If you've just watched the Sidemen $20,000 vs $200 Holiday — Asia Edition and wondered where exactly in Bangkok they filmed, you're in the right place. Alchemist Productions was the production company behind the shoot. We scouted the locations, secured the permits, assembled the crew, and managed all logistics on the ground.
Below is a complete breakdown of all 15 filming locations across both teams — plus what it actually takes to produce in Bangkok at this scale.
About the Sidemen Asia Edition
The Sidemen are one of the UK's biggest YouTube groups, with a combined audience in the hundreds of millions. Their $20,000 vs $200 Holiday format — where the group is split into a luxury team and a budget team who experience the same city at opposite ends of the spending spectrum — is one of the most-watched series in YouTube history.
The Asia Edition brought the full group to Bangkok for the first time. Bangkok was chosen for its extreme range: a city where the most extravagant five-star experiences sit minutes away from some of the world's best street food, budget guesthouses, and Muay Thai gyms. The contrast is built-in — which makes it perfect for the format.
Bangkok is one of the few cities in the world where you can genuinely spend $20,000 in a day or have an incredible time on $200 — often at locations that are 10 minutes apart.
Every Location They Filmed At
The production covered multiple areas of Bangkok across several shoot days, with both the luxury and budget teams often filming simultaneously at different ends of the city. Here's the full breakdown by team.
Expensive Team ($20,000 Side)
Capella Bangkok
One of Bangkok's most celebrated five-star hotels on the Chao Phraya riverfront — the expensive team's base for the trip.
Rajadamnern Stadium
Bangkok's oldest and most prestigious Muay Thai stadium, founded in 1945. The expensive team watched live fights ringside.
Chaloem Phra Kiat Forest Park
A lush royal park in the heart of Bangkok — a rare pocket of green that most tourists never find.
Legacy Chao Phraya — Private Yacht
A private yacht charter along the Chao Phraya river, taking in Bangkok's skyline from the water.
Hanuman Rooftop Bar
A rooftop bar with sweeping views across Bangkok — one of the city's most striking elevated venues.
River City Helipad
A helicopter departure from River City Bangkok — the expensive team got an aerial tour of the city few visitors ever experience.
AMA Hostel
Yes, even the expensive team ended up here — in true Sidemen fashion, nothing goes entirely to plan.
Mega Plaza Gamer Mall
Bangkok's legendary multi-floor tech and gaming market — the expensive team's gaming challenge destination.
Zero Latency Thailand
Bangkok's free-roam VR gaming arena — one of the largest in Asia, and a Sidemen natural habitat.
On location with the Sidemen in Bangkok.
Budget Team ($200 Side)
Oh Hostel
A budget hostel in central Bangkok — the complete opposite of the Capella, a few kilometres away.
Soi Cowboy
One of Bangkok's most notorious nightlife streets — neon-lit, chaotic, and exactly the kind of place the budget team was sent to experience.
Bradbury Massage
A no-frills Bangkok massage parlour — the budget team's answer to the expensive team's hotel spa.
Wat Takien Floating Market
A canal-side floating market at Wat Takien temple — fresh food, long-tail boats, and one of Bangkok's most authentic market experiences.
Wat Takien Temple
The historic temple beside the floating market — a working Buddhist temple that rarely appears on tourist itineraries.
Khaosan Road
Bangkok's legendary backpacker strip — street food, cheap drinks, and the spiritual home of the $200 holiday.
Sidemen $20,000 vs $200 Holiday — Asia Edition, produced by Alchemist Productions.
What It Took to Produce This
Producing content for a group with the Sidemen's profile in a city like Bangkok is a very different exercise from a standard commercial shoot. Here's what the production involved behind the scenes.
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Crowd and Fan Management The Sidemen have a global fanbase. Filming in public spaces in Bangkok — markets, streets, temples — required security coordination and advance planning to manage fan gatherings without disrupting the shoot or the public.
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Simultaneous Dual-Team Shooting With a luxury team and a budget team filming at different locations at the same time, we ran two full production units simultaneously — two ADs, two camera teams, two fixers — all coordinated from a central production base.
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Location Permits and Access Several locations required advance filming permits from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, venue management, and in some cases the Tourism Authority of Thailand. We handled every approval before the crew arrived.
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High-Pace, Multi-Location Schedule YouTube productions of this format move fast — sometimes four or five locations in a single day. Our local knowledge meant zero time lost to navigation, access delays, or logistics problems on shoot days.
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Making It Authentically Thai The Sidemen came with a strong creative framework — but a $20k vs $200 holiday format built for European cities needed expanding to reflect what makes Bangkok genuinely different. We pushed the creative to go beyond the obvious: replacing generic "luxury hotel" beats with the Chao Phraya yacht and the River City helipad, and steering the budget team toward Wat Takien's floating market and temple rather than the usual tourist trail. The goal was to make Bangkok the star of the video, not just a backdrop.
Behind the scenes — managing two simultaneous production units across Bangkok.
When the Sidemen came to Bangkok,Thailand the challenge wasn't finding great locations — Bangkok has hundreds of them. The challenge was sprinkling Thai flavour to make it unique and local, making this an epic Sidemen holiday episode. Seeing the final cut, we definitely delivered.
Shoot day in Bangkok with the Sidemen crew.
Want to Film in Bangkok?
Bangkok is one of Southeast Asia's most versatile filming destinations — extreme contrasts, iconic backdrops, and a film-friendly government infrastructure that supports international productions of all sizes. Whether you're producing a YouTube format, a commercial, or a documentary, the city delivers.
As the team that produced the Sidemen Asia Edition, Alchemist Productions has direct access to every location featured in the video. We can secure the same hotels, venues, markets, and activity providers — and we handle all permits, crew, and logistics as part of a single production package.
Key Things to Know Before You Shoot in Bangkok
Permits: Street filming, temple filming, and any shoot involving drones requires advance approval from the relevant authority. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration handles street permits; temples and royal sites have separate permit processes that take time and require the right local contacts.
Crowd management: Bangkok is a dense, busy city. If your talent has any public profile, factor in security and crowd coordination from day one — not as an afterthought.
Heat and weather: Bangkok's heat is a genuine production consideration. Schedule outdoor shoots for early morning and late afternoon. The wet season (May–October) requires contingency days for afternoon storms.
Camera equipment: If you're bringing your own kit, Thailand is a member of the ATA Carnet system, which simplifies temporary equipment import significantly. We manage carnet logistics as part of our service — read more in our guide to hidden costs of filming overseas.
Film Where the Sidemen Filmed
If you're a brand, agency, or production company looking to shoot in Bangkok — whether at the same locations as the Sidemen or somewhere entirely new — we're the team to call. We've been producing international content across Thailand for over 15 years, and the Sidemen Asia Edition is one of dozens of high-profile international productions we've delivered in the city.
Get in touch with a brief and we'll come back with a location proposal, budget outline, and production timeline — no obligation.