Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife

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Photo of Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife by Ria Biswas

Bangkok is a place which can be enjoyed by all sorts of tourists.....couples, group of friends and even families with elders and kids. Everyone knows that Bangkok is literally a paradise for nightlife (particularly adult nightlife) but what people forget is that it also gives you a proper taste of Thai culture.

In this blog I am describing what other fun things we explored in Bangkok in our 3 days stay in the city. Now it is not that I am not fond of clubs and parties....but after exploring Pattaya Walking Street we kind of got a bit lazy to go and explore the Nana Plaza of Bangkok. Please give my other blog on Pattaya Nightlife a read to know more about the adult nightlife culture of Thailand.

Day 1

Unlike others who start their Thailand trip directly from Bangkok we started ours from Pattaya. After landing in Bangkok we had headed over to Pattaya for two days. So our first day in Bangkok was actually our third day in Thailand.

By the time our bus from Pattaya reached Bangkok it was past noon and by the time we arranged cabs, dropped our luggage in our Airbnb and freshened up it took 2 more hours. So by the time we reached our first spot for the day it was almost evening.

This is basically an indoor oceam world housing many sea creatures. For many people it might not be anything special but for us it was quite fun as we have not seen anything like that before. It is situated in a huge mall in Sukhumvit area and I remember we lost our way thrice before we could find the entrance to the ocean world.

Inside there were many sea animals preserved in well maintained aquariums.....the best being the huge overhead containers containing sharks. You could basically get a feel of scuba diving in some ocean without actually doing it. Though the ticket price was a bit on the higher side for us Indians (around Rs 1500 in Klook) but I felt it worth every penny. I highly recommend this to everyone particular those who are with kids.

Nemo Fishes

Photo of SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World by Ria Biswas

Shoal of Fishes

Photo of SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World by Ria Biswas

Electric Ray Fish

Photo of SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World by Ria Biswas

It was past 7 pm when we left the Sea World. So we did not waste time and headed straight to Mahanakhon Sky Walk instead. Now many of you might be wondering what a skywalk is. It is basically a glass passage created on top of a skyscraper which gives you a feeling of walking on top of the city.

The City Beneath

Photo of King Power Mahanakhon by Ria Biswas

On Top of the World

Photo of King Power Mahanakhon by Ria Biswas

The ticket price is a bit on the higher side (around Rs 1000 in Klook) and some people might not find it worth. So I will leave it to you if you want to spend this much for this experience. Basically you would be taken to one of the top floors with a lift which plays a 3D video about the skyscraper. After you enjoy the view from this floor you will be taken by another lift to the topmost floor (74th floor) from where you can see the vast expanse of Bangkok. Also there is a section where the floor is made of glass and you can see the other high rise buildings and roads below your feet if you stand here. I enjoyed this but I won't say it as a must see in Bangkok.

Vast Expanse of Bangkok

Photo of Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife by Ria Biswas

From the Sky Walk

Photo of Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife by Ria Biswas

On Top of the World

Photo of Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife by Ria Biswas

TIPS: Though most of my friends preferred to visit this in the morning but due to mis-planning we ended up here at night. I must say I enjoyed the night view more and now I would recommend others to visit this (if you are interested) at night only. Mornings might be sunny and there won't be any citylights. Just use nightscape mode in camera if you are worried that night time photography won't be as good as the day one.

Day 2

We dedicated Day 2 on a cultural tour of Bangkok. This day we started around 9 am though I strongly advise you to start as early as possible to beat the heat as well as the crowd. Also try to wear modest clothes for this day as Bangkok Grand Palace is pretty strict about dress code.

It is the main palace of Bangkok and a must see for anyone visiting Bangkok. The tourists are mainly allowed in the courtyard and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Thai version of the Ramayana is depicted beautifully in the wall paintings and it was good to learn about their version of the Hindu mythology. The ticket price is around Rs 1000 but it being one of the most important buildings of Bangkok it can be considered as a must see.

City Palace

Photo of Bangkok Palace by Ria Biswas

City Palace

Photo of Bangkok Palace by Ria Biswas

TIPS: Do cover your shoulders and knees when you visit here and they don't even allow use of a shawl or dupatta for the cover....a jacket or shrug is fine though. Also there is no option to rent clothes at the entrance.....they will make you useless yet overpriced shirts and wraparounds which will spoil your entire get up. After coming out of the palace however we observed that there are several shops outside renting out t-shirts and wraparounds. Unnecessarily and unknowingly my friends wasted money on those useless ones sold at the palace gates.

Also there is a popular scam prevalent here. When you walk towards the palace entrance many local guys will come as a well wisher and tell you that the palace is closed and so they will offer you alternative tour to some other random temples and shops. Please do not fall into their traps and go and check yourself at the palace entrance of it is closed or not (usually the palace is open).

Also the ticket you buy for the Grand Palace also includes a ticket to a cultural show held in a nearby auditorium. Free bus services for the auditorium are provided to and from the Grand Palace.

The Wat Pho or Temple of the Reclining Buddha is located at a walking distance from the Grand Palace. Here the dress code is much more relaxed but still better to cover up shoulders and knees to avoid hastle. I liked the system of this place much better than the Grand Palace. The ticket was cheaper and they even provided a free bottle of drinking water with every ticket.

