Bangkok, Thailand Travel Guide
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Bangkok Canal Tours
Bangkok Canal Tour
A wonderful, refreshing activity in Bangkok is a canal tour on a long tail boat will glide you through numerous, winding canals of the Chao Phraya River. Along the way, a local merchant in a long boat will row up to your boat, selling various knick-knacks, including drinks. It’s a custom, so I was told, to buy the captain of the boat, a drink. The most impressive part of the canal tour is the various wooden and thatched-roof houses along right along the river where the local Thais live, play, lounge and eat. You’ll see kids playing the river under bridges, people sitting around on their decks, houses with clothes hanging on them to dry and mini banks or canals branching off to the sides. If you take a canal tour from the Tha Tien Pier, you’ll Wat Arun and a golden Buddha.
Midway through the journey, you’ll encounter a Floating Market. It’s best to go in the morning.
Location: There are over 30 piers in Bangkok. A very convenient Bangkok canal tour can be found at the Tha Tian (or, Tha Tien) Pier. This is the pier from which the photos of the canal tour in this site was taken. The Tha Tian or Tha Tien Pier is located almost next to Wat Pho near Maharat Road.
Cost: The cost is between 500 to 1000 baht for a couple of hours.
Houses along the Chao Phraya River
Accessibility: This is not the most accessible tourist attraction in Bangkok but it’s one I suggest highly. You will have to ascend and descend some stairs through a somewhat windy small market path. Once you reach the pier where the canal tour starts, you’ll have to descend a flight of about 5 steps onto the dock or pier. Then, you will have to scoot onto the pier platform. The staff will hold the boat for you as you board the long tail boat. They will put your wheelchair in the boat for you as well.
Check with your hotel about all the canal tours and see which one is the most handicap accessible.
Getting There: Take a cab on your own or arrange a tour via your hotel, which will cost more but will definitely be worth it. It’s a good idea to visit Wat Pho in conjunction with this canal tour, which is only about an hour long.