4 January 2023
This was the day we flew to Bangkok for our 10 day visit. We ordered an Uber and arrived at the Chiang Mai Airport at 7.30am for our 9.30am Viet Jet flight.
The flight took just over one and a half ours and was quite uneventful. We quite liked the Viet Jet flight, far better quality than the Scoot flight that we had from Singapore. We chose the premium economy upgrade which gave us slightly better leg room. The priority boarding that we had in Chiang Mai was good too.
After collecting our baggage in Bangkok we decided to catch the train into our hotel, the Eastin Grand.This was sometime new for us, but seemed a lot easier and cheaper than a taxi, especially as the Eastin Grand sit right on one of the SRT railway stations. All that was required was a single train change at Phaya Thai station. It took approximately one and three quarter hours between landing in Bangkok and booking into the hotel.
After we had settled into our room and had a short rest, we did some research on where we could go to an eye specialist to get Alison some help with her eye problem. We found an Eye Hospital nearby in Asok, a fairly short SRT train ride away.
So we caught the train from Surasak Station to Silom Station, then walked across to the Sala Daeng BTS Station and on to Phetchaburi, and finally a short walk down Sukhumvit Road to the Run-in Eye Hospital.
The hospital was very clean and efficient, and Alison was soon finished with her examination.
We walked back down Sukhumvit Road to the KFC in the Midtown Asok shopping mall, near the Ruam Sab market, and had some chicken for dinner.
Time to head back to the hotel, and we decided to walk down Sukhumvit Rd towards a BTS station on the Blue Line that would take us back to the hotel.
On the way we passed the notorious Soi Cowboy, a short lane containing some 40 bars, mainly go-go bars and nightclubs. A so-called red light district. We went for a quick walk down the 150 metre lane. Very colourful and made for interesting photography!!!!
We found the train station and caught the train to Surasak, arriving back at the hotel around 8.00pm. A long day, with plenty of walking, and of course a very important specialist appointment for Alison.
5 January 2023
Today we started the day with a fantastic buffet breakfast in the dining room. Went down at around 7.30am. It was a little busy, but OK. All sorts of goodies were available… scrambled eggs with all sorts of additions was the go, with coffees and fruit, orange juice, small muffins and cakes…a good way to start the day. After sampling various delights, we went back to our room to get ready for the day. After freshening up with showers we hit the road.
The intention had been to walk down the road towards the river, then catch a bus down to Chinatown and then work our way back, and cross the river opposite Icon Siam and have afternoon tea or dinner there.
However we found that Mr Google Maps wasn’t great at directing us to bus stations, or timetables and schedules. So we gave up on buses and walked down to the jetty for the Peninsular ferry to take us over to the Peninsular on the other side of the river. Once there we walked though, and down to Icon Siam.
Icon Siam is a magnificent shopping centre. 6 levels, 500 or more shops and over 100 food outlets. Work that was being done when we were last there in 2020 is complete, with amazing features we had not seen before.
There are technology levels, food levels, levels with cars on display (GWM, Haval, Ora, Volvo, Mini Cooper)…quite amazing.
After around 3 hours of wandering around we decided to head back to the hotel for a coffee, and a rest before heading out for the evening. We hopped on the BTS Gold line at the new Charoen Nakhon station attached to Icon Siam, and after an interchange at the Krung Thon Buri station to get us back onto the Silom line, we arrived back at the Surasak station which connects to our hotel. Total cost each 35Baht or a 70Baht round trip (just under $3 Australian each!!)
After a rest, we decided on the Bangkok Cafe Restaurant for dinner. We have been here a number of times before, the last being in 2019. We know they have good curries, and we hadn’t had a curry since arriving in Thailand this time.
Took the train from Surasak station to Saphan Taksin station then got off and walked across the river and down Krung Thon Buri Road to the Cafe. Looking down the river from the bridge walkway we could see the many party and dinner cruise boats passing below us.
The food choices were good and we chose a Red Curry and a Massaman. And they lived up to expectation.
The French owner of the restaurant was there, and we had a chat and then he played a few tunes for us on his guitar. A pleasant evening.
We walked home across the bridge, rather than catch the train. Traffic at that time was a bit quieter, but not by much.
6 January 2023
We woke up early this morning, and after another great breakfast we decided to take a ferry ride up the river to see how far we could get.
We took the train down to Saphan Taksin Station near the river and hopped off. We were headed down to Sathorn Wharf for the ferry, but took a detour down Charoen Krung Rd to check out Wat Yannawa that we had seen the day before. It was an interesting Wat with a boat-like shrine. There was also a smaller Chinese section.
