The Chao Phraya River & IconSiam food co

I didn’t sleep in today. Since we all agreed yesterday that the Hop On/Hop off boat sounded like a great idea, I figured let’s do that in the morning. That way, when the midday heat hits, we can go to IconSiam for lunch. I had to change money, and I read that they have a fantastic inexpensive food court that I completely missed yesterday.
The boat was great. Open, beat up, big thick tires along the sides as fenders. The engine was loud, grumbly, throaty and sounds like an old sea captain. The river is something else. The current runs fast, It gets choppy and I’m thinking it’s pretty deep. The tide was low this morning, but you could see how high the water line got. And with all the side canals, Bangkok must have flooding issues. How could they not? It was a completely different side of the city than I have been seeing this week. Apparently, small long tail boats are like small buses for the community. Since traffic is so bad, (and apparently for a large part of the population, the MRT and BTS are too expensive) the river has been the true local way to get around the city for years and years.
Old communities that have been on the river for generations, are butting up against new steel and glass buildings. Super posh hotels, next to rickety river houses. It certainly sums up what I’ve seen this week in this city. The pendulum swings wide each way in regards to old ways vs the ultra modern connectedness of Asia.
I didn’t get off at any sites, because there really wasn’t anything I wanted to see that badly. I could see the grand palace from the boat, and when you get around those super touristy locations, the scammers are plentiful. They won’t hurt you; just waste your time trying to get you to part with more of your money. I didn’t have the energy to deal with that. The breeze on the boat was nice, and I had a nice seat. I was comfy and relaxed. It was nice. And a full day pass off and on as much as you would like, was $150 baht, which ends up being $4.00. I think in London, Paris or NYC, the hop on/off buses are at least $25.
After I had gone up and down once, I got off at IconSiam. I could have gone around again, but at the last stop at the top of the river, you have to get off. And I waited for about 30-40 minutes to get back on. Which is fine. But I was getting hungry and had had enough.
So I went to IconSiam, changed my $100 dollar bill into Baht. Lol, I took the $100 bill out of my other shoe and they took it. So that was good.
Then I went downstairs to the food court. It seemed just like all the food stalls I’ve been seeing while out and about this week. Except there wasn’t deep dark alleys, small back rooms, motor bikes whizzing by and tuk-Tuks screeching around the corner. It was all the food culture with out the shock. And it was glorious. Also, I was more apt to try something new. I had crispy pork with a REALLY spicy chili sauce, pad Thai, pandan custard, tiny palm sized pineapple that are to die for, Wild betel nut herb wraps, (I have a picture, they were like nothing I had ever tasted and I’m so glad I tried them). Small Japanese custard stuffed waffles shaped like fish, and green mango ( which tasted like a Granny Smith apple) with a pink salt/sugar mix you sprinkle on the mango (which completely changed the taste of the fruit and was amazing!!)
It was nice. I got there around 1 pm. Grazed for a bit, then went to change $$ and then went back down to the food court to graze more. It was air conditioned and the bathrooms were plentiful and clean. The heat really takes so much out of you. It was nice to not be fighting it yesterday.
So around 4pm I took the boat back across to the pier close to the house. I had to pack up because I am leaving for a Flight to Chiang Mai on Sat am.
I’m flying Air Asia and I can’t take as much on the plane, so I have to really pack my checked bag.
On of the cool things I got at IconSiam at the travel store was a pacsafe lock. It’s super light weight, looks like an old telephone cord, so you can attach bags together and/or attach them to something stationary. So while packing, I undid it from its packaging and went about resetting it- no problem. Except the lighting was dim, and you are supposed to hold the lock clip down while you reset. Well my hand slipped. Then as I jumped up to get into better lighting I moved the numbers back to 000. 🤦‍♀️So now I have a lock I love that I just set a combination for that I don’t know what it is. I was super bummed. But then I googled, “how to find combination of lock you can’t remember.” Well, turns out since it is a 3 number combination it isn’t terribly hard, you just have to be patient. So on a 3 number lock, there are 1000 different combinations. So I started at 999 and worked my way backwards. Every new # I’d push down the clip. It sounds tedious, but I was watching Friends and figured if it took me the rest of the trip. I was going to to see if I could get this lock open. So at # 192 It clicked open!! I was so proud of myself. So I carefully paid attention to what the code, and reset it. I’m going to keep that lock forever. 😆
So I have a GRAB taxi coming at 9:45 am to take me to the airport. This is a regional airport used for the smaller airlines. My flight leaves at 1pm, I get in around 3, and I can go right to my air BB. I think you guys are going to like this place. I’m kinda sad to be leaving Bangkok, but I hear Chiang Mai is amazing.Read more