My long awaited trip to Thailand kicked off with 3 days in Bangkok. The capital city known for ornate shrines and the vibrant street life. Personally for me, 3 days in Bangkok was definitely not enough. However, my family and I still managed to do some amazing things while running on borrowed time. Before I dive any further let me give you some content about the trip and how it all came together.

This was a BIG group trip booked through RIPFITNESS.COM founded by the lovely Dave McQueen in 1998. RIP Fitness specialises in helping individuals and their families achieve long lasting fitness goals. All whilst hosting health and fitness-based in and outside of the UK. Be sure to check them out at RIPFITNESS.COM to see all that they do. Next year they’ll be venturing off to India and I expect it’ll be just as eventful as this year’s trip to Thailand.

Journey to Bangkok

We set off on an evening flight from London Heathrow’s terminal two. Two planes took our group to Bangkok. We flew with Thai Airways, it was my first time flying with them and boy was it an experience. Furthermore, I’ve never travelled with so many people before. It was definitely one for the books. Just know that trying to find overhead space for your carry on luggage was like a scene out of soul plane.

I sat in 62e while my luggage rested in 19. I’m not too keen on experiencing that again. However, I don’t have anything negative to say about Thai Airways or the flight apart from it was 11 hours too long for me. I slept through most of it and woke up an hour before we landed in Bangkok.

Getting 271 people out of the airport with all of their luggage was a task and a half. Hats off to the RIPFitness.com team because I certainly couldn’t do it. Thank God our airport transfers were prearranged because that most certainly would have been a disaster. On the journey to our hotel we had a very informative host on our transfer coach who schooled us on history, the Thai language and local customs.

#TeamHotel for life

I stayed in the Shangri-la Bangkok and I loved every minute of it. It was truly a 5-star experience with all of the trimmings. It had everything I needed plus more. Although there was one thing that I wasn’t too keen about. Be sure to watch my vlog this Sunday as I reveal all during the room tour. For our first in night we pre-booked to go to Asiatique the Riverfront night market. But the ladies and I decided to scrap that and head up to The Sky Bar at the Lebua Hotel instead.

Views From Bangkok

It’s disrespectful to come to Bangkok and not pay this place a visit. The views from the Sky bar were insane. I haven’t seen anything like it! The view at night time was breath taking. It didn’t even feel like I was in a real place. As well as having an amazing view, the Sky Bar is extremely popular because the film Hangover part II was filmed there.

The drinks menu even has a cocktail named after the film which was served to the cast during the movie. I personally loved the entire vibe of The Sky Bar, the atmosphere was buzzing and we had a live DJ on site. Our night ended with an unplanned photoshoot at the highest level of the Lebua. You know I’m always down to take some fire pictures so this was a perfect way to end our first night in town.

Day 2 – The highlight of Bangkok Tour

My first full day in Bangkok kicked off nice and early with breakfast in the hotel. Before I go any further it’s worth mentioning that the Thai people don’t play when it comes to breakfast. Whew the Shangri-la served everything from traditional Jok (Rice Porridge), dim sum and Pa Thong Ko (Doughnuts). There was even Ice-cream being served at 7am and no I’m not making this up.

We set off after breakfast from the Shangri-La pier to the first stop on our tour Wat Pho – The temple of the Reclining Buddha. Now you see the way the city is set up we had to travel by shuttle boat.

The Temple of the Reclining Buddha

A visit to Wat Pho is a must do for any first timers. It’s a very popular temple which is home to the Reclining Buddha statue. A statue which is 46 metres long and painted in gold. Before viewing the statue all outside footwear must be removed by all visitors. Inside where the Reclining Buddha is located 108 prayer pots reside their also. The pots are very hard to miss and they apparently have a deeper meaning too.

In Buddhism 108 is classified as a sacred number. The significance of the number 108 is open to interpretation across various religions but in Buddhism is represents the 108 beads on the Mala bracelets used for prayer. Visitors can purchase pennies to drop in the pots as they walk around praying or making a wish. I made sure to purchase myself some pennies and drop them in each pot as I released a prayer of remembrance and thanksgiving.

Check out a few pics I managed to snap at Wat Pho below

Hello Grand Palace

After visiting Wat Pho we made our way down to the Grand Palace which was only 10 minutes away. Grand palace is a well known landmark in Bangkok. Another must see if you’re into all of that sight-seeing stuff like me. Grand Palace was once home to the Thai King, government administration and the royal court. It’s filled with a lot of history and breath-taking architecture.

Both Wat Pho and Grand Palace have a strict dress code in place. All visitors’ arms, legs and chest area must be covered up. None of us wanted any problems so we made sure we complied.

A few hours later

Once we finished up at Gand Palace we headed down to Supara River House for lunch. Sadly the experience was terrible and I’ll be leaving a comprehensive review on TripAdvisor in due course. When we got back to our hotel we spent a few hours at the pool, listening to music, making funny videos, cracking jokes and making new friends. It was a great way to wind down after a day filled with sightseeing.

Late night cruising

Later that evening, the crew and I went over to the Asiatique River front night market. It’s filled with stalls, boutiques, restaurants and lots of entertainment. It kind of reminded me of Coney Island in Brooklyn. I would highly recommend visiting especially if you’re a first timer in Bangkok. The evening took an unexpected turn once we arrived back at our hotel. But you’ll have to watch the full vlog to find out more…

Day 3 – Last 24 hours in Bangkok

On my final day in town the Ladies and I visited King Power Mahanakhon. This is one of Bangkok’s top attractions and is recognised for being the tallest tower (314 meters high) in Thailand. Visitors can enjoy top notch panoramic views from the 78th floor. The entire building is overloaded in augmented reality with state of the art technology.

It’s heaven for tech and architecture lovers like myself. It was such a fun afternoon roaming around the King Power Mahanakhon. I’ll be happy to visit again when I return to Bangkok.

The Lady Boys

To bring our time in Bangkok to a close, the crew and I set off to see a Lady boy show. Now this wasn’t originally on my itinerary but I was down to go anyway. I remember watching a documentary about Ladyboys when I was a lot younger. I already had a clear understanding about them and their lifestyle. However, never in a million years did I think I would ever see it up close with my own two eyes.

Surprisingly the show wasn’t that bad, a little cliche here and there but overall very entertaining. The music was very inclusive as it gave you a bit of everything. I’m glad that I went to see them because I understand that they are a big element of the Thai culture.

Sadly our time in Bangkok came to an end but the fun didn’t stop there as the next stop on the journey was Phuket. 

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