Before I start with my Wat Arun entry, I think one of the things I regret is not drinking enough coffee there. I usually go through cycles of having 1-2 cups of coffee a day then having a bad migraine or a heartburn-promising myself not to drink coffee again, legit taking a break for 2 weeks and then going back to drinking coffee slowly again. During the time I was here, I was on a very slow transition of not drinking to only drinking one cup a day. Sayang, but it's all the more reason I should go back to Thailand.

Okay, this is the reel I made for Wat Arun

Since Wat Arun is just a river away from where I'm at, I asked the owners of the restaurant I ate as to how I can cross by this river to get there , turns out, it's only two blocks away from their place. I went out when everyone was having lunch and the weather is hot but bearable. Honestly, since it's Thailand, I was ready for the Phuket kind of heat-the kind that scalds your skin but it wasn't that bad, maybe it's also because I am from a tropical country too.

I saw a small ticket area exactly two blocks away from Jin Chieng and as I was walking towards it I asked a local if that was the ticket booth to Wat Arun, it's not. He made me walk these planks and on the way to their Khlong (cross-ferry) boats, they made you pay B4 (Around Php10), I fumbled for a little while here since I have to look for coins and since I was also with tourists, they were extra patient with me. 

 

It was a no-frills boat and I sat where I can have an uninterrupted view of Wat Arun, I want to roam around a lot but I have no sea legs at all, in fact this less than 5 minutes ride got me woozy

This Khlong boat only took less than 5 mins too to be full regardless of the heat

Wat Arun from the small boat

 

 

We arrived a few mins at the Wat Arun Port and you can't miss the entrance. I paid B100 (around Php150) and was given some brochures as guide and a bottle of water which I really appreciate. It is still my first day out and I already feel like everything here is truly a value for money.

As with all temples, Wat Arun Wat Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan follows a strict dress code even for tourists. It was a special holiday the day I was here so there were locals and tourists alike. I had no plans to enter the temple as to not intrude on the people who go there to worship and was only able to take pictures and videos from the outside.

 

 

I went around the whole area and I also went up the multiple floors. The stairs were steep and I got nervous as I descended because even though I am physically fit, my ankles are really weak because of a football injury a few years ago. 

From https://viajonarios.com/en/wat-arun/  :

Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan, better known as Wat Arun, is a Buddhist temple on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, opposite the Grand Palace & the Temple of the Emerald Buddha it's the Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The temple's name is a tribute to the Hindu god Arun, personified as the radiations of the rising sun, is the Indian God of Dawn. Despite its name, the most spectacular view of the gleaming monument can be seen from the east side of the river at sunset, when the spiers of Wat Arun form an impressive silhouette on the horizon.

 

Here are some of the unedited videos I took of Wat Arun with all the people. What I mentioned on my previous entry, I am not going to crop people out because I know that like me, when people plan to go to a specific place, we tend to google it up and see beautiful (no question) photos but also, like me, a lot tend to get very disappointed when they see crowds

Jin Ching Seng Reel

I am actually right on time and followed my itinerary at Grand Palace as planned, only spent about at least 2 hours in that place and as predicted, went out around lunch time. Grand Palace is a gigantic sprawl and I have already written down in my hard copy as to where I want to eat to save time.

As mentioned on my previous posts, I am an ambler and a walker so if the distance is less than 2KMs, I usually walk. I just googled “restaurants near Grand Palace” and Jin Chieng Seng by Inn A Day appeared on the topmost. Nothing momentous happens at Bangkok before 10AM and what made me choose Jin Chieng Seng was that it’s the one that’s open earliest.

And though I didn’t spend much time at Grand Palace, the whole experience left me overstimulated and abit drained (the overwhelming number of tourist since I went on a holiday and the unforgiving weather) so in what was supposedly just a kilometer walk away, I decided to ride a tuktuk.

