I was surprised that I could wake up on my own (w/o alarm) at 7am the next morning. Put it that way, I was so tired that i din even bother crawling under the blanket and ended up sleeping on top. The hostel costs included daily breakfast at a small restaurant next door, which supposedly serves italian food. I was going there to have american breakfast. The deco included figurines like this: Go figure…

The day’s itinerary surrounded exploring the Wat (temples) along the banks of the Chao Praya river.  It was surprisingly chilly when i stepped out and walked to the nearby Skytrain station, Asok.

Took the skytrain to Saphan Taksin Station where the Chao Praya Express river boat stops at Sathon (aka Central) Pier.  A ride on the boat costs 13baht from Sathon to Tha Chang, where the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) is.  It becomes apparent on how impt the river is to Bangkok when I saw that much of the activities and administration used to be centred along the river.  Top hotels have their own piers and boats to ferry their tourists, and ppl live along the river by building their houses alongside. (more…)