The Grand Tour - Grand Canal to Grand Palace – Venice to Bangkok January 2017 Day 5 (Bangkok)

BONZO · 17 Feb 17, 10:42 PM

The Grand Tour - Grand Canal to Grand Palace – Venice to Bangkok January - 2017

Link to trip report index: Here

Day 5 Wednesday 11th January

What on earth! Jetlag is a killer – we were both awake at 12.15am!

We tried to fight it for a while and go back to sleep, but it was no good, so we got up, had tea and biscuits and watched TV quietly for a while/read/surfed the net until we were tired again and fell asleep around 3.30am.

We woke up with the alarm at 8.30am (which was a struggle as our bodies were telling us that it was 1.30am, never mind the 3 hour wakeful patch in the middle of the night)

We made ourselves get up and had some strong coffee (thanks to the lovely Illy espresso coffee machine in the room) while we showered and dressed. It was a bit cloudy but looked hopeful for later.

Like a numpty I had spilt tomato sauce all down my jeans (the only pair I had with me) at dinner last night, but luckily we had complimentry laundry for 2 items as part of our stay. So we packaged up both our jeans and rang the laundry desk who said they would collect them. We left them in the laundry bag on our room door handle and went to the lounge for breakfast.

There was a reasonable continental buffet of different breads, pastries, cereals, fruit, dim sum, salads, juices along with a separate menu of items cooked to order. Hot drinks were made to order. It was very quiet – only 3 or 4 other people there. I had a full English (which was ok) while Alison had fruit then pancakes

along with cappuccino for Alison and a pot of Earl Gray tea. It was all very pleasant and calm and gave us a chance to plan our day.

Afterward popping back to the room to brush our teeth, we headed down to the lobby and asked about the proper dress code for visiting the Royal Palace. It was as we’d previously read (cover up!) but we didn’t realise that we’d probably need our passports as well, hadn’t thought of that one. I dispatched Alison back to the room to collect the passports due her to poor forward planning

(Alison: what a cheek!)

A taxi was called for us by one of the helpful staff (who also gave us a map and discussed various options with us) and a relatively new SUV turned up with an English speaking driver who instantly wanted to engage with us. Typically he asked if I wanted to buy a suit or some work shirts! I mean, I’m dressed from head to toe in causal gear with a rucksack – I just don’t get it! This happened to me all the time in Hong Kong as well! Alison had a terrible fit of the giggles at this!

We started off with a pleasant drive until we headed down a dingy looking side passage which got less and less touristy and a bit more down to earth. Eventually we pulled up and got out of the taxi, including the driver, and he walked us further down the alleyway.

Eventually we came to the riverside and saw that there was a small pier here with tourists sitting down waiting for ferries so at least we were in the right place after all. We approached the booking desk but it turned out that the deal was to pay our driver – the cost included the cab fare from the hotel. I think we were done a bit but it wasn’t expensive so we didn’t mind too much. A total cost of 1500 baht covered the taxi (about 20 minutes), an 60 minute long tail boat tour of the canals, and a run up the Chao Phrayo river to Wat Arun.

We waited for a few minutes with tickets in hand, while boats pulled alongside the pier and different groups were called over to board. Eventually our number was called and we were ushered onto a long tail boat for our trip and with a whoosh we were off down the Chao Phraya River.

Not the most glamorous of rivers although it is used heavily for trade and transport so it’s to be expected.

We were soon zipping about down the side canals, looking at the ordinary houses and day to day life of Bangkok people that live here. There were some well looked after properties and some not so much!

The speed of the boat was quite breath-taking, so much so that it creates quite a lot of splash so I pulled up my buff and Alison had to resort to a spare lifejacket to cover her face.

We really didn’t want the water getting in our mouths or eyes! We saw a couple of huge monitor lizards that apparently live off water rats in the area so people do respect them.

Just before we left the canal we pulled up alongside an old woman in a boat selling food, drinks and tourist knick knacks.

We left the boat at our first stop - Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River.

This is a view from the other side:

The temple was very picturesque and a good introduction to the Bangkok temples even though the main structure was under copious amounts of scaffolding. After wandering around taking lots of photos we sat in the pleasant gardens to relax and had coffees as we were flagging a bit. We had an iced caramel macchiato and hot caramel macchiato, together with a chocolate cake and it came to about £2.50 in total! How different from Venice!

From here we got the ferry across the river to Wat Pho to see the reclining Buddha. The cross river ferry cost 4 baht each – about 8p! Entry to Wat Pho was 100 baht (£2) each – there was a lot of tourist here (to be expected) and we followed the crowds through the entrance, slipping our shoes off as directed, and into a supplied canvas bag to carry round. Anyone with bare shoulders or shorts was given a bright green wrap around robe to wear.

