So I’ve been living it up in Thailand for about a month now. By living it up, I mean spending the least amount of money as possible while still enjoying myself. The backpacker’s budget is a tight one. The backpacker cherishes every last baht, cent, ringgit, yen, and peso. Bangkok is one of the few places where you can enjoy some of the perks that life has to offer and still keep the money in your pocket. Here area few things that you can do to stay relaxed, healthy, and feeling good while travelling in Bangkok. Trust me, you’ll use these tips to recover from one of those Koh San nights!
Expand your Pallet
I have yet to find better street food than what they have in Bangkok. In most places its harder to find a street that doesn’t have food carts. Don’t be afraid of these! Some of the best food comes off of these carts. You more often than not can find a great meal for 30 baht. That’s about $1 USD. Doesn’t get much better. There are also lots of small grill stands where you can get meat on a stick for 10 baht. You can eat delicious food and try new meals regularly, talk about living the good life.
Get Massaged
Thais are very well versed in their massages. Its always great to pamper yourself a bit and I can remember always wanting to but not being able to afford it. In Bangkok though the average Thai massage is between 150-250 baht for an hour. That’s a steal where I come from. Just be warned, the Thai massage can be painful at the time. There is a lot of bending and stretching and deep tissue work. If you’re looking for a more relaxed type of massage you may want to upgrade to a specialty massage, like an oil or shoulders only massage.
Fruit
A great way to snack in Bangkok also comes from; you guessed it, food carts. You can buy fresh fruit off of food carts for usually around 20 baht. For less than $1 USD you can get yourself a whole pineapple or half a watermelon. It’s completely brilliant. It tastes way better than a bag of chips and is better for your body.
Shakes and Smoothies
I find that there are few things better than a fresh fruit smoothie. It’s perfect for a snack, a dessert, a hangover, or with a meal. I really think its always a good time for a smoothie. I feel the same way about shakes too, although they do tend to be a bit more dessert orientated in my opinion. You can find shake and smoothie stand all over Bangkok. Most of these will run from 40-100 baht depending on what you want and what stand you’re at.
–Nick