How To Spend 48 Hours In Bangkok

When it comes to the world’s most visited cities, Bangkok regularly retains the number one spot, attracting 22.78 million international visitors last year with its bustling street markets, colourful cultural attractions and a top-notch dining scene.

Here’s how to spend 48 hours in Thailand’s ‘City of Angels’ and why you should put it on top of your 2023 travel list.

Day one

Head to Toby’s at Saladaeng for breakfast

8 am: After a restful night’s sleep at COMO Metropolitan Bangkok and an energising in-house yoga session, choose from the hotel restaurant’s Shambhala Spa-inspired breakfast menu while overlooking the pool.

Alternatively, step out onto the streets of Sathorn and walk a few blocks to Toby’s at Saladaeng. Tucked down a quiet business district laneway, this attractive Australian-inspired cafe is the latest of the owner’s three modern offerings in the city, and its Aussie breakfast classics peppered with Thai flavour will transport your tastebuds across the Asia Pacific.

Pair a flat white or lean green juice with the prawn toast – topped with fried eggs, grilled prawns and lotus root served with black sesame sweet plum sauce, it’s the hearty start you need to tackle the busy streets.

sun loungers at COMO Metropolitan Bangkok’s pool — Relax by COMO Metropolitan Bangkok’s exquisite pool.

Wander around Lumpini Park

9.30 am: Cross the highway and stroll through one of the city’s loveliest parks en route to Silom metro station. Known as the ‘Central Park’ of Bangkok, Lumpini Park is an oasis of green where you’ll find locals practising taichi, making Buddhist offerings and taking to the lake in swan-shaped paddle boats.

Marvel at the Grand Palace

10.30 am: After catching the subway to Sanam Chai, exit the station in the historic centre of the city and walk to Bangkok’s number one attraction, the Grand Palace.

Rehomed here in 1792, the official residence of the King of Thailand is also home to the country’s most sacred Buddhist temple, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Save time by buying tickets online, ensuring you are appropriately dressed, and taking a tour with a local guide.

a gilded statue in the Grand Palace — Find many gilded statues at the Grand Palace. (Image: Rutpratheep Nilpechr)

Gaze in awe at Wat Pho

12 pm: Next, walk a few blocks to Wat Pho. The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is one of Bangkok’s oldest and most visited temples. Aside from housing an impressive 46-metre-long golden Buddha, it also holds the ashes of King Rama I who restored the temple complex in 1788.

people entering Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha — Visit Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha. (Image: Taylor Simpson)

Considered Thailand’s earliest centre for public education, Wat Pho was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World program in 2008 for its ancient marble inscriptions, including those about Thai medicine and massage. As the birthplace of Thai massage, a treatment at the temple’s massage school is a must.

intricate details of the Wat Pho structure — The temple is one of Bangkok’s most sought-after sights. (Image: Jack Hunter)

Visit Bangkok’s newest shopping centre

1.30 pm: By now you’ll be ready for lunch. Take a traditional long boat or express ferry from nearby Tha Chang Pier and cruise down the Chao Phraya River to one of Bangkok’s newest luxury shopping centres, Iconsiam.

Drink and dine at Tasana Nakorn Terrace

2 pm: Positioned on the west bank and ranked among the top four shopping centres in the world in 2021, Iconsiam is one of the largest malls in Asia, with more than 7000 global brands and 100 restaurants.

Spread over multiple levels and seven different dining zones, eating options range from Michelin-star restaurants such as Blue by Alain Ducasse, to street food stalls within the world’s only indoor floating market – showcasing dishes from Thailand’s 77 provinces. Before you go, grab a drink at Tasana Nakorn Terrace for spectacular riverfront views.

Experience the Mahanakhon Skywalk

4 pm: Speaking of views, catch Iconsiam’s free shuttle boat to Sathorn Pier before connecting via the BTS Skytrain to Bangkok’s newest skyscraper and Thailand’s tallest building, King Power Mahanakhon.

Head straight to the top for the Mahanakhon Skywalk – an experience that includes walking over a glass tray on the 78th floor and 360-degree views from the Observation Deck at the Peak, 314 metres above ground level.

the tallest skyscraper in Thailand — Gaze at Thailand’s tallest skyscraper, the King Power Mahanakhon. (Image: Rutpratheep Nilpechr)

Pamper yourself with a luxury spa treatment

5.30 pm: By now you’ll want to head back to COMO Metropolitan Bangkok for a well-earned rest. Relax with a luxurious treatment at COMO Shambhala Spa, a signature cocktail by the pool or power nap back in your room.

Sit down to a traditional Thai fine dining at Nahm

8 pm: After freshening up, sit down to dinner at Nahm. Consistently ranked among the best restaurants in Asia since its opening by renowned chef David Thompson in 2010, the restaurant at COMO Metropolitan Bangkok has retained its Michelin star for six years running, with Pim Techamuanvivit now at the helm. Opt for the Heritage degustation with matching wines to experience a modern, fine-dining take on traditional Thai fare.

Grab a drink at Moon Bar

9.30 pm: Bangkok is known for its rooftop bars. Stroll next door to Banyan Tree and take the lift to the hotel’s Vertigo and Moon Bar to experience one of its best. Located on the 61st floor, the cocktail bar is the perfect place to drink in the bright lights of the city and see King Power Mahanakhon from a different perspective, right in front of you.

people dining at Vertigo and Moon Bar, Banyan Tree — Head to Vertigo and Moon Bar at Banyan Tree for a quick buzz.

