My Solo Trip to Bangkok, Thailand

Sky above Bangkok : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved.

I visited Bangkok from 26 September to 2 October 2025, and I would love to tell you this was a beautifully planned solo trip with a colour-coded itinerary, carefully researched restaurants, and every ticket booked weeks in advance.

It was not!

My original holiday plan was completely different. But work had been so busy that somehow I reached the point where my leave was approaching and I still had no proper destination, no itinerary, and definitely not enough time for complicated visa arrangements.

So, 12 days before my holiday, I looked at my shopping list, considered my options, and Thailand suddenly made a lot of sense.

Bangkok? Shopping? Food? An easy enough last-minute trip?

Yes. Book it. Why not?

And that was basically how the adventure began.

The Trip Started With an Airport Sprint. Naturally.

This time, I decided that sleep mattered more than flight luxury.

I had already experienced nicer airlines on previous trips, so I wanted to try a budget airline and see how it went. I booked a flight leaving Sri Lanka at around 10 a.m.

A morning flight sounded peaceful.

No 3 a.m. alarms. No zombie version of me wandering around an airport.

Perfect! At least, that was the theory.

Another little milestone: getting to the airport itself was part of the solo adventure. On my previous trips, my parents had come with me all the way until the luggage check-in area.

This time it was Just me, My luggage and passport…And, apparently, very questionable time management.

I had completed packing on the day before. The next morning, it was raining heavily, and somehow I arrived at the airport about 15 minutes before the gate closed.

Nothing says relaxing holiday like beginning it with cardio.

But I made it! That was all that mattered for the mement!

Excuse Me, That Is Literally My Seat

I had pre-booked a window seat.

Not only that, I had pre-ordered my meal and even ordered a fancy duty-free item to be delivered to my seat.

So imagine my surprise when I boarded the plane and found…

someone sitting in it.

Okay. Mistakes happen.

But instead of something like, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realise,” the person casually tried to negotiate with me so I could sit in their seat instead.

No apology. Just negotiation.

And normally, I am happy to be flexible.

But as a solo traveller who had already planned everything around that particular seat — and who was hoping to sleep — I wasn’t interested in voluntarily adding unnecessary chaos to my journey.

Also…

I paid for that seat. My meal knew where I was supposed to be.

My duty-free purchase knew where I was supposed to be.

I knew where I was supposed to be.

So I politely got my reserved seat.

If you are that person who tend to take someone else’s seat without hesitation, please think twice next time!

Later, I saw a meme saying:

Kindness doesn’t always mean giving up your boundaries.

Apparently my flight to Bangkok had already started giving me a life lesson.

The flight itself was fine. The food and service were good.

Sleeping!!!, however, was another story.

There were children crying loudly around me, so the peaceful nap I had imagined became more of a close your eyes and pretend this is relaxing situation.

The Layover I Was Actually Excited About

Then came something I had genuinely been looking forward to:

my two-hour layover at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

I already liked KLIA from my previous Malaysia trip because it is a surprisingly nice place to eat, wander around, and shop without feeling like every purchase requires taking out a small loan.

This time, I also wanted to try an airport lounge. So I did.

A launge at KLIA : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved.

And for once, a flight delay worked in my favour.

The first delay announcement gave me extra time to sit down, eat properly, relax, and enjoy the lounge.

Wonderful.

Then boarding time approached, so I hurried to the gate…

…only to hear that the flight was delayed again.

Less wonderful.

It was already around 11 p.m., and I started calculating what this meant.

First time arriving in Bangkok. Travelling alone. New airport. New city.

And now I would probably reach my hotel around 1 a.m. I wasn’t thrilled.

But what was I going to do? Buy another flight? Absolutely not. I had a shopping list to fund. So I waited…..

Hello Bangkok. It Is 1 A.M. Please Be Nice to Me.

The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok was smooth, and I enjoyed both my meal and the beautiful night views over Malaysia and Thailand.

When we finally landed at Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), I immediately exchanged some money from the first counter I met because I wasn’t sure what would still be open at that hour.

