Bangkok Thailand October 2024

Bangkok Thailand

We arrived in Bangkok yesterday at 8am after an overnight flight from Qatar. This time we had already pre-booked a taxi and it was there waiting with our name at arrivals, it only cost £14 and worked perfectly.

After dropping our bags at the hotel, we were straight out into exploring as there were few temples nearby and The Chao Phraya river was only a short walk away.

It was again quite hot and by midday it was 35 degs, so we zig zagged our way through the streets and markets catching as much shade as we could on our way towards the river boat stop to catch a boat to Wat Arun temple. These boats are the main transport system in Bangkok, effectively buses.

Just before sunset we went to a roof top bar called Eagles nest to watch the sunset over Wat Arun

temple, this was a bar someone had told us about on our Qatar boat trip a few days earlier, and we were not disappointed.

Now feeling hungry we googled somewhere to eat and nearby was Manee, and it had a 4.7 rating on google. So off we strolled following google navigation and we found it down a back alley, yes we hesitated, but very pleased to say it was a great find, it was very nice, family run, and you really couldn't get anymore traditional Thai food and culture.

We couldn't be bothered to walk back to the hotel so we used Grab which is Thai Uber.

This next morning after breakfast, we headed straight out, off on foot to go explore the Grand Palace which was 30 minutes away from our hotel. Wow what a palace, very luxurious, it’s a must visit, we were there so long we even got to see the afternoon guards parade. 

What came as a pleasant surprise was at 15:30 there was to be a majestic royal barge procession, their Majesties the King and Queen were to travel along The Chao Phraya river to present traditional royal Kathin robes to the Buddhist monks at the Temple of Dawn. The procession, the only one of its kind in the world, featured 52 barges and required 2,200 oarsmen, and the fleet travelled along the river to the sound of boat songs. As you would expect the river bank was extremely busy, but we zig zagged our way through the crowds following along the river, went down a small alley next to a university, this turned out to be a good move, as we ended up right by the river and had a good view.

That evening it was so busy, even Grab the taxi company cancelled our booking, so we ended up walking back to the hotel. On arriving back at the hotel very hot and sweaty, we decided it would be nice to go to the roof top pool for a late evening swim.

A short walk today from the hotel to the river pier, as today we had decided to use the river boats to move around. We purchased an all day pass at 150 Baht (£3:40 each).These boat taxis I can only liken to the ones in Venice, where they hardly stop for longer than 1 minute at the pier for you to get on and off, they literally throw a rope over a pillar, the boat hits reverse and pulls tight against the pier. All credit to the pier staff, they are super organised, as there’s all different types of boat taxis calling at the piers about every 10 minutes or less, and they won’t let you onto the boarding part of the pier until a few minutes before your boat taxi is due.

We worked our way down the river on the river boat taxis, first stopping at wang lang market, back on down to Wat Arun temple, then back on to go to the flower market, then back onto down to Chinatown.

Chinatown is where we ate that night, finding another gem of a place just off the street, and after exploring around some more we caught the taxi boat back to the pier near to the hotel, unfortunately we had missed sunset for the boat trip back. 

After so much walking over the last few days in the heat, on the way back and near to the hotel, there was a nice massage parlour that we had passed several times, so we decided to give it a go for a local massage. Ann went for a 30 minute foot massage and I went for a 30 minute back, shoulders and neck and the total cost for us both was only 380 Baht (£8:60)

Tomorrow is departure day, as tomorrow we head for the airport in the afternoon for our flights to New Delhi and our 10 days in India.

Conclusion: We felt safe in Bangkok and we also found the local people very friendly, it's chaotic and crossing the road well you just go for it, but hey that’s what you come for, the experience.

#robandann