Twenty four hours after setting foot in Bangkok and we’re
already prepping for our first "wat" (temple) adventure. Jerome, my brother-in-law, mentioned he's going to introduce me to Bangkok's Express Boats.
It’s a national holiday in Thailand. As
a result, he and his fiancée, Jira, were both free for
the day to join me for a little exploration.
We started our day with a tasty breakfast in a cafeteria across the street of their condo village; khao man gai
(rice and chicken), a huge container of milk tea with tons of ice all to myself
and the crispy goodies with cream on top (forgot what it’s called I have to
check again) for dessert.
After breakfast, we hailed ourselves a cab and started our
day’s escapade in a pier; the Asoke-Petchaburi Pier which can be found near the
MRT Petchaburi station and the old site of Japan Embassy.
Remarkably, Thailand takes advantage of its rivers and canals for transportation and Khlong Saen Seap Express Boat is just one of the boat services the people of Bangkok enjoys. It runs in the Saen Seap Khlong (meaning "canal"), a canal in Central Thailand. It is known to have two main lines; the Nida Line with 6 piers and Golden Mount Line with 23 piers. The Pratunam Pier is connecting the two lines and serves as a pier where commuters would transfer if the destination is being serviced by the other line.
We waited a little bit for the next boat to arrive. The
interval is between 15-20 minutes. And finally, one arrived. As the boat slowly
maneuvered its way to the side, two persons jumped to the pier to pull the boat
closer and tie it securely so commuters could safely hop on. It might make you
nervous at first so watch your step and hold on tight to the railings.
The ride was fast and got us nearer our destination less the
agonizing traffic jam. On downside though, the water is not very clean hence
the need for the plastic covers surrounding the boat. We even joked around that
we need to close our mouths or the dirty water could cause our demise. Yup, it
was that scary. :p On some instances, if all the seats were already taken, you
might need to stand until some of the seats are freed up. The fare runs from
THB 10-20 depending on the distance.
If you’re transferring to the other line, you can pay it
during your first boat ride and just present your ticket when you transfer.
That’s what we did. As the overlapping pier, we got off Pratunam and
transferred to another motorboat that transported us to Panfa Leelard Pier, the
end-most pier of the Golden Mount Line. It is situated behind the Mahakan fort,
end of Ratchadamnoen Road, Old City.
Upon reaching the pier, we walked a few meters, crossed the road and reached our first temple destination; Wat Ratchanatdaram.
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