Mother-Daughter Trip in Thailand: Bangkok and Hua Hin

Greetings from Bangkok! I just spent eight days showing my mom around Thailand. 💕

Since she already spent around 24 hours flying here from Wisconsin, we knew we didn’t want to be traveling too much during our time together. As such, we focused on sightseeing in Bangkok and the surrounding area.

We had an incredible time together and this trip helped me rediscover Bangkok through someone else’s eyes. The following post will showcase our itinerary, including restaurants, attractions, and hotel recommendations. Hope you enjoy! 😊

Day 1:

Arrive in Bangkok! After a full night’s rest in Bangkok, we hit the ground running at 7 AM on Saturday morning.

We started the day in the Rattanakosin area, or the Old District, which has most of the historic temples and is located along the Chao Phraya River.

For breakfast we stopped at Baan ThaTien Cafe where we enjoyed a minced pork omelet with rice, pad Thai with shrimp, and coffee.

Cost: 10 USD

After brekkie, we visited Wat Po, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.It’s the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok with over 1,000 Buddha images. 😮The largest is the 150-foot reclining golden Buddha. 😍

Cost: 100 Baht or 3 USD each

From there we took a ferry boat to Icon Siam, stopping at Wat Arun for photo ops along the way.

Icon Siam is one of the most sensational riverside shopping malls in Bangkok. It has over 500 designer shops, luxury residences, and even a floating market on the inside! 🛍️

Cost: priceless window shopping

From there we took a ferry back across the river and then took the BTS sky train to the Pratunam District, which is close to my condo. This area is known for shopping and also massage. Since we knew we’d be doing a lot of walking through the malls, we started with a preventative foot massage.😂 Phetchaburi Road is lined with massage parlors that usually have a happy hour special from 9 AM-7 PM. A one-hour foot or back massage is only 200 Baht or 6 USD. Score! 💆
After the massage, we headed to The Platinum Fashion Mall, which has 7 floors of bargain clothing shops.

After a day of shopping and some food court eats, we checked out Beer Republic, which has a casual open-aired dining area and a wide selection of microbrews. 🍺

Day 2:

We started Sunday at Into the Woods Cafe. They have an adorable cabin theme, clever coffee drinks, and Western breakfasts. 🐻

From there we visited the Jim Thompson House Museum.Jim Thompson was an American businessman who introduced the world to Thai silk. After visiting Thailand in the 50s, he took some silk back to NYC, where he sold it to fashion designers and had it featured in The King and I.

This man is well-known across Thailand, but mysteriously disappeared on a hiking trip he took in Malaysia. To this day, they still don’t know what happened to him. Since he didn’t have any children, his sister turned his home into a museum, which is actually three separate houses made of teak wood and beautifully decorated with ancient Buddha images and silk fabrics.

Cost: Tickets are 200 Baht, but include a guided tour of the grounds.

That tour surely worked up an appetite, so from there we visited Pizza Company inside Central World mall. This Italian chain has an excellent selection of traditional and Thai-inspired pizzas.🍕

Cost: 25 USD for two personal pizzas, drinks and a salad

Day 3: 

The next morning we awoke at 6 AM and headed to Hua Lamphong Railway Station. To get there, we used Grab, which is similar to Uber, and can be used to get reliable transport at fair prices. While waiting for our train to arrive, we stopped in at 511 Cafe across the road. The place was charming and you could even sign your name on the wall. The shop owner just bought a new puppy too. So cute! 🚂

Side note: Hua Lamphong is a very historic railway station. In the next year, it will be shut down and converted into a museum.

The train ride was also quite expensive at around 420 Baht each, but was an express route in air conditioned cars, and it included lunch. They served mackerel two ways with rice.We arrived at the adorable and historic Hua Hin Railway Station around noon.From there we got checked into our hotel, the Anantara Hua Hin Resort. 🌴

We received welcome drinks and hot towels on arrival. I chose the garden suite, which had a nice patio and was located close to the pool,I can’t believe how well my mom’s nails matched the local flowers. That afternoon we lounged by the pool, taking advantage of their prolonged happy hour specials, and communal board games. 👙After a few cocktails we walked along the beach, which offered miles of smooth white sand, shells, and sea birds. 🐚The next morning we took on their spectacular breakfast buffet, which included a noodle bar, omelet bar, fruit bar, salad bar, bakery, hot dishes, and a selection of cold meats and cheeses, which is worth it alone considering the import price of these goods. Yum-o!

