Bangkok. March 2013
Day 2
After a few hours sleep (jet lag) I rose at 7am with the view of visiting some attractions. I left at 8:30 and got a tut tut from Khao San Road to The Grand Palace (Wat Phra Kaew). The tut tut was 80 baht/£1.79/$2 but there is always room for haggling. Entry costs 500 baht/£11/$16 which isn't worth it in my opinion. The palace is made up of several buildings with a lot of gold and sparkles. I found most of the buildings to look tacky and unoriginal. I wouldn't recommend going to the palace as it wasn't very interesting and the buildings aren't that breathtaking. To each their own but in my opinion the Grand Palace wasn't a must see for me. You can see some of the palace without having to pay also. If you do decide to go there is a dress code. Women need to wear tops that cover their shoulders e.g. t shirts. Tank tops or anything with a spaghetti strap isn't allowed along with shorts or skirts above the ankle. So maxi dresses, long shorts or linen trousers are a must. Or if you are wearing a tank top as long as you have something to cover your shoulders like a shawl or cardigan. If you are not dressed appropriately there are spare clothes available to wear whilst at the Palace. I also didn't have a tour guide which may have made my experience of the Palace better as someone explaining what things are and how they came to be may be beneficial and interesting. There are touts offering tours outside the Palace if you decide to take one up.
One thing to remember when going to the Grand Palace from the Khao San Road in particular is that when you say you want to go to the Palace several tut tut drivers will tell you that the Palace is closed and offer to take you somewhere else instead where they can get a commission. IGNORE THEM! Check before you go what time the Palace is open before you go but for the moment it's open 8:30am-3:30pm daily.
After the Palace I got a tut tut to the port where you go to see the Wat Arun (another palace type place). The Wat Arun is only accessed by boat which I wasn't aware of until I got to the port. The price I paid to go to the Wat Arun doesn't include entry but includes an hour tour along the canal. I will hold my hands up and say I was ripped off in the price I paid for this so called boat trip. It cost 1500 baht/£33/$50 which I thought was a bit steep but there weren't any other tours nearby so I just took it. Do not ever pay this much! The most you should be paying between 800-1000 baht/£17-22/$26-33. Especially as entry came to 50 baht/£1/$1.50 which was never mentioned in addition to paying boat parking fees of 30 baht/£0.67/$1 while you look around the Wat Arun.
Suffice it to say after the hour long 'tour' of nothing but Thai houses on stilts and seeing yet another underwhelming Thai monument I was ready to go home and get something to eat/sleep/air conditioning. I was dropped off back at the Grand Palace and got a tut tut back to the Khao San Road for 100 baht/£2/$3. I walked through the Khao San Road where there are several taxis and tut tuts waiting for fares, markets selling t shirts and tank tops much like Camden market for my English readers, electronics including Apple earphones for 300 baht/£7/$10 for the old version or 500 baht for the latest model. Beats by dre headphones, phone covers, chargers, sunglasses, bags, taxis to the airport, bars in addition to Subway, 7 Eleven, KFC and the Mecca McDonalds. I would check prices along the road before buying anything as some vendors are bound to undercut others and remember HAGGLE HAGGLE HAGGLE.
On Khao San Road and the road running parallel to it there are several places selling street food in addition to tours to several parts of the country including Phuket, Samui, Koh Phagnan, Koh Phi Phi, Krabi and Chiang Mai. Again have a shop around before you decide on a tour.
After a few hours sleep (jet lag) I rose at 7am with the view of visiting some attractions. I left at 8:30 and got a tut tut from Khao San Road to The Grand Palace (Wat Phra Kaew). The tut tut was 80 baht/£1.79/$2 but there is always room for haggling. Entry costs 500 baht/£11/$16 which isn't worth it in my opinion. The palace is made up of several buildings with a lot of gold and sparkles. I found most of the buildings to look tacky and unoriginal. I wouldn't recommend going to the palace as it wasn't very interesting and the buildings aren't that breathtaking. To each their own but in my opinion the Grand Palace wasn't a must see for me. You can see some of the palace without having to pay also. If you do decide to go there is a dress code. Women need to wear tops that cover their shoulders e.g. t shirts. Tank tops or anything with a spaghetti strap isn't allowed along with shorts or skirts above the ankle. So maxi dresses, long shorts or linen trousers are a must. Or if you are wearing a tank top as long as you have something to cover your shoulders like a shawl or cardigan. If you are not dressed appropriately there are spare clothes available to wear whilst at the Palace. I also didn't have a tour guide which may have made my experience of the Palace better as someone explaining what things are and how they came to be may be beneficial and interesting. There are touts offering tours outside the Palace if you decide to take one up.
One thing to remember when going to the Grand Palace from the Khao San Road in particular is that when you say you want to go to the Palace several tut tut drivers will tell you that the Palace is closed and offer to take you somewhere else instead where they can get a commission. IGNORE THEM! Check before you go what time the Palace is open before you go but for the moment it's open 8:30am-3:30pm daily.
After the Palace I got a tut tut to the port where you go to see the Wat Arun (another palace type place). The Wat Arun is only accessed by boat which I wasn't aware of until I got to the port. The price I paid to go to the Wat Arun doesn't include entry but includes an hour tour along the canal. I will hold my hands up and say I was ripped off in the price I paid for this so called boat trip. It cost 1500 baht/£33/$50 which I thought was a bit steep but there weren't any other tours nearby so I just took it. Do not ever pay this much! The most you should be paying between 800-1000 baht/£17-22/$26-33. Especially as entry came to 50 baht/£1/$1.50 which was never mentioned in addition to paying boat parking fees of 30 baht/£0.67/$1 while you look around the Wat Arun.
Suffice it to say after the hour long 'tour' of nothing but Thai houses on stilts and seeing yet another underwhelming Thai monument I was ready to go home and get something to eat/sleep/air conditioning. I was dropped off back at the Grand Palace and got a tut tut back to the Khao San Road for 100 baht/£2/$3. I walked through the Khao San Road where there are several taxis and tut tuts waiting for fares, markets selling t shirts and tank tops much like Camden market for my English readers, electronics including Apple earphones for 300 baht/£7/$10 for the old version or 500 baht for the latest model. Beats by dre headphones, phone covers, chargers, sunglasses, bags, taxis to the airport, bars in addition to Subway, 7 Eleven, KFC and the Mecca McDonalds. I would check prices along the road before buying anything as some vendors are bound to undercut others and remember HAGGLE HAGGLE HAGGLE.
On Khao San Road and the road running parallel to it there are several places selling street food in addition to tours to several parts of the country including Phuket, Samui, Koh Phagnan, Koh Phi Phi, Krabi and Chiang Mai. Again have a shop around before you decide on a tour.
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