Let me be frank. The first time I went to Bangkok I didn’t really love it. We were new to Southeast Asia and Bangkok felt like jumping in the deep end of a pool I wasn’t sure I was ready to swim in. In a blog post from that trip (pre-DOTL), Drew wrote that “on a scale of 1-10, Bangkok was an 11.”  I distinctly remember one day at a wet market, seeing raw meat hanging from a rusty fence post on a 90° day. The same day, a makeshift firetruck (read: pick-up truck with some guys in the back trying to put on their suits while trying not to be thrown out of the fast moving vehicle) screeched onto a nearby road and Drew and I laughed but also looked at each other in surprise, vowing not to be the victims of an emergency that would require this kind of ridiculous response.

Here we are, many years later, but Bangkok is not a city I was dying to go back to. Of all the cities we visited on that early trip, this was one that we hadn’t revisited and one that never made it into the short list of places we were excited to see again.

But Bangkok is cheap and easy to get to. It’s the jumping off point for much of Asia, and faced with the crazy prices of Chinese New Year plane tickets, we decided on a whim to return.

Not only is the city really different after eight years away, but we are, too. No longer is Bangkok overwhelming in the way it once was. I actually used to seeing unrefrigerated meat on a daily basis. Phone GPS and translation apps are now a thing. We’re comfortable with intense language barriers and we’re literally one click away from not being lost. It’s just easier to visit Bangkok now and we’re much better suited for it.

For this visit, we stayed in a new-to-us neighborhood, Thong Lor, known for it’s good restaurants and nightlife. We picked a small boutique hotel, close to public transportation and just off a busy road with tons of things to do.

The Volve Hotel was funky and chic and small enough that we said friendly hellos to most of the staff by the third day. They also helped us book multiple treatments at a recommended spa around the corner, because when in Bangkok, you get cheap massages.

Four treatments in two days? Pure bliss.

The breakfast spread was fantastic (wild black rice porridge with coconut milk was the perfect way to start the day) and we got right on the fresh juice train, downing multiple each morning. One annoyance here was that our room had a weird smell. We never asked to switch, it wasn’t that bad, but every time we walked in, we noticed it.

Nobody is perfect, right?

In the Thong Lor area, we made a beeline for two great restaurants. Bo Lan is a Michelin-starred favorite in town – ranked 37th best restaurant in Asia – and was conveniently next door to our hotel. We booked a table a couple months in advance, because it’s that popular and we wanted a coveted Friday night table. Bo Lan offers modern Thai cuisine, tasting-menu only, with a mix of interesting modern preparations as well as old favorites, but more delicious and fancy than you’d typically see. 

Dang, Julie, you are a weak food describer.

My favorite parts were discovering a great Thai craft beer called Whale Pale Ale, an egg noodle dish with shredded duck and coconut, and a rich, shrimp curry. Drew just had to remind me about all of those dishes because my memory for that kind of thing stinks. I do remember the very attentive service, a lady a few tables down from us with a crazy outfit on, and that we had a 30-second walk home after dinner that night which was amazing.

The tasting menu was constructed differently than your traditional fancy pants restaurant. After an array of small dishes and bites – including a trip to the kitchen for a snack from the chef – the main courses were all served at once. It was supposed to mimic a traditional Thai dinner, with a smattering of dishes covering the table.

It was overwhelming, but delicious.

Another gem we sampled was Soul Food Mahanakorn, a cozy Thai restaurant with a great bar menu that wouldn’t be out of place in hipster Brooklyn. We barely knew anything about the restaurant when we showed up, so our pretty low expectations were surpassed with ease. They had this pomelo salad with fried popcorn shrimp and chili jam that blew my mind. They poured double-strength cocktails. There was a line out the door by the time we left and the place was buzzing with energy. They had some of the best pad see ew I’ve ever eaten, with pork jowl, kale, and crispy garlic.

Side Note: Thai salads are the best salads on the planet. Why? They replace boring lettuce with an abundance of fresh herbs, fish sauce, chiles, and plenty of meat or fish. My type of salad.

