Sawadeekah! You’re in Bangkok and it’s raining, no worries, there’s still tons to do. You can lounge it out all day in your hotel room or you can keep explorin’ – try one of these options and you’ll stay dry while having an awesome rainy day in Bangkok.
Pamper Yourself – massages in Bangkok range from inexpensive ($5-$15) to full day spa treatments. If you’re going to be stuck inside all day, you should probably treat yourself. Get a Thai massage, manicure, pedicure and haircut for under $50 or go big and visit a really nice Bangkok salon for the full experience.
Jim Thompson House – it’s beautiful and something you should consider seeing anyway as it’s an interesting story and only about $6USD for a 40 minute tour. You can easily eat up 2-3 hours touring the Jim Thompson house and hanging around the grounds, restaurant and shops, most of which are protected from the rain.
Visit the museums & art galleries – Bangkok is home to dozens of amazing museums and galleries. Start with the Museum of Modern Art for some interesting exhibits, visit the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall (free) to learn about Thai culture and the move onto the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center (free) to round out the day.
Visit MBK or another luxe Bangkok mall – I’m highlighting MBK because it’s a stop on the BTS and it’s right next to the Jim Thompson House & the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center. MBK is no ordinary mall. It’s insane. There are seven floors and multiple Dairy Queens – I only know this because I once waited for two hours at the Dairy Queen for my friends, turns out they were at a different one in the same damn mall. I’m not a mall person, but I truly enjoy my trips to MBK. There are hundreds of stores to browse, but most of the time I simply sit and people watch. There’s also a nice (and inexpensive) movie theater on the top floor that is always showing multiple blockbusters in English. You can even go bowling or play one of the hundreds of other arcade games. Hungry? Cool, because there’s a food court that spans an entire floor with singing entertainment while you eat and there are multiple restaurants on every.other.floor.
Go to the movies – I think the movies in the U.S. are kinda lame. Sometimes the seats are comfortable and the popcorn is fresh, but otherwise there’s nothing to speak of. In Bangkok you can reserve your seat days, hours or mere minutes ahead of time so you always know what situation you’re walking into. The seats and comfortable and they recline and depending on the theater, there’s probably some other cool perks. Check out this comprehensive post to see which theaters offer foot massages, unlimited snacks and butler service.
Take a Cooking Class – I love Silom Thai Cooking School. The class ($30 per person) included a market tour (of a nearby covered veggie market) and an explanation of essential Thai cooking ingredients. After the market tour, you spend four hours creating six different Thai dishes and they send you home with a cookbook. The class was run smoothly with lots of instruction, explanation and true to Thai culture lots of jokes and smiles. Culture and cuisine are my two favorite aspects of travel and a cooking class combines both.
Coffeeshop Hangs – Rainy days are perfect for getting some work done, especially if you’ve been on the road for a bit. Maybe you check emails, edit photos or write out post cards. You could read a good book or listen to a podcast while you watch people pass by. You could also just chill, after all that’s what rainy days are about.