Bangkok Chapter 2 (Chao Phraya Express to Wat Arun: Temple of Dawn)
สวัสดีตอนบ่าย or good afternoon in Thai :) It was a good rest in Kokotel, took a shower, rolling on the bed, feels fresh!. You can click here for Chapter 1
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| Wat Arun standing gorgeously on the the banks of Chao Phraya |
We leave Kokotel around 3PM headed to our next destination, Wat Arun or the temple of dawn. From Kokotel, we took a taxi to Saphan Taksin Pier. My first plan is to take the skytrain from Chong Nonsi to Saphan Taksin station. But, because it was already 3PM, I decided taxi is faster.
We took 2 taxi at metered rate. Our taxi stopped us at an intersection and said we need to walk straight to the pier, hmm. There was a market that time along the road which is why the taxi couldn't go through. The fare was 60THB. So i thought, the other taxi must stopped there as well, so we waited for a while, but there was no sign of them. Dania even had the time to go to 7Eleven to buy a cigarette. So I decided to just walk to the Pier directly.
It was a straight road with a left turn, Ija did asked a local for direction. And from far we saw them waving at us, they were already at the pier! TIPS: Data data data, i really think internet is important for roaming if u travel in groups.
Sha said they were already waiting for us for more than 10minutes!, darnn. Their taxi dropped them exactly at the pier, looks like we got a lazy taxi driver. But hey, at least we reached Chao Phraya river huh! :). TIPS: If you are not in the rush and stay near a BTS station, take train to Saphan Taksin, the pier named Sathorn Pier is just below it reachable via stairs marked Exit 2.
There are 2 stops at Sathorn Pier connected to each other here. I went and asked a boy who was at the counter and he said, i need to go to the big one, next to it. We need to take the orange flags boat and i saw the orange banner that's why i went there. I even went inside the boat to ask because i was unsure of the boy's answer. The people in the boat said the same thing, the big pier. Alrighty then.
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| left, wrong jetty, right correct jetty |
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| and there it is, the sign. Taken by Bella: mamamuezza.blogspot |
We walked to the pier beside it and voilla, it was the stop for Orange flags boat. I was just stubborn to not believing in the boy. So i bought the tickets, 15THB per person to Wat Arun, the stop based on my map, is Tha Thien Pier. The girl at the counter are used to the questions posed by foreigners like us i guess. She was like, 'yes yes wat arun, u queue here, 5 minute boat come, fast fast'. Hihihi.. TIPS: The Sathorn Pier have 2 separated jetty, the small one is actually for long tail boats and Hop On Hop Off boat, which offers tour packages around 150THB per person, for touring the attractions along the Chao Phraya (see pic below). The big jetty next to it is for the orange & other colors flags boat which sells ticket based on your destination. For Orange Flags the fare is 15THB fixed. You can see locals queuing here. There are more than 10 stops along the river, better asked which pier to stop at the counter to ensure u get to your destination. Do note that, this is a public transport in Bangkok operating between 06:00 and 19:30 daily, so there is no booking number for seats and all, simply like a bus. Stop - pickup - Go.
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| the routes for each boat, orange flags stops at almost all piers |
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| major attractions along Chao Phraya with pier numbers |
The queue was long, lots of people local and foreigners were waiting for the orange flags boat. Within minutes later it arrived, the boat just stop for 1 minutes, and then it start ramming the engine and start moving, damn. So u have to get in fast. As we got in, seats were already full, so we have to stand.
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| The queue and there it is, our boat |
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| This is how Orange flags boat look like, courtesy of google |
Because there were no place to sit anymore, me and sherry had to stand at the stairs. I decided to just sit there. The staff of the boat, then said 'hello cannot sit, sign sign'. I didn't see the sign 'cannot sit and stand at the stairs & yellow zone'. So i stand back and grip strongly to the stairs cos i cannot balance myself well, moving boat skinny me, u do the math. Honestly it was much safer sitting down.
