Last Updated on June 24, 2019 by PowersToTravel
Safe arrival in a modern city
We safely arrived in Bangkok on Nov 17, 2017, arriving 20 minutes early, at about 7am, after twenty-two hours in transit.
We were met at the airport by a private shuttle van. It was less expensive for this luxury in Thailand than in some other countries we have visited, so I splurged and booked it ahead of time. I like to have all logistics planned, ready to be executed.
The drive in was long, and we hit a lot of rush-hour traffic.
Bangkok Traffic
As I expected, Bangkok is a modern city, with freeways clogged with traffic, off-ramps, on-ramps and crowded streets. What was expected, but unusual for us, was the number of scooters and motorcycles.
Scooters in Bangkok
When I was growing up, we lived in New Jersey and my parents occasionally drove us into New York City for museums or sightseeing. I can remember guests being shocked at how adeptly my mother zigged in and out of the NYC traffic. However, she would have been frozen at the wheel among the press of the scooters in Asia. Greg and I certainly had no desire to ever drive in Bangkok.
However dangerous it is for the uninitiated, even mundane driving in Thailand is colorful and decorative. Enormous ornate signs spanned the freeway from one side to the other, topped with huge portraits of King Vajiralongkorn. We would find that typical of most towns in Thailand.
King Vajiralongkorn sign in Bangkok
Gold-painted, ornately decorated toll plazas welcomed the tourists.
Bangkok toll booth
Billboards announced, obviously directed to us, the tourist: “Buddha is not for decoration. Respect is common sense.”
Buddha decoration billboard
I had studied the street maps of Bangkok quite intensely during the planning phase, as I would be the travel guide during our stay in the city. I had orchestrated four full days of sightseeing, trying to fit in every wonderful sight into our short visit. I am not one to waste valuable time and energy on vacation getting lost. So, as we drove along the city streets, I tried to read the signs and guess where we were. It wasn’t until we drove by the huge Chinatown gateway that I excitedly knew exactly where I was, in this huge confusing city!
Rattanakosin – the Old City
We weren’t far from our hotel along the river, up near the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, two of the most famous tourist sights. “Wat” is the Thai word for “temple”. Our boutique hotel was “Sala Rattanakosin.” I already knew that the neighborhood in this “old” area of the city was not usually chosen by tourists. The typical tourist stays in the modern sections near the myriad shopping malls and restaurants. This “old” section of the city, called “Rattanakosin Island”, was right by the river and chock full of heritage sights, but not of hotels.
I was a little nervous about my choice. I had Google-walked the neighborhood and it looked adequate – narrow streets, small local storefronts opening into larger plazas where the temples and palaces were located. The neighborhood was so convenient to all our sightseeing, I couldn’t understand why more people didn’t go there, and why there weren’t more hotels and restaurants. Our hotel was labeled “boutique”, and cost it too, so I went for it!
As we drove up Maha Rat Road, the main drag in Rattanakosin, it certainly seemed bustling and safe. Our shuttle van turned left into a tiny lane and wiggled its way past delivery vans one block to the riverside warehouses. The hotel was not there. In frusteration, the driver jumped out, asked questions, and finally gestured us to follow him. The hotel was actually one block north. We grabbed our handcarry wheelies and dragged them through a narrow alley to our hotel. Ah!
Sala Rattanakosin
The hotel appeared to just be a narrow storefront, with a hotel counter along one side, and a couple of chairs along the other. Our luggage began to fill the entire foyer. The receptionists checked us in, and told us that our room would not be ready until after lunch. At this point we had been unsleeping, then in-transit unsleeping, for more than 40 hours. I had planned ahead for this, and packed 1st day necessities, such as sun-screen and tropicwear pants (zip-off!), in a known location in one of the bags. I quickly changed, lathered up with the sunscreen, trustinglyly left our luggage just sitting there, and popped out into the alley to begin our discovery of Bangkok.
