Author: Richard Barrow

Today I’m on a boat trip organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Thai media to explore historical neighborhoods along the river in Bangkok where foreigners used to live. The trip is called “ย่านฝรั่งในบางกอก” (Foreign Quarter in Bangkok). This project is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ cultural diplomacy. Its purpose is to create historical awareness, which is an important foundation for learning about the nation’s cultural heritage and important past events and create a correct understanding of the history and culture of the country.

Wat Rachathiwat in Dusit district was originally established pre-Ayutthaya. It was given its present name by King Mongkut who once resided here. Of interest is the Khmer style ordination hall with murals in a fresco style by an Italian artist.

📍MAP: goo.gl/maps/QVaM7WAjp…

In 1674, King Narai granted land in Bangkok to the

🚂 Calling all train fans! There is an event at Hua Lamphong station from now until 16th January 2022 where you can get up close with steam locomotives and also visit places in the 105 year old station that are not normally open to the public.

As well as taking pictures of the steam locomotives, there are also various carriages on display from the wooden benches in 3rd Class to the sofas in the 1st Class carriage. There is also a board room with a very long table

At the front of Hua Lamphong station, you will find the railway museum which is open every day during the train exhibition. Entry is free. There is a lot of train memorabilia that will fascinate all train fans

You

⛴ Good morning from Bangkok. Today I’m on a special one-day excursion on the Chao Phraya River aboard the RIVA Express. I love doing boats trips and so couldn’t resist. Cost is 699 Baht and there will be seven stops. This is a live THREAD of the trip.

The RIVA Express has a lower deck which is air-conditioned and an upper deck which is open to make it easier to enjoy the views and take pictures. There are also male/female toilets.

[⛴ STOP 01] Our first stop was the Guan Yu Shrine, which is the soul of Thai-Chinese people. Inside there are three statues with the oldest dating back to 1736 when the shrine was established. King Taksin is believed to have come here.

📍MAP: goo.gl/maps/tTcqgQzuh…

[⛴

I’ve promoted the free drinking water dispensers at airports before, but several people had a valid question. How much can we trust that they maintain the filters? So, I brought along a TDS Water Meter to measure dissolved solids in the water.

The first TDS reading is tap water at Phuket Airport. At 92ppm that is actually safe to drink or at least brush your teeth with.

* Obviously my meter doesn’t test for everything. For example, it doesn’t detect poisons like arsenic and so only use it as a guide.

At Phuket Airport, they have these drinking fountains. The TDS reading here is 66ppm which is still within accepted limits for drinking water.

Phuket Airport also has these hot and cold water dispensers. The TDS reading here was zero which meant no dissolved solids. My

Good morning from Bangkok Railway Station. Today I’m taking the excursion train to Nam Tok in Kanchanaburi. There will be a couple of stops along the way before we get to the waterfall.

When you get on the Nam Tok excursion train, it’s important that you get in the right carriage. This is because the train also has carriages for the excursion to Hua Hin. At the junction, the train will split. We will go west and the other half will go south.

Tickets for the day-long excursion train to Nam Tok are only 120 Baht for 3rd Class carriages with fan. If you want air-conditioning, it is 240 Baht for 2nd Class. The train runs only at the weekend and public holidays. There’s a couple of stops along the way.

This morning I’m exploring Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem on foot. This outer moat for the Grand Palace was dug in the 1850’s during the reign of King Rama IV. The canal is 20m wide, 3m deep and 5.5km long. All of the land on the right hand bank of this photo belongs to the railway.

As you can see from these photos, the BMA are improving the landscape on each side of Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem for 1,250 meters where it runs alongside Bangkok Railway Station. They will widened the path to include a jogging track and also plant 151 more trees.

These are artist impressions of what this section of Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem canal will look like. The BMA anticipates that this new green area will be finished by March 2022.

Good morning from Bangkok Railway Station. Today I’m going on a special day excursion to Pasak Cholasid Dam. The train leaves at 6:00am and returns tonight at 6:50pm.

To go on the train excursion, you must be fully vaccinated or can show a negative ATK covid test taken within 72 hours. After we had boarded, someone came round to inspect our certificates. Really it was just a cursory glance. He told me, just to make passengers feel better.

This is Bang Sue Grand Station which will replace Bangkok Railway Station as the new terminal station for the capital. It’s about 25 minutes north of Hua Lamphong. From 24th December, all trains will depart from here.

I’m traveling today by 3rd Class which is my preferred way to ride the trains. It’s not really about

The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) are improving the landscape on each side of Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem for 1,250 meters where it runs alongside Bangkok Railway Station. They will widened the path to include a jogging track and also plant 151 more trees. This is an artist impression of what this section of Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem canal will look like. The BMA anticipates that this new green area will be finished by March 2022.

One of my favourite riverside markets is Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market in Taling Chan district of Bangkok. I went there the other weekend and it was just as popular as ever. If you are worried about crowds, I would strongly advise you to arrive by 9:00am at the latest. This is a great place to come to eat a meal or two and do some shopping. We also did a boat tour from here which lasted about one hour. You can take the public boat, but we decided to rent the whole boat for only 300 baht. I highly recommend doing this trip. If you don’t have your own transport, then just take a taxi. As long as you don’t come back too late in the afternoon, you won’t have difficulty in finding a passing taxi to take you back

Now is a great time to re-visit or take visitors to the Grand Palace as there are hardly any tourists. Usually there are long lines to take selfies, and then you will always get strangers in your photos. Not so at the moment. Entrance fee is ฿500 for foreigners and free for Thais. I’ve never seen the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace so empty. It’s really weird not seeing group tours. It’s also very nice, as the Thais here were really happy to see us. They kept asking, “Where are you from?” – This is really a good time to come to Thailand.