When Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 extended the invitation to stay at their premise, I nodded yes straight away. Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand, and I haven't been back for so long! I only spent 4 days and 3 nights in Bangkok, so the trip was super express! Here are some things that you can do to maximise your time during a quick stopover!

List of food to try in Bangkok

You gotta make a list of food to try in Bangkok, especially since it's one of the gastronomy destinations in Asia. Whatever it is, make sure you fill it into your express itinerary. My Bangkok trip coincides with Siu Fan's special birthday. She filled me in beforehand on two restaurants that she wanted to try and needed to book in advanced: Suhring and Umenohana (photos below). Suhring had a special birthday cake for Siu Fan, it was pretty!

When you make a list, make sure to create it based on priority. That way, you know which restaurant or food to cull, and which one that you really need to go to. Another place that we wanted to go to was the KBBQ. Solely for the fact that the staff will cook our meat for us... hahaha. We chose Doo Rae KBBQ that has excellent reviews on Google!

There are two Thai restaurants that I went to during my stay. The first one was ทองสมิทธ์ Thong Smith at Central Embassy mall, they served boat noodle with kurobuta (yes, black pig)! Just like what Google reviewers say, they definitely offer upper-class boat noodle, but you also get the comfort and the portion with what you're paying.

Another Thai restaurant that we tried was แดงอาหารทะเล 40 ปี Daeng Seafood Restaurant. The restaurant served delish seafood, and I got to eat prawns in Tom Yum soup, crab curry, and crab rolls.

Must-visit places in Bangkok

Same with food, you need to make a list of must-visit places to go in Bangkok. Unlike the typical itinerary with the time of day, you can make a list with bullet points. This is to ensure a lot of flexibility in your day, especially with the traffic around Bangkok.

Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 location is within 8 minutes walking distance from Nana BTS (the nearest BTS) 🚆. It helps to go around places using BTS, compared to a taxi. Some of the taxi drivers in Bangkok can decline your request to go to specific locations. A lot of shopping centres in Bangkok are located near BTS Skytrain.

My must-visit place this time was the Maeklong Railway Market! Chan Chai drove us all the way to the market, which took around 2 hours from Bangkok. I feel like all the tourists gathered there at the same time as me. The train at Maeklong Railway Market operates eight times a day.

Being flexible gave me a time to do a quick visit to Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. Wat Arun renovation was completed in 2017, and the colourful tiles look so beautiful now! Our outfits weren't really suitable for a visit to the temple, so we hired some cover-ups. 

Siu Fan added a surprising place to visit called Lhong 1919, a multi-storey mixed-use complex of renovated 19th-century Chinese mansion. It has a shrine, restaurants and cafes, as well as an art gallery. On the plus side, you can see Chao Phraya River and take a river cruise from Lhong 1919.

Centrally Located Accommodation in Bangkok

This time, thanks to the Holiday Inn, I got to stay in a very central area in Bangkok. The best way to start the day is by having free breakfast at the hotel, then you will save money this way. The Coffee Club at ground floor opens 24/7, and if you feel tired from walking to Nana BTS 🚆, you can get a free shuttle service to the station. Tuk-Tuk shuttle service is available daily between 08:30 AM and 16.30 PM.

The Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 is surrounded by three 7-Eleven! We got some delicious meals from 7-Eleven during Valentine's Day. Thanks to my personal guide, Siu Fan, I discovered the delightful pork sausage, as well as ready-made minced chicken basil with rice! For dessert, we got ourselves Thai Preserved Pickled Mango! Yum!

There are a lot of different restaurants nearby such as Thai, Korean, Italian, Australian, a lot of Indian restaurants, Japanese, and Chinese restaurant. There are more than 10 massage places within a quick walking distance.

One of the best memories at the Holiday Inn was meeting Pim and PM. I remembered when PM sang Happy Birthday for Siu Fan at the hotel lobby 😍. It was a super special moment before we went to birthday dinner, especially since other hotel guests chimed along.

At the end of the day, that's all you need. A welcoming place when you're away from home. Thank you so much for a pleasant staycation!

Additional info:

• Rate per night for Holiday Inn Express Sukhumvit 11: around AUD 79-81.

• Universal power sockets are available.

• Daily Tuk Tuk shuttle to 🚆 Nana BTS every half an hr.

• 24 hr front desk.

• Tour desk available.