Tha Tien
We strolled up the alley, past a metals repair shop, a storefront full of bananas, a tiny shrine and eventually out to the main road. We walked a long distance, actually it was only one very long city block but to our exhausted bodies it seemed like a mile, to the Tha (pier) Tien on the Chao Phraya River. Already our exotic vacation was underway.
To reach the pier you have to walk over the water through a covered alleyway on stilts. A boardwalk, just wide enough for two to pass, created a pathway a foot and a half above little tiny shops on either side. The floors of the shops were of old boards, and you could see the oily water below. As we walked the fifty feet through this “mini-mall” the shopkeepers called out to us… “Water?…Buddha statue?…Fruit?”
Tha Tien Bangkok
We continued ahead, making sure we didn’t trip and fall into a shop. At the end of the boardwalk a woman sat in a tiny booth, the ticket booth. Greg paid for our tickets, and we at last walked out onto the pier where the ferry was waiting.
The ferry was an oval flat-bottomed boat, about ten feet wide and thirty feet long, with iron railings around most of it, and bench seats. We were so grateful for the seats, however as soon as I sat down, up I popped to get the best pictures. Even with 48 hours of exhaustion, the picture is so important!
Tha Tien Ferry Bangkok
Our boatman cast off, and we manoeuvered into the river. The river was a hive of activity – speedy huge commuter boats going up and down, ferries crossing side to side, noisy long tail boats with brightly colored flower leis on the prows, carrying loads of tourists, and large barges hundreds of feet long taking sand up river. The long tail boats have a very long pole which protrudes from the rear, with a propeller on the end, and is powered by a very, very noisy small engine. These long tail propellers churn the water into large waves. Since our ferry has clearly been crossing for years I had no doubt it was sea-worthy enough to to get us across. We bounced across the waves and dodged the other, faster boats, and finally reached the opposite side of the river, at the entrance to Wat Arun.
Wat Arun
I expected Wat Arun would be the most beautiful, exciting, cultural sight in Thailand, and it did not disappoint. It is a huge temple overlooking the river, and is situated on a campus of many other large temple buildings. The temple has been under renovation for several years, and was scheduled to be completed just before our arrival. I had been checking the reviews frequently to see how the work was progressing. I would read the disappointed reviews as people described the scaffolding covering the temple walls. Before our trip I read that the scaffolding was now down! However people wouldn’t be allowed to climb high on the temple to get the fantastic views of the city. Well, I was happy enough to know my pictures would be great and that our views from our hotel right across the river would be priceless.
Originally, I planned Wat Arun for our 3rd day in Bangkok because it fit in well with all of the mass-transit routes, and I knew that I would have recovered from the jet-lag by that time. However, the weather forecast as we arrived announced sun for today (of all days when we haven’t slept!), boiling heat for the next, and then rain for my Wat Arun day. I quickly changed our plans and made Wat Arun the number one event for this arrival day.
We strolled onto the temple grounds. I was so happy to see the sun shining, and to see that since it was not a weekend, and it was around noontime, that there were no crowds.
There’s so sense in my trying to describe the beauty of the temple in words. It was built by King Rama II, back in the early 1800s. Rama II was the father of King Mongkut. For me, all Thai history is in relation to King Mongkut, the king of “The King and I,” the play with Yul Brynner, and the “Anna and the King” movie with Jodie Foster. This Temple of Dawn was therefore begun by the king of Siam who tried to modernize the country, and finished by his son Chulalongkorn, the prince, who abolished slavery.
Let me try to give you a glimpse:
The temple is a multi-sided stepped pyramid topped with an ornate spire. We were allowed to walk up several of the levels of the pyramid, but not as high as visitors in the past. I was not disappointed because I was so exhausted from our journey half-way around the world. As I sat on the steps of the temple I gazed around in wonder and could not stop taking pictures of the angles and the colorful, restored decoration.
A trip on an Orange Flag Boat
Eventually we descended and made our way back to the Wat Arun pier, and decided to take one of the Chao Phraya commuter boats up the river. It was called an “Orange Flag” boat, naturally because it sports an orange flag. It cost only 15 baht, or less than a dollar. I had learned that it was about a half hour to the northern-most terminus of the commuter line, and expected to go up and back, have lunch and then collapse at our hotel.
