July 06, 2018

Day 5: Temple Run in Bangkok

It is really nice to travel with your family but I admit there are times that it is a challenge to travel with a kid in tow. Especially now that my son is in tweenage years, he has his own likes, wants and mind so when I was planning for our Bangkok Itinerary, he immediately said “I don’t like temples ha”. What?

Read: Why Do We Travel with Kid in Tow


Of course, I will not waste my opportunity to visit at least one temple in Bangkok so I asked other mommy bloggers for their suggestions and then I chose Wat Pho. I was contemplating if I will just book at Klook, With Locals, Hotel Tours or DIY. I mentioned before that I’m not confident in commuting and I’ve read that there are scammers at the temples so I wanted to book a package tour but in the end, I still chose DIY tour. Why? Because it is cheaper and I can explore the temples on my own time.

On our day 5, off we went to the temples. We’ve seen the temples on our first night in Bangkok. I availed Chao Phraya Princess Dinner River Cruise but of course, I want to see the temples up close. Going there is not a problem because the direction is almost the same except that we will not ride a taxi anymore.

Read: Chao Phraya Princess Dinner River Cruise 

How to Get to Chao Phraya River

From our hotel, we rode at BTS Skytrain Asok Station to BTS Saphan Taksin Station

Travel to Siam Station using BTS - Sukhumvit Line (4 stations)
Travel to Saphan Taksin using BTS -Silom Line (6 stations)
Then go to Exit 2 and follow the signs to Chao Phraya River Express Boat.
Purchase ticket a Hop On-Hop off ticket or Single Journey Ticket.

Train: THB44/person
Chao Phraya Tourist Boat:
THB50/person - Single Journey Ticket
THB180/person - One Day River Pass

You can choose the regular boat but I chose the Chao Phraya River Boat for convenience. This boat will only stop at Tourist Spots like Shopping Mall, China Town, Flower Market, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Wat Pra Kaew and Khao San Road.

The boat leaves at Sathorn and Phra Arthit every 30 minutes
Sathorn 9:00 to 17:30
Phra Arthit 9:30 to 16:00

Boat extend their routes to Asiatique
Phra Arthit 16:00 to 18:00
Sathorn 16:30 to 18:30

There is already a booth of Chao Phraya River Boat at the train station so I purchased a ticket there and when I reached Pier, the staff get my ticket and replaced with a map and printed receipt. Then we waited for the boat with Blue Flag.



My initial plan was to visit Wat Pho but the boat stopped at Wat Arun (N8 - Tha Thien). Since I only wanted to visit one temple, I did not purchase a ticket anymore so we just enjoy the beauty of the temple outside. Wat Arun or also known as Temple of the Dawn is a stunning temple in Bangkok because of the design and location. Check my Chao Phraya River Cruise post so you can see the beauty of this temple at night.





Wat Arun or Wat Chaeng
Opening Hours 8AM to 17:30
Ticket: THB50

Then we took a small shuttle boat to cross the river so we can visit Wat Pho on the opposite side. We paid THB4/person for the boat. Afterward, we walked to the temples, we just followed the crowd. Hehehe! I’m thankful that my son is still FREE, you can hire a tour guide if you want for THB200-400 depending on the number of persons.


Wat Pho or Wat Phra Chetuphon is also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. We did not waste our time, we immediately looked for the famous 15 meters tall and 46 meters long Buddha. You need to take off your shoes before you enter, don’t worry there is a ready plastic bag there where you can put your shoes. Taking a picture is hard because there are a lot of tourists. If you want some luck, donate THB20 for a bowl of coins and drop in 108 bronze bowls. Dito lang nag-enjoy anak ko sa paghulog ng coins, the rest of the day “sad face” maski sa picture. Lol This temple is also known for traditional massage and medicine so you can try that.






As much as I want to explore the whole Wat Pho temple, my son was complaining already. Ayaw na nga maglakad. So I have no choice but to end our temple tours. Sayang nga, the Grand Palace is 10 minutes away lang daw, hindi ko man lang nakita kahit sa entrance lang. We rode the small shuttle boat again so we can ride the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat at the Wat Arun side.

Watch the video here.

Wat Pho 
Opening Hours: 8:00 to 17:00
Entrance Fee: THB100 with free bottled water.

Tip: Don’t forget to bring drinks, fan, cap or extra clothes. Sa init dun, maliligo ka sa pawis. Of course, wear appropriate clothes. They say that there are tourist scammers at the temple but we did not encounter any or dahil diretso lang lakad namin. But of course, beware of scammers.

I did not regret that I chose DIY Tour. Going to the temples is not that hard, all you need to know is where are you going to buy the riverboat ticket and what station are you getting off. Once you get off the boat, just walk to the Temple, pay the entrance fee and explore.

Read: 6 Days in Bangkok with Kids
Shopping at IKEA Bangna 
Klook.com

3 comments:

  1. The struggle is real when sightseeing with kids! They want something else and you have something in mind that they will surely need in the future. haha They just want ice cream! Haha Anyway, I'd love to see those places a well. They look so full of culture. I haven't been to one lately. I wonder if Klook has available travel guides here in Saudi Arabia, or is it just for Asia? Let me check as well.

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  2. Ang galing! You were able to DIY your Bangkok trip. I will always go back to this post when we are planning for a tour to Bangkok. ;) The boat is so much like our ferry here. The place looks really amazing.

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  3. hihihi, I get your son. I, too, was not interested in temples when I was in my tween years. but he'll look back at this and be thankful you still brought him to these places. he's going to understand it taught him so much about Asian culture. :)

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