• Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Worldschool
  • Places & Destinations
  • Travel Gear
  • Contact
  • Be a Blogger
  • Resources

World Travel Family Travel Blog

World Travel Blog

SEARCH TRAVEL BLOG BELOW

You are here: Home / Asia / Where to Stay in Bangkok: Is Silom a Good Place to Stay?

Where to Stay in Bangkok: Is Silom a Good Place to Stay?

Update 25/11/2019 By Alyson for World Travel Family. Any post on this site may contain affiliate links. If you use them, they cost you nothing extra. We make a small commission.

We keep coming back to Bangkok because we love it. Also because this city is a transport hub for Southeast Asia. That title has shifted towards Kuala Lumpur recently with the rise of Air Asia, but Bangkok is still where you need to be for overland connections. Bangkok is also usually cheaper than Kuala Lumpur, so we would prefer to hang out here for a few days than in Malaysia. Thailand has amazing food, of course, so it makes a great place to stay while you sort out onward travel. One of the areas we enjoy staying in is Silom. We’ll take a look at Silom below, is it a good place to stay, what is there to do there and hotels guest houses and hotels in Silom.

Contents show
1 Silom v Khao San Rd. Area
2 Favourite Silom Hostel
3 Hotels in Silom
4 Getting Around Bangkok From Silom
5 Things to Do in Silom
6 Lumphini Park
7 Sri Mahamariamman Temple
8 Jim Thompson House
9 Patpong – The Red Light District
10 Lebua Sky Bar
11 Bangkok Snake Farm
12 Shopping in Silom
13 More Related Posts

Silom v Khao San Rd. Area

Silom Bangkok - Hindu Temple on Pan Rd Silom

We adore the Khao San Rd. area and up ’till now we’ve always stayed in that part of Bangkok. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but we love the crazy backpacker vibe, the clothes stalls, the souvenirs and all-round energy of that part of town.

Circumstances lead us to try something different and Silom has won us round very quickly, we thought we’d be taking tuk tuks over to our old favourite within hours of arrival, not so. We hanging out in Silom.

Souvenir stalls and wandering street sellers are much thinner on the ground in Silom and you don’t see the carts laden with bugs-on-a-stick at $1/photo or dodgy pad-thai. Instead, there is great food and plenty of it. The stalls and tiny pavement restaurants seem to never end and everything we’ve eaten so far has been good and cheap.

Street Food in Silom

It’s cleaner too, you can eat without that characteristic Khao San aroma of cat pee. In places all you can smell is flowers strung ready to make beautiful offerings in the Hindu temple at the end of Pan Rd.

In Silom your food dollar goes further and quality is better. We find that hotels, guest houses and hostels are a little more expensive over here, but standards are higher. Bangkok is more expensive than most other parts of Thailand ( excluding popular tourist beaches, of course) but it’s well worth the extra few dollars.

Favourite Silom Hostel

Cheap hotels and guest houses are fewer over here, but what we have found are some really good hostels. We’ve stayed in a four-bed family room in Mile Map Hostel (click through to check prices and availability. It gets busy, so book in advance). This one is on Pan Rd, and there are other good hostels in the area.

We are seeing a few hostels that don’t take children as we continue to search. Mile Map is a particularly good choice for families as on our last visit one child under 12 could stay free in existing bedding.

You will benefit from a shared kitchen here and the shower rooms are kept exceptionally clean. There are endless food stalls and there was a good vegetarian place, right on your doorstep.

We love the atmosphere that stunning Hindu temple brings to the area, the flower garlands on the street corner are something to see.

Hostel in Silom

We’ve been using Mile Map for years now, since not long after it opened. It’s starting to look worn in the communal areas and the decor isn’t as fresh but we still enjoy staying there. We’ve seen no deterioration in the rooms or bathrooms.

Hotels in Silom

I’f you’re looking for another place to stay in Bangkok, Agoda would be our top suggestion. They are, without doubt, the Asia specialist booking engine and we always find their customer service to be superb. There are some larger, fairly expensive hotels in the Silom area, Holiday Inn and all the big chains as well as boutique hotels and apartments. Lebua State Tower and The Mandarin Oriental, top Bangkok hotels, are in the area. Look at your Bangkok options here.

Getting Around Bangkok From Silom

bangkok silom river taxi night
Catch the water taxi from Silom to the Grand Palace, Wat Po, Wat Arun, Khao San Rd, most places. It’s ultra cheap and lots of fun. Silom also has easy access to Bangkok’s fast monorail (BTS) system.

Silom is south of the Khao Sa. Road area, the Grand Palace and Wat Po are to the north The river and water taxi connections are to the west.

It would be easy to base yourself in Silom and see all of Bangkok. The monorail or BTS runs through this part of town, although it only covers a small part of the city.

Things to Do in Silom

Quite a few of Bangkok’s tourist attractions are in or near Silom.

Lumphini Park

Where to Stay in Bangkok. Silom. Lumphini Park
Bangkok’s green Lumpini Park, or Lumphini Park is an easy walk or monorail ride from Silom.

Lumpini Park is a green oasis in the middle of the city. A perfect spot to take the children to play and watch the huge monitor lizards swimming in the lakes. My husband also enjoys running here in the early mornings.

Sri Mahamariamman Temple

One of my favourite places in Bangkok and a major Hindu temple, you will find the colourful an spiritual place on the junction of Pan Rd and Silom Rd.  It’s open every day and tourists can just walk in. Dress appropriately please. The Navaratri Hindu Festival  takes place here every year and attracts huge numbers.

Jim Thompson House

Thompson was an American architect, entrepreneur and silk merchant. The Jim Thompson House is an architectural and artistic treasure, well worth a half day visit.

