The Chao Phraya River runs from Ayutthaya to Bangkok and it would have been awesome to take a riverboat all the way there but unfortunately, this was a rather expensive option. Instead, we opted for the typical “shared minibus” and were dropped off at Bangkok at a stop near Victory Monument. We had a hotel booked in Bangkok and took the monorail from the monument. Although not the most luxurious our hotel was conveniently located close to a rail stop.
Bangkok is truly chaotic in every way. The colours and smells attack every sense. Fruit and food vendors lined the streets and with all the clothing stalls and shops, Lisa felts like she was in paradise. We spent 3 nights in Bangkok with most of our time spent shopping. A promise is a promise I suppose.
One morning we took a water taxi to visit the Royal Palace and the famous Wat Pha and Wat Arun. Unbelievably we almost got swindled by a palace guard into the oldest Bangkok trick in history. Trying to dodge the tourist madness we approached the Palace from an alternative angle – when asking a guard where the entrance was he told us that the palace is closed and will only open again at 2 pm. But (conveniently) he has a friend with a tuk-tuk across the road who can show us some of the other sites (which he proceeded to mark on our map). Alarm bells started ringing and we walked further to find the main entrance of the palace – very much open.
