As we arrived into Bangkok on the train, I was reminded of one of Anthony Bourdain’s shows. It was how close the railway line passes by houses and local businesses. This was indeed fascinating!
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We walked to the closest ferry pier from Thonburi train station and caught a ferry to Si Pha Ya Pier. We figured it would be quicker to cross the river and reach our accommodation by ferry than trying to catch a taxi/uber. To our surprise, the ferry was very busy at 7:30pm!
After an exhausting 24 hours of train rides and site seeing, we arrived to our accommodation, which we found on Airbnb “Ideo Q Chula Samyan” – A big building of units next to the Mandarin Hotel. We were quite happy with the location of the units. It was close to two metro stations, close to the main station in Bangkok – Hua Lamphong (not that we used this station), and not too far from the river.
Things to see in Bangkok
Hua Lamphong Train station
Although we didn’t get to arrive to Hua Lamphong, we thought we would check out Bangkok’s main terminal, seeing as our journeys revolve around trains.
The Grand Palace
Comprised of beautiful gardens, golden temples and historical artworks. The Grand Palace is a place that requires time to wander through, if you want to absorb the beautifully crafted buildings and ambience.
Rather than being a single structure, the Grand Palace is made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards. Its asymmetry and eclectic styles are due to its organic development, with additions and rebuilding being made by successive reigning kings over 200 years of history. (Wikipedia)
Time we had. What we probably didn’t have was the patience to deal with the continual hustle and bustle through each temple and important sights within. It seems that the Chinese cannot get enough of Thailand. Everywhere we went, there were bus loads of tourists swarming at temples. The palace is beautiful. Buddhism is peaceful and tranquil. Unfortunately our experience was anything but peaceful. The pushing, the shoving and heat gave us reason to cut our tour a little shorter than we had hoped.
If you plan on visiting the palace, be prepared to experience a bit of the Chinese pushing and shoving. And if your experience is different to ours, I applaud it.
Wat Pho
This is the famous temple of the reclining Buddha, at 46 metres in length! The boys couldn’t understand why Buddha needed to lay down and take up so much room (love how kid’s minds work). Not too far from the Grand Palace, this is actually a really nice place to visit! It wasn’t as crowded as the Palace, and the architecture and artwork were also very impressive.
The flower market
Bangkok Flower Market (Pak Klong Talad) is the biggest wholesale and retail fresh flower market in Bangkok. The market has all kinds of popular flowers and flora-related items, including roses, forget me nots, orchids, lilies and more. Most of them sold in packs of 50 or 100 flowers in each, and prices are amazingly cheap. Part of the Old City, Bangkok Flower market is located on Chak Phet Road near Saphan Phut or the Memorial Bridge. (bangkok.com)
You may wish to catch the ferry to Yodpiman like we did. Jason and the boys bought me a beautiful little arrangement.
The markets and food
Everyone will confidently claim to have eaten Thai food at some point. What I soon realised, was the difference between Thai food in Australia to the authentic flavours in in Thailand. The soups, the curries, the fried rice and the deserts, all have a unique flavour to them that is not easily replicated back home. Eating street food was definitely a go-to for us! My favourite for breakfast was chicken soup… mmmm.
Family Excursions Abroad 