Patpong – The Red Light District

We don’t stay in Silom because of this attraction, we actually haven’t been and haven”t seen any evidence of it. But it’s nearby.

Lebua Sky Bar

The Lebua Hotel is on Silom Rd. at the junction with Charoenkrung Road . This rooftop bar is famously featured in the movie, The Hangover 2. They’re open in the evenings, it’s not cheap, and there is a strict dress code

Assumption Cathedral

Bangkok’s main Roman Catholic Cathedral is in Silom off Charoenkrung Soi 40. It’s near the Oriental Pier ( Which is next to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel).

Bangkok Snake Farm

The Bangkok Snake Farm is part of the anti-venom production facility at the hospital. This is a must-do educational attraction for kids in Bangkok and it’s close at hand in Silom.

Shopping in Silom

I just wanted to mention that on our last stay in Silom we found a Marks and Spencers outlet in a local shopping mall. Other than this, which was a lifesaver when you aren’t an Asian size and need jeans and underwear, we didn’t find any particularly interesting shopping in Silom.

We’ve loved our stays in Silom, our new favourite base in Bangkok one of our favourite cities in the world. You can’t beat Bangkok and we’ve now stayed in the Silom area many, many times and used it as a base for exploring the city. Looking for things to do in Bangkok, you want this post.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Buffer

More Related Posts

  • Thailand With Kids Guide (
    Thailand With Kids. No Worries!

    Are you worrying about travelling to Thailand with kids? We can help you with that.…

  • Bangkok. Best Family Hotel Bangkok
    Best Family Hotels in Bangkok. Reviews and Recommendations

    It's hard to know where to stay in Bangkok and finding family accommodation in Thailand's…

  • Street Food in Silom

  • cabins in hungary
    Accommodation For Travellers: Finding It

    Finding accommodation as you travel ( budget to free being hardest) is a huge topic…

  • Where to stay in Port Douglas
    Port Douglas Accommodation. Best Hotels, Resorts, Rentals and Hostels

     As a former long-term Port Douglas residents turned professional traveller, we know the local accommodation…

Tagged With: Places to Visit in Thailand, Travel in Southeast AsiaFiled Under: Asia, Southeast Asia, Thailand

About Alyson for World Travel Family

Alyson is a former medical scientist who jumped ship to chase dreams. She is now a full-time blogger and travel writer and owns several websites. A lifetime of wanderlust and over 6 years on the road, has given her and the family some travel expert smarts to share with you on this site. Our site covers over 50 countries, cultures, and cuisines, from the trekking routes of the high Himalayas to Ancient Egypt and beyond. Read more about us and our trave story here.

Comments

  1. Emily says

    05/10/2015 at

    Hi! We are embarking on an 8 month international journey with our sons in December, and I’ve been finding your blog so helpful — our planned itinerary includes many of your destinations. I’m struggling right now with the question of health insurance, which I know we need, but it’s such a struggle to figure out what is a good product. Do you have any tips in that regard? Looking forward to exploring all the corners of your blog — such great ideas in here!! — Emily

    Reply
  2. jameskirtley2015 says

    31/07/2015 at

    I would be heading to Bangkok soon – amazing info
    traveltheglobe24x7.wordpress.com

    Reply
    • world travel family says

      05/10/2015 at

      Hi Emily, we mix it up and find the best deals, we don’t buy 1 stop, RTW insurance as it costs more. So if we’ll be in the US for a month, that’s the only time we buy US insurance, it costs more. If we stay longer than expected, we extend it. We don’t need European health insurance, as we’re covered by the European E111 reciprcal agreement. We buy lots of little bits, always at the best price. Hope that helps, Chef organises all this, I’ll get him to write a post over on World Travel Chef.

      Reply
  3. Talitha says

    31/03/2015 at

    Tell Boo I love his video … suggestion : maybe you should invest in small microphone (yes I know it’s even more electronic spaghetti – but if the boys really get into video, it’s a pity we can’t hear all their comments!) (I found the cacti hilariuous!!)

    Reply
  4. Talitha says

    11/03/2015 at

    Great to see you guys back on track! How’s the homeschooling coming along … or are you just all on holidays now?

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      11/03/2015 at

      Still doing our normal, a bit of book work when we have down time. Pushing through the books so that I don’t have to carry them any more!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign Up and Follow on Social Media?

The sign up box is on our “About” page.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Tags

Africa Travel (12) Bali (4) Digital Nomad (49) Europe Travel Blog (99) Family Gap Year (86) Food Around The World (33) Gifts (2) Hoi An (11) Homeschool (21) Living Differently (53) Living in London (23) Middle East Travel (19) Museums in London (8) Nomadic travel (56) Packing (11) Phuket (5) Places to Visit in India (15) Places to visit in London (35) Places to visit in Malaysia (21) Places to Visit in Nepal (22) Places to Visit in Romania (22) Places to visit in Sri Lanka (35) Places to Visit in Thailand (48) Places to Visit in Vietnam (13) Planning and Organising Travel (35) Port Douglas (27) RTW (27) Scuba Diving (9) Things to do in the UK (46) Travel by Ship or Boat (13) Travel Costs (15) Travel Gear Reviews (29) Travel Health and Safety (21) Travel in Australia (43) Travel in Southeast Asia (117) Travel in the Americas (37) Travel With Kids (113) Trekking (13) Wildlife and Eco Travel (19)
All content on this page first appeared on family travel blog, World Travel Family. It represents our opinions, stories and experiences only and should not be taken as a factual guide. All content is copyright protected. If you are seeing this under any other domain name, you are on a stolen site. Disclaimer: This site uses various affiliate links that make us commission on purchases. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. You can find our full Privacy Policy here
© 2019.