We weren’t disappointed with the iconic Buddha which was enormous! It was quite breath-taking although some minor restoration work was underway. At 46 metres long and covered in gold leaf it’s staggering although I’d say the highlight is taking a look at the soles of the feet with its elaborate decorations.

It was time to move on so we headed out to the Grand Palace although the heat and humidity was increasing steadily so time to deploy the buff again! As we approached the temple outskirts we navigated some of the local roads but to this day I’m still not sure what the protocol is for using the zebra crossings, i.e. do pedestrians have right of way? It seems like they notice tourists in advance and pull up to stop if you step out.

It was quite busy here today with a heavy police presence as the king died not long ago and lots of Thai people were being bussed in to pay their respects to the deceased king. Some of the roads were closed and there was a lot of security with police checkpoints including metal detectors. We were questioned about why we were there but were waved through without incident.

We made our way through the various security checks and most of the conversation centred on Premiership football teams. We walked in and bought our tickets (500 baht each – around £10) and observed the dress code for the place (Long trousers, no shorts or bare shoulders etc. as a sign of respect). Several tourists bought their tickets then tried to get into the main palace but were turned back. They had to go to borrow some appropriate clothing to cover up.

I had to quickly nip to the toilets to change into my long trousers that I brought with me (Alison was already wearing ¾ lengths).
Tickets, passports and bag checked once again and we were into the main complex surrounded by a huge amount of tourists and locals ready to pay their respects. It was so noisy – despite the fact that there were signs up asking people to be quiet as a mark of respect.

The buildings were stunning

It was hot and humid, but definitely worth a visit. After about half an hour we decided we’d had enough and headed out.

We left the temples behind us and walked to the nearest shops which just happened to be a 7-11 store in the little India area. We knew this as there was a whole number of shops making bright yellow flower garlands for Hindu deities. Anyway, we bought two pots of pringles and a couple of sodas to keep us going for the walk back to a station.

We managed to get as far as Chakphet Road but started to flag so we decided to get a tuk tuk all the way as it was on our to do list. We negotiated the price - he asked for 800 but we (well Alison!) beat him down to 300 baht. What a girl!

It was great fun - we were on our way at significant pace, no holds barred as we zipped through the local traffic. It was noisy and dirty as we swerved in and out down alleyways and weaved in and out of cars, mopeds and lorries! The buff came into play again!

We got to about 200m from our hotel before we really got stuck in the notorious Bangkok traffic so we hopped out and walked the rest of the way.

Safely back at the hotel we dropped our stuff in the room and went downstairs for a swim in the infinity pool overlooking Lumpini Park – fantastic stuff!

After the refreshing swim we headed back to the room and showered and got changed for cocktail hour in the lounge. And we did hit the cocktails! Alison had 3 mannequins and I had 3 different ones (can’t remember what they were, but they were nice!) We enjoyed the canapés too, but tried not to go too mad as we wanted to have a proper dinner tonight.

We wanted to try an authentic Thai meal, or as authentic as we could get locally, and Alison found Baan Restaurant. The restaurant was tiny in size but has very high ceilings with a minimalist design.

The food was delicious, freshly cooked, honest no nonsense stuff – absolutely wonderful, I would highly recommend it. We had chicken satay and spring rolls to start, then Alison had Pad Thai and I had minced beef with chili and jasmine rice. Lots of Singha beers, diet cokes and water and the bill came to 1700 baht (about £35). It wasn’t cheap for Bangkok but was very good.

We rolled back to the hotel in the pleasant evening air, not too hot, not too humid, quite Mediterranean in feel, and made our way back to the lounge for coffee and cakes – a lovely end to the day.

We wrote up our trip report notes and started to make plans for the next day. We then remembered that we had been given vouchers for 2 free cocktails in the main hotel bar, so decided to use them this evening. Useless note taking (nothing to do with the drink of course!) means that I can’t really remember what I had but I think it was a French 75. Either way it was very nice! And we were served some nice nibbles too.

We rolled back to the lift and headed back to the room, absolutely shattered. When we got there we found our freshly laundered jeans - wish I had this service at home!

(Alison here: not likely!)

Infinity Red · 18 Feb 17, 12:11 PM

What a fantastic day, love the photos, I've never really thought of visiting Bangkok but it looks really good, great prices too. You're very adventurous, I would be faffing wether or not to go on a tuk tuk ! And I would have freaked out going down the side street in the taxi ! Lol.

Melbatb · 18 Feb 17, 01:42 PM

You did well on the cocktail front!

Love the photos of the temples and the palace! Quite an aventure though to get there and back!

