Last time I was in Bangkok city I wanted to take a cruise along the Chao Phraya River but was not possible as the river was flooded due to the monsoon rains and tourist boats had been cancelled for safety reasons but this time I got lucky it was a beautiful day blue skies and sunny so I bought myself a all day ticket for the hop-on-hope-off tour boats it was the cheapest and most convenient way allowing me unlimited stops at any pier.
I was up early this morning the day was to beautiful to waste, after a satisfying breakfast I walked out from my hotel and directly in front of me was the Skytrain station I bought a ticket and 3 stops later I was at the Sathorn Pier but before boarding any boat I climbed up this staircase which took me up to the Rama 7 bridge from here I could see the breathtaking views of the Chao Phraya River as far as my eyes could see after checking out these awesome river views I headed back down the stairs to the pier and bought myself that hop-on-hope-of boat ticket costing me $3 US (100 Baht) all day ticket and next to no time I was cruising the Chao Phraya river.
I was excited and looking forward to what I going to see along this river I had heard a lot of good things about the sites along this river like temples, shopping malls, the old building mixed with the new building just endless my first stop was going to be the world famous mother of all malls the IconSiam Shopping Mall.
The IconSiam shopping mall is known as the mother of all malls, it opened up in 2018, it consists of 10 levels of shopping with just over 500 different different stores, 100 different cuisine restaurants, every famous brand of clothing, jewelry and handbags you can think of and it's the biggest shopping mall within all of Asia, to show you inside would have to be a whole different post there is just to much to show but I will show you some stunning views from this shopping mall overlooking the Chao Phraya river and Bangkok city, the mall even has it's own hotel and condominiums.
I could of spend the whole day just in this mall but I will leave that for another day I wanted to move on along the river and see the more outdoor sites like temples and bridges I have heard so much about all the beautiful sites along this river that, it would take you months, if I were to stop and enter every temples and shopping malls so today I just wanted to feast my eyes on my next missions here in Bangkok, not far from the IconSiam mall the Temple of Dawn in Thai it's called the Wat Arun Temple this temple is the most stunning religious structures in the world the spire rises to a height of over 70 meters and is decorated with millions of pieces of jade, porcelain and colored glass and next to the Temple of Dawn is the Thailand Navy Base.
What I was enjoying seeing most was how the old tin houses are mixed in between the modern skyscrapers and houses these old houses have been pasted down from generation to generation and the bigger construction companies have not been able to buy them out because they won't sell so they build around them a very common thing here in Thailand.
I was approaching the pier that takes you into China Town again this would have to be another full day tour my intentions to stop at this pier was just to have some lunch on the pier then move on along to the Rama 8 bridge. Just outside the China Town pier were all these Tuk-Tuk's ready to take you into the heart of China Town but this I will have to do another day.
After my yummy Thai lunch and my little walk around the pier area I was back on the boat cruising the river again heading towards the Rama 8 bridge the golden gate bridge as it is known by the foreigners. This bridge is really a masterpiece of architectural design.
Here I had to stop I wanted to walk on this bridge and check out the views from the top of this spectacular bridge looking down along the Chao Phraya River, this bridge was opened in year 2002, it's a cable stayed bridge with a length of 475 meters across the Chao Phraya River and stands at height of160 meters. This bridge connects the old city of Bangkok to the new city of Bangkok. The bridge was named after King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) who was King of Thailand from 1935 until 1946.
Just below the bridge is a beautiful park you can sit around the bridge and enjoy the views of the bridge and the river or you can walk around the nearby open area Thonburi shopping mall which was simply very fascinating to see with a wall of bicycles hanging on this wall and a few street vendors selling all sorts of odds and ends.
After stretching my legs around the Thonburi Shopping Mall it was back on the boat and decided to head back towards home as it was getting late but not before another stop at another set of bridges these two bridges the Memorial Bridge and the Phra Pokklao Bridge are side by side very interesting the old with the new I love bridges.
The Rama 8 bridge lights up beautifully off a night changing into many colors reflecting over the Chao Paraya River.
There are countless number of beautiful bridges that cross over this long stretch of the Chao Phraya river which runs for 372 km through Bangkok city and many provinces throughout Thailand finally ending up in the Gulf of Thailand.
On the way home it was now dark and the Chao Phraya River comes alive with everything lighting up in magical colors this is the Temple of Dawn at night a spectacular site to see at nights.
The IconSiam all lit up what a piece of art this mall is, it looks more like a opera and casino venue of a night.
Another wonderful day spent in the city of Bangkok and it was a very interesting and educational day seeing some great icon landmarks of Bangkok, was a long day quite a few kilometers of walking all worthwhile and now back at my hotel to enjoy the night views from my balcony how beautiful is Bangkok city and what a way to end the day with this amazing sunset.
