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Royal Orchid Holidays has some excellent tours around Bangkok. There are two, three and four-day packages that include visits to the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha, trips to the floating market and the Rose Garden, and even an overnight trip on the Chao Phraya to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of old Siam. These tours also provide visitors with ample leisure time, to do what they please, on their own. That can be a tough decision, with so many options the city has to offer. Often some visitors want to bypass Bangkok, for they may have the impression that the Thai capital is just another big city. They are misinformed. Someone had misled them, or perhaps if they had been here before, they didn’t know where to go. Bangkok is a vibrant, pulsating city with more things to see and thing to do than one can imagine. I live in Bangkok and I never find it boring. I am going to suggest ten things you may want to do in your leisure time. Most of them only take an hour or two, but you will find them quite rewarding.
Number One. Chao Phraya River. Without a doubt the most exciting thing about Bangkok is the Chao Phraya River that divides the city in two. Yet there are visitors, and even residents as well, who know very little about the river. Unlike rivers in many cities around the world that are archaic waterways, the Chao Phraya is a river that it in use, and this is what makes it exciting. It’s alive. It’s dynamic. It’s the heart beat and soul of Bangkok, and Thailand as well. You want to see Bangkok in motion, go to the river.
What makes it all so wonderful is that the river is not closed to outsiders. It’s open to everyone. For some people who live in Bangkok, it is a means of communication. This is where the average visitor, the tourist, can join in the fun. Go down to any one of the landings along the river and hop aboard an express boat for a run up or down river, for as little as ten baht for an hour’s trip. At the Oriental Landing you can also purchase an all-day ticket for 75 baht and cruise up and down the river as much as you want, aboard a very comfortable Tourist Boat. Of course, you can always hire a private launch or a long-tail boat. They are perfectly safe and reliable.
Aside from the sites, the river is the grand venue for some of the country’s finest festivals. Two water festivals, Songkran and Loy Kratong, take place on the river. There are many colourful boat races, and for special occasions, there’s the magnificent Royal Barge Procession.
Number Two. All the major hotels along the river have their own private riverboats. They connect their hotels with the Oriental Landing, the Skytrain terminal at Sathorn Bridge and River City. One boat, the Marriott, travels far down river to the Marriott Hotel. Hop aboard their ferryboat at the Oriental Landing or River City and visit the hotel. It's more like a resort than a hotel. The hotel boats are free and operate regularly. You can ride up and down the river all day.
Number Three. Have one of the hotel boats carry you to River City, a four-storey shopping complex. The shops are works of art themselves. Here you can see Thai art at it’s best. You don’t have to go shopping to enjoy River City. It’s an education in everything fine in Thailand. There are some unique shops hidden way that you will find interesting, like the Maps & Prints on the top floor. You can spend hours looking through stacks of maps and prints, and the owner, Joerg Kohler, might even show you his private collection.
Number Four. While you are on the river, stop at The Oriental Hotel. The Oriental is the oldest hotel in Bangkok, and for ten consecutive years had been voted the best hotel in the world. Wander through the lobby and gardens. Go to the Authors’ Lounge, in the original building, and look at all the old prints on the walls, or even better yet, have high tea in the Lounge in the afternoon. (There’s also an Archives Room and Trophy Section off to one side.)
In the evening you can sit in the main lobby, have a drink, and listen to classic chamber music by the hotel’s four-piece music ensemble. What an excellent way to spend an evening, at leisure
Number Five. Ride the Skytrain. What a marvelous introduction to travel in Bangkok. It took eight years to build, and began service on the King’s birthday, December 5, 1999. The Skytrain changed Bangkok completely.
Riding the train is a pleasure. Automated ticket machines, smart pay booths, shiny escalators with an army of workers keep them spotless, clear signs using English and Thai, all make travelling easy and tourists feel right at home. The elevated structure runs south from Chatuchak Weekend Market to the Chao Phraya River with a branch breaking off and leading down the main tourist spot of Sukhumvit Road. And as I mentioned, all the major hotels along the river have free river launch service to the Taksin Terminal on the river. There is no better place to go people watching than on the Skytrain. What a way to go!
Number Six. Silom Village. This is a great place to shop and dine. The restaurants are large open-air fares and in the evening there is Thai music and dancing on stage. The shops carry everything Thai. It’s a great place to meet friends, and to relax.
Number Seven. A stroll along Sukhumvit from Soi 4 (Nana stop on the Skytrain) to Soi 18. The area is the Arab quarter of town, and of course, there are some fine Arabian restaurants and shops. The entire avenue is worth a stroll in the evening. It’s also the expat area of town.
Number Eight. Silom Road at night. At sun down the hucksters begin to arrive pushing their carts and set up shop on the sidewalks. The entire street becomes a night market. Even Patpong Road, the notorious night street of sin, has given way to becoming a night market. The street is blocked off to vehicular traffic.
Number Nine. Its rightful name is Chatuchak, but it’s also called the Weekend Market and the Flea Market. By any name it’s the same, a must for any visitor to Bangkok. Unfortunately, it’s only open on weekends. Chatuchak covers 35 acres and has many hundreds of booths and more than 5,000 vendors selling everything imaginable. They may still refer it as a flea market but it’s more like a 'one-stop' shopping mall.
The best introduction to Chatuchak is to walk the perimeter before entering the maze of passageways. Here you find all kinds of farm produce and nursery products. Lots of plant, including orchids and ferns. Here too you can also see goats and sheep for sale, and when you round a corner, don't be shocked if you come face to face with dairy cows and perhaps even a bullock. There are carts for sale, with wheels two metres high, and the oxen to pull them as well. Inside the alleyways it’s something else.
There's more than shopping, however. There’s entertainment, and it’s free. You can watch craftsmen at work, artists or wood carvers, or even see a cockfight or witness two Siamese fighting fish battling it out.
Number Ten. Aside from Chatusak Bangkok has Night Market situated right down town. Some shoppers prefer the Night Market to Chatusak for one reason—it’s much cooler at night. I will tell readers more about the Night Market at a later date. Don’t go away.
Next week we are traveling to Bali to visit a very remarkable museum.
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Chao Phraya River, site of Royal Barge Procession
Tourist boats ply the river
Hostesses on hand to help out
Police patrol the river too
The most famous sight on the river, Wat Arun
Skytrain offers more than just a ride
A monk at a Skytrain stop
Best views in town, from the Skytrain
Poster advertisements at stops
Monks seen at a temple at one of the Tourist Boat river stops
The Tourist boat makes an import stop at the site of the famous Golden Buddha
Stop at Oriental Hotel for an evening of music
An even stroll along Silom Road
Stop for a drink at a stall along Silom Road
Flower makers along the street
Snacks for the daring
Great Thai food at Silom Village
Night Market has everything
A street of flowers at the night Market
The Paragon Shopping Plaza at Siam stop on the
Skytrain
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