It’s always dangerous to do restaurant math, but I can’t help it. Was Bo Lan ‘worth’ the 5x price tag of Soul Food (Bo Lan rang in at US$150/person with tax, tip, and drinks)? Is the well-rehearsed symphony of a high-end restaurant experience always/sometimes/never ‘worth’ it? Is the joy of being surprised and delighted by an unexpected gem comparable to a highly anticipated luxe reservation made months in advance?

Am I a spoiled brat for bringing this up? Don’t answer that. 

The major activity we had on the schedule for our time in Bangkok was a revisit to the Grand Palace. We tried to visit in 2011, but I wasn’t wearing appropriate attire and at the time, we decided against renting the long robe. Or maybe it was really crowded that day, or maybe we were just too hot to bother. Whatever the reason, we went to the Grand Palace but never went in. 

This time around, we weren’t leaving Bangkok until we had braved the crowds and seen the bedazzled palace complex for ourselves. I layered right up, Drew put on long pants and we followed the rest of the tourists to the city’s most popular tourist destination. 

I’m being a little sarcastic here but honestly, the palace was amazing. The temples and statues all shimmer with mirrored mosaics. There were a lot of people to be sure, but the crowds moved swiftly and it was easy enough to find a quiet shaded spot to take a break. With the Chinese New Year upon us, we weren’t surprised that it was a busy weekend for the palace or that most of the visitors were on group tours from China. We felt right at home. While you could easily spend the better part of the day exploring the entire complex, we lasted about 90 minutes before my long sleeves and the crowds started to cave in and we got outta there. 

But now, I can officially say I’ve visited Bangkok’s Grand Palace and lived to tell the tale. 

There’s one last little anecdote worth mentioning from this visit to Bangkok. In 2011, we took a break one day and had a cocktail on the riverfront patio of the Mandarin Oriental hotel. We’ve had a multi-year inside joke about that afternoon because it was the first (and only!) time I’ve ever seen a man put his suit jacket on a little portable jacket stand. Is that was that contraption is even called? It was absurd and hilarious. It was also our most expensive activity of that entire trip, at nearly $20 each for a cocktail (which, in Thai money, is bonkers).

This time, we just had to go back and recreate that afternoon drinking sesh. We pulled right up from the water taxi, just like last time, and made our way straight to the same outdoor patio. At the Mandarin Oriental, not much has changed in eight years. There has been lots of development around the hotel, however, and I’d even venture a guess that this fancy hotel, which was once kind of a beacon of luxury in the area, is one of a few comparable choices within sight. 

The patio, the one with impossibly fancy jacket hangers and cocktail prices meant to scare off the riff-raff, is kind of, well, aged. Eight years on and it looks exactly the same. There was one change we spotted, new table umbrellas, but the umbrellas were so large that they touched, which put the whole patio in 100% shade. That is probably an upgrade for most people, the Bangkok sun being impossibly hot, but if you choose to sit outside, isn’t part of the pleasure needing your sunglasses?

The cocktails were tasty, as expected. The clientele was not quite what I remember, but there were plenty of khaki-clad Europeans and Chinese, scrolling on their phones and enjoying the shade. Sadly, I spied the jacket hangers in the corner but didn’t get to witness their use this time.

You know that expression about how you never step in the same river twice? Bangkok feels like that to me. The city is huge and complex and you could take a lifetime to explore the nooks and crannies that many millions call home. I have dipped my own toe in a few times now, and each time feels like a new city. 

Bangkok has really grown on me. It’s delicious and warm and friendly and I can see why many foreigners come here to make this city their home. I’ve thought a lot about if I could and I think the answer is yes. I will say that this city is one where your experience will be heavily defined by the area where you stay, given the distance and traffic between places, so do your homework and choose wisely.

And then, get ready for a crazy ride.

Interested in the street food scene in Bangkok? Check out our post about the Bangkok street food tour with Withlocals.