Here the main attraction is the temple where you can see the Buddha in a Reclining position. We had to take off our shoes before we entered and plastic bags were given to carry our shoes in the temple (these bags needed to be returned during leaving). Inside the idol was literally huge..as an Indian I can compare with the Jain God Adinath's idol at Sravanabelagola. It is hard to see the entire idol together and impossible to bring it in a single frame for a snap. There are several smaller idols at one side and it is a ritual to offer coins to each one of them and make a wish. We did not do this as we had Wat Arun to visit next and it was already around 4.00pm.

Wat Pho from Outside

Photo of Wat Pho by Ria Biswas

The Reclining Buddha

Photo of Wat Pho by Ria Biswas

The Wat Arun is located on the other side of Chao Phraya River so you needed to catch a ferry. Fortunately the ferry station is very near to Wat Pho and hence we easily navigated to the station using Google Maps and got our tickets.

Chao Phraya River

Photo of Wat Arun by Ria Biswas

We did not have to wait much for the ferry and few minutes more we reached the other end. It was almost 5 or 5.15 when we finally purchased Wat Arun's tickets....closing time was 6. There is not much to do inside Wat Arun...just you can get some cool insta shots amidst the beautiful architecture. After we got our shots we went to explore the Buddhist Temple located in the area....as we needed to wait till dark to watch the Wat Arun getting lit up. And trust me it was definitely worth the wait. The light on the Wat Arun makes it shine like gold and you feel you are Infront of a golden pagoda.....no doubt it gives you a landmark shot of Bangkok.

Wat Arun in daytime

Photo of Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife by Ria Biswas

Wat Arun at night

Photo of Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife by Ria Biswas

TIPS: Avoid heels here as the stairs are pretty steep.

After taking numerous shots of the lighted up Wat Arun, we took our return ferry to the other side of river. Then we took a cab and headed to Khaosan Road mainly to have something proper to eat.

Now Khaosan Road area is one of the best area to stay in Bangkok as a backpacker. It is a huge walking street with numeral pubs, food joints and shops. We headed straight into an Indian restaurant to have linner and after that we decided to explore the street.

Khaosan Road is one of the best place in Bangkok for street shopping and having local food. Make sure to bargain properly before buying anything from here. Food wise you can try the exotic meat (notably crocodile meat), fried bugs (if you are interested) and other normal stuffs. It is a good place to go pub crawling with your friends and enjoy some live music. We did not however see many go go bars here like we saw in Pattaya Walking Street.....we were told that for adult nightlife people have to go to Nana Plaza in Sukhumvit.

Day 3

We tried to start this day as early as possible to reach Safari World before its first show that is around 10am. But as usual we were a bit late.

It was around 11 when we finally reached Safari World so we obviously missed the first Show which was an animal feeding show. So basically the Safari World conducts several animal shows where trained animals perform some tricks. Many animal rights activists might think this as offensive but it looks like these animals are well taken care of. Apart from the shows there is an animal Safari in the adjacent park.....it's your duty to find some time in between the Shows to do this Safari if you buy the combo ticket.

Our first Show was a Stunt Show which appeared quite boring. Within few minutes we came out and started indulging in photography inside the Marine Park (the part of the Safari World where Shows were held was called the Marine Park).

Beautiful Birds inside Marine Park

Photo of Safari World by Ria Biswas

Somewhere Inside Marine Park

Photo of Safari World by Ria Biswas

Posing off

Photo of Safari World by Ria Biswas

Then we headed straight for the Sea Lion Show. It was far more fun to see the sea lions doing some tricks rather than humans doing funny stunts.

After this it was time for lunch and the lunch buffet was already included in our ticket. The food was OKish and not so great. Take a note of what kind of ticket or combo ticket you are buying for the Safari World as different ones have different inclusions and exclusions.

Sea Lion Show

Photo of Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife by Ria Biswas

After this it was time for lunch and the lunch buffet was already included in our ticket. The food was OKish and not so great.

TIPS: Take a note of what kind of ticket or combo ticket you are buying for the Safari World as different ones have different inclusions and exclusions.

After finishing our not so good lunch quickly we took some pictures with tiger cubs and then headed for our Safari. There were free buses which operated at 30 min interval for the Safari. We were the only passengers for the 2 o'clock Safari as lunchtime was not yet over. So we enjoyed a lot watching the birds, herbivores and the big cats.

Inside the Safari Park

Photo of Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife by Ria Biswas

After the Safari we went to see two more Shows.....the Dolphin Show and the Bird Show. The Dolphin Show was probably my favourite amongst all. We even took pics with the dolphin after the Show with a payment of around 850 Baht for three people.

Posing with the talented dolphin

Photo of Bangkok Beyond it's Nightlife by Ria Biswas

The Bird Show was also beautiful specially when all the birds were called up at the end to pose.

I highly recommend this place for people having an extra full day in Bangkok particularly if you are accompanied with kids.

TIPS: You can even take pictures with the animals after the Show at an extra cost. Also there will be cubs whom you can feed and click pics with at around 1000 Baht for two people.

As you can see Bangkok is not only a city with vibrant nightlife. It has so many other fun places as well. Just don't go there and explore the nightlife and come back. Try to explore the city beyond its nightlife and create memories.