Digital Nomad Guide for Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok, a metropolis in South East Asia, has much to offer for Digital Nomads, as more and more people are flocking to this vibrant city.
Aside from the super fast wifi, the endless cafes to work from, the amazing nightlife and the big community of remote workers and expats, there’s just so much to do in Bangkok that you will likely never get bored.
Find below my Digital Nomad Guide for Bangkok, Thailand!
Quicklinks:
Things To Do
Visit some of the wondrous Thai temples
There are many gorgeous Buddhist temples to visit in Bangkok, including the famous Grand Palace, where you can marvel at the imposing and awe-inspiring structures
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha - one of the most popular and famous temples in Bangkok. As the name suggests, there is a stunning, jade Buddha statue inside the temple, which actually no one is allowed to come near, except the King of Thailand.
Wat Arun - also called the temple of Dawn, is another temple that you can’t miss. It sits right beside the Chao Phraya river and you can walk all the tay up the temple tower to see a stunning view over Bangkok.
Wat Pho - The temple of the reclining Buddha. The statue of this golden Buddha is one of the largest in the world.
Check out the Chatuchak Weekend Market
The Chatuchak Weekend market is a big market open on Saturday and Sunday where you can find all kinds of souvenirs, clothes, food, knick knacks.. basically anything you can think of. It’s fun to wander around and check out all the different things they sell. You can even find specialty coffee spots nestled in between the stalls and shops. And my favourite thing to do is get myself some coconut ice cream!
Take a Stroll around Talad Noi and discover street art
Talat Noi is a neighbourhood is an area close to Chinatown and is a historic place where you can find loads of cool street art. It’s a fun place to take a stroll and discover hidden alleyways, cute shops and cafes and marvel at all the street art.
River view at sunset
One of the most stunning things to see is watch the sunset along the Chao Phraya River, and watch the sun set over the temple of Wat Arun.
You can also take a river cruise to soak in Bangkok vistas while cruising on the river.
Shop til you drop in all the malls
Even if you don’t like shopping, it’s worth it to check out some of the malls in Bangkok, because they really are something!
Check out Siam Paragon, which is one of the biggest malls in Asia, and features a cinema and even an aquarium.
One of the newer malls in Bangkok, is the Emsphere, which is a stunning building and features a huge food court.
Then there’s Central Embassy, which is more of a luxury mall, but features a really cool book store and food court at the top of the mall (see picture at the top).
Relax in Benchakitti Park
If you get tired from the hustle and bustle of the big city, then check out this park, located relatively close to the Asok BTS station. In this park, you can run, cycle or simply walk the trails, while taking in the nature. It’s a little nature oasis in the middle of the Bangkok chaos.
Chill out at the spa and get a massage
One of the great things about Thailand is the abundance and affordability of spa services. You can get a spa treatment literally around every corner and you can choose from higher-end outlets to cheaper options, it all depends what you prefer.
One chain of spa’s that I think is great is Once Upon a Thai. It’s bit more on the pricier side though, but the massages and treatments are excellent.
For a bit more luxurious option, one treatment I highly recommend is a head spa, which you can get at Siesta Head Spa for instance.
Other things to do
There are of course, plenty of other things to do and tours to take in Bangkok. Check out all the activities on GetYourGuide:
Where To Eat & Drink Coffee
There is a lot of food in Bangkok, and I mean a lot. So, actually, it really doesn’t make sense for me to list any restaurants here because there are just so many and so many good ones!
Nevertheless, I will list a few cafes, restaurants and spots to eat that I think are worthwhile to check out.
Specialty Coffee & Breakfast
Sarnies - Sarnies is a specialty coffee and brunch spot that has multiple locations in Bangkok and each of them has their own little theme. For example, the Sarnies in Sukhumvit has a more Japanese-inspired menu, while Sarnies Roastery has more classic brunch dishes.
La Cabra - This is the famous specialty coffee spot from Denmark, which also has 2 outlets in Bangkok: La Cabra Bakery and La Cabra in Talad Noi.
Mother Roaster Talad Noi - this specialty coffee place is located in the funky neighbourhood of Talad Noi and the cafe sits in a very cool building, and definitely worth a visit.
Phil Coffee Co - A specialty coffee shop in Thong Lor that has some of the best Dirty I’ve ever tasted.
International Cuisine
Peppina, Italian - A great Italian restaurant that serves very decent pizza.
Massilia, Italian - Another Italian that has great pizzas. It’s also featured in the Top 50 best pizza in Asia.
GaGa Udon House, Japanese - This little restaurant looks very unassuming - but I had some of the best Udon of my life at this place!
Hong Bao, Dim sum - a high-end dim sum chain that serves excellent dim sum and Cantonese cuisine.
Broccoli Revolution, Health food - a health food chain that serves loads of veggie dishes.
Where To Work From
Bangkok has an insane amount of cafe’s and places to work from. Here are a few spots that I worked from and that I loved:
Paper Plane Project Coworking - a cool coworking space at the top of a skyscraper in Thong Lor. Just order some food and/or coffee, and you’ll get a wifi code for the rest of the day.