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| the crowd inside the boat, see Bella and Aman at the back, haha |
I was attracted by the development along the huge Chao Phraya river, lots of hotels, apartments and temples can be seen with boats going back and forth. It was quite a view. I thought at first the river was gonna smell bad and heavily polluted, but Bangkok proved me wrong. It was okay and pretty much clean. I really hope one day in future, our Klang River can be like this and we can use it as a means of transportation system, wouldn' it be great?!.
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| Chao Phraya River |
A little bit on river Chao Phraya, one of the longest river in Thailand flows south 365 km around 225 miles through the nation also known as MaeNam in the old days and Bangkok's 'Venice of the East'. It is a vital lifeline into the heart of Thai civilisation which also act as major waterway transportation for the cities along this historic river. There is even a quote that said you haven’t really been to Bangkok until you’ve been out on the Chao Phraya.
Back in the mid-1300s, the Ayutthaya kingdom was founded alongside the Chao Phraya. After Ayutthaya was destroyed by Burmese invaders in 1767, the capital was moved to the western banks of this river, today known as Thonburi. The capital was then moved again to the eastern part, Bangkok. King Rama I named it River of Kings.
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| Wat Pho along the river banks |
Alongside the river lies the royal temple of Wat Arun, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho. Not to forget, the breathtaking Grand Palace, ceremonial home of the still-existing Chakri royal dynasty. Apart from that, the old European quarter with attractive colonial-era buildings are also located along the Chao Phraya, The Mandarin Oriental for example, preserved its original structure, regarded as Thailand’s first hotel.
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| reachin a pier |
Each time the boat make a stop, i looked at the Pier's name and number. Our stop was N8, Tha Thien Pier. What interesting is, you know you are arriving at a pier cos the staff will make a whistle sound 'uuuwiiiii' in high pitch. Its like a signal i guess, interesting hmm?.
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| yeayyy, out of the boat! |
And then from far i can see the majestic Wat Arun, temple of the dawn standing tall on the side of the river. The boat made it stop and we hop out of the boat together with almost half of the people in it. Our destination is the same?!. TIPS: Be very careful when u step out of the boat as it move around cos it is not tied to the pier. Wat Arun is around 200M walk via Wang Doem road, just follow the crowd, hahaha.
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| Entrance Ticket |
The entrance fee to Wat Arun is 50THB and there is a dress code. As usual, no short and no sleeveless, no tshirt with a Buddha face or head printed on it, you can rent a shawl at the counter but it would be better if u bring one, like me!. The signs actually showed no flip-flop, but most people wear it including us and they let us in. So i guess it is lenience on that term. It is open daily from 8AM to 6PM.
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| Temple of The Dawn |
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| restoration in progress |
The temple was still under a bit of restoration when we were there, to preserve it for future generations i guess. Nevertheless, it is still a magnificent architecture, 63-metre-high ceramic wonder. The royal temple of Wat Arun, is also located on the western banks of Chao Phraya, Thonburi.
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| colourfully decorated spires |
As i walked around the temple, the main features that mesmerize me is the colourfully decorated spires. It have 5 spires in total, with the highest in the center.
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| the porcelains on one of the spires, taken by Bella! |
Wat Arun or its original name Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahavihara (วัดอรุณราชวรารามราชวรมหาวิหาร) or locally known as Wat Chaeng was build by King Taksin in 1768 and later King Rama III added the decoration of the spires with porcelain, yes porcelain! That what makes it unique and different from all the temples in Bangkok
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| mesmerized! see i brought scarf to cover my shoulder |
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| steeep!!!! |
I climbed up the spires slowly to take a glimpse of the Bangkok view from the top. Wat Arun is almost directly opposite of Wat Pho, so by being up there, I can see clearly the whole area of Wat Pho and Grand Palace. TIPS: The stairs to the top of the spires is seriously steep, getting up is as tricky as getting down! So be careful and hold to the rail or the temple wall as you climb.
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| The scultures at the base, facing the main hall |
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| The main hall of Wat Arun |
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| tadaaa! Arunizers :P |
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| i was sad cos i cant keep climbing to the top! |
Narcissism took over and we posed here there for stunning pictures, hiks. But yes, I was a bit disappointed cos i can't climb all the way up as the upper level of the main spire was closed to public due to the restoration works. TIPS: Wat Arun lit up at night and absolutely stunning at sunset, so if you are into photography, this is the best time to take some amazing photos!
