Thai World

Dinner Cruise

We arrive in Bangkok at 1:30 PM local time and a new fantastic adventure begins. Our first time in Thailand! We have ourselves taken to the Hotel Royal River (booked like all the subsequent hotels online) and after settling in we go near the pier below, more precisely to the RiverSide, where we'll book the dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River for that same evening. That way we'll get to see the Bangkok that lines the river while dining romantically on the boat's terrace. A peculiar sight to see the alternation of ancient temples and ultra-modern skyscrapers.

A dive into Thai culture

We get up early, a mega-breakfast, go to the pier and take the Chao Phraya Express. We'll visit Wat Arun, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho; each one more beautiful than the last, leaving you dazzled by their charm. Thanks to some accounts read online, we avoid the scams of the taxi drivers who position themselves nearby, telling you that the temples open at 1 PM and that in the meantime for a few baht they'll take you around Bangkok stopping only a few minutes at a handicraft shop. In the afternoon we take a taximeter (the only reliable, cheap ones and, unlike tuk tuks, they save you from breathing in the smog) and have ourselves taken to the World Trade Center (9 floors!) to do some shopping. In the evening we have Thai dinner at the hotel and head to the legendary and chaotic Khao San Road (an absolute must-see) where you can truly find anything and everything.

Chinatown rocks/crazy!!

We take the speedy boat provided by the hotel (you have to book it the day before), which goes directly to River City, another shopping center. Afterwards we go to Chinatown (in my opinion revolting due to the filth and bad smells), we wander through a small market, two photos at a Taoist temple and we flee toward Patpong. The street during the day isn't as busy as at night but the area is very commercial and you can shop comfortably. We cover kilometer after kilometer and with our feet in pieces we decide to get a healthy massage. An hour of foot massages and we come out like new (try it to believe it). We return to River City where we'll catch the hotel shuttle again. I highly recommend the Royal River to anyone who wants to stay in a quiet area; it's clean, the food is good, it offers the speedy boat, it's near the temples, it's near Khao San Road, excellent value for money.

It's a bit out of the way from the commercial area, but it has the big advantage of being on the river, thus avoiding Bangkok's chaotic traffic. Unfortunately 3 days in Bkk are too few but the sea awaits us.