Posts by Torpan

Thanks for sharing this trip with us and letting us travel vicariously through you!

Have a great day.

My plan was to go snorkeling in Koh Lanta and the surrounding islands, but the weather had other ideas🏴‍☠️

I came across your various trips and stories—kudos to you for the fun and original way you share them!

Have a great day!

I really enjoyed reading your travel journal. I’ve been there twice but don’t know the places you described here—it’s giving me ideas! Have a great trip in California!

It’s true that this temple is unique and varied. Happy exploring!

Glad this story gave you some travel ideas!

Have a good evening.

It's our last evening before heading back to France via Kuala Lumpur.

We decide to visit one last temple—and not just any temple: Wat Saket, which sits on an artificial hill 75 meters high, earning it the nickname Golden Mountain Temple.

We book a driver (Grab) to get there and arrive at dusk.





It's surprising—at the base of the temple, there's a garden with animals that look like they're straight out of a cartoon...



There's also a cave with a large Buddha. Then you have to climb to reach the chedi.





From here, you get a view of the whole city. A small staircase leads up to the stupa: We don’t regret our visit, and on the way back to our hotel on foot, we discover another beautiful temple: Wat Ratchanatdaram.

We’d packed our suitcases in the afternoon, so the next day we were ready to head to the airport (with a Grab driver we’d booked) and were set for a very long day that took us back to Paris via Kuala Lumpur.

Despite the weather disruptions, we really enjoyed this trip, and we’ll remember the varied sights of Bangkok and the incredible kindness of the Thai people!

End of the trip—until the next one!

Initially, we thought we'd spend 5 days in Bangkok and then head back to Krabi to finish our trip.

However, since the weather forecast wasn't very favorable, we ended up staying in Bangkok the whole time, and we didn’t regret it—there’s so much to do there!



Plus, we felt really comfortable in the neighborhood we were staying in, and we took advantage of Thailand’s low prices to go to the hairdresser, dentist, and laundry.

For those who might face a dental issue, you can go to a dentist in Bangkok without worry (just check the reviews first). They’re very professional, and the hygiene is excellent! We also enjoyed massages that are more dynamic than in France but showcase their age-old expertise. Today, we’re staying in our neighborhood and venturing out to Khao San Road, known as Bangkok’s party street, with all the excesses that come with it.



But right next to it, we discovered a beautiful temple (Wat Chana Songkhram).

Yes, it's really relaxing and surprising!

We decided to visit the former home of spy Jim Thompson, who mysteriously disappeared but also the man who revived Thailand’s silk industry in the post-war years. This collection of houses holds a piece of the history and culture of the Kingdom of Siam: stunning collections of statues, paintings, and ceramics are on display here.

From what I understood, the different houses come from various parts of Thailand where they were dismantled and then reassembled in Bangkok. The exhibits are absolutely gorgeous.









The garden isn’t large, but it’s really lovely too.

This place is timeless—you wouldn’t think you’re in Bangkok!

This morning I got up early and took a walk around the neighborhood at random.

As they say in Morocco: a feast for the eyes!

While waiting for customers, a bit of exercise!













For any photographer, the subjects are endless!

It seems you didn’t know where my hotel was: I was at the Tara Place Hotel, which is a good 6 km walk from Iconsiam and 7 km by car (calculated on Google Maps). So it’s not four times the real price... Still, I’ll take your experience into account and know how to handle things next time I’m in Bangkok. It’s true that when you first arrive in a country, you don’t know everything yet!

Even taking the shortest route, our hotel was 6 km away on foot, and it was after 10 PM, so we didn’t even try to negotiate the price—but we probably could’ve! Anyway, 10 € isn’t much when you see prices in France, and if it helped improve our driver’s daily life, it’s not exactly breaking the bank...

We decide to head back on the river this evening to enjoy the illuminated buildings.









All the monuments are lit up—I’m not sure if that’s usual or not...

We decide to head down to the Iconsiam shopping mall: what a luxurious sight!



Here’s one of Ducasse’s restaurants: French luxury brands are well represented. Downstairs, a multitude of restaurants of all kinds awaken our taste buds—everything from scorpion skewers to pizza and sushi!



Outside, the Christmas decorations are up, and we get to enjoy a water fountain show set to music.





We take a boat that drops us right across the way, and from there, we grab a taxi (400 baht) to take us to the hotel. Good night!