Day 4: 

On our first day of sightseeing in Hua Hin we took the hotel shuttle to center of town and then a tuk-tuk to the Khao Takeb Temple and viewpoint. 📸

The temple grounds are full of cheeky, hungry monkeys, but it does offer a scenic lookout over the coastline. 🐒
After we checked out Hua Hin Beach, which was OK, but we much preferred the beach north of the city near our hotel. They also had some horses on the beach, which looked a bit skinny and overworked. 😔Later we stopped in at McDonald’s for a quick bite before checking out some live music at Father Ted’s. 🎵They had a wonderful Elvis impersonator and the place was packed!

Day 5: 

The next morning we took on another spectacular breakfast buffet before heading to Hutsadin Elephant Foundation. 🐘
We paid 500 Baht for a round-trip tax there, plus 300 for the entrance fee to feed and learn about their rescued elephants.
Side note: It costs about 3,000 Baht per day to feed one elephant, so this seems to be a reasonable fee.They only have five elephants that they care for at the moment, and most of them are geriatric, and used to be in the logging industry. They all seem quite spoiled and well-cared for now. 💙

We also bought some souvenirs and 100% of the profits go to the foundation.Afterwards we spent the afternoon lounging at our hotel enjoying more of their delicious food and happy hour specials. 🍸

The hotel actually has seven options for dining, plus they offer cooking classes, fruit carving, and yoga. They also had an optional vineyard excursion to Monsoon Valley Winery and a wine-paired dinner at the resort, but my mom is more into beers and burgers, so we decided to do our own thing instead. 🍷

Day 6: 

After five days in Hua Hin, we enjoyed our last morning brekkie at Anantara before taking a coach bus back to Bangkok. We used Sombat Tours, which had comfy buses straight to Mo Chit BTS for only 260 Baht each.
After arriving back in Bangkok, we checked out one of my local favorites, Coco Walk. They have a collection of restaurants with live music almost every night of the week. 🎵

Cost: Vietnamese spring rolls, beer and spaghetti for 400 Baht

Day 7: 

On our second to last day we headed to Lumphini Park.

Not only does Lumphini have some beautifully landscaped gardens, ponds for paddle boating and lots of monitor lizards, they also have some of the best street food in the city.

After a few hours of walking we decided to grab a quick food court bite at Platinum Shopping Mall before getting another massage.

This time I opted for a Thai massage, which was quite aggressive, but if you don’t want that, you can always tell the masseuse you’d like something a bit more mellow.That evening we treated ourselves to one of the best rooftop bars in Bangkok: Red Sky in the Centrara Grand Hotel.They have buy-one-get-one on their drinks and snacks from 4-5 PM every day.

After a beer, we grabbed some grub at a chain restaurant called S&P, which I equate to Baker’s Square back in the U.S.

Cost: Ham and bacon carbonara, strawberry smoothie, salad and cashew chicken for 700 Baht

Day 8: 

We started our last day in Thailand back where we began in the historic Rattanakosin district of the city by having breakfast at The Coffee Club on the river. ☕

Afterwards we checked out River City, which has many art galleries, exhibits and shops. 🏎️From there we walked to one of my favorite hidden gems: the Bangkokian Museum.This free museum showcases life in Bangkok back in the 1930s. The collection of antique home decor is very well-kept, the museum charges no admission fee, and we were the only foreigners there. 🏘️Side note: I met the woman who grew up in the house during my last visit, but upon returning this time, I learned that she had since passed away and had donated the whole property to the Thai government.After that we stopped by the Hindu Mariamman Temple and perused the streets of the Silom neighborhood.

From there we headed to my next hidden gem: Jack’s Bar. This is a total kitschy dive on the river, which has affordable drinks, a cool breeze, and is always packed with locals. 🍺After a few hours and a few cold ones, we got ready for our last meal together at The Bangkok Heritage Restaurant.

It was a lovely week together full of shopping, relaxation, and indulgence. I hope this post inspired you to book a mother-daughter trip of your own to Bangkok or wherever else you’d like to go in the world. These moments together are priceless, and must be cherished like gold. 💗

That’s all for now folks! Take care and until next time, enjoy this short video I made of our trip. 😊