17 Feb 17, 10:42 PM	#1
	17 Feb 17, 10:42 PM BONZO Imagineer
BONZO Imagineer Join Date: Mar 02	The Grand Tour - Grand Canal to Grand Palace – Venice to Bangkok January 2017 Day 5 (Bangkok) The Grand Tour - Grand Canal to Grand Palace – Venice to Bangkok January - 2017 Link to trip report index: Here Day 5 Wednesday 11th January What on earth! Jetlag is a killer – we were both awake at 12.15am! We tried to fight it for a while and go back to sleep, but it was no good, so we got up, had tea and biscuits and watched TV quietly for a while/read/surfed the net until we were tired again and fell asleep around 3.30am. We woke up with the alarm at 8.30am (which was a struggle as our bodies were telling us that it was 1.30am, never mind the 3 hour wakeful patch in the middle of the night) We made ourselves get up and had some strong coffee (thanks to the lovely Illy espresso coffee machine in the room) while we showered and dressed. It was a bit cloudy but looked hopeful for later. Like a numpty I had spilt tomato sauce all down my jeans (the only pair I had with me) at dinner last night, but luckily we had complimentry laundry for 2 items as part of our stay. So we packaged up both our jeans and rang the laundry desk who said they would collect them. We left them in the laundry bag on our room door handle and went to the lounge for breakfast. There was a reasonable continental buffet of different breads, pastries, cereals, fruit, dim sum, salads, juices along with a separate menu of items cooked to order. Hot drinks were made to order. It was very quiet – only 3 or 4 other people there. I had a full English (which was ok) while Alison had fruit then pancakes along with cappuccino for Alison and a pot of Earl Gray tea. It was all very pleasant and calm and gave us a chance to plan our day. Afterward popping back to the room to brush our teeth, we headed down to the lobby and asked about the proper dress code for visiting the Royal Palace. It was as we’d previously read (cover up!) but we didn’t realise that we’d probably need our passports as well, hadn’t thought of that one. I dispatched Alison back to the room to collect the passports due her to poor forward planning (Alison: what a cheek!) A taxi was called for us by one of the helpful staff (who also gave us a map and discussed various options with us) and a relatively new SUV turned up with an English speaking driver who instantly wanted to engage with us. Typically he asked if I wanted to buy a suit or some work shirts! I mean, I’m dressed from head to toe in causal gear with a rucksack – I just don’t get it! This happened to me all the time in Hong Kong as well! Alison had a terrible fit of the giggles at this! We started off with a pleasant drive until we headed down a dingy looking side passage which got less and less touristy and a bit more down to earth. Eventually we pulled up and got out of the taxi, including the driver, and he walked us further down the alleyway. Eventually we came to the riverside and saw that there was a small pier here with tourists sitting down waiting for ferries so at least we were in the right place after all. We approached the booking desk but it turned out that the deal was to pay our driver – the cost included the cab fare from the hotel. I think we were done a bit but it wasn’t expensive so we didn’t mind too much. A total cost of 1500 baht covered the taxi (about 20 minutes), an 60 minute long tail boat tour of the canals, and a run up the Chao Phrayo river to Wat Arun. We waited for a few minutes with tickets in hand, while boats pulled alongside the pier and different groups were called over to board. Eventually our number was called and we were ushered onto a long tail boat for our trip and with a whoosh we were off down the Chao Phraya River. Not the most glamorous of rivers although it is used heavily for trade and transport so it’s to be expected. We were soon zipping about down the side canals, looking at the ordinary houses and day to day life of Bangkok people that live here. There were some well looked after properties and some not so much! The speed of the boat was quite breath-taking, so much so that it creates quite a lot of splash so I pulled up my buff and Alison had to resort to a spare lifejacket to cover her face. We really didn’t want the water getting in our mouths or eyes! We saw a couple of huge monitor lizards that apparently live off water rats in the area so people do respect them. Just before we left the canal we pulled up alongside an old woman in a boat selling food, drinks and tourist knick knacks. We left the boat at our first stop - Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. This is a view from the other side: The temple was very picturesque and a good introduction to the Bangkok temples even though the main structure was under copious amounts of scaffolding. After wandering around taking lots of photos we sat in the pleasant gardens to relax and had coffees as we were flagging a bit. We had an iced caramel macchiato and hot caramel macchiato, together with a chocolate cake and it came to about £2.50 in total! How different from Venice! From here we got the ferry across the river to Wat Pho to see the reclining Buddha. The cross river ferry cost 4 baht each – about 8p! Entry to Wat Pho was 100 baht (£2) each – there was a lot of tourist here (to be expected) and we followed the crowds through the entrance, slipping our shoes off as directed, and into a supplied canvas bag to carry round. Anyone with bare shoulders or shorts was given a bright green wrap around robe