Bangkok Sightseeing

Bangkok has a great skytrain that makes getting from one place to another a lot faster and more comfortable than being stuck in traffic.

It’s air-conditioned and a very smooth ride – although during rush hour, it gets quite crowded. The trains operate till around midnight, and after that there mostly are no traffic jams, so it’s easy to go by taxi at a later hour.

Thai’s call it “BTS” which stands for Bangkok Mass Transit System. The German company Siemens built it together with the Italian Thai construction conglomerate. The BTS was officially opened to the public in 1999 – and it was not an immediate success. At first, less people rode it than was expected. Only around 200,000 trips a day were made, and the revenue generated from that was just enough to cover the operating costs, but not to cover the loans. However, the number of people who use the BTS have been steadily increasing all these years, and as of December 2005 has more than doubled to 500,000 passenger rides per day.

The amount you pay for one ticket is by station, not by time, and there are daily passes too if you already know that you are going to make a lot of rides.

The shortest ride costs 15 baht, and the longest ride costs 40 baht. You can not eat or drink on the trains or stations, but that’s a nice thing actually, because both are meticulously clean and there is no garbage at all.

Here you can see the “Elephant Building”, which is a popular landmark for Thais, although there typically aren’t that many foreigners in this area. The elephant is the symbol of Thailand, and they have been revered to for many centuries already by the Thai people. That is why this building was constructed in the shape of an elephant – at least to somehow resemble an elephant.

The building has 32 floors and is 102 meters (335ft.) high, it was completed in 1997. The elephant building consists of 7 parts:

• Tower A (Office)
• Tower B (Office)
• Tower C {Residential)
• Top Floor (Luxurious residential suites)
• Recreation Ground (Swimming Pool & Gardens)
• Shopping Plaza, Bank & post office
• Parking garage

Photocredits: norsez

When you drive around in Bangkok in a cab or tuktuk, you can often see these men and women walking between the cars at intersections. They sell puang malai, Thai flower garlands, to drivers, or snacks or other things, but most of the time it’s flower garlands. Thai people like to hang these garlands into their car for good luck, protection from accidents, and also because it just smells nice.

They also buy these garlands to hang them in their little house shrine to make merit to the spirits.

Standing all day between cars in Bangkok’s congested streets surely is not a fun way to make a living, yet, somehow they keep their spirits up and manage to smile most of the time.

Photocredits: mistifarang

One of the nicest ways to explore Bangkok is by boat. Sure, there are not nearly as many rivers and canals left as there once used to be, but it makes nonetheless for a beautiful time.

You get to see different parts of town – some luxury hotels, some run-down shacks by the water, some nice traditional old wooden Thai houses where families reside. It is a reflection of the many facades of Bangkok life, all thrown into one area, all mixed up together, and despite all their differences somehow managing to live harmoniously together.

That’s why if you visit Thailand’s crazy capital, you should at least do one Bangkok sightseeing tour by boat.

Photocredit: suea yai

Bangkok is a city that runs with full speed into modern development. Yet, at the same time, traditions are not only kept alive, but they flourish. It is a paradox mix of old and new, stirred up in a crazy cocktail.

It would be a lie to say that Thais are not materialistic – they are. They care about the latest mobile phone, and a big, representative car, fashionable clothes, and so on. But at the same time, they are also highly spiritual people. Praying and worshiping is a part of daily life. Many Thais will wai whenever they pass a shrine, and they often take time in the day to express their gratitude for the good things they have received in life, and wish for whatever it is they want more o fin life.

When you go sightseeing in Bangkok, you will no doubt see many Thais praying and worshiping in different places, often making offerings to deities, Buddha images, ghost houses and shrines.

photocredits: Gabriel Perez

The Chatuchak Park is located in the Chatuchak district, which is most famously known for the Chatuchak weekend market – the world’s largest weekend market. When you have been on a shopping spree, this is a nice way to relax and calm down and enjoy the rest or your Bangkok tour 🙂

As crowded and chaotic as the market as, as serene is the park. A very quite little space to relax and wind down from Bangkok’s rushed pulse. You can rent small bicycles here and drive around the park, lay down on the green and have a picnick, read a book… there is also a large artificial lake and many small bridges that are built over it, and the lake is full of fish.

Here is a video, although the person who shot the video got the name wrong 🙂

You can rent a boat and paddle on the lake, which is a nice activity for couples who want to spend some romantic time together.

This land was donated to His Majesty the King by the State Railway of Thailand, and the park was built in 1975 – that makes it one of the older parks in Bangkok times. It was on the wish of His Majesty that this park was constructed, and then opened to the public in the year 1980. There is also a train museum located on the grounds of the park. In total, the park is around 0.3 square kilometers big. About 7,000 people come here every day, and on weekends and holidays the number rises to around 30,000 people.

It is open every day from 4:30 AM to 9 PM.

Close to the park is also the Butterfly Garden Park, where thousands of colorful butterflies live.

Here is a video taken in the park, where some tourists feed fish and birds, although it doesn’t really capture the nice atmosphere of the park.

Photocredits: Mistifarang

Thailand overall, and Bangkok in particular, is a land that has been shaped and influenced by many different countries and cultures. But from a religious standpoint, the predominant mix is Buddhist-Hindu. For all those who go on a religious sightseeing tour in Bangkok, this is a rather plain looking (compared with the many temples), but nonetheless significant place of worship in Bangkok.

A lot of Buddhists go to pray and worship at shrines of Hindu deities, and this Ganesha shrine is one of the most popular in Bangkok. In Indian mythology, Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati, and most easily recognized by his elephant head.

