2 BANGKOK PART 2 - SIGHTSEEING ALONG THE CHAO PRAYA RIVER

THE MIGHTY CHAO PRAYA RIVER - A FULL DAY VISIT ON ITS OWN

Because of the size of Bangkok and all it is offering, it is very difficult to pin point the best sight seeing places to visit. There are just too many options. I will try and guide you based on my 6 day visit to Bangkok on what would be the best to have a really full day event. 

Before I left I intensely research everything that is possibly worth seeing in Bangkok. I ended up with too much info. So I started sorting and weighing them up against each other. I studied the locations and worked out the best routes to take to get to them all. Hell I even attached time frames at each place ... BIG MISTAKE ..... HUGE!!!!!

Forget putting time limits on places, because Bangkok is so awe-inspiring that time falls behind. I ended up doing only half of my planned itinerary in 6 days - and believe me, we were in the streets from early too late.

A FULL DAY SIGHT-SEEING TRIP ON THE CHAO PRAYA RIVER

If you are a first time visitor to Bangkok you just have to go on the river taxis! If you are not a fan of visiting temples STILL TAKE A RIDE ON THE RIVER! We tried to do the hop on - hop off thing at piers and going to see what is in the vicinity and believe me I still need to do this for another 3 days to see all I wanted to see.

I am going to try and place you on the river for 1 day and suggest the best things to see in this day. Again the time you spend there depends on yourself. As I said, I go into another dimension when I am being fascinated so time falls behind.

DEPARTURE POINT

Get your arses to Central Pier (Sathorn Pier) as early as possible (be there by 8:00 - 8:30am). Now if you do not stay in Silom area, be prepared to take the BTS skytrains to Saphan Taksin BTS. Right beneath this BTS Station is the pier. (Refer to my post Bangkok Part 1 where I explained all the transport options and how they work).

THE BOOTH WHERE YOU BUY YOUR DAY PASS

At Sathorn Pier buy yourself a tourist day pass (120฿ - roughly R48,00). This will allow you to get onto ANY coloured flag boat to anywhere the whole day. Just show your pass and off you go. You can buy individual tickets on each stage of your travelling on the river on different boats, but believe me if you do not have the correct change on the boat you will struggle. BUY A DAY PASS!!

Ok, now you have your day pass so you will most probably be guided to the Blue Flag Tourist Boat line. The  tourist boat is fine because they announce before each pier what is worth seeing there and so on. This boat only runs every hour. So if you are finished at a pier dont sit and wait for a blue flag boat to come along again. Jump onto the orange flag boat. Your day pass is access to ALL boats. Orange flag boats are every 15 minutes and they stop at almost every pier (Refer to my Bankok Part 1 post). Blue Flag Tourist boats only stop at major tourist piers.

So if you know me you will know that I am one for doing the "behind the touristy scene" stuff. I am not mainstream. I want to see how locals do it. So I only take orange flag boats.

As a first time tourist a few MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS DO STAND OUT.

A POSSIBLE RIVER TRIP ITINERY 

Get on the tourist boat (or orange flag boat) around 7:30 - 08:00 - tourist boat might only leave later so take the orange flag boat. REASON: You want to get to the places as early as possible BEFORE the major tourist tours take thousands of visitors to the place - normally from 9:30 onward.

FIRST STOP

THE GRAND PALACE (OPTIONAL - your choice)

Your first Hop Off pier will be Pier 9 - Tha Chang

Important Note about the Grand Palace:

A strict dress code applies. The Grand Palace with The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is Thailand's most sacred site. Visitors must be properly dressed before being allowed entry to the temple. Men must wear long pants and shirts with sleeves (no tank tops. If you're wearing sandals or flip-flops you must wear socks (in other words, no bare feet.) Women must be similarly modestly dressed. No see-through clothes, bare shoulders, etc.

The Grand Palace is impressive, believe me, but entrance is high (but worth it) 500฿ per person (approximately R 220). If you do not go into the palace by 8:30 be prepared to be stampeded by thousands of tourists. I did the palace visit in 2017 but due to the tribute by locals to the late King (the locals all dressed in black come in by the bus loads to give their last respect), many sight seeing places in the palace were inaccessible to tourists). Oh yes, NO PHOTOS inside the palace. 

Be prepared to spend about 90 minutes to 2 hrs here. Go back to Tha Chang Pier. Oh ....... take water with - very hard to find a kiosk inside and if you do it will be expensive!

