Our flight from Tokyo to Bangkok was delayed, so we didn’t land in Bangkok until around 1 am. The airport was quiet at this time and we quickly got through immigration and baggage, and were met by the Viking representative who escorted us to the coach to our hotel.
I first came to Bangkok as a starving student back in 1981, traveling with a couple of friends from university. We stayed at the cheapest possible accommodations, which included huts on the beach for $1 per night. So it was quite a shock to find myself staying at the Shangri-La hotel on the river; one of the best hotels in Bangkok. The bathroom of our hotel was probably larger than the entire room we had in 1981.
After 5 cold days in Japan (it even snowed briefly!), Bangkok was unbelievably hot and humid. The hotel was, of course, nice and air conditioned but once you stepped outside, the humidity hit you like a wave.
The Grand Palace
Our first port of call was the Grand Palace, a massive complex of temples, shrines and administrative offices in the heart of Bangkok.
The Grand Palace complex is an assault on your senses. It’s the most brightly colored, decorative, elaborate set of buildings you will likely ever see. And it is crowded beyond comprehension. This, combined with the excessive heat, made for a challenging visit – you are forever seeking shade, and distance from your fellow visitors. So many artifacts are impossible to get close to (like the famous Emerald Buddha). But – it’s beautiful!
Gallery of sights in the Grand Palace
After a couple of hours at the Grand Palace, we went to the nearby Wat Pho (full name “Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimonmangkalaram Ratchaworamahawihan”). This was slightly less crowded so easier to appreciate. This is the location of the Reclining Buddha, and other artifacts.
Gallery of images from Wat Pho:
After a brief lunch, we returned to the hotel and had free time to roam around on our own. Here’s a few sights of Bangkok as we traveled through the streets:
We couldn’t take the heat any longer so we took the free hotel shuttle ferry across the Chao Phraya river and explored the ultra-modern ‘Icon Siam’ shopping mall (completed in 2018) – reportedly voted #4 in the world’s best shopping centers, with over 100 restaurants and 7,000 shops (plus office and residential).
A modern shopping mall is not the first thing you think of when visiting Bangkok, but when you need to get out of the heat, they have their advantages. Plus – this shopping mall was prettier than anything I’ve ever seen in ‘the west’. It’s one of those buildings where you just have to trust that the architects and engineers knew what they were doing – massive unsupported spans everywhere. And best of all, the entire basement level was essentially a ‘street market’ with hundreds of vendors – all the excitement of a street market without the humidity! And unlike in Japan, there was a seating area for you to eat the food you purchased.
After several hours at the mall, we headed back to the hotel. This time, we took the inexpensive ‘Sathorn’ ferry (less than 50 cents) across the river and walked through the streets to the hotel. We felt very safe.
The next day, due to inexcusably bad planning by our tour company, we didn’t have much time to explore Bangkok so we headed back across the river to IconSiam again. Even though we didn’t sail from Bangkok until the next day, the cruise organizers wanted us to identify our luggage at 11am, and take the coach to the ship at 1pm. What a waste of a day in Bangkok! Had we known we would have paid for an extra night at the hotel and joined the ship on our own the next day.
The coach ride to the ship was about 2.5 hours – the cruise terminal is a long way outside the city. It took quite a while to get registered on the ship. We were settled in our room before 4pm, with nothing to do that evening but hang out on the ship – what a waste! It was too far to head back to Bangkok. The next day, we sailed at 5pm. Viking had arranged an excursion into Bangkok – so that would have meant around 5 hours of coach travel there and back, for just a few hours in the city – we declined and just hung around the cruise terminal – and enjoyed a local Thai massage for an incredible bargain price!
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