We decided to walk further down the road to the big Ferris wheel that we had been able to see in the distance at night. It was called the Chang Ferris wheel, and it was located at Asiatique, the Riverfront.
On our way to the Ferris wheel, we stopped at a few other places. We visited Wat Sutthi Wararam, which was an ornate wat with a large white Buddha and two guardians. We also checked out Chatrium Residence and Hotel, and then down to their jetty. We could see the Ferris Wheel in the distance..still a long way to go.
From the Hotel we walked on to Wat Worachanyawas pier. Here, we saw a reclining Buddha, and a “mini” reclining Buddha.
After we had our fill of temples and shrines, we decided to stop for a coffee at Cafe Amazon. It was a nice place to relax and take in the views of the river.
We also visited Wat Ratcha Singkhon, which was older temple, almost hidden at the end of a laneway.
Finally we reached the Ferris wheel, located beside the Asiatique The Riverfront. We took a few pictures of the Ferris wheel, and then we explored Asiatique The Riverfront.
Asiatique is a large waterfront market with a lot of shops, restaurants, and bars. On the riverfront pier there is an amazing old sailing. We spent a few hours exploring the market, and we even saw a film crew filming an ad for a car, the new Ora Cat.
After we had had our fill of shopping and eating, we decided to catch a bus back to Wat Yannawa. That worked well. When we hopped off the bus we saw a car dealership on the other side of the road with a lot of luxury cars. We got permission to photograph the cars. We are talking Lamborghinis, Porsche, Nissans, Toyota Supras, and more. That was pretty cool.
We took a shortcut back to the hotel via the maze of back streets. It is interesting to see the older apartment blocks contrasted against the newer high rise apartments and hotels.
We finally made it back to our hotel, and we were exhausted. Time for another coffee!!!
Dinner later on was down at the nearby Robinson Centre. We had a great day exploring another area of Bangkok.
7 January 2023
We woke up late that morning, feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep. We decided to have a leisurely breakfast before heading out to explore the city. After breakfast, we walked down to the pier and caught an orange boat up the river to Nonthaburi Markets.
The markets were bustling with activity, and we were immediately drawn in by the sights and smells. We spent the next few hours wandering through the stalls, admiring the colorful displays of fruits, vegetables, and other goods. We also stopped for lunch at a small restaurant, where we enjoyed a delicious meal of Thai food.
After lunch, we took a ferry back to the city. This time, we got off at a stop near Chinatown. We wandered through the narrow streets, admiring the traditional Chinese architecture and the colorful storefronts. We also found some cool murals, which we took pictures of.
We were starting to get hungry again, so we decided to have dinner at KFC. After dinner, we walked back to our hotel, which was located near the river. We arrived home around 8pm, feeling tired but happy from our day of exploring.
It was a great day, and we were glad that we had decided to take it slow and enjoy the city at our own pace. We had a lot of fun exploring the markets and Chinatown, and we even found some hidden gems that we wouldn’t have found if we had been rushing around.
8 January 2023
We had a wonderful breakfast this morning, as usual, with friendly and efficient service from the staff. After returning to our room, we decided to take the train out to the area around Chatuchak markets in search of the train cemetery. We had seen pictures of this place online, and it looked like a really interesting place to explore. Lots of abandoned trains and carriages covered in graffiti. On paper, and Google maps it looked a fairly straightforward trip.
We took the train from Sarusak Station up ti Siam (Central Station), and then transferred to the Sukhumvit line. Seven stops later we got off at Mo Chit Station, which is just down the road from the Chatuchak markets.
We plotted a route to the train cemetery, which would take us on what looked to be a quite long walk. The problem was that we had to walk around large train yards.After about a Km we decided that we would be better to approach the destination by MRT on another day, rather than walking, so we headed back to the markets, this time to explore the huge malls, something that we had not been able to do on previous visits.
There are quite a few large malls in the Chatuchak markets precinct. The first mall we went to was JJ Mall. It’s a 7-story, air-conditioned shopping complex with over 1,200 shops. We came across many different types of shops in the amazing complex. It was easy to get lost. We spent a few hours browsing the shops, and we even found a few things to buy. Steve enjoyed the art and photography galleries and LA Choppers (great photo opportunities).
After JJ Mall, we went to the MiXT Chatuchak Mall. This mall is even bigger than JJ Mall, and it has a wider variety of shops. We spent even more time browsing the shops at the MiXT Mall, and we even had lunch there.