And boy these tuktuks are way overpriced, my friend was right. Only tourists ride on those because the driver charged B100 and I wasn’t in my tihik mode so I gave in. Noticeably though, there were a lot of restaurants on my way to Jin Chieng Seng that's already flocked by hungry tourists. Then the driver went inside a small street with absolutely no people in but I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

The driver dropped me off in an inn facing the river and to be honest, the river didn’t look promising and the inn really looks closed from the outside. I went near the inn’s door and found out that it is actually a sensor and they are open, I was their first customer for that day. The whole place has an industrial feel to it as the whole concept is metal and wood. An english-speaking waitress welcomed me and handed over the menu.

Here’s the truth about my solo-travels-all I think about during my preparations is the food or the idea that I could get to eat as much as I want or I’d binge eat on food not found in my hometown. But the reality is, I always get sensory overload over the things I see and hear, subconsciously, my body’s response to this stimulus is to shut down and try to keep everything at status quo, on usual days, I get hungry every two hours but during travels, the idea of eating is something I only do thrice a day cause I’d rather walk around and cover as much as I can.

And if you’ve been to Grand Palace, that oppulent place is one sensory overload experience.

I only ordered pad thai and iced mocha. I would’ve really really wanted to ordered more since I am already there but I want to check the food servings first. They did not disappoint. I enjoyed about 10 minutes of alone time til the other tourists came in and had the same initial dilemma that I did, they thought that the place was closed. I was only in my second day but what I like here is that they will truly give you value for your money. 

I paid B190 and B100 for my pad thai and iced mocha and I was really full. 

 

 

 I was just charging my phone and minding my own business while passing time but the older woman who runs the place told me that when I am done, I should climb up to the 4th floor of their place and she pointed where the stairs are. I already saw the view of Wat Arun outside but the river and the nets obscured it so I went up and saw this view.

 

I don’t know about you but when I see beautiful views (not necessarily of nature), I cry. I think I spent about 20 minutes here alone basking in the heat and enjoying this view of Wat Arun from afar all to myself. I can’t help but feel grateful with all the good things that happened to me this year and just being present there is really A present. 

I intentionally put in raw, unfiltered videos and will plan to do so for the next few blogs because what I want to convey is what it really looks like, not how it's supposed to look like. 

One of my favorite parts when preparing for my travel is looking for an accommodation. I usually toggle between airbnb and booking.com and since I already have the genius discount available on booking.com-and it’s the cheapest among all the popular booking sites(we can peacefully argue on this once we you’ve checked out this website compared to where you are reserve your accomms), I usually opt for it. 

Genius discounts are usually at 10-15% off, Booking.com also has cashback and exclusive discounts only available on the mobile app. This is not a collab in any way with them and I only would like to share this with you just in case you are like me who indulges on the decision-making of “should I opt for a nice place to stay that comes with a good price” or “should i opt for an okay looking safe place because I’m only going to stay there to sleep and take a bath”Oh and as much as I love traveling, I really hate sleeping alone because I am scared of room intrusion and appearance of super natural beings. Laugh all you want but I have an experience regarding this one but I will be reserving that story some other time.

I usually opt for the okay looking safe place because I am just there to sleep and take a bath only because aside from the fact that it’s economical, it’s also logical and in a way, encourages me to go out and explore some more. Also, what I am also trying to say is that I am better with sleeping with a room of strangers rather than sleeping alone in a space-though there won’t be much sleeping in this situation because hello, UNGO.

For my international solo travels, I usually book hostels. I have booked a hostel near Clark Quay pre-pandemic (sorry I forgot the name)-Singapore’s hostels are expensive (Php900/night)but they come with a kaya toast breakfast. I have also booked with Mad Monkey at Phuket (Php500/day)

I have actually hit all the sweet spots I need to hit when I booked Boxpackers Hostel Phraknahorn. 

In general, looking for a hostel within Bangkok is a different kind of a challenge because all the choices are REALLY REALLY good. When I say good it means it’s aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it fits neatly IN my budget, it’s strategically located and they truly are a value for money (different hostels come with different freebies-others come with a free breakfast, others actually have adult slides, others have a pool on their rooftop, etc)

What made me book Boxpackers Hostel Phraknahorn is the fact that I can do UNLIMITED laundry FOR FREE-includes fab con and liquid detergent (my love for laundry is also reserved for another story) and this feature matters to me because prior to arriving at Bangkok, I was at Manila for 24 hours, changed my clothes thrice and bringing dirty clothes while travelling is not something that sits well with me mentally. 

