There are tour agencies offering cycling and walking tour that that cost $30 for a duration of 3 hours and more. These may not be the most popular tour package but it provides a good insight to the daily life of local Thais. However I still believe the best way getting know a city is plan your own walking tour with own pace and timing. Most of the times, you will be lost and come across discoveries with pleasant surprises.
And the tourist guides are the essential planning kit and travel companion to help us navigate the city.
I did my Bangkok walking tour planning in the past. One of my favorite travelling guide is
A Walking Tour Bangkok by Bryne Bracken. Since Bryne Bracken was an architect who worked in Bangkok, the book is an architectural adventure through the bustling streets and busy canals of the city.
Because Bangkok cities is full of street and lanes that are not shown on usual tourist maps ( so as the digital Google map ), I still got lost, resulted in “excessive walking” that exhausted me.
My recent Bangkok walking tour in Jan 2015 started from the Khlong San district :
a) Visit to Wat Phichaiyat ; accidental discovery of Wat Prayurawongsawas Waraviharn,
b) Strolling along the riverside, bumped into a cycling tour group,
c) Crossing the Memorial Bridge, back to Rattanakosin City
d) Visit to Yodpiman river walk and Bangkok flower market ( Pak Klong Talad )
e) Lost in the Samphanthawong district, ended in The Old Siam Plaza
f) Walking through China town and headed to Hua Lamphong MRT station
A total of 4km walking tour started at 9am ( excluding an hour taxi ride from Silom to Klong San ) ended at 3pm ( excluding the MRT ride back to hotel )
What a pleasant walk!
Some people consider the heart of Bangkok city to be Silom which is the financial district and the commercial centre where many of the banks, financial institutions, international corporations and embassies have their offices. Silom is also undoubtedly one of the tourist favorite spot because of its famous nightlife scene around the Patpong area other than traditional sightseeing attractions.
Patpong is world famous for its night market offering various counterfeit goods and the center of Bangkok's night entertainment for people who wish to walk on the wild side of things.
In fact, there are more to explore in Silom, beside the nightlife scene.
By day, Silom as part of Bangkok's central commercial district is bustling with life where the city’s financial institutions and corporate workers rushing in and out from their offices.
During the day time, the side streets ( soi in Thai ) of Silom main road are "littered" with various market traders selling foods and domestic grocery to serve this big mid-income working group.
If you want to experience the working life of this Bangkok mid-income group; do visit this area in the morning from 7-9am or during lunch hour from 11-1pm. Alight at Saladaeng BTS Station, walk along Soi Phiphat and turn towards Trinity Mall near to Chong Nonsi BTS station. You will crowded with the local Thais preparing themselves before the office work started.
Shopping, dining and entertainments. After a few trips to Bangkok, tourists may feel bored of the “usual” Bangkok city lifestyle; Excitement can’t last forever. There is another aspect of Bangkok lifestyle that most tourists tend to missed - experience the local life. One can escape from the downtown skyscrapers and finds a simple Bangkok life that is both charming and captivating off the beaten tourist track.
This charming simple life can be found in most of the Bangkok local communities; and there are hundreds of it within the Bangkok city itself. In the local community, you can find vendors running their businesses from a converted house front. People earning a living in the local community seems a lot happier here as they tends to smile more.
Just by people watching, street strolling, idling in cafe, and immersing in local community spirit can be the most satisfying experience of Bangkok.
One of such colorful communities can be found in the Old City of Bangkok, near the Giant Swing; known to the local as Saochingcha for its delicious street food; and most of the hawkers have been doing the same cooking for decades. For years, Thai medias have done many coverage of the cuisine that the neighborhood has to offer.
As for most South East Asia cities, to taste the local finest food, you must try the Thai street food at its absolute finest.
For food lover, one can visit the website :
http://importfood.com/saochingcha_guide.html ; http://tasteadventuretravel.com/2011/02/09/saochingcha-food-expedition/ to learn more about the street food that Saochingcha has to offer. As Saochingcha is still unknown to most tourists, there is limited English signage. So, you have to do your homework if you want to try out the recommended stalls. Do take note that every nationality has a different taste preference, do explore with an open mind.
I am not crazy about food, my key objective of visiting saochingcha is to experience its simple local life by wandering around the neighborhood. By using the Wat Suthat and Giant Swing as landmarks, I explore the local life
a) located along Dinso road ( road is known as Thanon in Thai ) by walking towards the democracy monument ; .
b) in the numerous side lanes ( lane known as Soi in Thai ) by walking toward the Chao Phraya river direction
My personal favorite is Soi Sukha that come in between Wat Suthat and Wat Rachabopit. As usual, the best time to experience the local life is in the morning.
From Saochingcha, you may continue with you tour in the old city by visiting the grand palace, museums or galleries in the afternoon.
Tourists after visiting Bangkok’s grand palace who thought that they have a good glimpse of the monarchical life style of the royal families were wrong. The museums that provide a good coverage of the earlier royal family life style in Bangkok can only be Vimanmek Mansion and King Prajadhipok Museum.
King Prajadhipok Museum is a MUST visit for tourists who are interested to learn about the monarchy of Thailand and Bangkok 1920s royal life style. The museum is just steps away from the canal ferry terminal, Panfa Leelard pier. It is opened from Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am to 4 pm. Admission is 40 Bht for foreigner, Free entrance on public holiday.
The museum building itself is worth exploring as it was built during 1906 with the grand neocolonial architectural style in the era of King Rama 5th. This three-storey registered heritage building, topped with a dome-shaped tower was first used as a departmental store. The building was opened to the public for the first time in December 2002 as King Prajadhipok Museum.
The exhibits are particularly related to King Prajadhipok, art, and culture movement belonging in the reign, and Thai politics and government at the time such as Succession to the throne , Royal activities and the 1932 Revolution. Most of the King Prajadhipok's personal articles display were donated by the royal families. The exhibitions provide a captivating story from the birth of King Prajadhipok to the plotting of his downfall and the ending of Thailand’s absolute monarchy in 1932.
Wandering around the museum luxurious decorated interior, admiring the decades old King’s personal articles had definitely brought me back to the King Rama VII’s era – a time of elegance and turmoil.
I revisited Chatuchak weekday Flower market during my last Trip to Bangkok ( May 2015 ) since my last visit in 2007. The market size does shrink quite a fair bit but remains as one of the largest open air plant trading market open to public in this region.
Plant trading takes place in Chatuchak once a week, from around 10pm of Tuesday until 5pm of Wednesday ( some vendors stay back until Thursday Afternoon ). Only the main entrances of Chatuchak market will be opened for access. So it is more convenience to go by Kamphaeng Phet MRT station instead of Mo Chit BTS station.
The variety of plant is amazing, from small potted cactus to full grown fruit trees and palms. A MUST VISIT for plant lovers as there are so many plant species that out beat the variety find in most botanical gardens. In particular the wild orchids where there are many species that are not even found in Singapore national orchid garden. *Beware, some of the beautiful and delicate wild orchids on sales were ripped out of the forests.
I love Chatuchak Flower market for its shower of color display and educational purpose. But feel bad for the sellers by taking a huge effort in transporting the plants to market and yet earn a small profit to sustain a living… Yet, there is no sadness shown as that is the life of a farmer.
It took me about three hours to cover the entire flower market from 8am till 11am.
I picked up a few air plants ( cost as little as $1.50 ) and potted wild orchids ( ranging from $1.50 to $7 ) propagated from nursery. By putting them into proper settings, these plants give me months of enjoyment before they withered, huge happiness at a small cost.
