So I had a full day and night and most of another day to spend in Bangkok on this trip. Besides catching up on some sleep while I was there, I had a plan of some things to do and see.

If it’s your first time visiting Bangkok, I recommend staying by the river and visiting the main tourist sites, the Grand Palace, Wat Arun temple and Wat Pho (the reclining Buddha). If you have time, you should also visit a market and try some street food (or at least do a tour that curates it for you). When we visited in 2018, we did all that plus went to a Michelin-starred restaurant (Gaggan) and I also managed to visit the Golden Mount temple as well.

This time, I first decided to visit the National Museum, which is near the Grand Palace. I took the BTS Skytrain from near the Grand Hyatt. It was a short walk to the station I needed. The train was crowded with commuters and schoolkids and I had to stand, but at least as one of the taller riders, I had pretty good A/C cooling me off.

I got off at the Saphan Taksin station near the river and walked to nearby Sathorn pier. The way was well-marked.

At the pier, I bought a ticket on one of the riverboats that stopped near the Grand Palace. There are several different colored-routes that ply the river and some stop at more locations than others. It’s a good idea to research this a bit before you visit. My boat cabin was actually indoors and air-conditioned which I appreciated.

It took about 20 minutes to get to the Grand Palace stop and from there I walked upriver to the National Museum. I was fortunate as I was there on a Wednesday and that is when there is a 9:30am free English tour of the museum. I arrived just in time. The museum charges 240 baht for entry (around $8).

The group spent about 2 hours going through the museum. It had a lot of interesting exhibits including royal chariots, Buddhist temples, art and sculpture from pre-modern eras and lots of other stuff. The tour guide was knowledgeable and answered a lot of questions from the group (around 10 people).

From the museum, I followed Google Maps to a nearby pad Thai restaurant that had been recommended by a UK YouTuber who lives in Thailand. It was just OK. I’m not going to recommend it here as it was good but not amazing. They basically serve a deconstructed pad thai without the omelet wrapped around it. I wouldn’t go out of my way to have it again.

I was able to use another form of public transit to get back to the hotel – a canal boat. There’s a route that runs along a canal basically west to east in khlong boats (narrow boats). I found the Panfa Leelard pier and paid a whole 14 baht (less than 50 cents) to ride to Pratunam pier which was a short walk away from the Grand Hyatt.

Once back at the hotel, I took a nap, cleaned up and checked out the club lounge. After that, I walked over to the Paragon Siam mall which was easily accessible with the overhead covered walkway from the hotel without crossing any busy roads or dealing with any traffic. The food court has outlets from many award-winning street food vendors. I started with some pad Thai. This one had the omelet around it and was the shrimp version.

I looked around to try and find some khao soi, which is a Northern Thai dish I had enjoyed in Chiang Mai on our earlier trip. It’s basically a curry soup served with chicken or beef. I found a small restaurant next to the food court and luckily there was no wait. I couldn’t finish it all, but it was delicious.

The next morning, I booked a massage at Let’s Relax spa inside the Central World mall near the hotel. I went over for my appointment at 10:30am. They provided a cold towel and cold tea while I waited to be taken back.

I had a 45 minute foot and ankle massage and a 30 minute neck and shoulder massage – all for about $30. When I was finished, they brought me mango and sticky rice with hot tea.

It was great to get a Thai massage in the air-conditioned comfort. I definitely recommend Let’s Relax Spa – they have multiple locations in Bangkok.

After my massage, I walked down to the MBK Center, which is more of a discount flea-market style mall. They have some nice stores, but they also have a big flea market area with souvenirs, soccer jerseys and other things on the cheap. I bought a couple of souvenirs for friends and family and bought myself a 1990s Liverpool away jersey.

I returned to the hotel around 2pm and grabbed a quick nap before packing up and leaving around 4pm for the airport. I enjoyed my (almost) 2 days in Bangkok, got some well-needed rest and was ready for the return trip on two more A380s.

Up Next: Qatar Airways Premium Lounge Bangkok Review

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