On our last day in Thailand, we hired a private tour guide to show us around Bangkok. If you have the time, I highly recommend this private tour experience. We learned more about the history of this beautiful city than we would have ever learned on our own. She also taught how to take the different forms of public transportation (which definitely can be overwhelming for first time visitors) and introduced us to some incredibly yummy street foods at a local floating market.
Cost Breakdown for Private Tour
We paid $110 for our tour guide for 8 hours plus another $80 in transportation (cab, express ferry, bus, & tuk tuk); $30 for 2 tickets for the Grand Palace; and $128 for our dinner cruise for a grand total of $348. The tour is completely customizable, so you decide what you want to do and your guide takes care of everything else. We booked our guide with Your Thai Guide in advance using a credit card and then everything else had to be paid in cash on the day of our tour.
Our Itinerary
The morning of our tour we caught a flight from Krabi airport near Railay Beach to Suvarnabhumi in Bangkok. We decided to book a hotel close to the airport so that after our tour we could shower, rest, and get ready for our long journey back to Maryland. Below is the itinerary that we chose for our tour with a Bangkok local.
- 1) Local Floating Market
- 2) The Grand Palace
- 3) China Town
- 4) Dinner Cruise
Stop 1: Local Floating Market
The first stop on our tour of Bangkok was a local floating market which was located about an hour outside of the city. Our guide introduced us to all sorts of street food that we probably would have never tried on our own. In fact, without her, I don’t think we would have been able to find the floating market!
The Floating Market
The market was lined with colorful boats and decor. I snapped a couple of quick photos as we made our way along the canal pathway, over the bridge to where all the vendors were set up with delicious food, drinks, and other merchandise.
Inside the Floating Market
All of the food and shopping was located inside the market versus on a boat in the canal. Our guide told us that the market where you buy goods out of the boat is a lot more touristy and crowded and that this market offered much better local food. The inside was creatively decorated with posters from old movie and interesting antiques.
There must have been 100 different vendors selling food. You could order everything from coffee to squid to fried insects!
Trying the Street Food
All of the food that we tried was absolutely delicious. Our guide introduced us to boat noodle soup, fried potato dumplings, and pork satay. We wanted to try so many other things, but we had a dinner cruise planned that evening and our guide warned us to save room because dinner was going to be filling and boy was she right!
Other Food at the Floating Market
Here are a few more dishes that I took pictures of as we walked through the market to give you an idea of the different types of typical Thai street food.
Now off to our 2nd stop, the Grand Palace. We took a cab, which cost us somewhere between $30-$40.
Stop 2: The Grand Palace
We arrived a little after 3pm, which was shortly before they stopped selling tickets. Our guide walked us around the grounds for about an hour and half, explaining the history and all of the ancient stories.
Helpful Hint: The Grand Palace is open daily from 8:30-3:30pm and it’s much less crowded if you go later in the afternoon. Even though they stop selling tickets at 3:30, they stay open until 5:30-6 pm so if you go later, you don’t have to deal with the crowds. Also make sure to wear a shirt with sleeves (just having a scarf won’t work here) and no flip flops. You must either wear sandals or shoes.
Ornate Decorations & Landscaping
Grand Palace Buildings
The Grand Palace is made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards. Each temple building is it’s own work of art, containing beautiful hand painted and sculpted mosaics.
Grand Palace Landscaping
The grounds of the Grand Palace are also impeccably designed and maintained.
Thailand: Stories & History
Grand Palace Murals
As you walk around the wall that surrounds the palace, there are numerous beautifully designed murals that tell the story of King Rama, who’s wife, Sita, is abducted by the Demon King Ravana. Rama and his brother rescue her with the help of monkey warriors. Each mural depicts a different part of the story and there are plaques on each pillar next to the mural that contain the written version.
Now off to our third stop, China Town! We took a city bus from the Grand Palace and it cost us 10 baht each, so much cheaper than a taxi or Tuk Tuk.
Helpful Hint: Buses in Bangkok only come to a rolling stop. You need to jump on quick and sit down. Someone will come around to take your money and give you a bus ticket. Be prepared with cash, as they don’t take credit cards.
You can also get to China Town by boat (Chao Phraya River Express). Get off at the Ratchawong Pier, and walk up from Ratchawong Road to Sampeng Lane and Yaowarat Road. The price is about 20 baht per person. Please be aware, that much like the bus, the boat only comes to a rolling stop, so jump on, sit down, and someone will come around to collect your money.
Make sure to have cash, as they do not take credit cards. When you are ready to get off, head to the back of the boat and wait for it to slow down for your stop.
Stop 3: China Town
Bangkok has one of the largest China Towns in the world and is definitely worth a visit. On our next trip to Thailand, we really want to spend at least a half a day here, trying all of the delicious and exotic food.
We were still stuffed from our earlier trip to the floating market and had a dinner cruise planned for later in the evening, so we didn’t get to try any of the food. However, I did get quite a few pictures which I posted below to give you an idea of what to expect.
Our guide was also wonderful about taking photos of us together, something that can be challenging when it’s just the two of us traveling.
China Town Street Food
The variety of food in China Town was astounding. You could buy everything from chicken & duck, to insects, to seafood, to fruits & veggies.
Poultry
Insects
Fried insects anyone? The most popular insects are silkworms, grasshoppers, bamboo worms, water beetles, and crickets but it is also common to see cockroaches, spiders, and scorpions. Our guide told us that she routinely eats silkworms. We were not adventurous enough to try any of the insects…maybe next time or maybe not!
If insects aren’t on your cup of tea, you can stuff yourself on all of the different varieties of seafood in China Town. Numerous street vendors sell everything from crab to fish to lobster.
Seafood
There is no shortage of seafood in China Town! Vendors line the street with crab, squid, shrimp, and clams.
Fish, squid and lobster are caught fresh daily!
Produce
There were also tons of different varieties of fruits and vegetables to try!
Durian: The Stinky Fruit
All over Asia, you will find a fruit called Durian, which smells so bad that it’s been banned from the mass transit system in Singapore. Our guide told us that it smells similar to an onion but tastes savory, sweet, and creamy all at once. Some describe it as tasting like diced garlic and caramel poured into whipped cream. We did not try Durian on our trip to Thailand, but when we go back, it’s definitely on our list!
Our final stop of the day was a river boat dinner cruise with Loy Nava along the canal in Bangkok which offered a four course dinner accompanied by traditional Thai music and dancing. It was amazing! The cruise was 2,000 baht ($64) per person, so expensive for Thailand, but worth every penny.
Stop 4: River Boat Dinner Cruise
Loy Nava has been operating dinner cruises in Thailand for over 40 years and its the only operator to use an original antique rice barge. There was also traditional Thai music and dancing. Other than one other couple, we pretty much had the boat to ourselves due to some of the travel restrictions that went into effect due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Dinner on the River Boat
Fresh fish, coconut shrimp, lobster, chicken & pork curry were just some of the many delicious dishes that we ate aboard our dinner cruise. Our chef also prepared a selection of traditional Thai desserts.
Sights Along the River
As we ate, we floated past many of the famous sites in Bangkok including Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha.
Views along the canal on our riverboat dinner cruise.
The day of the tour was my 40th birthday. The chef created a cake out of watermelon and the crew sung happy birthday. It was a night to remember!
Time to Head Home
After dinner, our guide brought us back to our hotel by the airport where we had time for a quick shower and nap before catching our 1am flight home to Maryland! We had such an amazing day with our guide and will definitely book with Your Thai Guide again on our next visit to Thailand.
https://yourthaiguide.com/
