Bangkok Acoomodation For Two Nights Solo

sny17

I'm doing a layover in Bangkok en route to Australia. I want to buy some decent fakes in the markets. Female and traveling solo, I've done the general googling on things but I'm looking for suggestions on:
1. Where to stay?
2. Things to do when there?
3. Any general tips! is it safe etc.

I'm mainly going for the markets, so should I stay near them? I'd also like to hit up a massage/spa place and see a few things.

Thanks!

TPD

The massive weekend market is a bit outside of town, but served by either a skytrain station or metro station - can't remember which. My advice would be to get a room close to a skytrain/metro station, for ease of getting around. If you're in/out of the bigger airport (Suvarnabhumi?) there's a connection running into town.

Things to do... There are a few fairly big temple complexes which are worth a look. Street food is tasty and plentiful. Nightlife can be crazy on the right streets. A tuktuk tour can be fun, but you'll need to haggle as much with the driver as you will at the markets.

I had no issues as a 27 year old male travelling solo, but your experience may vary. If you go googling you'll find plenty of horror stories I'd say, but chances are, you'll be fine. General pickpocket/bag snatcher wariness should be plenty.

Oh, I think the metred taxis are the pink coloured ones in Bangkok. Taxis are cheap there compared to here, which took a while to adjust to.

sny17

Thanks for your reply! Can you tell me the name of place you stayed? and the names of the temples you went to that stood out? iv heard of a place called the D&D Inn on Khoasan road that is about 40 mins away from the market which I read somewhere is okay to get to in a taxi but I'm not sure what taxis etc are like as i havent been! Do you know is it easiest enough to haggle in the markets?

stratowide

sny17 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply! Can you tell me the name of place you stayed? and the names of the temples you went to that stood out? iv heard of a place called the D&D Inn on Khoasan road that is about 40 mins away from the market which I read somewhere is okay to get to in a taxi but I'm not sure what taxis etc are like as i havent been! Do you know is it easiest enough to haggle in the markets?

I stayed at a place on sukhumvit road near the skytrain terminal called "thee hotel bangkok".Very nice and clean and quiet.
The huge market was about half an hour away on the BTS.
If you want temples go to the main train station at hualamphong and get out there and visit chinatown and little india.
If you are flying into sukhumvari airport you will need to change lines on one of the stops.Sorry cant remember which one.
no need for taxis really getting to that hotel.
The trains dont go as far as khao san road if i remember rightly.

TPD

Yeah, Khao San Road is the backpacker/party area, not well served by the trains. It's good for a visit but if you're staying there you'll need to get a taxi to the trains.

The reclining buddha and the emerald buddha are the two big temples in Bangkok. I thought the reclining buddha was a lot more impressive, but the emerald one is the most sacred in the country I think, so worth a look too. The two temple complexes are next to each other anyway - I saw both in a couple of hours.

Taxi's are alright there - make sure you're getting into a metred one, or if not, agree on the price before making the trip.

I'm awful at haggling, so can't help you there. I think you offer half or a third what they ask for, and work from there? Walking away is a good way to get that last bit off the price too.

I stayed near Khao San Road initially, and only saw a small bit of the city because of that - hadn't got accustomed to how cheap taxis were, so was walking everywhere. After that I stayed in a hotel near Rama IX metro station, but I wouldn't recommend the place. As you're only there a couple of days, on the way to pricey Australia, you might want to splash out on a 5 star stay. Definitely couldn't advise on that though!

killbillvol2

The Chatuchak market is only on Saturdays and Sundays. You take the Skytrain (BTS) to Mo Chit station. It will be completely overwhelming if you've just landed in tropical heat and it's enormous.

Ptratunam Market is more central and if it's clothes and knock offs you're looking for it should fit the bill. It's used by Thais and a lot of Arab tourists also shop there so prices are reasonable. (The markets at Patpong and Sukhumvit have stupidly inflated prices because Japanese and Korean tourists throw money around).

Regarding haggling, at Pratunam you should aim to pay just over one third of the opening asking price so bid just under a fifth. If you spoke Thai you'd pay a quarter or less but that's life If there are a group of Arab women shopping watch and see what they're paying. When haggling in Thailand always keep it good natured and smile a lot - even if you walk away do it on friendly terms.

Another option if you're young and Thai clothes would fit you is the night street market at Huay Khwang. It's where the young Thai women go and there's an abundance of clothes, acessories, nail/hair salons etc. There are also some lovely bars in the area that stay open much later then those in tourist areas. I brought my niece there last year and couldn't get her out of the area. It's on the metro (MRT).

The best hotels are on Lower Sukhumvit, Silom and Riverside. Budget accommodation clusters around Khao San Road. Sukhumvit and Silom have the advantage of BTS and MRT. Traffic is ridiculous at rush hour.

Bangkok is safe. Most issues arise when young tourists get caught up in a mixture of tropical heat and strong alcohol and do something stupid.

imme

Hostel?

Have you thought about a Hostel OP

I stayed in a few, they're decent and should provide a few people to chat to or hang around with if you're looking for that

sarkozy

Stay away from Khao San road. Beyond there, Bangkok is very safe. It's a big city, so I can only tell you where I know. We stayed in a place on Prah Arthit Road, parallel to the river, on the side of the Grand Palace. Perfect, because you've the river bus that can take you to temples along the river. Then, if you want, the backpacker area is a walk away, but you're far enough away for it not to bother you.

My advice is, go online and treat yourself to a hugely affordable 4 star hotel somewhere convenient.

Ed_Stephens

sny17 wrote: »

I'm doing a layover in Bangkok en route to Australia. I want to buy some decent fakes in the markets. Female and traveling solo, I've done the general googling on things but I'm looking for suggestions on:
1. Where to stay?
2. Things to do when there?
3. Any general tips! is it safe etc.

I'm mainly going for the markets, so should I stay near them? I'd also like to hit up a massage/spa place and see a few things.

Thanks!

I would recommend Silom, I stayed at La Siam on Convent road which is a 3 minute walk from the Skytrain and about 5 minutes from the Metro(underground). Both go to Chatuchak market. Chatuchak is insanely big(about 4 football fields) and sell everything but is only open at the weekend.

There is a night market in Silom every night along the main road. Don't get too caught up in haggling, you're going to get things cheap anyway. I mean t-shirts are around a fiver so what are you going to save? Being friendly and smiling counts for a lot in Thailand as much as your haggling skills.

La Siam hotel is recently renovated and has an Irish bar right beside it if you're craving some home food. If not there are lots of Thai places to eat nearby.

Bangkok is very safe, but be careful crossing the road and don't wear expensive jewellery, especially anything made of gold as it's easy to move on quite legitimately in Thailand.

Don't change money till you get there, lots of legit exchange booths where you get a much better rate. If you do choose Silom go to the Cloud 47 rooftop bar, great views at reasonable prices unlike a lot of rooftop bars in Bangkok.

Use the Skytrain and Metro as much as you can, it's great, quick, clean, safe, reliable and a day pass costs about 3 Euro but you need a separate pass for each. Most of the touristy stuff is on the Skytrain.

If you're stuck for time do Wat Pho(reclining Buddha), Emerald Palace and Wat Arun. They are all quite close to each other so can be done in the same day easily. I'd also avoid tuk-tuks if for no other reason than pollution. Bangkok's streets are choked with traffic and fumes, if you can't use the trains use an air conditioned taxi.

Lastly I'd stay more than two nights but if it's already booked nothing much you can do about that. Oh and the airport is huge, expect to do a lot of walking!