Because it was not rush hour, and we were heading away from the center, we werre able to find seats, and relaxed. However, as we traveled, Greg began to get very, very hungry, rather faint from hunger, so we decided to hop off the commuter boat at Wat Soi Thong.
Wat Soi Thong Bangkok
We later learned it was simply a local temple, and not one frequented by tourists. With all the color and buildings Greg was certain there would be a restaurant, however as we wandered the campus and out the other side to a residential neighborhood, we realized there was NO food for us. One woman sat on a blanket on the ground selling roast chicken, just occasionally trying to protect the chicken from birds and flies. We decided, “No, definitely not.”
So we staggered back to the pier, waited a very long time for next ferry, on which there were no free seats, traveled all the way back to the Tha Chang pier, which was north of our Tha Tien pier.
Chao Phraya commuter boat
Lunch at Last
We were forced to alight at Tha Chang, which is several blocks away from Tha Tien because the commuter boats don’t stop at Tha Tien. We finally arrived at a clean, AIR-CONDITIONED restaurant at the junction of Maha Rat Road, and Tha Chang pier, called surprisingly “The Navy Club” or “Rajchanavy Club.” Naturally I chose Pad Thai. I found it to be less flavorful than our local Thai restaurant, Siam Square. The spring rolls as well disappointed.
Barely refreshed, we staggered down the road a half a mile in the sun to our boutique hotel. We found our room was ready, but we would have to climb to the third floor. My heart was pounding and I staggered ever so slowly up the three flights to our room. It was wonderful! – a large room with a king-sized bed with a huge picture window overlooking the alley, leading the eye to Wat Pho. Wat Pho is another very famous temple, which I had reserved for tomorrow’s sightseeing.
Sleep at Last
Enough for today, we collapsed in bed.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Someone was banging on our door! I staggered (somehow the word stagger at this point is the right word, even if it is getting stale) to the door, where a very nice housemade presented me with a jar. I stared mutely at her, and she repeated whatever it was she had said, smiled and left. I put the jar on the counter, staggered back to bed, and fell asleep again.
Finally at about 10:30 we both awoke, and asked, “Are we going out for dinner?”
We quickly answered “No,” looked at the jar, hoping for chocolates or a treat, and found it to be a very unappetizing-looking tea with chunks of bark in it. We each ate a granola bar, pulled back the curtain to stare in wonder at Wat Pho in its evening lights, sent an email home to assure everyone we were alive, and went back to sleep.
Wat Pho from Sala Rattanakosin
The Biggest and Best
Biggest Surprise of the Day? What a wonderful neighborhood I had chosen.
Favorite Experience? Wat Arun, of course.
Related Links
Bangkok Airport Shuttle – they were prompt and courteous. We chose a van due to our large volume of luggage!
Sala Rattanakosin – our boutique hotel, worth every penny. I chose the Wat Po Deluxe room.
Check out this article of mine too:
Thailand Travel Blog – Itinerary, Impressions and Diabetic Travel Tips
Wow!! I love the details!!! So exciting to read about the daily adventure of your first day! I remember the pictures and asking questions, but now I know so much more of the background and context. Wendy, you are a really good writer, too. I enjoyed it.:)
What a great blog Wendy! I really enjoy your updates. As for the food, well it just goes to show you that we Americans use way too much seasoning!
I’m so glad you both are enjoying the blog. I’m having a great time writing it, feeling as if I am visiting Bangkok all over again.
I most likely will never visit 1% of the places you visit, which means that I really enjoy your blog and the photos. The children at SPCN also enjoyed your show. Thank you Wendy
A wonderful entrance to the huge city crowded with traffic. You are right, I could not imagine being behind the wheel. Glad someone else was driving. Obviously very tired, you captured the essence of the city and the details of the ornate temples. All of this as you awaited access to your room and much needed sleep. Ready to learn more . . .