A day in Bangkok, Thailand. Visiting Wat Arun Temple and Talin Floating Market in Thonburi without a guide.
Two months travelling through India and it was time to move on…the next destination? Thailand! We flew straight into Bangkok, our second time in this mega city, possibly the most fascinating capital in the world. Bangkok is amazing, a fascinating city full of contrasts, the traditional and the trendy living side-by-side in apparent harmony.
A Day in Bangkok
Our low cost Asian Airlines flight landed in Don Mueng Airport on the city limits. Juan and I on our respective Spanish and UK passports were visa exempt for one month. The shuttle bus is a convenient way to reach downtown Bangkok, stopping en route so you can easily connect to the commuter-friendly MRT Metro and BTS Skytrain networks to reach almost anywhere in the city.
Bangkok is in fact a central hub for travelling onwards to most places in South East Asia. There are 2 international airports, DMK which is mainly low-cost or domestic carriers and BBK (Suvarnabhumi Airport) for longhaul international flights. Apart from this, Thai railway connects to Malaysia in the south or eastwards to Laos.
The escalating prices of hotels in Asia made us look at alternative accommodations on our worldwide trip, in fact comparing Thailand to Malaysia where we’d travelled recently came as a shock. A smart budget hotel just east of the city centre in Huai Khwang was the ideal place to stay, district is a street food paradise and it’s easy to get into town.
Lumphini Park
Lumphini Park is the large public park an oasis is the middle of the hot city with green lawns and a boating lake, and tree-shaded paths popular with joggers. It’s a nice place for a morning stroll before setting off to see the sites. Although Bangkok is a walkable city, getting the overhead skytrain is often a quicker way of getting around.
Chao Phraya River Ferry
Talin Chan weekend floating market was top of my list of must see places, not far out of town you can get there by boat or bus. We headed for Chao Phraya River which effectively splits Bangkok into east and west.
At Sathorn Central Pier I got a complimentary city map and then caught the Express Boat – the pocket-friendly ‘orange flag’ ferry is really convenient, just purchase a one-way ticket for each trip and it works out much cheaper than the tourist boat, unless you’re hopping on and off continuously to see all the sites.
Except for a couple of iconic landmarks Thonburi district on the west bank is off the usual tourist track, a contrast to the super modern city centre and a less developed neighbourhood where many locals still live. We got the ferry to Thonburi Railway Station Pier, then a public Song Taew pickup van – friendly passengers tell you when to get off at Talin Chan.
Talin Chan Floating Market
An array of stalls sell fresh fruit and garden vegetables straight off the local farms, and a covered passage which leads up to the entranceway is lined with food stands cooking typical Thai snacks such as traditional pancakes, pork or chicken skewers, deep fried fish, quail egg on rice cake, and sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.
We crossed the boardwalk to the fascinating floating market and glimpsed the old way of life.
Thatched roofed wooden platforms with benches and chairs are tethered to the jetty by Khlong Chak Phra, making an authentic floating restaurant which is popular with Thai day trippers eager to enjoy an authentic seafood lunch.
Asian vendors grill fish over charcoals in Samphan canoes moored beside the canal, large salt baked fish speared with sticks and king prawns are the specialties to order along with stir-fried veg. This unique setting is becoming more commercialized but is generally unknown to tourists, especially holidaymakers from abroad who are taken on organised trips to other floating markets near Bangkok.
A group of musicians playing traditional instruments highlight the extraordinary atmosphere in Talin Chan.
Wat Arun Temple
Back at Station Pier, Juan and I caught the river ferry back along the west bank to the ‘temple of the rising sun’ whose distinctive spires covered in a pearly porcelain mosaic are designed to catch the early morning light.
Wat Arun is a Buddhist temple dating to the 17th century although the famous prang spires are a later addition.
Along with the entrance fee I hired a flowery wrap to cover my shoulders and arms. The intricate complex is made up of a high central ‘prang’ with platforms at differing heights adorned carved stone statues, and a smaller tower at each of the four corners.
It’s definitely worth a visit, to walk up and down the maze of steps, across the patios between the prangs, every corner revealing a different angle of this unique temple.
The beautiful Ordination Hall is the main place of worship, where orange robed monks pray before the image of Buddha. I joined in the local traditional with some Thai visitors – passing behind a partition in front of an altar to see the historic image of King Taksin of Thonburi, and then crawl under his illustrious bedstead for good luck.
We caught the next ferry across the river to China Town, chugging away from Wat Arun in the late afternoon light, I may not have seen the illustrious scene at dawn but the sunset was pretty amazing.
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