In particular artists, actors and those who pursue creative professions worship to Ganesha, who enjoys dancing and good food, because he is the patron of arts and sciences.

Actually Ganesha is the diety who helps to destroy obstacles, but artists always prayed to Ganesha before they did carvings in temples. For when they carved, they essentially destroyed those pieces of stone or wood that covered up the final image they wanted – and that process of destruction was where they requested Ganesha’s help. This is, according to many historians, one of the main reasons why Ganesha is so closely associated with the arts nowadays.

If you wonder why Ganesha has an elephant head – it is because his father went on a long journey for many years, and when he came back, he saw his wife with a young man in his house. Angered at the betrayal, he decapitated the young man – only to be told by his wife that this young man was their son, who had grown up from a small boy into a man in the years during which Shiva was away from home.

Shiva then exclaimed that he will put the head of the next living being that walked by on the head of his son – and that so happened to be an elephant. However, there are many other stories about how Ganesha got his elephant head, but this is the most widely known.

Here is a video of the shrine, although in rather poor quality, but you still get an impression of the surroundings:

Photocredit: oznasia

There are two things that you will find a lot in Bangkok: snacks everywhere, and the infamous ladyboys. Ladyboys aren’t really the same as transvestites – they are what in Thailand is called the third gender, and Thai people refer to them as “katoeys”. There are whole books written about this social phenomenon.

One very popular tourist attraction and entertainment event in Bangkok are “Tiffany shows”, where ladyboys do a spectacular variety and cabaret shows.

Ladyboy or not – where else in the world can you find so attractive sausage sellers?

Photocredit: Bangkok Charlie

Almost every Bangkok visitors goes for a boat ride on the Chao Phraya river once. But there is another “river taxi” that most tourists never get to see, let alone ride. This is the only remaining “real” river taxi.

Long time ago, Bangkok wasn’t what it is today. There were no busy, congested roads. It wasn’t a city of concrete. Instead, it was a city where almost all transportation took place on small rivers and “khlongs” – which are essentially small canals.

There is not much left of that nowadays of course. Except for this boat line that connects the old city center with Bangkok’s modern and busy districts.

A ride up and down the khlong takes about an hour if you go from one end to the other, and you pass many interesting parts of Bangkok that you won’t ever find in a tour guide book.

Khlongs

The history from the Khlongs

The region surrounding Bangkok has usually been a swamp and also the Chao Praya RIV types the greatest waterway here. Within the 16th century there had been already channels dug within the Chao Praya RIV to give shipping much better access to and from the former money Ayutthaya. The big meanders that the riv program produced on its method to the Gulf of Thailand had been cut off by canals. The majority of waterways had been produced following Bangkok became the new money. Probably the most southern from the canals had to be stuffed in once more simply because at high tide the metropolis flooded with seawater.

Nearly all national (and with some fluctuation, international) trade was carried out on the h2o. Furthermore, moats had been produced for the defence from the metropolis within the 18th century, following the instance from the set-up at Ayutthaya and within the 19th century, for purely military purposes, a couple of longer canals had been excavated by Chinese workers, traversing from east to west within the region west from the metropolis. Using the passing from the centuries irrigation from the surrounding farmlands and also the expansion of trade mobility had been prime factors for making new waterways as the metropolis developed and grew. Bangkok employed Dutch h2o engineering specialists (finish from the 18th, beginning from the 19th century) to reclaim the swamp locations. Following the Second Globe War, canal constructing within the swamp locations was intensified.

The ancient khlong environment

These days not all khlongs are in use. Some of them have been stuffed in to enhance land transportation. Nonetheless, parts of Bangkok have retained the outdated waterway environment supplying the chance for a relaxing outing. You could, for instance, take the Khlong Bangkok Noi h2o taxi and journey the outdated riv arm and see the original canal communities. The h2o taxi leaves from Tha (pier) Maharat, subsequent to Silpakort University. Every journey expenses about 20 Bhat and also the further you go into the khlong the much more stunning the surroundings: wooden teak houses with gold-leafed Temples and colourful orchids cultivated in tiny gardens. This taxi service is supplied by the so-called ‘longtail boats’. These are brightly coloured, narrow boats, about 8m lengthy, and equipped with massive motors (occasionally Japanese truck engines) using the propeller on the lengthy shaft to ensure that the boat can navigate shallow waters. You are able to of program, charter a longtail boat. These price about 400-500 Bhat an hour at Tha Si Phraya. Make certain you agree the cost prior to setting off.

Practical riv transport

In the event you truly should journey throughout the rush hour, it is a great concept to take an express boat more than the Chao Praya RIV to obtain someplace. It is a bit hectic, but a great deal much less muggy than attempting to journey more than land.

Dinner cruises

You are able to have a fantastic meal in Bangkok on the dinner cruise within the evening. A couple of are named within the Lonely Planet book and it could be helpful to create a reservation. We did a truly good cruise on the typical wooden ‘rice barge’ with gentle Thai music, fine service and plenty of great food. This was not the least expensive (approx 1250 Bhat per individual) however it was completely worth it.

Cycle trips

Another great way to see the city is by bike. Try a Bangkok cycling tour along the banks of the khlongs.

River Kwai trips

The famous River Kwai is really a highlight of any trip to Thailand. From Bangkok, you can take a trip to the River Kwai, stopping first at the famous floating markets in Bangkok and even travelling on the Death Railway built by POWs. You can even sleep in floating huts on the River Kwai during some River Kwai tours.