Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 6 – Welcome to Bangkok!

Continued from Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 5 – Relaxing at Rainbow Lodge and Journey to Bangkok. For pre-travel, please refer here.

Just got off the train, Aqif waved at the two backpacker sisters who rode the train with us earlier. They are both not Malaysians but Thais. They played with Aqif for the last hour before arriving in Bangkok.

Pictured at Thonburi train station as a keepsake. This train is very important because it is the only one that carries passengers for two purposes, namely as a regular train transport and also as a sightseeing train for the purpose of historical visits. Other trains in Thailand are not the same as this.

Because this was the first time Tatie and Aqif and even myself to arrrived in the city of Bangkok, so I and Tatie jumped high and our hands are clapping ‘high five’ together. That’s how it is when we celebrate victory in any exploration.

This station is the main station to the west of Thailand but it is small in size. The problem when arriving here is how to go to the Wang Lang (more precisely … Prannok Pier) either on foot or on a tuktuk.

From Thonburi station to Prannok Pier is 1.2 km away.

So, we chose to ride a motorcycle tuktuk (but it looks like a three-wheeled tuktuk in India) even though the fare is quite expensive which is THB150. We will felt tired if stepping to the pier on a heavy backpack…

Tuktuk here is quite different where we sit in the back and the driver in the front, not on the right like in Prachuap Khiri Khan or in Kanchanaburi.

Arriving at Prannok Pier, the situation was not busy even in the afternoon and many returned home after work. Around this pier, there are rows of shops selling various goods. We went into the alley in front of us. Before this, we had never had the experience of taking a ferry and traversing the Chao Phraya river.

Among the ferries that depart from this jetty and head to the other side. I’m not sure what time this ferry operates. If there is no ferry service at midnight, it means having to take a taxi to cross the bridge.

In many places in Bangkok, I am very excited to take pictures of The Grand Palace at night because I have previously seen pictures from Google with its beautiful yellow light at night.

At first, I thought we had to wait for the ferry there…

But actually need to wait here.

Oh yes, I forgot to tell you about the ferry ticket. The price is THB42 for adults and free for children. I’m not sure the age range of children that is considered free. At the ticket counter, just say that you want to go to Phra Arthit or Khao San (if you want to go to Khao San Road).

There is something important I want to advise the readers of this blog. I will write using Caps Lock as a reminder because it is so important!

When the ferry arrived, we rushed inside. There are many people in it. The swaying condition of the ferry coupled with the heavy backpack and high center of gravity, made our bodies sway even more.

We had to stand due to the lack of seats. Aqif was seated on a wall that had a high table while Tatie and I tried to find balance by clinging to poles and various other ways.

I forgot to tell you, this western man above is the one we knew while waiting for the train at Kanchanaburi station. He had been to Malaysia but I forgot where he came from. He likes to joke with Aqif but I can’t extend the conversation with him because my mind at that time was a bit fibrous.

Here is a map of our ferry trip along the Chao Phraya river from point A (Prannok Pier) to point B (Phra Arthit Pier), approximately 1.2km.

Video of crossing the Chao Phraya River on a ferry.

The story of the Chao Phraya River was inside my Geography subject when was in high school. I do have ‘feelings’ with this river.

As soon as we headed out to Phra Arthit jetty, suddenly I stepped on a nails on the iron platform that connected between the jetty and the ferry. Argh !!. I only wore Fipper slippers at the time. Luckily it didn’t bleed. I was also worried if it is rusted, and I would suddenly need to go to the clinic to get an injection. For traveling in the future, we plan to wear mid-boot shoes, maybe the Karrimor brand because of the reasonable price or Merrell brand. Aqif will also be wearing mid-boots shoes!

As soon as we got off the ferry, our bodies felt staggered or like vertigo. Maybe this is called seasickness. My stomach is starting to feel nauseous. If I ate a lot earlier, I might vomit now.

We continued walking through a row of shops in Soi Rambuttri Road that were very pretty decorated towards the main road adjacent to Khao San Road.

Continuing to the next post … Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 7 – Part 7 – Finding Cheap Hotels and Khao San Road.