In the past, all of our trips to Bangkok were for two nights, so with an extra couple of days, the obvious question was: what to do in Bangkok after you’ve seen the Grand Palace?

With three weeks available, we purposefully added an extra couple of nights in Bangkok. It was a more relaxed entry into the country after a very long flight, and a chance for Dave & Anne to see a bit more of the capital. And, hey, I have long wanted to see Wat Arun lit up across the river after dark, so the extra time was a win-win on all accounts.

This immense city can be overwhelming, and it is often time-consuming to get around. We didn’t wander too far afield from our prime location near the Chao Phrya but found a bevy of fantastic options to keep us occupied and check out some unique sightseeing options.

Wat Arun after Dark

This one was all me. I have long dreamed of seeing Wat Arun lit up at night from a rooftop bar across the river, and somehow, in five visits, we’d never made it happen. This time around, we took a long wander down the riverfront and found Sala. Set right on the river, the rooftop bar offered delicious lychee martinis, and some fun eats, all with a view of the Grand Palace and Wat Pho lit up on one side, and Wat Arun lit up across the river. A fantastic spot to lounge over a few cocktails.

Klong River tour

Although we did a day-trip to the famous floating market at Damnoen Saduak, we also took in a fun two-hour-long boat tour on some of the back canals of the city. It was a breezy option on a warm day to see how some of the locals live and enjoy a bit of time out on the water.

Before we left home, I looked up prices for such a tour and found them to be around $45 per person, but we paid far less by just striking a deal with one of the street hawkers outside of our hotel.

Jim Thompson Silk Museum

I have been familiar with the story of Jim Thompson for a long time, being the owner of several dozen silk scarves in a rainbow of colors. The rest of the gang were new to the fascinating history of intrigue, perhaps espionage, and a mysterious disappearance.

I’ll leave readers to search out the full story for themselves, but in short, Jim Thompson hailed from a wealthy family on the East Coast of the US. Although he went to architect school, he never completed his degree, but did design houses. By his mid-30’s he was bored and joined the OSS, traveling to North Africa, Italy, and France before moving to Thailand.

He began the Thai Silk Company in 1951 and, almost single-handedly, brought Thai silk to the world with his charm and sales skills. The museum that bears his name is set at the beautiful teak home he built on the canal using revolutionary ideas for that time.

Jim Thompson disappeared on a hike in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia in 1967, but rumors continue to swirl. His body was never found, he was apparently out of money, and his sister was mysteriously killed 6 months later in Delaware. Did he die on a botched CIA mission? Did he purposefully disappear to reinvent himself yet again? Odds are, the world will never know, but the story greatly adds interest to the museum.

Open Daily 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Admission is 200 TBT.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

In the past, I would have given a full blog post to Damnoen Saduak. However, this visit gave me a bit of a sour feeling.

We first visited the floating market back in 2001, and although already very popular, it was not the tourist trap we found 24 years later.

We ended up doing a combo tour that included the floating market and the Maeklong Station, otherwise known as the train market, because the stalls and booths of the market literally sit next to the railway tracks.

We did end up enjoying the too-long boat trip to get to the market, but certainly didn’t enjoy the high cost of 1000 TBT for the privilege. At the end of the day, we did enjoy the portion of the tour in the central market, and lunch purchased from a series of boat vendors was delicious.

The train market was a bit of a bust. Part of the “fun” is meant to be standing next to the tracks in a vendor’s stall when the train goes by. Our timing was off, so we didn’t experience the train, but we did enjoy some refreshing coconut ice cream while browsing the vendor stalls.

Overall, it felt gimmicky. Dave and Anne enjoyed getting to experience the floating market, but mainly, I just wished we’d been in Bangkok on a weekend so that we could have experienced the more authentic Taling Chan floating market.

Having said that, other than the exorbitant cost of the boat at the floating market, we paid $53 USD per person for the day trip AND our transfer to Ayutthaya the next day, so overall it was a good value.

Next time~ our spectacular trip to Ayutthaya.