chao Phraya River is on the wish list among many visitors and there is a high range of the long-tail boats for such ventures accordingly. The price set by the drivers is already relatively high and the real price depends probably on your negotiation skills.

My recommendation, even if the boats are relatively full, tour the river for about 40 baht with the Chao Phraya Express Boat from the first to the last station, because especially at stations further away from the center (the corner to Wat Arun and Wat Phra Kaeo) at times the boat is very empty and you have your peace. For the route network of the boats you can read our transportation guide to inform in advance.

Chao Phraya Express Boat

Not only on the Chao Phraya you can make a great boat tour, but also on the small canals (in Thai called Klong). Good to combine with visiting the nearby-tourist attractions, because you can do great tours alone or in a group from there. It is very much worth it to go through the canals and to observe life.

Victory Monument

This monument was erected in June 1941 to commemorate the Thai victory in the Franco-Thai War, Victory Monument has long served as one of the busiest transportation hubs in Bangkok. Nearly all public buses and vans to the city’s outskirts as well as nearby beach towns leave from this area.

The monument is located in Ratchathewi District, northeast of central Bangkok, at the center of a traffic circle.

Shopping Malls

Very popular for Thais are also the many shopping malls in Bangkok. It is best to take the BTS Skytrain to Siam and walk from there. Close to the high-priced Siam Paragon and Siam Center is the MBK Center located, which has many favorable products such as clothing, shoes, souvenirs, movies (original and copied) and more to offer.

You can still get things a little cheaper, if you’ll walk along the Ratchadamri Road and past the Central World Plaza. After crossing the Saen Saep river, you find the Platinum Fashion Mall, where almost only Thais go shopping. Everything here is much more cheaper and – how could it be otherwise – you can find hundreds of stalls in front of it, of course. This area is a shopping paradise! ?

Siriraj Medical Museum or Siriraj Museum of Death

Hidden away on the busy streets of Bangkok, Thailand, is a little museum that is equal parts fascinating and nightmarish called the Siriraj Medical Museum. At this point, you might be saying, “Medical museum? So what? That doesn’t sound too scary.” That’s where you’re wrong. This museum has some of the freakiest medical oddities in the world on display, and just seeing them might keep you up for weeks. just look at the photos and/or visit it for yourselves to know what I am saying.