Wat Mai Amata Rot

We extended our stay in Bangkok for an extra night as we became so comfortable there. The first night we arrived, we walked down to the closest ferry, Phra Athit and jumped on a river boat to orientate ourselves by the river. The kids were not really into it on the first night after a day of travel and we’ve come to accept that the travel days are not days to engage in tourist activity or push it too hard with them. We did learn how the river boat system works though which was really useful for the rest of our stay. The orange river boat, pulls up at the pier, you jump on really quick before it completely stops and it pulls straight out again, then pay THB15 (NZD 0.75c) once you’re on. The blue boats are the tourist boats and cost THB60 (NZD$3) for the same journey and are much slower.

The next day we were all keen to see the Grand Palace so once again we jumped on the river boat and had a short trip to the Palace. Even though we arrived well before 10am, it was so hot and crowded that we were all a bit over it by the time we even bought our tickets. The price of the tickets blew out our daily budget as well and in retrospect we wished we had just enjoyed walking around the beautiful outer buildings and gardens without going right into the center piece. Once inside the inner sanctum of the Palace walls it was so full, we could barely walk around and could not enjoy it fully in the heat so we dropped off the back of our (free English speaking) tour and found the nearest exit. We did manage to see the Emerald Buddha and some other beautiful and elaborate structures while we were there but decided at that moment not to visit any of the other tourist sites during the rest of our stay but rather take in the atmosphere of our beautiful neighbourhood and amazing local restaurants so we jumped in a tuk tuk and headed back to Soi Samsen 8. Jacob and I went for a foot massage which I loved, Jacob not so much as he was so ticklish and made his masseur giggle the whole time.

Our hotel, Peaceland Hotel Khaosan was in a great location on the edge of Banglamphu, close to Thewet. It’s a neighbourhood that has an old school Bangkok feel near the river. Right next to the hotel is a really beautiful neighbourhood Wat (temple) with grand arch entrances which we had to walk through whenever we were coming and going. Next to that is the Wat School where we could hear the children singing as we walked past. It was so beautiful and peaceful in an otherwise busy, loud city and we loved our hood on Soi Samson 8. In the adjacent alleys there were interminable dining options but our absolute fave was Jok Pochana on Samsen 2 Alley. Mr Lek is the chef and he cooks on the street with beautiful fresh ingredients, good looking seafood and a giant personality. His father started the street stall in 1973 and he since took over. We visited him every night and eating at his restaurant has been an absolute highlight of our stay in Bangkok. The girls also befriended one of the shop keepers nearby and visited her each day for a cuddle and chat.

On Sunday we went to the locals floating market, Taling Chan, in Bangkok were we ate and shopped and ate and went on a long tail boat round the neighbouring canals and fed the catfish and ate more yummy food from the delicious stalls at the market. We loved this market, it was small and authentic and we spent the best part of the day there, eating local delicacies. Then home again for a swim before heading out for dinner.

The following day, Crofty and the girls went into the city for some shopping at MBK Centre while Jacob and I chilled at the Hotel, not feeling too good, we slept and read and were thankful for the air con and a quiet retreat.

Jacob’s favorite thing about Bangkok is the people as they are so friendly and helpful and I agree, they are always smiling and cheerful.Read more