It is also my first time to stay at Bangkok and somehow, the idea of a hostel located in a corner street with a coffeeshop and co-working space makes sense to me. It is easier to find and for just in case I need to take a peek into my work email when I have a free time, I can freely do so. 

I stayed at Boxpackers Hostel Phraknahorn from Dec3-7 and I only paid Php2,338 FOR THE WHOLE DURATION OF my stay and among all the hostels I have tried, this one was the best one I have booked. I booked a bunk space for a 10-Bed Mixed Dormitory and these are the inclusions of my Php2,345.01

 

Bed with own key card activated light, one outlet for charging, one USB Port and a small hanging shelf
Heavy Curtain as a cover for when you need privacy

 

HIGH-QUALITY COMFORTER-this one is one of the best surprises cause among the three hostels I’ve tried, this is the only hostel that offered this. I love my comforters and as a person who is “kandingon” by nature, being extra warm  during nighttime betters my sleep quality
  

Own locker which can fit a medium sized (check-in type) trolley and enough space for other things as well

THE UNLIMITED LAUNDRY with on-hand detergent and fabcon
Uber strong wi-fi
Aquazorb type towels
Access to common toilets with bidet and showers (shower gel and shampoo)-now I know this one a lot of people are hesitant of, this hostel really really made sure that their toilet and shower areas are kept clean 24/7

Blow-Dry in the vanity area (sink, mirror)
Unlimited mineral water (Savings!)
Access to their co-working space with outlet

I arrived around 11PM after my little misadventure and an english speaking front desk officer was there to welcome me. I already paid prior to arriving and was asked to deposit B200 for security measures. He took me to my common room which was located in the second floor and when I arrived, it’s either my roommates were already sleeping or they were out partying but I didn’t really see anyone there. For the whole duration of my stay, I only saw one Chinese guy who went out at 5 AM for a run and 2 German girls who came from partying one night. 

 

 

For the two nights of my stay, I didn’t see anyone in the room but I was able to sleep well compared to when I sometimes book solo room during my other travels. For the whole duration of my stay, I was able to access our shower room without waiting for every one else to be done, worked for a little while during mornings and was able to do laundry twice.

 

 

Here are the clean pros and cons when staying at Boxpackers Hostel Phraknahorn, the terms pros and cons are always subject to misinterpretation and what kind of traveller you are. I’m an ambler-I don’t like hurrying and I usually go for the most cost-effective way and opt for walks if the location I wanna go to is less than 2KMs, I walk A LOT and don’t mind not spending too much on food, I digest everything I see emotionally and well, during this trip, I took 90% videos and 10% photos and used those videos to print screen some of my photo entries. 

Pros

1. Value for money (inclusions are stated)
2. AESTHETICALLY LOOKING and it is clean
3. Near to Grand Palace, City Pillar and Khao San Road (Party Area)
4. Easy access to buses-buses are priced between B10 Php16 pesos (non aircon) -B20 PHp26(aircon) , bus there are easy to understand as they are coded by numbers and you can easily follow via google maps on which bus you should ride to get to the place you want to be, as all the bus dispatchers I talked to understand the stops in English, they prompt me when to go down or if it’s already a one bus stop BEFORE my bus stop. See? 