Then came immigration, luggage collection, and my next mission: getting connected to mobile network.

I bought an AIS eSIM valid for eight days and immediately called my hotel.

I checked whether reception is open 24 hours during the hotel booking, but given the fact that worst cases are also probable, I wanted to double check

My question was simple: “Is reception still open?” Thankfully: yes.

One problem solved.

Then I booked a Bolt. (Or at least, I attempted to.)

The airport was not exactly designed for a newly arrived, slightly sleepy solo traveller who assumes “pickup point” is going to be one obvious location.

The first driver somehow arrived on a completely different level of the airport. Neither of us seemed to know exactly where the other person was. After trying to find the vehicle for a sometime I cancelled. Coz the hassle was expensive enough since I was with my luggages as well.

Airport security then gave me one of the most useful travel tips I received during the trip: take a photo of the road, entrance, or nearby signboard and send it to the driver through the app.

Brilliant.

I booked another car, sent a picture, and this time everything went smoothly.

My hotel was near Bangkok’s major shopping areas, hidden among lots of little roads and lanes. Even my driver struggled to locate it, but the hotel staff guided him over the phone.

I checked in with almost no waiting time, and they helped me with my luggage.

On previous trips, I had booked twin rooms and used the second bed as a very luxurious luggage rack.

This time, because I had booked so late, I ended up with a single room.

Finally. Arrived. Got a clean room. Bed. Peace! (Or so I thought…)

Bangkok Welcomed Me With Scam Calls

Fine.. I put down my luggage, checked the lights, turned on the AC, sat on the bed…

and my phone rang. A Thai number.

I had literally just checked in, so I assumed it might be reception.

I answered.

“Madam… madam… madam…”

Oh.

SCAAAAM.

I hung up.

Then they called again. And again. And again….. AND IT WAS MID-NIGHT

I switched on Do Not Disturb.

Problem solved? Noo.

Apparently that Do Not Disturb option was configured to allow repeated calls from the same number through in case it was an emergency.

Very considerate feature. But Terrible timing.

So there I was, after midnight in Bangkok, researching how to configure a custom mode specifically because it seems scammers don’t let me sleep.

I found! — Of course A Victory.

Then I showered and prepared to sleep.

Oh I have missed the IMPORTANT call

Because of the flight delay, I had taken longer than expected to respond.

A call from home..!

Oops. I had forgotten to tell about the delay.

After confirming that I had not disappeared somewhere between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, I finally went to sleep.

Day One: Bubble Tea Before Anything Else

The next morning, I woke up at around 12 noon.

My carefully drafted itinerary was already judging me..

But this was my holiday, and apparently my body had decided that adequate sleep was now part of the itinerary.

So instead of complaining, I adjusted the plan.

One of my main destinations for the day was Madame Tussauds Bangkok.

But first: A Bubble tea — Obviously!

I walked to Platinum Fashion Mall near my hotel. Like almost every major shopping mall I visited in Bangkok, it was packed.

The food court was especially chaotic, yet somehow the shops were handling huge numbers of orders like it was completely normal.

I found a cute café filled with teddy bears.

I chose it because there were teddy bears. But the bubble tea itself was not amazing. But the café was adorable.

The staff were also incredibly helpful and took some lovely photos of me.

Although one photo required some editing later because the photographer appeared in the mirror behind me.

Solo travel photography is kind of a team work !

Having the first Bubble Tea after landing in Bangkok : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

Then I got hungry. My food routine when travelling alone is very simple:

I eat when I feel like eating.

No discussions. No voting. No “I don’t mind, what do YOU want?” negotiations.

I spotted a sushi counter with beautifully presented rolls and decided to give it a try.

That random little counter somehow achieved what my close friends who are sushi lovers had failed to do for years:

It made me fall for sushi!

The counter that made me a sushi fan : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

After eating, I booked a taxi to Madame Tussauds.

Bangkok traffic was crazy.

But technically I was inside one of the cars creating the traffic, so I didn’t feel qualified to complain :D

Hanging Out With the Stars — Wax Edition

Madame Tussauds was so much fun.

