This is nuts
Bangkok is a city that I think is vastly misunderstood.
To many travellers, it’s a dirty, sleazy place that doesn’t leave the best of impressions.
And honestly if you spend too much time in a touristy area like the Khoa San Road.
It’s easy to see why.
It’s kind of symbolic of everything that’s crazy and wrong about Thailand.
Cocktails in buckets.
Ping pong shows.
All the good stuff.
Yet this is the place where most young travellers find themselves spending a lot of their time.
It’s a shame because I think it forms a lot of peoples opinions about the entire city.
To me its like watching the first 10 minutes of a film or TV show and deciding: nah it’s
all rubbish.
I just think that’s a shame because to me Bangkok is so much more than a bad one day
experience at the start of a holiday.
So in this film I want to show you the best of the best, every single eason why this is
one of my favourite cities in the whole world.
My name is Ryan and this is 10 reasons why I love Bangkok.
Instead of heading towards the main tourist sights of the city, I recommend starting your
day a little differently.
This is the Khlom Lat Mayom floating market which is probably one of my favourite spots
for food in the whole of Bangkok.
What sets this place apart from the many floating markets around Bangkok is it’s strong emphasis
on delicious food over tacky souvenirs.
if there's one thing you have to try, it's the salt baked snakehead fish.
the signature dish of the whole market.
Really good, so fresh!
For me Khlom Lat Mayom is an unmissable foodie experience.
And it also ties in nicely to entry number 2.
Bangkok has a seemingly endless web of canals and waterways stretching all over town.
So to miss seeing this side of the city would be an absolute crime.
Whether you take one of the many private boat experiences or just hop on to the public water
buses.
Sure it’s dirty like a lot of city rivers but the waterways of Bangkok are absolutely
teeming with local life and a surprising ammount of nature too.
My favourite route around the river actually leaves directly from the pier at the Khlom
Lat Mayom market.
You can join a group tour boat for 100 baht per person or you can get an entire boat to yourself
for 400 baht.
The tour lasts an hour and a half, taking you past floating villages, temples and in
our case.
a miracle dog.
You can choose from about three places to stop on your boat trip.
The most popular being one of these orchid farms.
Such a different vibe from in the city which is only half an hour drive away.
And it’s actually a surprisingly efficient way to get around because the car traffic
on the roads is absolutely mental. Bangkok is well known for it’s affordable accommodation
options, but you still might be surprised by just how far your money can go.
This is the Marriot Surawongse.
A brand new 5 star hotel that basically blew my mind.
In most of Europe or the states, this kind of accommodation is pretty much unattainable
for anybody on a budget.
And while it definitely isnt dirt cheap.
You can bag yourself a one bedroom residential apartment for 6000 baht and I don’t think
I’ve ever set foot in somewhere so luxurious.
This is the most insane hotel room I have ever been in in my whole life! The equivalent
quality in Europe or most other places around the world is going to cost you a hell of a
lot more.
So if you are looking for somewhere to treat yourself it doesn’t get much better than
Bangkok.
And speaking of treating yourself.
The Chatuchak weekend market is an insanely big labyrinth of stalls.
When you pass over it on the skytrain, it looks like a town in of itself.
Seriously if you don’t get lost here, you’re probably doing it wrong.I highly recommend
coming here and bartering with all of the stall owners to grab a few bargains.
But whilst Chatuchak market is popular tourist destination, there’s actually a bit of a
hidden gem just across the road that not many people know about.
Just a short walk away from the Chatuchak market is another area called the Flea Market
which when the sun goes down is a bit of a hidden gem.
This is the Camp Flea Market.
A little slice of hipster Shoreditch or Brooklyn in the middle of Bangkok.
It’s very chilled out and very instagramable, I mean there’s a bloody plane parked on
top of it.
It’s a pretty small area filled with some cool cafes and vintage stores filled with
antiques that nobody would ever buy.But to really appreciate it you need to come in the
evening when all of the stores open up and there is a really cool atmosphere.
There’s Food, there’s drinks, all with a local hipster flavour. But maybe this isnt
really your scene and maybe you prefer something a bit more luxurious.
Seeing the blade runner-esque skyline with a cocktail in hand is a Bangkok essential.
There are plenty of rooftop bars all over the city.
The Marriot Surawongse has a really great one that doesn’t get too crowded.
But the best and the highest view over Bangkok is at the skybar.
Now the drinks are insanely expensive but you can still climb up to the rooftop for
free and grab a few pictures.
It really is the best view over the skyline especially at night.
We've already talked about Bangkok as a great budget shopping destination, but what about
the higher end?
Icon Siam is the newest mall on the Bangkok scene and it’s without a doubt the most
impressive yet.
There are free shuttle boats from various stops long the river and drop you right outside.
With it’s light shows and fountains it looks more like some sort of space palace than shopping
mall.
This place is crazy.
It even puts Dubai to shame.
All of the biggest luxury brands are here but the most fun to be found is down in the
food court.
Where you can find some surprisingly cheap things to eat, which I definitely didn’t
expect from somewhere selling Prada on the floor above.
The entire basement has been designed to resemble traditional Thai markets and the food is really
good.
There’s even some indoor floating market stalls which gives the whole place the feel
of Vegas hotel which is quite a bit of fun.
You can grab 2 or 3 dishes for under 100 baht which is a great deal.
I feel like I’d need a whole 20 minute video just to explore this place, it is absolutely
insane.
Even after you’ve seen the Grand Palace and a lot of the most famous temples of the
city.
There is always going to be more to see here.
Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn is definitely one of the more well known attractions on
this list but I think it offers something different to a lot of other temples of the
city.
For a start, It only costs 50 baht to get in and what I particularly like about it is
all of the little details once you get up close to it.
Another more unusual temple that I had never seen before is the Golden Mount.
It’s a buddhist temple that also features some amazing views over the city.
Now, the climb up to the top is a little surreal because it kind of has the vibe of a Disneyland
queue.
But once you get up to the top it all opens up and you get some amazing views of the city.
To finish off this list I want to show you around what is undoubtably Bangkok’s coolest
suburb.
Bangkok has 50 different districts and I’m currently way out of the city centre in Wattaya
district in an area called Ari.
Ari is close to the Chatuchak area but far removed from the busier areas of the city.
A hipster hub of coffee shops, restaurants and great shopping.
The surrounding area also has some amazing long term accommodation options.
Welcome to our £20 a night apartment in an area called Bang Sue.
Stop laughing.
It’s a really nice very small little condo set up that’s perfect for one or two people.
And it includes access to this amazing pool and the gym as well.
It is a little way out of the main centre of the city which you can see on the horizon
over there.
But we are a less than 5 minutes walk from an MRT station which means we can get to any
part of the city we want in no time at all.
And that was the 10 reasons why I love Bangkok.
Thank you so much for watching this video if you liked it make sure you leave it a thumbs
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And leave a comment down below and tell me what you thought of it.
Next time on the One Shot Adventures Channel we are gonna go in depth on one of Thailand’s
most livable cities, Chiang Mai.