We decided to take the riverboat cruise and soon fell into the tourist trap. We paid 250 Baht for two all day tickets. That was the best ticket according to the employee at the ticket office as we wanted to get on and off at different places. However, we soon discovered that it was only 30 Baht each for a single trip. We will know better next time. We sailed up the river Mae Nam Chao Phraya seeing the sights along the banks. The highlights being the marvellous Wat Arum on the east side and the Grand Palace on the west.
Wat Arum.
The Grand Palace.
Our first stop was on the return leg to go and see the flower market. This place is unbelievable. The street outside are lined with fresh flower stalls on both sides. The streets are protected from the sun by street-long awnings that are used to hang freshly cut flowers. The colour and smells are at a complete contrast to the smoggy city streets that run through it.
Monica guides us through the Flower Market.
At the Flower Market.
To catch the ferryboat we decided to walk down to the next station through China town. A helpful Thai man pointed out the way but told us that it was the wrong time to visit. It was better to return in the late afternoon. Nevertheless we headed down the narrow streets of Chinatown that were filled with people. I would hate to see the place at peak times. It was all too claustrophobic for me and my mood wasn’t improved by an old Chinese lady behind who kept banging her shopping trolley into me to hurry me up.
Chinatown.
Thankfully, we made it to the ferry boat stop with both legs in one piece. We headed back to the main terminal and caught the Skytrain back to the shopping centres. Monica wanted to see what was at the end of the line. No problem, anything to delay the shopping.
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