Menam Chao Phraya tour

25 February 2015

This was the only morning we could take a stroll around the market near the hotel. Interesting things were sold in the market. We stopped to eat in a small restaurants. Breakfast was ham curry puff and koay teow soup. At last I had my teh si but it was not as good as KL's!

I bought a pair of pants at the market for about 200 baht and my daughter tried a very special cuppacino coffee ice-cream drink.

Our itinerary today is the Menam Chao Phraya tour. 

The longest river in Thailand is also very clean. Many houses are built along the river on stilts.

The Menam Chao Phraya tour consists of a ferry that takes visitors up and down the river. Along the way, the ferry stops and lets people down for a sightseeing tour. A tour guide on the ferry gives us a running commentary on the building and famous places located along the river.

We wanted to experience the river cruise so we opted to take the ferry ride from Sheraton Imperial Hotel. We did not know that we could buy the one-day pass of 150 baht from Khao San so we had to come up with money each time we board the boat. No one could tell us coherently that such a pass was available despite us asking the people manning the ticket booth. In the end we gave up and just bought the tickets anyway.

The first stop was at Pier 9 where we could visit the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. Since my daughter was not allowed to visit as she was wearing shorts, we opted to wait for the father in a nearby restaurant. 

The restaurants were all jam packed and they also limited us to an hour per person as business was really good. Being rather full they limited us to only an hour. Very soon, we saw the father coming in and we were surprised. Apparently the queue was so long to visit both the Grand Palace and the Wat Arun that he gave up too! Indeed Thailand has many tourists and seem to be a popular tourist destination not only for Asians but also for those from Europe and Australia.

We then decided to visit Khao San at Pier 13 being the last stop of the Menam Chao Phraya (some say it is like Petaling Street). We stopped for delicious coconut ice-cream and coconut juice at Khao San pier. We were told that Khao San district was just walking distance from the pier. 

I was surprised at this next tourist attraction because not only was it chock-ful of tourists, it was also full of little stalls selling everything from shirts, pants, belts to bags and all kinds of trinkets. Traditional Thai food was also being sold in Khao San. 

Surprisingly many of the thing sold seem to come from India. The vendors themselves look like Indians from India. The harem pants, cotton shirts and t-shirts appear popular with the tourists.


Khao San does not really look like Petaling Street. It reminds me more of a place in India where my god-sister brought us to visit. Gangavathi - a world heritage site. There in Gangavathi, tourists outnumber the locals and the atmosphere is just like that of Khao San - laid back and quiet with small quaint shops selling all kinds of stuff.

I really like Khao San though there was nothing really special to buy save for a tube of counterpain which I bought from a small pharmacists hidden among the little stalls. This tube is not the blue counterpain but one containing medicine for arthritis. My knees were holding up but I was having cramps at night from too much walking. 

We had juices at Khao San - banana, papaya and mango juice. For our lunch, the father had the famous koay teow wrapped in omelete and the daughter had a rice dish. I opted for just plain fruits.

From Khao San, we took the boat ride home. The daughter wanted to go again to Asiatique (Pier 11) and we decided to allow her to go alone on condition that she make her way back to the hotel by 7.

Dinner was at Somboon Restaurant, Thailand's most famous seafood restaurant.

We had their famous curry crab, plad shon fish and prawn balls. About 1,200 baht but a very satisfying meal indeed!