Bangkok must dos - discovering the joys of party buses
- Michelle Bambawale
- May 17
- 6 min read
Updated: May 18
“Let’s go to Bangkok,” is a regular refrain among many of our friends. It is a vibrant city throbbing with life, offering rejuvenating massages, ubiquitous shopping and eating out for every palate and budget, and above all impeccable Thai food, hospitality and service.
Why Bangkok feels like home
Depending on where you choose to stay and what you are looking for, each one has a different "I love Bangkok experience." For us going home to Bangkok is to revisit a few favourites. We lived in Bangkok for five years (2003-2008); it remains our most favourite place to live. Every time we go back, it feels like going back home.
We try to stay away from the touristy spots in the early Sukhumvit Sois. They are always rocking late into the night with live music, happy hours, bright lights and street shopping. We also try to avoid Google paid promotions and recommendations and the many Insta reels that push you to hunt for hidden gems, bargain, vintage, high end shopping and Michelin star dining.
Till 2022, I had never visited Bangkok as a tourist; I only had a resident perspective. Now living in another party hotpot Goa, or even living in London vs visiting London, or lived in Delhi vs the tourist Delhi, I know first-hand that the resident life and the tourist experience are poles apart.
Almost twenty years, a pandemic, a few coups and revolutions and a new King later, Bangkok is almost a different world. However, its Thai soul remains - the people, their politeness and aesthetics, the colourful orchids everywhere, the lush tropical plants and flowers, shopping, massages and food. You can’t help falling in love with it every time.
Lifelong Dubai friends reunited in Bangkok in May 2026
This trip was another reunion of sorts; our dear friend Ragini turned 70 in early May. We had all lived in Dubai in the 1990s, our kids had grown up together and we shared an extended family aka friendslikefamily relationship with each other and each of our kids. Over the last thirty - something years, the four families (Bahals, Bambawales, Chackos and Ghoses) have met often, usually in Goa to celebrate milestone birthdays and anniversaries but also in many different cities across the world. This time we decided to make the trip to Bangkok together. Pulling this off was no mean achievement. We now live in the Bay Area, Bangalore, Dubai and Goa, so those logistics on top of everyone’s extremely complicated work, family and health schedules and responsibilities. We kept saying to each other: “Can’t believe we are all here together.”
The Joy of Party buses
Bangkok reinvents itself, every visit is different. This trip the highlight was taking vans so that all seven of us could fit conveniently and travel together. We are now aged between 60 and 70, so safety and comfort were paramount. Over four nights we took some seven vans that we christened party buses. They were easily bookable on the Grab app. The options include four and six seater cars/SUVS, and ten and thirteen seater vans. Each one had different features, seating and décor. Every interior included some amount of flashing lights (yellow, blue or white), mirrors on the ceiling, side and front panels, intricate designs of dragons or fish or flowers and fruit and an all important VIP signs.
The seating varied with single-like business and first-class chairs; others had two and three-seater benches. Each time the bus rolled up, I was excited to check out the look and feel, colours, and configurations.
As the cliché goes, the journey is the destination. After this trip, my top recommendation is to grab a van and cruise the city. We giggled our way across town, marvelling at the interiors rather than the street sights.
I was so inspired that I put together this Insta reel.
My Bangkok Must Dos
I am often asked for my recommendations of things to do. For me the must dos are a meal at each River Tree House and Eat Me. Both these restaurants have not just survived the twenty years and the pandemic but have thrived, innovated and expanded. Weekend shopping at Chatuchak Market, a visit to Saxophone for live jazz, foot and traditional Thai massages at friendly neighborhood spots, and eat as much mango and sticky rice as you possibly can. We managed to do all these, as well as revisit a few other favourites and sample some new spots.
River Tree House always feels like going home. When we lived in Nichada Thani, near International School Bangkok, we went there almost every Sunday evening for dinner. We took all our friends and family who visited us. I celebrated a few of my birthdays at River Tree House. It is not just nostalgia that takes us back every time, but also the outstanding Thai food and service. You are seated right on the Chao Phraya River, in a traditional old wooden Thai house, and you take a cool tuk-tuk ride through the small sois (lanes). Frederic and Pete are amazing hosts. They are as genuine, warm, and welcoming as they were twenty-something years ago. Our go-to orders here and at most places are the winged bean, pomelo and mango salads, steamed fish, yellow crab curry, and mango and sticky rice, all washed down with Singha and/or Chang beer and Nam Manao (Lemonade).
Eat Me is a very cool dining experience with international fusion nouvelle cuisine and outstanding drinks. This time we had plenty of lobster, fish, and dishes with truffles. You can feel the Aussie influence in the food and ambience. Dessert is the must-have passion fruit Pavlova.
Chatuchak Market is not for the faint-hearted. It is an all-sensory experience, but the styles and the deals make it all worth it. There are bargains at every corner. This time, I came home with a haul of footwear, cool cotton and linen clothes, hats, handbags, and presents for family.
Saxophone - the jazz and blues bands there never disappoint and are worth the visit.
Limoncello: Another favourite that has survived the pandemic is the Italian Pizzeria Limoncello, the pizzas and pasta are good but for me the reason to go are the profiteroles with vanilla icecream (instead of custard or cream). I make sure it is available even before I order my drinks, starters and mains.
Walking in the neighbourhood: One more thing we love to do is stroll down the road to find a beer garden with live music. This time we were staying on Wireless Road, so we caught the action at the Dee Lounge and Beer Garden at the Four Points Sheraton.
Our evening walk to Lumpini Park was very special, seeing hundreds of folks running, jogging and working out after work.
Notable mention was the Myth spa close to our hotel where we got some amazing, reasonably priced, restful and rejuvenating foot and traditional Thai massages.
Different modes of transport for tourists in Bangkok
Traffic continues to be a challenge so the BTS is the best option. You can get in and out of places with ease, efficiency and air-conditioning. Most of them open right into fabulous malls. It was fun taking the BTS Skytrain from our stop Phloenchit on the Sukhumvit line to Mochit, the stop for Chatuchak.
We also took tuktuks, that is the easy Thai way. Only once on this trip, just for the adrenaline rush I hopped onto a motorbike taxi. I was going a short distance so Grab offered me a motorbike. A young woman rode up to my hotel, she handed me a helmet and I jumped on the back. Like all motorbike taxis the traffic signs and rules are only cautionary and mostly ignored. She rode through one ways and no entry signs, made illegal turns and overtook buses. My heart was in my mouth, but it was worth the risk. Forty baht, ten minutes and a selfie later, I was at my destination.
Thonglor Tips
Last year in 2025, we choose to stay in Thonglor. We loved the hectic energy, the many Japanese Izakaya, beer, massage and mango and sticky rice places to hang out at. Here is the link to my Google Maps list of recommended places.
Last year, there were more marijuana than massage places. This year, the laws have been revised and marijuana is now only available for medical purposes, so there are fewer dispensaries.
Every visit is a new discovery. Now we look forward to many more visits and party buses.
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