HOW TO SPEND THREE DAYS IN BANGKOK, THAILAND

On my way home from living in Australia for a year, I've somehow managed to organise a holiday in Thailand for 2 weeks! I really wanted to make the most of the places I would be flying past on the 20 hour+ journey home, and luckily it coincided with some plans with friends back at home! So here I am enjoying the sights, food and weather of beautiful Thailand.

Our first stop was Bangkok where we spent around 3 days enjoying what it had to offer. We stayed in the Old Town near the famous Khao San Road and maxed out all the cultural and touristy things the city had to offer. Here's a list of the things we did and what we would recommend to anyone planning a trip to Bangkok in the future:

KHAO SAN ROAD

Khao San Road is the typical backpacker strip type road in the Old Town full of bars and markets. It was a good place to go for a beer (or 5) with a bit of atmosphere (variety of music blaring into our ear drums). In our honest opinion it wasn't as wild and fun as we thought it was going to be, resorting to the same 2 central bars on the road each night we went. These were Centre Khao San and Lucky Beer which are opposite each other on the road. They're clearly in competition with who can play the loudest music so we recommend sitting on the tables as far into the road as possible so you can still have a conversation with your friends. The beer wasn't terribly cheap (550 baht (~£14) for a 3 litre tower of Chang beer from Centre Khao San) but it was a good gimmick to spend the evening with. However, after 2 nights on the strip we might be boring but we decided against going back on our last night and headed to the next place on this list.

CHINATOWN

We got a Grab taxi from our hotel to Chinatown to explore the night markets and street food they had to offer. After a quick stroll along the main Yaowarat Road (centre of Chinatown) we settled on one of the busiest food spots on the road - T & K Seafood. There we tried the famous Shark Fin Soup which we found surprisingly nice - perhaps minus the crunchy fin chunks. We then opted for a variety of fried squid dishes and a Chang beer to wash it all down with. At around 200 baht (~£5) a dish its not the cheapest around but it was a great experience to say we'd had dinner in Chinatown.

NB: Don't go to Chinatown on a Monday night - none of the street vendors are allowed to set up on that night so you won't get a very good experience!

LONG TAIL BOAT TOUR

We did this tour on a bit of a whim after being convinced by a tuk tuk driver to do it - and it ended up getting us near the Grand Palace temples anyway. This is an hour ride along the Chao Phraya River, seeing how locals live around the canals away from the bustle of the Old Town. It was a relaxing way to spend an hour so if you have some free time to fill I'd recommend doing this! Theres even some vendors on boats that sail up to you and try and sell you drinks and souvenirs which is very cute!

WAT PHO TEMPLE

Wat Pho is the home of the city's largest reclining buddha, enclosed in an amazing building full of intricate art and decorations. There are also many other chedis, belfries and viharas in the complex that you can walk around. Entrance is 200 baht (~£5) including a voucher for a small bottle of water to collect from near the entrance to the Reclining Buddha hall. Its much cheaper than the Grand Palace entry next door, and also open later so we recommend doing this temple after the Grand Palace if you're trying to fit them both in in one day otherwise you might get caught out like we almost did ...

GRAND PALACE

After heading here slightly later in the day, we had about 20 minutes to rush into the Grand Palace to buy our tickets before the 3:30pm cut off time. This was after all the tuk tuk drivers tried to convince us it had already closed. We also had to run to the shops outside a few times to buy cover ups as we didn't realise sarongs over shoulders didn't constitute covering our shoulders. For 500 baht (~£12) entry it is much more than the neighbouring Wat Pho, but once you get inside you realise why it warrants parting with more baht. If you do anything touristy in Bangkok I definitely recommend a few hours walking around here!

DUMNOEN SADUAK FLOATING MARKETS

On our last day in Bangkok we had half a day spare before our flight to Chiang Mai. We spotted a sign for excursions in our hotel, and one being a trip to the Floating Markets for 350 baht (~£9)! They picked us up from the hotel at 8am with a 1.5 hour drive down to where the markets were located. We then spent 150 baht (~£3) to go on paddle boat through the markets. This was the only way really to see the market, where locals float by trying to sell everything from chicken on a stick, pad thai, coconut ice cream, beers, and every type of souvenir imaginable. We had a haggle with some of the vendors and I got some elephant keyrings, fridge magnets, and my friends got some funky fan hats with the typical elephant print! Its a fun way to spend a few hours and buy a few gifts to take home!

That tops off the things I did in Bangkok! Let me know if you've been to any of these places or if you recommend any other places to go as we have another day in Bangkok before we fly home in about a week!