How to Spend 48 Hours in Bangkok

Thailand has always been one of my favorite countries.

The people are amazingly hospitable. The sites are grand and majestic. Not to mention the amazingness of Thai food.

Bangkok Thailand 48 Hour Travel Guide

Bangkok Thailand 48 Hour Travel Guide RachelTravels.com

As Thailand has many vibes, Bangkok is busy, bustling, and you either love it or hate it. Think New York City by 5x. Bangkok has this duality of old and new, where you can experience both at the same time.

Before heading to Bangkok specifically, it’s important to know what type of experiences you want to have from the city.

I had the opportunity to travel back to Thailand in March, thanks to Norwegian Airlines. Who knew they even flew to Bangkok?! Well they do and I loved this airline. If you want to splurge a bit, I highly recommend flying Premium class.

How to Spend 48 Hours in Bangkok

In my opinion, there’s so much to explore in the country, so two to three days maximum in Bangkok is more than enough.

Here are some ways to maximize your experience in Bangkok:

Places to Stay:

137 Pillars Bangkok:

This place is fantastic.

The welcome drink is called a ‘Butterfly Tea.’ It’s a beautiful violet purple, has a slight floral taste, and is delicious. If you’re seeking a more residential place to stay, this is your place. The rooms are “apartment style,” equipped with everything you need from kitchen utensils to a washer/dryer. The 27th-floor rooftop has a beautiful infinity pool overlooking the city, a fully stocked bar, and a ‘moonfloor,’ which is a circular shaped glass on the floor that you can walk across!

Hotel Muse: How to Spend 48 Hours in Bangkok

This hotel is super sexy.

This hotel makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a scene from The Great Gatsby. It’s beautiful, iconic, and romantic. One of the impressive aspects of this hotel is all of the “secret doors,” that lead to various areas of the hotel. Head up to the “Speakeasy,” which is the rooftop bar/lounge overlooking Bangkok. Have a conversation with the mixologist who will recommend a cocktail or will customize a drink based on your favorite flavors. If you want to take your experience a bit further (or surprise your bae), have the hotel make embroidered pillow cases with your name on them!

Places to Eat:

There’s not enough time or resources to name off all the fantastic restaurants, street vendors, or types of foods you should experience in Bangkok, but I’ll try.

Koh San Road

This is known as the “backpacker row,” which is self-explanatory. There’s plenty of bars, street vendors, and inexpensive restaurants. This street is where you can find and eat fried scorpions, worms, and frogs! If you want to try good, authentic, Thai street food, this is where you should head.

China Town

If you want to get a glimpse of China in Thailand, this is definitely where you should go. There are tons of Chinese and Thai food street vendors. I highly recommend getting a Thai Iced tea, Chinese dumplings, and a sticky mango rice to seal the deal.

Bangkok Trading Post

This upscale restaurant is right below 137 Pillars Hotel & Residences (mentioned above). Not quite traditional Thai cuisine, this spot, hands down, makes some of the best calamari I have ever tried. The duck salad is fantastic, in addition to thecorn-fedd chicken curry. I cannot begin to explain which desserts were my favorite because I tried all of them!

Speakeasy

Also mentioned above, the Speakeasy is located on the rooftop of Hotel Muse. While a beautiful rooftop bar and lounge, you can order dinner up here. The garlic prawns, lobster-papaya salad (very spicy!), and the truffle french fries were amazing. As for cocktails, the Pranium was my favorite!

Things to Do:

There’s a lot to see and do in Bangkok. Again, depending on what you consider fun, adventure or even interesting is all up to you. I would, however, recommend the following as what you shouldn’t miss while in Bangkok:

The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

As there are several floating markets, this one is located about two hours outside of Bangkok. Before walking in, you should consider taking a photo with a slow loris or a python! When you get on your market boat, you should try the authentic pad thai, buy a rice farmer’s hat, and make sure to take plenty of photos!

Maeklong Railway Market

This is quite a unique experience.

This produce and fish market is set up directly on a set of railroad tracks. Where the locals go shopping for groceries, this will give you a real sense of everyday life in Thailand. Six times a day, a fully functional,  moving train comes through the market. All the vendors push their tables back, closes their umbrellas, and move out of the way of the train!

The Environmental Conservation in Amphoe Amphawa

We had no idea what to expect here. Unexpectedly, it was really cool and quite educational. The conservation center exhibits Amphawa local wisdom and the art of living, but also space for farmers to exchange their knowledge in “sufficiency-style” agriculture.

Towards the end of our tour, you can make traditional Thai donuts, cool animals out of bamboo leaves, and try fresh, delicious coconut sugar!

Supanniga Cruise

It’s no secret that Thailand has some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world. If you want to merge a beautiful Bangkok sunset with cocktails, music, and dinner, then check out Supanniga Cruises. They offer two cruises; the Evening Cocktail Cruise which includes drinks (try their signature lemongrass drink) and snacks and the Sunset Dinner Cruise.

Bangkok Thailand 48 Hour Travel Guide RachelTravels.com

There you have it!

Have you gone to Bangkok? If you have, what did you enjoy the most?

If you haven’t, what are you looking forward to seeing in Bangkok?

Bangkok Thailand 48 Hour Travel Guide RachelTravels.com

This trip to Thailand was sponsored by and in collaboration with Norwegian Airlines and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, but of course, all opinions are my own.