Head to Chinatown for late-night barhopping

10.30 pm: If you’ve still got energy to burn, head to Chinatown for late-night barhopping. Popular with a young, hip crowd, Soi Nana is the best laneway to explore with cute and compact speakeasy-style cocktail bars including Asia Today, Tep Bar, Wallflowers and Teens of Thailand – with the latter regularly ranking among Asia’s 50 Best Bars.

Day Two

Go for a morning stroll

8 am: After breakfast, catch a tuk-tuk to nearby Benchakitti Forest Park for a morning stroll along the park’s newly opened Skywalk. Running almost two kilometres, the raised walkway is thought to be one of the world’s longest.

Set within 48 hectares of land formerly belonging to the Tobacco Authority of Thailand, the newly converted and expanded wetlands now make Benchakitti Forest Park the largest of its kind in the city.

an aerial view of the wetlands at Benjakitti Park — Benchakitti Forest Park is home to an abundance of water lilies.

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Discover Thailand’s remarkable silk industry

9.30 am: For one of the city’s cultural treasures, make your way to Jim Thompson House Museum to visit the Bangkok home and Asian art collection of the man responsible for reviving Thailand’s silk industry.

Book ahead for a guided tour of the six traditional teak weavers’ cottages that make up the late American entrepreneur’s home. Stop at the museum shop on your way out for luxury silk clothing and textiles.

verdant gardens at Jim Thompson House Museum — Explore art and lush gardens at Jim Thompson House Museum.

Browse artisan shops at BACC

11 am: Walk around the corner to Siam Square to see the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC). Worth a visit for its architecture alone, the centre’s circular atrium design is likened to New York’s Guggenheim Museum. Host to contemporary events, activities and exhibitions from some of the best Thai and international artists, BACC is also a regular venue for the Bangkok Art Biennale. Take time to browse artisan shops also located here.

people looking at the art displays inside Bangkok Art and Culture Centre — The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre’s design has been likened to New York’s Guggenheim Museum.

Admire colourful street art

12.30 am: Catch the BTS Skytrain to Saphan Taksin to explore Bangkok’s newest creative district. Charoenkrung Road is the city’s oldest road and along it you’ll find an array of hipster galleries, design stores, cafes and excellent eateries such as Samlor.

The popular comfort food restaurant is the latest venture of Napol Jantraget and Saki Hoshino – the power couple chefs who formerly owned Michelin star restaurant 80/20, also found here. After lunch, visit Thailand Creative Design Centre and slip down side streets known as sois for colourful street art and hidden bars.

Get a Thai massage at Mandarin Oriental

2 pm: Walk from Charoenkrung to nearby Mandarin Oriental to try the high-end hotel’s latest spa treatment, the Cannabis Relax and Restore Massage. With cannabis now decriminalised in Thailand, it’s the perfect time to experience the therapeutic effects of the plant with a luxury treatment that includes CBD-infused massage oil and cannabis poultice combined with medicinal Thai herbs.

Pre-book and arrive early for the included river boat crossing from the hotel to The Orient Spa, located on the opposite side of the Chao Phraya. Alternatively, head back to COMO Metropolitan Bangkok for a Thai massage and dip in the hotel pool.

Get social at The Commons

5 pm: Feeling refreshed, walk around the corner from the hotel to The Commons. Filled with eateries, bars, fitness studios and an event space, this modern multi-level hub in Saladaeng is one of two in the city, designed with community in mind. Get social and grab a drink here before taking the metro to Rama 9 for dinner.

Try local street food

6.30 pm: While Chatuchak Market is Bangkok’s biggest marketplace, Jodd Fairs is its newest, popular with visitors and locals alike. Wander the night market’s fairy-lit aisles to shop for creative wares, clothing and street food with a twist like cheese-flavoured ice-cream, quail egg skewers topped with bacon, matcha green tea macarons and the local favourite, leng saeb – a mountain of spicy pork served in a tasty broth. Of course, more traditional fare can be found here too, including delicious seafood delicacies.

a durian fruit stall at Jodd Fairs night market — Pull up a table at Jodd Fairs night market to feast on local street food in a buzzing atmosphere.

Wind down at BKK Social Club

8.30 pm: For your last spin in the city, feel the wind in your hair by taking a tuk-tuk to BKK Social Club. Coming in at number 10 at Asia’s 50 Best Bar Awards last year and crowned Thailand’s best, the cocktail bar within the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River is inspired by the glamour of Buenos Aires, with its parallels to Bangkok.

Settle into a plush private booth beneath the greenery and chandeliers in the indoor-outdoor space, and soak up the sublime selection of upbeat music and bespoke cocktails. Want more? End your night on a high at one of the city’s newest rooftop bars, The Loft at Waldorf Astoria. The bohemian, New York-style Art Nouveau bar located on the 57th floor serves the forgotten cocktails of the original 1953 Waldorf Astoria Bar Book.

a classy interior at BKK Social Club — BKK Social Club was voted the 10th best bar in Asia. (Image: Ken Seet)

After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.

Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?

Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.

Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.

“Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.

Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”

Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.”

CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.

A new generation demanding more

Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”

We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”

Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels — Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you…

bouda stupa prayer flags — Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.

Boudha Stupa vendors — Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.

A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.

Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

tharu woman — Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.

Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.

Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.

Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

“The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.

On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.

community homestay entrance — A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.

The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.

In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.

food at community homestay — Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.

The power of community homestays

community homestay owners in Nepal — Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.

“I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?”

The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed.

Sonara community room — An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.

Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.

CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.

“Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.

In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.

“We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.”

Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”

Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal.