River Cruise - Oriental Hotel
by Audrey118
Over just as we cruise along we will see the very famous Oriental Hotel...the oldest part was built in 1884 and up until 1983, it was the one and only hotel along the river.
The ambience is of timeless colonial-style elegance, nice terrace to have drinks and also nice tea rooms etc. There is the Oriental shopping place there as well.
The hotel has been consistently rated as one of the finest hotels of the world.
The hotel used to organise cruises along the river and also to Ayutthaya but since last year, the Oriental Princess sank!!!
Removing Shoes
by roamer61
Whenever you enter a religious building (Buddhist temple, Mosque, etc), you must first remove your shoes prior to entering. So, sandals with closed heals or other shoes easily removed and put on are a good idea.
Road signs in the river?
by shrimp56
One of the interesting things we saw as we made our way down the Chao Praya back to Bangkok were the kilometer signs stuck in the water at the edge of the river. Makes sense -- just had never seen it done like this before :)))
Kanchanaburi Cycling Tour
by krankedup
The following is from their website http://www.mountainbiketoursthailand.com however I did this tour and tyhe edexfription doesn't quite cut it. This tour was excellent.
The pickup for this trip is from Khao san Rd at 9.00am. We then take a 2 hour drive west to Kanchanaburi province. We will arrive and park at Kanchanaburi railway station where the mountain bikes will be setup for the trip. Next there is a short ride down the famous Maenam Khwae road which is popular amongst tourists.
The next stage takes us over the river Kwae and into the Kanchanaburi country side. We then cycle along the country roads taking in the scenery on the way. After a short climb up a hill we arrive at Kao Poon Cave. Kao Poon cave takes about 30 minutes to walk through. Inside you will find Buddha statues, bats, stalagmites, stalactites and interesting rock formations.
After Kao Poon cave we take a short cycle ride through a local souvenir market and down to the railway track. We then follow the tracks, cross an old railway bridge and cycle through the Chung-Kai cutting. The chung Kai cutting was made by PoWs during WW2 and is part of the Thai-Burma railway system. The cutting was cut into the mountain and is about 100 meters
long and 40 meters deep.
Next is a cycle ride along the scenic country roads heading for the river Kwae bridge. We will walk across the bridge and have lunch in the floating restaurant under the bridge. The River Kwae bridge is still in service today was part of the Thai-Burma railway system. The bridge was frequently bombed during WW2 and was rebuilt after the war. The arches on the bridge are the original sections.
When lunch is finished we will walk back over the bridge and back to our bikes. We set off again through the country side and back over the river Kwae towards the death railway museum and research center. The museum is located next to Kanchanaburi war cemetery. It has lots of interesting historical artifacts explaining the building of the Thai-Burma railway.
After the museum we take a short ride back to our transportation. We then take a 45 minute drive west towards Wang Pho station. At Wang Pho you will be able to walk along the Railway track next to the cliff face, there is also a small cave next to the viaduct in the cliff face to see. The famous Wang Pho is a large wooden viaduct built into the cliff face by Britsh PoWs. The railway track is still in service today. I would say just pring a camera and a light rain coat if travelling in the rainy season. M.T. Hill Adventures supplies you with a Trek 4 series mountain bike, helmet, camelbak hydropak, gloves and glasses.
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Triple Two Silom in Bangkok
Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Sathon Taksin Bridge
Street in Bangkok