The museum took me through political figures, scientists, musicians, actors, sports stars, movie characters and more.

There was only one major disappointment. I am a Swiftie. And Tay was not there.

Other than that, I loved it.

There were interactive photo spots, props, outfits, and plenty of chances to take fun, slightly ridiculous pictures.

And this was one of those moments when I really appreciated how kind people can be to solo travellers.

Staff members and even other visitors patiently helped take photos of me.

Travelling alone does not always mean doing everything alone. Sometimes, all it takes is handing your phone to a stranger and hoping they understand the assignment..!

With my childhood favourite band : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

After that, I did some shopping at Siam Discovery.

Then the adventure called!.

The Hotpot That Nearly Defeated this Sri Lankan

Although there are restaurants serving hotpot in Sri Lanka, I had somehow never tried one. So Bangkok became the place for my first-ever hotpot experience.

I stood in front of all the raw ingredients — noodles, meat, processed meat, vegetables, sauces — and realised I had absolutely no idea how much I was supposed to take.

I looked at what I had collected and thought:

I’m not sure whether this is too little or too much… but let’s go with it.

Then I reached the cashier. The price suggested that perhaps my portion was not as modest as I had imagined. Still, too late.

Then came my second mistake. The spice level.

Sri Lanka may be famous for spicy food, but unfortunately, I did not inherit the average Sri Lankan spice tolerance.

Still, for some reason, I looked at the options and confidently chose medium. Thai — medium and the medium I had imagined were apparently two completely different legal definitions.

I ate that hotpot with tears in my eyes.

Not emotional tears… But Survival tears.

A HotPot at Bangkok : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

And the bowl was enormous. I couldn’t even finish a quarter of it before I was completely full.

So I packed the rest knowing that Night-time hunger would come and future Me would be grateful.

I continued wandering around the mall, mostly exploring clothing and shoe shops. And despite being completely full, I somehow still had room for another bubble tea.

There is always room for bubble tea..!

This one was much better than my first, so I happily continued shopping while slowly sipping it.

I also came across outlets from major sports brands offering some tempting discounts. Naturally, the sandals I liked didn’t have my size in the colour I wanted.

By around 9:30 p.m., I was exhausted, so I called it a day and headed back to the hotel.

Wat Arun, Traditional Thai Clothes, and Losing My Exit

The next day’s main plan was Wat Arun, the beautiful riverside Buddhist temple I had seen in so many photographs.

And there was one thing I specifically wanted to do there:

Good photos wearing traditional Thai clothing.

Outside the temple were many rental shops with gorgeous fabrics, jewellery, hair accessories, and umbrellas.

The outfits weren’t simply ready-made dresses. The staff wrapped and styled beautiful pieces of fabric around you with the help of pins, like a saree draping.

I chose blue for the lower half of my outfit. They didn’t have the exact matching blue top, so we ended up pairing it with a blue-green shade.

Then came jewellery : Earrings, Hair ornaments, Accessories, an umbrella in a matching colour.

The umbrella looked beautiful in photos. But Carrying it around was Less nice. At some point, I realised I had voluntarily added one more thing to carry while walking around the temple.

The shop also offered hairstyling. Their usual styling didn’t work on my curly hair. So eventually, I politely aked them to stop and did the hair on my own.

If you want you can pay a little extra and get the makeup done. I skipped it.

Then I entered the temple. And here is my advice if you rent an outfit outside Wat Arun:

TAKE A PHOTO OF THE SHOP.

And preferably photograph the gate near it too.

Why?

Because later, when I tried to leave, I discovered that the temple has multiple exits.

And to me, several of them looked suspiciously similar.

My clothes, bag, and belongings were all back at the rental shop.

So I had to wander around trying to figure out which gate I had originally entered through.

At Wat Arun in traditional Thai attire : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

Photo Credit : The photo above was taken by a lovely couple I met there. I simply asked them to take a picture of me, but they went beyond that and made a team effort to carefully frame the shot to capture the beautiful scenery around me as well. Due to their act of kindness, I had this beautiful photo to remember. I’m truly grateful to them!