After lunch, we took the train back to Sarusak Station. We were a bit tired from all of the walking, so we decided to just relax for the rest of the afternoon. We had a coffee at a cafe near the station, and then we went back to our hotel.
In the evening, we went to Bangkok Cafe for dinner. We had Massaman Curry and Pha Nang Thai curries. The food was delicious, and the service was excellent. We were looked after by Pascale, the French owners’s wife, who is also the chef.
After dinner, we walked back to our hotel. It was a long day, but we had a lot of fun.
9 January 2023
Another day to explore Bangkok! By 11am, we were on the train heading for Bang Sue Station. We were determined to find the train cemetery today.
We arrived at Bang Sue Station around noon and started walking towards the train cemetery. We passed through some very poor neighbourhoods on our way. The streets were dirty and crowded, and the people looked very poor. We started to feel a little uneasy, but we kept walking.
After about an hour, we finally reached the train cemetery. It was a large, open area with dozens of old trains. The trains were all in different states of disrepair. Some were completely destroyed, while others were still in relatively good condition.
Sadly we were prevented from exploring the train cemetery. But we did take it in from behind the chain-wire fence. It was a strange and eerie place. The old trains were like ghosts from a bygone era. We felt like we were stepping into a different world.
After we had explored the train cemetery, we started walking back to Bang Sue Station. We were tired and hungry, and we were glad to be leaving the train cemetery behind.
We arrived back at our hotel around 7pm. We were both exhausted, but we had had a memorable day. We had explored a part of Bangkok that most tourists never see, and we had seen something truly unique.
10 January 2023
Steve and I took the train further out into the suburbs of Bangkok. We got off at a small station and walked through the backstreets, past small shops and houses. We even passed a pig or two!
We arrived at Wat Khunjan just after 1pm. The temple was built in the Ayutthaya style, with a large reclining Buddha statue and a number of golden pagodas. We were impressed by the peaceful atmosphere of the temple, which was filled with the sound of chanting monks and the smell of incense.
We spent some time walking around the temple, admiring the architecture and the statues. We also lit some incense and made a donation to the temple.
After a while, we decided to head to Watpaknam Bhasicharoen, which was a short walk away. This temple was built in the Rattanakosin style, and it was even more impressive than Wat Khunjan. The main attraction was the large and ornate chedi, which is said to contain a relic of the Buddha.
We also visited the temple’s library, which houses a collection of Buddhist texts and artefacts. We were particularly interested in the emerald green Buddha statue, which was said to be very powerful.
We spent a couple of hours exploring Watpaknam Bhasicharoen, and we were both very impressed by the temple. It was a great way to spend a day in Bangkok, and we would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the city.
On our way back to the train station, we stopped for a delicious Thai meal at a small restaurant. We were both very tired, but we had had a great day exploring the temples of Bangkok.
We boarded the train and headed back to our hotel. We were both looking forward to relaxing and getting a good night’s sleep.
11 January 2023
We were both big aviation enthusiasts, and we had heard great things about the Royal Thai Air Force Museum. We decided to take the train from Bangkok, as we thought it would be a more scenic route.
The train ride was long, but it was worth it. When we finally arrived at the museum, we were amazed by the size and scope of the collection. There were planes from all over the world, from the early days of aviation to the present day. We spent hours exploring the museum, and we even got to sit in some of the planes.
After we finished exploring the museum, we took a walk around the grounds. We visited the gift shop and purchased 2 hats for Alison. We then had a tasty lunch in the attached cafe. We easily spent the most day at the museum, before we caught our train back to our hotel via a local shopping centre.
It was a long day, but it was an unforgettable one. We learned a lot about the history of aviation, and we had a lot of fun.
12 January 2023
Steve and I woke up early on the morning of our flight back to Chiang Mai. We had a train to catch to Bangkok Airport, and we didn’t want to be late. We quickly packed our bags and headed out to the train station.
The train station was crowded with people, but we eventually found our way to our platform. The train arrived a few minutes later, and we boarded. We found two seats together and settled in for the ride.
The train ride to Bangkok Airport was uneventful. We passed through the countryside, watching the Thai countryside go by. We arrived at the airport a 1 hour later and made our way to our gate.
We had a few hours to kill before our flight, so we decided to explore the airport. We found a coffee shop and had a cup of coffee. Our flight back to Chiang Mai was uneventful. We arrived in Chiang Mai a few hours later and were happy to be back. We then took a seat and waited for our friends to arrive from Singapore, Mikey and Robbie.