We arrived in Bangkok after a flight delay long enough to exhaust most of our enthusiasm for waiting in an airport with two small children. Then the changed timing gave us something unexpected: a sunrise over the Himalayas that we might otherwise have slept through.
The first days were a mixture of heat, busy streets, food and people who made us feel welcome. Our strongest memory is that Bangkok deserved time. We wanted to find a family rhythm in the city rather than rush through a short list before moving somewhere else.
A long wait, then an unexpected sunrise
The aircraft problem brought repeated updates and more waiting. By the time a replacement plane was ready, the novelty of an airport day had worn off for the adults. Travelling with young children made a delay a very practical problem: patience and energy needed to last longer than expected.
Shortly before sunrise, I realised that our delayed route had us flying over the Himalayas at just the right moment. I woke Dario, and the view became one of the most spectacular memories of the journey. It was a happy consequence of a difficult start, not something we could have arranged.
At the airport, watching aircraft through the window became part of the journey for the children. Keeping a little time for such pauses helped break up the waiting, bags and connections.
Heat, traffic and a neighbourhood to walk around
The first change on arrival was the air: warm and humid after the European winter. Traffic filled the streets, and there was more happening around us than a first glance could take in. We enjoyed that energy, while learning to leave enough space for the children to settle.
For the first stay we had booked Time Sabai 134 Hostel, near Khao San Road. What we liked most was looking around the surrounding neighbourhood. The streets outside the famous road gave us plenty to notice without making every outing a major excursion.
For a family day, a useful starting plan is one main outing and room around it: breakfast, a short journey, an indoor or shaded pause and a way back when the youngest person has had enough. This is a planning suggestion drawn from travelling with small children, rather than an exact timetable from our trip.
The help we remembered
We felt welcome in the places we visited, including Wat Pho and local train journeys. A very specific moment stayed with us from a separate outing to Ayutthaya: someone at Wat Chaiwatthanaram helped fix our daughter’s sandal. That temple is in Ayutthaya, not a Bangkok neighbourhood stop.
These were personal encounters, and they mattered more than a broad claim that every journey will be easy. On one day, an ATM swallowed our card and a phone fell into the wall of a train through an opening. Friendly help was welcome, but the practical problems were real.
For Wat Pho, use the temple’s own current website to plan your visit. Read the visitor notices, follow the rules for each space and leave time to pause. Our earlier experience does not establish present entry arrangements or how busy a particular day will be. 2
Plan for the whole route and each child
Before deciding on a route, discuss each child’s age, health and planned activities with a travel-health professional. Take the full itinerary, including rural or island stays, so advice about vaccines, medicines and mosquito protection matches the journey.
CDC’s Thailand guidance distinguishes malaria risk by location and describes dengue as present throughout the country. A Bangkok stay cannot stand in for an assessment of a later forest or border-area journey. Mosquito-bite prevention remains relevant even where preventive malaria medication is not usually advised. Use current professional advice rather than the medical comparisons in our older post. 1
Alongside that consultation, work out how you will handle ordinary needs: sleep, food, drinking water, heat, supplies and a route back to the room. Know how to contact medical care and keep the relevant insurance and health information easy to find.
Why our second Bangkok stay looked different
We had intended to return to Bangkok later in the trip and stay in a different neighbourhood, with a hotel pool and a different view of the city. The spread of COVID-19 changed the journey. We went home sooner and stayed near the airport at At Residence Suvarnabhumi instead.
The pandemic began changing our plans during this journey. We remember the unusually quiet airport and preparations around us as part of that moment. It added uncertainty to a trip already shaped by two children and a difficult first arrival.
One later story from the same Thailand journey is our Samui elephant visit. It keeps the family memory alongside a separate discussion of current animal-welfare guidance. Together, the journals show the value of revisiting what we thought we knew before a trip.
Plan the visit
Know before you go
Wat Pho
- Plan your time
- Make this your main morning outing, carry water for the journey, and keep the rest of the first day flexible.
- Booking & access
- The temple’s official site links online tickets. Choose the date and product there if you prefer to arrange entry before arrival.
The temple is on Sanam Chai and Maharaj roads beside the Grand Palace.
Visitor information checked 19 October 2026. Timing suggestions are our planning advice.
Good to know
A couple of useful questions
Was the trip in March 2021?
That is when this article was published. The original describes travelling before the first European wave of COVID-19; the publication date and image folder should not be used as the trip date.
Does the airport photograph show Bangkok arrivals?
The exact airport is unconfirmed. It is included as a photograph of the family’s journey and waiting time, without identifying an arrival terminal.
Can our old health choices be used for another family?
Use current advice for each traveller and the complete itinerary. CDC’s Thailand page is a starting point to discuss with a travel-health professional. 1
Sources and useful links
References for the practical information in this article:
- CDC Yellow Book — Thailand, itinerary-specific health guidance ↗
- Wat Pho — official temple website and visitor information ↗
Information checked on 19 October 2026.