We then walked back to the pier to take the cross-river boat. Why crossing the river? To go walk around Wat Pho and Grand Palace on the other side!. TIPS: The cross-river boats operate at most major piers and will drop you to the other bank for 4 baht
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| Cross river boat |
Paid at the counter, the wait for the boat was not long, just around few minutes. Luckily there were less people this time and we got to sit, phew. It was more 'well organized' the cross boats compared to the orange flags boat in my opinion. They put barriers and placed a guard to help people get on and off the boat. I saw a Buddhist monk apprentice in orange robe walking around the pier with a DSLR camera taking pictures of the surrounding, cute. He wanna be a photographer in the future i guess, wish you all the best! :).
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| this time we got a seat, thank you! |
The cross-boat took about 5 minutes to reach the other side. Just a few minutes walk via Maharat Road from the N8 pier and u will see the roof of Wat Pho. Because I changed our schedule and decided to leave the hotel at 3PM, we don't have the time to visit this temple. At that time it was 6PM and the temple close at 6.30PM, so half an hour kinda not worth it.
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| Wat Pho taken by Bella , check out more at her blog here! |
Wat Pho is open daily from 8AM to 6PM and the entrance fee is 300THB. What interesting about Wat Pho is the statues of reclining Buddha inside it. The statues is 46 metres long and is covered in gold leaf. Wat Pho is also known as the leading school of massage in Thailand. So, a great place to get a traditional Thai massage is here. Sadly, we didn't have the time, maybe next time huh? :)
From there we decided to see the outside of Grand Palace, Bangkok most famous landmark. Built in 1782 and for 150 years the home of the Thai King. Inside this palace lies Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha, home to the Emerald Buddha that dates back to the 14th century. TIPS: Via Chao Phraya, you can stop at Tha Thien pier (N8) or Tha Chang pier (N9) to visit the Palace. The entrance fee to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew is 500THB, expensive yes and it only opens from 8.30AM to 3.30PM. Dress code is very strict here, no bare feet, no shorts, no sleeveless.
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| Along the wall of Grand Palace |
We were not planning on going inside, just a stroll along the Palace. That's why this is our last destination in the afternoon. I wanted to take the tuk-tuk cos it will be quite a walk to the Grand Palace main door, as it was freakin hot, cooked by the sun. But Ija said we can just walk, so we walked, ahhahaha. Boy, was it tiring, i feels like my spine is no longer there, hihihihi. TIPS: TukTuk is around all the time and can give you a ride for just 100-200THB per tuktuk, why not if you wanna experience it kan? :D
After the long walk, we saw the entrance was closed!. Holy,...! . That day marked 1 year passing of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, so a ceremony was held at the Grand palace. No wonder there were police and army everywhere that time. The public that came out of the palace also was wearing black. Thai citizen really love and respect their king, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej or King Bhumibol the Great of Cakri Dynasty was the world's longest-reigning monarch, 70 years as head of state.
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| The police guarding the entrance area, taken by Bella cos i was so tired i cant even think |
So with that, sadly we were not able to see the Grand Palace, just the wall. Oh well, just not our luck. We were soooo tired, i have no words, maybe cos of the walk and lack of rest. We decided to take a taxi back. Not surprising, none of em wanna take us with a metered rate. So we negotiate with a taxi to take us back to the hotel. The fare we agreed on is 150THB per taxi, so it was not that bad.
Our taxi driver however, cannot speak English at all, zero. Ija showed him our hotel address and he replied back in Thai, which we dont know what he mean. We figured that he didn't know where the hotel is located. So ija, turned on her roaming data and use Waze instead. meh... It was like a chicken talking to a duck, im not kiddin. aiyaiyai.. At least we got to our hotel safely, and i think that taxi driver got a crush on Ija, hihihi, heyyyy! :P
We had some rest and will head to one very 'well known' place in Bangkok nightlife, ill talk about it in my next entry cos this was already too long u guys gonna be sleepy if i continue, lmao! Wait for it! <3
Click HERE for Chapter 3!
Click HERE for Chapter 3!
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