I knew you'd show up—by TGV—after reading this. There are currently a few inaccurate statements in this travel journal, like the story about Uber and Grab, which are obviously both present in Thailand.

Aside from that, it's tough when planning a first trip to Thailand to avoid tourist spots, some of which can be disappointing. I have colleagues and friends who ask for my advice, and their draft itineraries always include the same things—the ones I systematically advise avoiding. That said, everyone has their own perspective, and some people only feel safe in the middle of a crowd. For floating markets, there are at least a dozen around Bangkok, but only one is truly authentic. Opening hours are usually something like 4 AM to 9 AM. You’ve got to know what you want... So when you do research, don’t just stop at the first websites you easily find. It’s also better to search with the right keywords. I admit it takes a lot of time to uncover original spots.

Uber no longer operates in Thailand, apparently (it sold its Southeast Asia operations to Grab in 2018). For floating markets, when you book through an operator, you’re stuck with their schedule—that’s what I don’t like about organized tours, but we chose convenience this time...

At the agency where we booked the trip, it stated for Maeklong: no train.

I also thought that the vendors' awnings dated back to a time when trains still ran through the market!

But sure enough, I looked it up and yes, trains still pass through there. Personally, I can't even imagine the chaos that must come with the train's arrival, so I'll happily pass on that!

We preferred to visit the temple near the tracks—much more to our taste.

Today we booked an excursion to the floating markets around Bangkok. A minibus picks us up around 7 AM, and off we go for a 1.5-hour drive, starting with the Maeklong Railway Market.



What can we say about this market where no train has passed for ages, except that it’s a tourist trap with no interest for us...

We get back in the van and head to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Here too, we’re disappointed: it’s turned into a tourist circus where they take you around the canals trying to sell you everything and anything. We were hoping for more authenticity, but I think this place was better years ago!



Only a few rare boats give you a glimpse of the original market.

We take a canoe ride, then they leave us for a bit to let the shopping happen before we head back on the canals in motorized canoes.

Our driver is in a hurry, and we get thoroughly splashed with water that’s anything but clear!

Under the indifferent gaze of a monitor lizard finishing its nap! Then it’s back to Bangkok. This was the only organized tour we did, and we’re thinking that when we do things on our own, it works out much better!

This morning we got a massage (400 baht for 1 hour) and decided to head to Chatuchak Market. We saw on the site that the Grab app is the equivalent of Uber in Thailand. The problem is we don’t have a local SIM card (we only use the hotel’s Wi-Fi), so we had to arrange with the driver to pick us up at the desired time. This app is super handy: cheaper than a taxi and faster than the buses!

We haven’t tried the buses, but apparently it’s not straightforward...





The weekend market is huge: 15,000 stalls spread across 27 themed sections!



It’s a real maze with tons of redundant stalls, unfortunately...

We also discovered that they sell pets, and there’s a cat and dog café—it felt like we were in Japan. By the way, we noticed that Thais seem to love Japanese culture: kawaii pastries, Japanese supermarkets, and kid’s stores with a Japanese style.





We ate at a supermarket across from Chatuchak and realized it’s for locals: the green curry took us on a wild ride!

Women’s clothes are really beautiful and are showcased so well in this stunning temple! For the tuk-tuks, they don’t hesitate to ask for those kinds of prices—they totally see tourists as easy targets!

I think he expected me to haggle, but that’s not really my thing!

Afterwards, we ate at a small restaurant—a really good massaman curry (90 baht) with a Chang beer—and decided to cross the river to visit Wat Pho before nightfall. This temple is known as a center for teaching traditional Thai massage and, of course, for its 46-meter-long golden Buddha.

With the nighttime lighting and spotlights, the monuments are absolutely stunning.

There’s practically no one around at this hour, and it’s so peaceful—even though we’re right in the city center.

We stayed to admire these wonders for a long time before finally deciding to leave around 8 PM. We headed toward the river and discovered there were no more boats—the last river shuttles leave at 8 PM...

We asked a tuk-tuk driver for the price to take us back to our hotel, which is less than 4 km away. Without batting an eye, he quoted us 1,500 baht...🙁

We walked away and spotted a taxi nearby. Without even negotiating, he asked for 200 baht—no contest. We returned to eat at the restaurants in our neighborhood, where the owners are starting to recognize us and welcome us with so much kindness.