Pinky and I had so much fun on our last e-scooter tour of Bangkok's Old Town that we decided to join Scoodty Tour for another trip around this city, this time accompanied by Pinky's sister and her boyfriend!
This tour was called "Arun Sunset", and would take us on electric scooters through the heart of Rattanakosin, Bangkok's royal island and the heart of the city.
We met our guide, Mr. Lek (the same guide as last time!) at the Royal Treasury's Coin Museum.
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| the Bangkok Coin Museum |
The museum, which differs from the privately-funded Thai Bank Museum (focusing more on the history of the banking institutions in the kingdom), is dedicated to the history of Thai currency.
The museum's motto is: “Money or coins are not only a medium of exchange in the economy, but they are also timeless travelers who document the story of humankind across all eras.”
The exhibits take you through the history of Thailand through its currency, from ancient shell currency to modern coinage.
After touring the museum's galleries, Mr. Lek led us through Soi Rambutri to Wat Chana Songkhram, a royal-grade temple at the end of Khao San Road.
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| Wat Chana Songkhram |
The temple was built in the 18th century during the Ayutthaya Era. When the capital was moved to Bangkok, the brother of King Rama I renovated the temple and granted it to be used by the Mon people and monks who were living in the area to thank and honor the Mon troops who had helped repel the Burmese army after the fall of Ayutthaya. In fact, the name of the temple means "Victory in War Temple".
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| shrine to the brother of King Rama I |
The temple has a number of unique architectural features which are indicitive of its royal status as a temple of the Second King (the viceroy of Siam and the younger brother of the king; the position which predated the modern concept of Crown Prince).
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| Buddha's footprint at the temple |
Posts about the National Museum:
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| the temple's prayer hall |
After touring the temple's hall, our guide led us to the temple courtyard. Beneath the historic old drum tower and surrounded by beautiful lush gardens, our scooters were waiting for us!
The drum tower is used to convene monks for their chanting, prayer, or duties. Even as we were practicing riding our scooters around the temple courtyard, a saffron-robed monk was climbing up the drum tower's steps to sound the drum.
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| drum tower at the temple |
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| ready for an adventure |
This time, our e-scooter journey took us through the Old Town and across Rattanakosin Island. This cool neighborhood is just off the main tourist areas, and tends to be overlooked. Visitors always go to the Grand Palace and the famous temples, but rarely venture just beyond, where cool street art, famous local restaurants, and beautiful parks are waiting to be discovered.
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| murals |
Phra Sumen Fort, which sits on the banks of the Chaophraya River, is one of the city's two remaining defensive forts. Today, the land on which the little guard tower sits has been transformed into a city park.
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| Phra Sumen Fort |
In the evening when we visited, people were picnicing and playing badminton, and one guy was even taking his parrot out for a walk in the fresh air.
Soon, we came to the heart of the kingdom, the area around the Grand Palace and Sanam Luang (the royal field).
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| the city pillar shrine |
Later, King Rama IV, hoping to stave off the curse, constructed a second, smaller city pillar shrine just next to the original, hoping to change the city's fortune.
Spookily, in 1932, a massive populist movement and revolution led to the abdication of King Rama VI, the end of the absolute monarch, the establishment of the current constitution, and modern Thailand as we know it today. This was exactly 150 years after the founding of the city.
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| the Grand Palace |
A large shrine to the earth goddess, Thorani (whom you might remember from my post about the life of the Buddha) stands surrounded by fountains.
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| Thorani Shrine |
Thorani is always depicted ringing out her hair, symbolic of her role in the story of the Buddha. After a horrible cholera outbreak in the early 18th century, the king ordered the construction of this fountain as Bangkok's first public drinking fountain to ensure that the citizens would always have access clean and safe drinking water.
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| the city's first public drinking fountain |
We ended up driving through Khao San Road, the center of backpacking culture in Southeast Asia. I have only been to Khao San Road twice, both times in my first two years. Generally, I find the backpacking culture a bit unsavory, and the cheap bars, cheap hostels, loud night clubs, and scammy taxi drivers on Khao San Road just don't have anything to offer me.
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| Khao San Road |
Khao San Road is, understandably, completely deserted now due to Thailand's lack of tourism during COVID-19. The city has undertaken a big renovation, and it's actually looking a bit nicer than it did in the past.
Still, the area does have some famous restaurants, and I suppose it's popular for a reason.
Maybe I'm too harsh on Khao San Road. I guess it's just that I've never understood why someone would want to travel all the way to Thailand and just spend their time hanging out at bars with other westerners.
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| it's still quiet during COVID |
The sun began setting. Our original plan was to end the tour across the river from Wat Arun, which sits on the western banks of the Chaophraya, in time to watch the sunset. We ended up a bit behind schedule, but were treated to a beautiful pink and purple sky as we zipped through the Old Town.
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| brilliant sunset |
At the end of the tour, we went past a small Chinese shrine which was locked up for the night. Our guide told us that it was a "Peacock Shrine", and that it's quite beautiful on the inside.
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| a small Chinese shrine in an alleyway in Old Town |
We may have missed the sunset, but Wat Arun still looked remarkable lit up against the black sky.
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| Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn |
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| night along the river |
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| Wat Pho at night |
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