The temple itself was stunning.

There was something comforting about hearing Buddhist chanting in there. May be because I was far away from home, there was a sense of familiarity in the sound.

Later I saw there are photographers around Wat Arun offering photo packages too, so if you are travelling alone and want professional photos, that is another option.

Ferry Adventure, Scam Radar, and Bangkok on Two Wheels

I had arrived at Wat Arun by taxi.

For the return journey, I wanted something different : A ferry!

Bangkok uses boats as part of its public transport system, with organised stops, staff guiding passengers, and digital displays showing the journey.

It was my first experience using a ferry as normal public transport, and I loved it.

A ferry stop at Bangkok: Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

After a few stops, I got off because I wanted to visit another place with a peaceful, Zen-garden-like atmosphere.

One thing I learned while travelling alone: in less crowded areas, if someone immediately identifies you as unfamiliar with the place, occasionally you’ll attract people trying to get money from you through some creative story.

Bangkok was training me.

Then I looked at the time. I still wanted to explore more shopping areas, and sitting in traffic wasn’t going to help.

So… motorbike taxi.

That ride was fast, Efficient, And occasionally felt like I had accidentally purchased a roller-coaster ticket.

Still, we reached the city much faster AND Adventure achieved.

That night, I tried Thai rice with rose milk and, of course, picked up another bubble tea near the hotel.

The Day I met the bubble tea base for the rest of the trip : Thai Milk Tea

The next day was dedicated almost entirely to two things: food and shopping.

I started with dumplings and bubble tea.

And that was when I finally found the flavour : Thai milk tea

Where had this been all my life?

It became my default bubble-tea base for the rest of the trip.

Even after returning to Colombo, I tried Thai-milk-tea bubble teas from different places, hoping to recreate that taste. Nothing has matched it yet.

May be Bangkok had spoiled my taste..!

Things I Learned About Taxis in Bangkok

During the trip, I mainly used Grab and Bolt.

Inside city centre, communication was usually manageable. Many drivers spoke English, while others used translation features in the apps.

One trick worked especially well:

send a photo of where you are standing : A shop sign /A hotel entrance / A road sign / A recognisable building. It is so much easier than trying to explain “I’m next to the thing opposite the other thing near the road” across a language barrier.

Outside central areas, though, things sometimes became difficult. I had one driver who didn’t speak English, wasn’t using a translator, and also had internet issues. So i barely managed to go to the destination.

Shopping Until Walking Became the Faster Transport Option

Back to the story: shopping!

There are stones which are used for jewellery that you can shop if you are interested. My birthstone is expensive! So i asked some secondary recommendations from Google and got a list of different stone comes in low cost.

While I was shopping, eventually discovered something interesting:

sometimes walking is faster than driving in Bangkok.

Many of the major shopping malls were connected by pedestrian skywalks, so I could move from one shopping area to another without having to negotiate the traffic below.

Road traffic in Bangkok: Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

Somewhere along the way, I got a customised passport cover, wandered through gift shops hunting for chocolates, and did a lot of browsing that occasionally turned into buying.

Time for a tasty pizza….

I found a live pizza station in a busy street, and it was so good that I went back for another time later in the trip. When food earns a repeat visit during a short holiday, I think that says enough.

Fresh juice was another Bangkok favourite of mine. Street stalls seemed to have it everywhere, and I mostly went for pomegranate and orange. Cold, fresh juice in the middle of a long day of walking and shopping? Very easy to get used to.

I also bought sandals because the pair I had brought from my previous Malaysia trip was barely surviving.

Yes, shoes exist everywhere. There is a problem with discovering genuinely comfortable footwear: once you find a material that feels genuinely comfortable on your skin, your choices become very strict.

Those sandals hurt slightly? No, not for me

I ended the day at Phoenix Shopping Mall. Downstairs, there was a huge supermarket with an impressive variety of goods, which was perfect for stocking up on snacks.

I also tried pomegranate juices randomly from shopping malls.

And I must say: street-shop pomegranate juice was much better!

Sometimes the best things come from the simplest places :)

Dream World: Where My Inner Child Took Over

The next day was the most adventurous one.