Sarnies Cafe Sukhumvit - A specialty coffee and brunch spot, that has fast wifi and plenty of space to work from, especially upstairs. It’s a bit pricey I find, however, the quality of the food and coffee is exceptional and the staff very friendly.
Top floor of the Central Embassy Mall - On the top floor of this mall you’ll find a book store and some cafes, restaurants and tables to work from. It’s a really cool space where you can work for a few hours. The wifi isn’t super fast though.
💻 Check out my blog post on best Coworking Spaces in Bangkok or my blog post on best places to work from in Bangkok
Where To Stay & Accommodation
Bangkok is a huge city and I’ve only ever stayed in the Sukhumvit area, which I think is probably the best neighbourhood to stay at if you’re looking to be close to all the best things to do and all the places to work from, especially as a remote worker.
Within Sukhumvit, here are a few of my favourite areas:
Phrom Phong - a very central location, where you’ll find loads of cafes, restaurants and shops.
Thong Lor - This is an area right next to Phrom Phong, which has a lot of nightlife as well as many Japanese restaurants.
Ekkamai - For a more quiet and residential neighbourhood, you can stay in Ekkamai. There are still restaurants and cafes around, but it’s more quiet than the areas above.
Lumphini - The area around Lumphini park is a bit of a higher-end neighbourhood where you will find loads of 5 star hotels as well as embassies.
Accommodation
I usually go for either Airbnb or Booking.com when looking for accommodation in Bangkok. Recently, I prefer Booking.com because I find the quality of Airbnb going steadily down. Last time I was in a nice Airbnb in Thong Lor, but the whole experience was slightly off and weird because the apartments were technically not allowed to be rented as Airbnb so the host was very specific about not telling anyone we are renting with Airbnb and it all had to be super secretive. However, when I’m traveling I really don’t want to deal with this kind of nonsense to be honest. So, I’d rather just pay a bit more for a legit hotel or aparthotel.
Check out accommodation options in Bangkok on Booking.com:
Sim Cards & Internet
In Thailand, and especially Bangkok, you will never be without (fast) internet. Most cafes and even restaurants have free wifi and it’s very fast as well.
For sim cards, I would recommend getting an eSim card that you can simply download on to your phone, you can use services like Saily to easily get an eSim card.
When To Go
Bangkok has a hot & tropical climate pretty much all year round, but there are certain times where it’s better to go than others.
For instance, try to avoid February and March, when it’s burning season in Thailand, meaning that the pollution in the cities gets particularly bad.
November to February are the months that are said to be the best time to visit Bangkok because the weather isn’t overly hot (relatively speaking) and it stays dry. For those wanting to escape the winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s therefore a perfect destination.
How To Get Around
Bangkok has decent public transportation, but it depends a bit where you are staying. You have the BTS Skytrain, which is the best way if you want to move along the Sukhumvit road, which is often congested.
Then you have the two metro lines: the Sukhumvit line and the Silom line. The MRT lines cover more the tourist areas of Bangkok as well as the outer suburbs.
The BTS and the Metro are two different systems, so you do need different tickets for each of them. For the BTS, it’s best to get a Rabbit card at the ticket counter, which you can just load with some baht. For the metro, you can use a Visa credit card; simply tap on or off.
Bangkok traffic is notorious so if you are able to go with public transportation, I would recommend to go with the BTS skytrain or the metro, because you don’t really want to be stuck in traffic, especially during rush hour, which is from 7-9AM and 4-7PM on weekdays. However, the traffic can be rather unpredictable.
Outside of rush hour, you can also always use taxis, Grab and Bolt, which are cheap and convenient.
Travel Insurance
It’s better to be safe than sorry in my opinion, especially when it comes to travel and health. You never know what might happen on the road and by having a travel insurance, you’ll have a peace of mind and can travel worry-free.
I highly recommend Safety Wing, as I think the user experience is really good and has some of the best value for money. You can also buy additional add-ons to your insurance policy, for instance, electronics theft and extended coverage for so-called adventure travel (e.g. skiing or surfing).
You can purchase your Safety Wing insurance via this link.
Visa
If you want to stay in Bangkok for just a month or two, then you can easily get the visa on arrival, which can also be extended for a total of 60 days.
If you want to stay longer in Bangkok than a great option currently for remote workers is getting the Destination Thailand Visa, which is valid for 5 years and let’s you stay in the country and work remotely.
🌴 You can read more about how to get this visa on this blog post.
My thoughts on Bangkok as a DN Destination
Bangkok is a fun and exciting city and you will definitely not get bored, because there is simply so much to do.
If you are a city person, don’t mind hot weather and are a foodie, then I would definitely recommend Bangkok as a digital nomad destination. Loads of digital nomads and remote workers have come to call Bangkok their (second) home, so it’s quite easy to meet likeminded people.
For those who seek more nature, peace and quiet, I would probably suggest you to skip Bangkok, and go to places like Chiang Mai or some of the Thai islands (such as Koh Lanta), where you will find more peace and quiet because Bangkok can be pretty intense, even though you can find pockets of tranquility in the bustling city.
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