After visiting Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, we had lunch at Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal “Sa Tai Mai”, we had KFC and tried their fabulous egg tart! Owww it’s as delicious as Macau’s egg tart *I wonder why there’s no egg tart in Indonesia’s KFC. We asked people what is the nearest BTS from Sa Tai Mai. They said the Wong Wian Yai is the nearest. So we took taxi which cost 140 baht, then continue taking BTS from Wong Wian Yai to Saphan Taksin. We bought the ticket at the machine which only cost 15 baht per person, as Saphan Taksin is only two stop away from Wong Wian Yai. The BTS is very convenient, and also very well maintained. But we hardly find BTS with escalator, so going up and down to the BTS, we should take the stairs instead.
Arriving at Saphan Taksin, we went to Sathorn Pier, and took the Orange Flag (public boat) to Tha Chiang Pier *I will be posting another stories of Bangkok transportation, and you will find the details of this Chao Phraya River Boat Service. After getting off from the boat, we went directly to the Grand Palace, it was almost 3 pm already, and the ticket counter opens only until 3 pm. But once you are inside, you can enjoy it until 4.30 pm. We read many stories about tourist spams at The Grand Palace. Uniformed guy will approach tourist saying the Grand Palace is close, and offer a tuk tuk ride with cheap price. The tuk tuk driver will be taking tourist to jewelry shops, souvenir shops, etc, as they will get fuel voucher! Be aware of this spams.
So that afternoon we walked straight to the main gate *remember there is only one main gate. At the main gate, you can see the Grand Palace from the outside if you think the 350 baht ticket is too expensive. But for me, the ticket price well worth it. This place is really impressive!
Once you enter the main entrance, you will find the first building on the right which is a place where tourist can borrow pants and shirts. Getting in the Grand Palace, tourist has to wear the dress code: our leg and shoulder shall be covered. Rene took kain sarung (sarong) with him as he was wearing short. But the guy told us that kain sarung was not ok, a guy should wear long pants instead. It was free of charge, but Rene had to give a 200 baht deposit for the long pants he borrowed. After wearing his long pants, Rene was upset seeing a guy with this long socks, and he managed to get in:p
We got inside and we were speechless, it was so beautiful and colorful!! You will forget the entrance fee price:p and will be busy taking pictures. You have to visit the Grand Palace if you are visiting Bangkok.
We spent until 4.30pm there and really enjoy our visit. Thanks God it was raining before we arrived at the Grand Palace, so it wasn’t that hot. But still after a 1,5 hours of walking we need to recharge ourselves. So we went to the Au Bon Pain, located just across the main entrance, to have some ice blended drinks and croissant.
Actually we still have two more places to go which are Wat Pho (the reclining Budha) and Wat Arun. But it was too late and also we were exhausted. So we decided only to take pictures of Wat Arun and wished to see the sunset. We continue walking to Tha Tian Pier and found a park across Wat Arun where we can take beautiful pictures of it. But it was too cloudy, so we didn’t get the sunset pictures of Wat Arun. At 6 pm, we decided to leave the park and take the orange flag boat to Tha Tien Pier, and proceed to MBK. It was really a busy day:p
One day Bangkok tour wrapped up: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, the Grand Palace, MBK.
written on 28 May 2011