DreamWorld Bangkok.

It was outside the city centre, so I decided to take a bus. I informed the conductor where I needed to get off and asked her to let me know before the stop.

Then, because the journey was long… I fell asleep. Yes I agree that it’s not an excellent thing to do..

Thankfully, the conductor remembered me and woke me up before my stop. Of course that small act of kindness meant a lot!

After getting off the bus, I took a car for the final part of the journey.

I had already booked my DreamWorld ticket online, but I still needed to collect an entry wristband at the ticket office.

And then… fun begins!

I had learnt a lessons from my previous Sunway Lagoon experience in Malaysia, (you can read it here ) so this time I was more conscious.

When passing the entrance they gave me a list of rides and activities operating that day, and I immediately started planning what I wanted to try.

The entrance was colourful and incredibly photogenic: photos -Obviously.

Taking photos is one of the biggest tiny challenges of solo travel. You can cross countries alone. But then you arrive somewhere beautiful and realise: Who is going to take my photo? Thankfully, strangers came through for me repeatedly on this trip.

Back to DreamWorld story, My first ride was the cable car.

Dream World cable car : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

I saw sausages… So I suddenly got hungry ! Then I had some

May be my appetite is apparently visually activated :D

Next, I spotted a miniature train travelling around little recreations of famous places around the world.

There was an Eiffel Tower, Egyptian pyramids, The Statue of Liberty,..And other landmarks. It was ridiculously cute!

Then I tried a little paddle boat..Since I was the only person in it, I also had the responsibility of controlling it properly. (No passenger to blame :D)

There was also an indoor photography area filled with funny setups where you could create ridiculous pictures, where I was apparently fit inside a big cooking pan!

Bumper Cars: Fun until a Serious Collision!

One of my favourite activities was the bumper cars.

I went twice.

There was a group of guys enthusiastically crashing into each other, and somehow one or two of their cars slammed into mine..!

For a moment I think my entire system rebooted

That was when I decided: yep, enough bumper cars for today.!

Next mission: Snow Town before closing time.

Snow Town at DreamWorld : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

I managed to get there just in time, and it was absolutely worth it!

I tried snow tubing for the first time, played in the snow, and took far too many photos.

Even better, I met another solo traveller from China who perfectly matched my photogenic energy. We quickly became each other’s unofficial photographers, taking plenty of photos for one another. One of the best parts of solo travel is randomly finding someone who understands that one photo is never enough!

One minor problem with my Snow Town adventure..

I walked in wearing shorts. By the time I came out, my legs were almost numb from the cold..

After defrosting myself, I tried a cute bear-shaped waffle and went on more rides!

And there were plenty of photo spots scattered around the park too , which of course, I had no intention of walking past without stopping.

Photo locations at DreamWorld : Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

I even found myself playing card games with with some zombie friends at one point!

And then, right when I was leaving, I discovered something I really wish I had known earlier: Dream World is offering a free ride in a fancy shuttle truck to the main road. The same journey I had earlier paid for a taxi to make. Wonderful!

I happily climbed aboard, enjoyed my free ride to the main road, and then caught a taxi back toward the city centre. Went there for some food and literally ‘light’ mall hopping, coz I was too tired.

“I Didn’t Shop That Much.”

The next day was my final full shopping day.

Naturally, I started with Thai-milk bubble tea. By now, this was the go-to choice.

At Pratunam Market, I found a really nice backpack.

Then I bought a new travel suitcase from Platinum Mall. Because I realised everything would not fit into my existing luggage.

It’s not that I bought a lot. The things I bought like fancy handbags, shoes were just take space. Cool it’s just geometry rather than overspending.

That day, I also finally tried one of iconic food in Thailand : Mango sticky rice. And yes. It deserves the hype!

Mango Sticky Rice

I tried more street food.

And then More chocolates, More bubble tea, More little ornaments and gifts for myself and close friends.

Pedestrian skywalks in Bangkok

Then I went back to the hotel earlier than usual because I had a serious task ahead of me.

Packing..!

