23,000 steps... Bangkok on foot, Day 2

I left Kes's apartment at 9.30am to avoid morning rush, and the weather was already so warm by then. Kes has briefed me how to go about to reach my main destinations today, Wat Pho, Grand Palace and Erawan Shrine.

I took the MRT from Ratchadaphisek Station to Sukhumvit MRT Station, where I switched to BTS Skytrain at Asok BTS station. Both stations are connected to each other, but we need to exit MRT station and purchase BTS Skytrain ticket before entering the platform. BTS ticket can only be purchased at the vending machines, and the machines mostly only accepting coins. There are counters where we can change for coins, but we can't purchase any tickets from these counters.

Just grab one of this leaflet which available next to the ticket machines,
it has a good directory map for all attractions along Chao Phraya river.

The back portion of the leaflet showing Bangkok's Mass Transit map

I bought this extra single journey ticket (15 Baht)
 as  a souvenir for myself :). There is list of the stations
 printed on the back of the ticket for easy references. 

I had to get off at Siam Station and switched one more time to another BTS line (Silom Line) to reach my destination at Saphan Taksin station, which located very near to the Central boat pier called Sathorn. I then took a boat ride along the Chao Phraya river and stop at the pier near the attractions spot that I wanted to visit.

There are few types of boats that we can choose.
1. Chao Phraya Tourist Boat (Blue flag)
Unlimited boat ride, one day pass cost at 150 Baht (service from 9.30am to 7.30pm) that serve 8 piers, ended at Pha Arthit Pier.  This boat will only stop at any of these 8 piers if there is any request from passengers.

Do not feel pressured to choose this one day pass when you are at the Central pier, of course the staffs will try their best to promote this package to every tourist. The best is to study first which pier your attraction spots are located so you can plan your boat of choice.    

Only go for this option if you really want to stop at every pier and intended to go back to Sathorn Pier by the tourist boat too. Just show the day pass once you board the boat from any pier.

     

      

 2. Chao Phraya Express Boats
Orange flag which operates from 6am to 7pm, everyday and serve  Nonthaburi (N30) - Wat   Rajsingkorn (S3) route. We can get onto this boat from any pier in between and pay on the boat. The fare is 14 Baht per trip, doesn't matter which pier you will get off.
I took this orange flag boat as it is more economical and I did not plan to stop at every stops, so paying 150 baht for one day pass was not my option.

Green flag which operates only from Monday to Friday, and serve Pakkred (N33) - Nonthaburi (N30) - Sathorn (Centre) route. The fare is 10 / 12 / 19 / 31 Baht (Depends on distance)

Yellow flag  which operates only from Monday to Friday, and serve Pakkred (N33)- Sathorn (Centre) route. The fare is 10 / 12 / 19 / 31 Baht (Depends on distance)  

My first stop was at Tha Tien Pier (N8), from where I walked for about 5 minutes to the nearby Wat Pho. The entrance fee is B50. I spent almost 3 hours browsing around the Wat area. It is really huge, with many interesting thing to see and observed, with the reclining Buddha being the main attaraction here.

I just love to see the colorful carvings on the arches and stupas

Reclining Buddha

It was very warm afternoon and by the time I finished my browsing around at Wat Pho, I was so starving. Among many stalls outside the Wat compound, I spotted a Phad Thai Noodle stall just few steps from the Wat exit and had a delicious lunch there.

The ingredients 

Phad Thai noodle in the making

There you go...my lunch!!

I walked back to the pier and hop on into another Blue flag boat and stop at the next pier, Maharaj Pier (N9). Before I made my way to the Grand Palace, I walk around the small square nearby. Many fruits and juice stalls around, and interestingly there are so many people selling durian there.

This guy is the best durian seller here as so many tourist
gather around him to buy the durian

They even sell durian juice. I bought a bottle....it was super sweet!

I walked for about another 10 minutes to reached Grand Palace, but to my surprise there were like thousands of people around and it was so crowded from the main entrance until the ticket office located around 100 meters further in. Too many tourist visiting by that time. After 5 minutes trying to made up my mind, I finally decided to just leave and come back again the next day in the morning. It was so crowded and I would not be able to snap good photos peacefully, plus the super hot weather...so I better move to another spot.
I went back to the pier and hop on into orange flag boat and get off at Sathorn Pier. I took BTS skytrain from Saphan Taksin and this round make a stop at Chit Lom Station, which is a walking distance to the famous Erawan Shrine.



Flowers for the worshippers

This is Erawan shrine where the bombing
 took place in 2015

I took this photo from the skyline bridge. This is the road in front of the shrine.

 

Worshippers accompanied by the dancers 

 

This is at another shrine not far from Erawan

In all, I have walked 23,000 steps during the day, one of the highest count walking around the city attractions. After Erawan shrine, I took BTS to Asok Station then walked to Sukhumvit MRT station to meet Kes before we continue to another destination. I will cover that in my next chapter....