Culinary Journey in Bangkok on the Cheap (<$10)

A Taste of Thai Food

Tasting Thai food while being in Thailand is very much a part of travel experience, one of the most important actually. If you are a food lover, Bangkok will be your best friend! You can taste various lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and discover new flavours and… do it on the cheap at the same time! The dishes prepared by street-side locals are stunning with their affordable prices, you can eat a lot and pay a little. Thai cuisine is very light, always fresh and seasoned with aromatic herbs. It has its temper and balance: you can either go for “spicy hot” or “spicy not” option, something you can’t do in Sri Lanka (for example).

Food on the Budget

Thai food is very affordable anywhere you go. However, visiting busy places full of tourists will definitely put the prices up. Therefore, try to avoid dining out at Khao San Road. Instead, take a bus, or longer walk, and head to some places where locals eat. You can find plenty of them, for example China town which is very cheap.

Here are some examples of products and their prices in Bangkok:

  • A typical take away Thai food (rice, vegetables, fried meat) 20-40 Baht
  • Western style food in tourist-orientated restaurant 150-400 Baht
  • Macdonald’s BigMac Meal 85 Baht for small, 92 for big
  • Grilled chicken with rice 30 Baht
  • 1.5 litre bottle of water 15 Baht
  • A bottle of beer 50-100 Baht
  • Chocolate bars 10-35 Baht
  • 20 cigarettes (Western brand) 48 Baht
  • 20 cigarettes (Thai brand) 18 Baht
See also  Thailand: The Land of Smiles

Our Food Cost

We spent $29 on our food during 3 days in Bangkok, which is approximately $10 per day for two people ($5 per person) including the drinks (Cez had 3 beers in a bar). We didn’t dine out in restaurants, we just went to local food markets and small shops to take some food away. We sometimes spent all day walking down the street looking for some decent and cheap meals. We tried almost everything, from noodle soups, grilled vegetable, Thai curry to some bugs, flies and grasshoppers. We never paid more than $4 per meal for two. Here are some selected meals we had during our stay with their prices.

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Agness Walewinder
Agness Walewinder
Travel freak, vagabond, photography passionate, blogger, life enthusiast, backpacker, adventure hunter and endless energy couchsurfer living by the rule "Pack lite, travel far and live long!"
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