Or, more accurately: trying to convince several days of Bangkok shopping to fit into luggages.

Hot-Pink heels I badly needed

While packing that night, a pink pair of heels I had seen earlier… but decided not to buy…

came back into my mind.

You know when you leave something in a shop and then your mind spends hours saying:

You should have bought them. They were nice. What if you never find them again? Think about the heels.

So it made me : On my final morning in Bangkok, before checkout… wake up early and go back for them. I also managed to pick up a few last-minute gifts. (Because apparently the new suitcase had created that dangerous confidence regarding space.)

One Last Bubble Tea

And then, the trip was over.

That is the strange thing about travel. At the beginning, seven days feels like this huge stretch of time.

You arrive in a new country thinking: I have so many days.

And then suddenly you’re packing, Checking drawers, Looking under the bed for chargers, Closing the suitcase by sitting on it, And calculating when you should leave for the airport.

Before going, I bought one final bubble tea..!

This time it’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, not the one that I landed in Bangkok.

I arrived at the airport properly on time. So no sprinting. No announcements calling my name!

I even had enough time for a peaceful breakfast before boarding my direct flight back to Colombo. Here you see the flight..!

At Suvarnabhumi Airport: Image by Rusiri Illesinghe © [2026]. All rights reserved

And I felt sad. I didn’t want the trip to be over.

For several days, my biggest concerns had been things like:

Which bubble tea should I try? Can I fit another pair of shoes in my luggage?Which gate did I enter Wat Arun through? Why did I choose medium spice?

And now I was heading back to normal routines.. That’s always the bittersweet part of a good trip!

You miss home eventually. But you also don’t quite want to leave the temporary little life you created somewhere else.

My Final Bad Decision: The Low-Fat Meal

One positive thing about my return flight was that it was direct.

And after spending an entire week trying all kinds of food, I suddenly decided that this was the perfect moment to become health-conscious.

So, I ordered the low-fat meal on the plane.

To be honest, there was nothing wrong with the meal. It was perfectly fine!

The problem was with my taste buds which had spent the entire week enjoying sushi, dumplings, Thai food, mango sticky rice, pizza, street food, waffles, fresh juices, and enough bubble tea to establish a small franchise..!

And now I was asking them to peacefully accept a low-fat airplane meal. And they were not impressed… After an entire week of culinary adventures, is this how you chose to end the journey ?

Thankfully, I wasn’t actually hungry. (Or perhaps this was just Current Me patting Past Me on the back for pretending to make one healthy decision)

What This Trip Gave Me

This trip wasn’t perfectly planned. I arrived at the airport ridiculously late.

Someone had already taken my carefully booked window seat.

Connected flight was delayed. I reached Bangkok in the middle of the night, got confused at airport pickup points.

Scammers called me before I had even properly settled into my room.

I barely found the shop where I rented Thai clothes outside Wat Arun.

I cried over a hotpot.

I froze my legs in Snow World and got hit by bumper cars.

I bought another suitcase and continued shopping anyway. And I loved it.

Sacrificed my extra hour of sleep for pink heels

Because somewhere between all those little chaotic moments, I realised again why I enjoy travelling alone.

The Balcony View

Solo travel doesn’t mean everything goes smoothly. It means when something doesn’t go smoothly, you may figure it out.

You learn modes of communication when you don’t share a language. You learn to ask strangers for help. You learn to trust your instincts. You learn that getting temporarily lost isn’t a disaster. You learn that sometimes another solo traveller from another country can become your photographer for twenty minutes and somehow make your day better. You learn that your plans can change because you slept until noon, and nothing terrible happens.

You learn that you can sit alone in a café, go to an amusement park alone, take a ferry alone, shop alone, eat alone — and still have a genuinely wonderful time.

And sometimes, you learn that medium spice is not your medium. (Very important lesson.)

Bangkok gave me a week of little adventures, good food, shopping bags, kind strangers, funny mistakes, beautiful places… and possibly a permanent Thai-milk-tea addiction…!

And then to reality..!

Bye bye ! that was my Solo trip to Bangkok 🇹🇭