SECOND STOP (or first if you skip the Grand Palace)

Your next hop off pier will be going one back to Tha Tien Pier (Pier no 8). So take the boat coming in from your right. Reason for this is that the Grand Palace get UNBEARABLY crowded and hot and you need to go there first).

Upon leaving the boat walk straight ahead about 200 meters along Thai Wang Road directly to Wat Pho on your right. Temple is open from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Admission 100 ฿ (R 40) for foreigners.

Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha), or Wat Phra Chetuphon, is located behind the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and a must-do for any first-time visitor in Bangkok. It's one of the largest temple complexes in the city and famed for its giant reclining Buddha that measures 46 meters long and is covered in gold leaf. You will spend the better part of an hour or 90 minutes here. The place is huge.

THIRD STOP

WAT ARUN

Go back to Tha Thien Pier. From this pier take a cross river ferry to Wat Arun on the other side of the river. Wat Arun is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is 100 ฿ (R 40) for foreigners - Thais free.

CROSS FERRY BOAT

Wat Arun, locally known as Wat Chaeng, is situated on the west (Thonburi) bank of the Chao Phraya River. It is easily one of the most stunning temples in Bangkok, not only because of its riverside location, but also because the design is very different to the other temples you can visit in Bangkok. Wat Arun (or temple of the dawn) is partly made up of colourfully decorated spires and stands majestically over the water.

WAT ARUN -  IMPRESSIVE HUGE TEMPLE GROUNDS

By now it should be already past noon so find something to eat. Take the cross ferry back to Tha Thien pier for your onward journey. 

FOURTH STOP

Santi Chai Prakan Public Park & Phra Sumen Fort

Take the tourist blue flag or local orange flag boat coming from your left to Phra Arthit (N13) pier. To your left of the pier the park will lie right next to the river. Smaller park but a lush green haven with beautiful views over the river whilst eating your take-away food. From here you also have a beautiful view of the RAMA VIII bridge - a truly spectacular bridge.

PART OF THE PARK WITH THE BRIDGE IN THE BACKGROUND

KING RAMA VIII BRIDGE

Phra Sumen Fort, in particular, is a sight to behold. Present since 1782 around the time of Bangkok’s founding, the durable fort is one of two last remaining original forts that were built to protect the city from invasions.

PHRA SUMEN FORT

By now it should be roughly around 14:00 or even 14:30. Move back to the pier for a last stop (there are so much more but you can only fit in so much in one day, right!)

FIFTH STOP

If you are up to it your last stop is also worth the effort, sweat and sore feet. For heaven's sake you are thousands of kilometres from home, paid a lotta money for this holiday - so get your arse in gear and start walking! lol

Ok this will also be a temple (dont worry - this one is different) Remember there are thousands of temples, so seeing at least three of the most impressive ones is GOOD.'

MEMORIAL BRIDGE AND WAT PRAYOON

Get off at Pier N6 - Memorial Bridge/Saphan Phut.

Pad Klon Talad fresh produce market is here. The market dates from the earliest days of Bangkok, when it first became the new Thai capital in the late 18th century.

Turn left on leaving the pier and walk up along the river. There will be a queue of buses along the street, as the area under the bridges is sort of a transportation hub. The market is directly ahead of you along the river. You'll be entering the back side of the market, so your first impression might be a rather smelly one.

If you want to skip this, walk over the bridge to the other side. Wat Prayoon is right there.

Built during King Rama III’s reign, the temple’s outstanding features include a large inverted bell shaped chedi (pagoda), turtle ‘mountain’ housing spirit houses and a massive pond where visitors can feed the turtles.

Now go back to the pier (across the bridge which is also spectacular and good for taking pics from). Take the boat back to Sathorn Pier (Central Pier) from where you started the morning.

IF YOU ARE NOT THAT INTO TEMPLES AT LEAST TAKE THE ORANGE FLAG BOAT, HOP ON AND OFF PIERS YOU WANT TO, BROWSE THE IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS, OR JUST TAKE A LEISURELY RIDE DOWN THE RIVER TO THE END OF THE LINE AND BACK. THE SCENERY IS BEAUTIFUL. HOP OFF AT PHRA ARTIT PIER 13 AND WALK DOWN KAO SAN ROAD.

THIS DAY VISIT WILL ENTAIL THE FOLLOWING MODES OF TRANSPORT

• BTS sky-train ride to Saphan Taksin station (if you are not as lucky as I was for staying right by the pier)

• River boats and cross ferry (Tourist Blue Flag and/or Orange Flag)

• Walking Walking Walking and more WALKING!