to wear. We weren’t disappointed with the iconic Buddha which was enormous! It was quite breath-taking although some minor restoration work was underway. At 46 metres long and covered in gold leaf it’s staggering although I’d say the highlight is taking a look at the soles of the feet with its elaborate decorations. It was time to move on so we headed out to the Grand Palace although the heat and humidity was increasing steadily so time to deploy the buff again! As we approached the temple outskirts we navigated some of the local roads but to this day I’m still not sure what the protocol is for using the zebra crossings, i.e. do pedestrians have right of way? It seems like they notice tourists in advance and pull up to stop if you step out. It was quite busy here today with a heavy police presence as the king died not long ago and lots of Thai people were being bussed in to pay their respects to the deceased king. Some of the roads were closed and there was a lot of security with police checkpoints including metal detectors. We were questioned about why we were there but were waved through without incident. We made our way through the various security checks and most of the conversation centred on Premiership football teams. We walked in and bought our tickets (500 baht each – around £10) and observed the dress code for the place (Long trousers, no shorts or bare shoulders etc. as a sign of respect). Several tourists bought their tickets then tried to get into the main palace but were turned back. They had to go to borrow some appropriate clothing to cover up. I had to quickly nip to the toilets to change into my long trousers that I brought with me (Alison was already wearing ¾ lengths). Tickets, passports and bag checked once again and we were into the main complex surrounded by a huge amount of tourists and locals ready to pay their respects. It was so noisy – despite the fact that there were signs up asking people to be quiet as a mark of respect. The buildings were stunning It was hot and humid, but definitely worth a visit. After about half an hour we decided we’d had enough and headed out. We left the temples behind us and walked to the nearest shops which just happened to be a 7-11 store in the little India area. We knew this as there was a whole number of shops making bright yellow flower garlands for Hindu deities. Anyway, we bought two pots of pringles and a couple of sodas to keep us going for the walk back to a station. We managed to get as far as Chakphet Road but started to flag so we decided to get a tuk tuk all the way as it was on our to do list. We negotiated the price - he asked for 800 but we (well Alison!) beat him down to 300 baht. What a girl! It was great fun - we were on our way at significant pace, no holds barred as we zipped through the local traffic. It was noisy and dirty as we swerved in and out down alleyways and weaved in and out of cars, mopeds and lorries! The buff came into play again! We got to about 200m from our hotel before we really got stuck in the notorious Bangkok traffic so we hopped out and walked the rest of the way. Safely back at the hotel we dropped our stuff in the room and went downstairs for a swim in the infinity pool overlooking Lumpini Park – fantastic stuff! After the refreshing swim we headed back to the room and showered and got changed for cocktail hour in the lounge. And we did hit the cocktails! Alison had 3 mannequins and I had 3 different ones (can’t remember what they were, but they were nice!) We enjoyed the canapés too, but tried not to go too mad as we wanted to have a proper dinner tonight. We wanted to try an authentic Thai meal, or as authentic as we could get locally, and Alison found Baan Restaurant. The restaurant was tiny in size but has very high ceilings with a minimalist design. The food was delicious, freshly cooked, honest no nonsense stuff – absolutely wonderful, I would highly recommend it. We had chicken satay and spring rolls to start, then Alison had Pad Thai and I had minced beef with chili and jasmine rice. Lots of Singha beers, diet cokes and water and the bill came to 1700 baht (about £35). It wasn’t cheap for Bangkok but was very good. We rolled back to the hotel in the pleasant evening air, not too hot, not too humid, quite Mediterranean in feel, and made our way back to the lounge for coffee and cakes – a lovely end to the day. We wrote up our trip report notes and started to make plans for the next day. We then remembered that we had been given vouchers for 2 free cocktails in the main hotel bar, so decided to use them this evening. Useless note taking (nothing to do with the drink of course!) means that I can’t really remember what I had but I think it was a French 75. Either way it was very nice! And we were served some nice nibbles too. We rolled back to the lift and headed back to the room, absolutely shattered. When we got there we found our freshly laundered jeans - wish I had this service at home! (Alison here: not likely!) __________________ http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sign...igpic534_1.gif 1988 ~ Contemporary ~ Honeymoon 1989 ~ Off site 1994 ~ EuroDisney ~ Santa Fe 1999 ~ Off site 2001 ~ CBR (Aruba) ~ Poly (Tahiti) 2003 ~ WL & HRH 2004 ~ Pop Century, RPH, CSR, PBH, Contemporary 2006 ~ DLP ~ Newport Bay 2007 ~ POR ~ HRH ~ GF 2008 ~ All star sports, BCV, RPH, Vero Beach, VWL 2010 ~ OKW ~ BCV ~ HRH ~POP Century ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL 2013 ~ AKL ~ HRH ~ BCV ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL Edited at 10:56 PM.