—The number 4 is subject to interpretation but I considered it as a pro because buses are cheaper compared to their trains

Cons

1. No access to BTS (their MRT)
2. Options for private room and CR come with a higher price
3. Walk of 400 meters before a Bus Stop (again, this is subject for interpretation as some don’t really like to walk far)
4. I only saw 2 coffee shops around the area, and only one hole in the wall food shop open at 6AM when I was walking around. If you are an early morning person like me, coffeeshops usually open at 9AM around this area. There are other family owned food store but they open around 10AM

I am not in anyway directly affiliated with them nor am I getting paid in this post so if you want to know more, here are options as to how you can reach them

Facebook Page: https://web.facebook.com/boxpackersphranakorn

Booking.com Link

Bangkok Grand Palace Reel

I only spent a couple of minutes inside the Bangkok City Pillar and Shrine as I know my day will be packed full of temple runs. I initially planned not to go inside each temple because it requires time (queueing, taking off your footwear, adjusting to people’s personal spaces, trying to emulate what the locals do in the temple, etc) and I am proud that I have fully committed to this. 

If you initially plan to take Instagram-worthy pictures around Bangkok Grand Palace, let me tell you ahead how challenging that would be. I went on a Sunday AND holiday so there was just so many people even outside the premises. 

 

The heat was tolerable though since I am familiar with Thailand’s scorching heat every December. There were already many tourists walking on the way to the Grand Palace itself and I was one of those who was stopped because my dress length is above the knee.

 

 I am not surprised since temples are places that demand high respect and strict dress code. Luckily, there were many stores outside selling those ankle length sarong skirts at B100 only. 

 

The lady even wrapped the sarong around me so well that I was comfortable all through out my Grand Palace Tour.

Here are some of my cropped...

but unedited photos around the Bangkok Grand Palace and aside from the fact that I don’t now how to flawlessly edit people out, I want every reader to know how jam-packed this place is regardless of day. Taking raw photos with absolutely no people behind is near to impossible.

Entrance as of December 2022 is at B500, I am very much shocked since I didn’t expect it to be expensive but after the tour, I can say that I got my money’s worth. They made sure that the place is organized, clean, didnt smell anything, continuously disinfected and safe. 

 

Each Temples have a description of their history and how important they are in what made Thailand what it is today. My first impression was it is indeed, GRAND. The Temples are gigantic, created with great care and was expensively preserved. Each is also centuries old.

The Grand Palace complex was established 500 years ago and not only it consists of the royal residence and throne halls, it also has a number of government offices and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Grand Palace measures at 220,000 square meters, surrounded by four wallks with 1900 meters in length.

If you are the kind of a traveller who likes ambling and prefers not to have a jam-packed itinerary, you can actually spend the whole day at Grand Palace; there are 35 different buildings with various purposes and history-excuding the displayed paintings outside. 

I only spent about two hours max as I still have plans to visit Wat Arun, Icon Siam and Chinatown at the same day.

 

 

Here are also some of the raw videos I took which will manage your expectation on what the place looks like in reality

 Almost nothing at Bangkok starts BEFORE 9AM.

and as an early morning person by wiring, I have a few hours of vacant time before Grand Palace opens by 8:30AM so I decided to walk the 2 kilometer distance from where I was staying. There was another temple a block away from Grand Palace and it’s already open so I decided to go in in this temporary detour. 

Bangkok Lak Mueang City Pillar Shrine is located opposite the walled complex of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo and adjacent to the Defence Ministry. The shrine is free to enter and is open daily from 06.30 to 18.00. Because of the importance of the shrine, visitors should dress respectfully and make sure their shoulders and knees are covered. Thai people come here to pray and make wishes so please be respectful when taking photos.

And while Bangkok City Pillar Shrine is not as popular nor visited as much as Grand Palace, it’s importance also holds ground in this country’s history

In 1782, the first king of the Chakri Dynasty, King Rama I, moved his capital from Thonburi to the other side of the Chao Phraya River. The new city would be easier to defend with Rattanakosin Island at its heart. This is the district referred to as ‘Old Bangkok’ where the Grand Palace is located, but the first building constructed at the new capital was the Lak Mueang city pillar. The Grand Palace and all of the other temples and buildings would follow later, but preparing a shrine for Phra Lak Mueang, the guardian spirit who protects the city, was the most important thing for King Rama I to do when establishing Bangkok as his new capital. To this day, Bangkok residents and Thai people visiting the city continue to pay their respects at Lak Mueang.

(copy pasted from ThaiFan)