Bicycles and Boats around Bangkok

When we woke after our first night in the city, we felt dismayed that we had over two days to kill before our flight out to Ranong. But our activities over the next couple of days forced us to slow down and we began to find Bangkok less frenetic. Before we left home, I had booked a three-hour bicycle ride with a Dutch company, Co Van Kessel. We had to be at their base by 8am, and as it is south of Chinatown the easiest way was to make use of the Chao Phraya express ferry boat. We walked past Phra Sumen Fort, one of only two to survive from the old fortified walls. It has been renovated and we found its white walls a good landmark whenever we were trying to get our bearings in the Banglamphu district.

We found our way to the nearest pier, Tha Phra Arthit. There are five 'express' boats serving the Chao Phraya (River of Kings), a hop-on, hop-off tourist boat flying a blue flag, and four others, known by their flags — orange, green, yellow, and 'no flag'. The 'No Flag' boat stops at every pier but only in rush hour, whereas the 'Orange Flag' is really convenient as it stops at useful piers, costing 15 baht per journey (1 stop or 30 stops). We watched them mooring and were reminded of the vaporetti on the Grand Canal, the pilot bringing the boat alongside, and the 'marinaio' throwing and tightening a mooring rope over bollards, pulling the boat in to the pier.

Setting off behind John

It is fascinating to watch the Thai boats. The pilot brings the stern in as close as possible, then the mariner in charge of the rope guides him in with a series of whistles — the pilot is near the front of the boat and has no chance of seeing the pier when the boat is full of people waiting to get off. I recognised the 'calls' that my dad (who had been a boatswain in the navy) used to demonstrate on the bosun's whistle.

Cycling along narrow alleys

Co Van Kessel office is only a short walk from Si Phraya pier, so the boat was a really convenient way to get there, much easier than negotiating rush hour by road or metro. When we arrived we were given a short talk about safety, and they tied a piece of coloured wool around our wrists to identify our 'team'. We set off in single file down a small alley, a row of bright yellow bicycles, a Thai guide at the front and back of us. It set the scene for most of the ride — between stalls and buildings, through the middle of busy pedestrian streets, occasionally crossing a busy road with one of the guides stopping the traffic for us, hat held high. We didn't have bells, so we'd been told to shout the "sawadee" greeting to people to alert them, and we found most people responded in a very friendly way. I wobbled a bit but got more used to it, and I was relieved that Thais drive/ride on the left, as we do in England. I think we were the only non-Dutch riders and we were impressed by the way most of the others could balance without putting foot to floor — but then it is flat in the Netherlands!

First stop was Bangkok's Chinatown, where we visited an active Chinese temple.

photo © Co Van Kessel

We were told that Japanese vehicles are very popular in Thailand, and that they are imported in large quantities for spares.

We cycled past huge workshops in Chinatown, piled high with recycled truck parts, with workers busy dismantling them as we rode past.

Our 'crocodile' of bikes whizzed around corners, with one guide leading the way and one bringing up the rear. We had to dodge pedestrians, other cyclists, motorbikes, and stallholders wheeling carts, so occasionally we got separated from the cyclist in front. We all looked out for each other, and if one of us was a long way behind, someone would hang back so that we could see the next fiendish corner to turn or passage to join.
We had been warned that if it rains it is usually short and sometimes sharp. The guides knew every place to dodge into, and if it was a few spots we just hovered under a small covered area. When we had heavier rain they produced plastic ponchos for us, but it was so hot that most of us didn't bother, we dried within a few minutes once the rain stopped. We parked our bikes up on the edge of one of Bangkok's huge flower markets, and walked through admiring the blooms and the garlands being strung together by women in matching tops (the 'royal' gold that is used for banners and decorations).

Pandan leaves

I spotted a stall selling bundles of the leaf that was used to make the Buddha decorations when we were with Peter and Dao, and asked one of our guides if he knew what they were.

That's how I learned that they are pandan leaves. We were taken to a stall selling fruit and our guides showed us Durian and Jack Fruit, then bought packs of the cut fruit for us to try. The Jack Fruit was crisp and hard, rather like apple, and the Durian was wonderfully custard-like. Back to the bicycles and time to board a ferry to take us across to Thornburi on the other side of the big river.


The bikes were stowed together in the boat, then wheeled out for us when we reached the other side. All of them were numbered and at the beginning of the trip we were asked to remember our numbers, as our saddles had been set to suit us. My bicycle was 42, "the answer to life, the universe and everything", as all fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy remember.

A fellow cyclist took this one, a Dutch lady who was in Bangkok for work,
and who had managed to fit in the cycle ride on her last day.

Thornburi was the old capital, but because it is liable to flooding, it was abandoned in favour of the other side of the river, now the main city of Bangkok.

In contrast to Chinatown Thornburi is really peaceful, and we cycled around residential lanes with hardly any traffic.

We stopped to look at Wat Kalayanamit Woramahawihan, a nineteenth century temple established by a wealthy Thai Chinese trader, then Wat Prayunwongsawat, a restored and very serene temple. We were warned that this was our last chance for a 'bathroom break', and while we were making use of the facilities, one of our Thai guides went on ahead to our final stop. 

We ended at a roadside café, one of those places that springs up early in the morning for breakfast but disappears by mid afternoon. We were asked what we would like to drink and many of us chose iced coffees — the day was already getting hot. Then one of the guides showed us his refreshment, a soft boiled egg, seasoned with soya sauce and pepper.

The Dutch cyclists were horrified, but you know us, game for anything! It was delicious.

I would recommend Co van Kessel for an organised, safe way to cycle around the city. They supplied bottles of water, waterproofs, and our refreshments, and were knowledgeable about our surroundings.

More photos here!

We re-boarded the ferry to cross the river, and our bicycle tour ended. We needed to do something relaxing to recover from the ride, so we decided to get back on the orange flag boat and take it as far up-river as we could for our 15 baht. The boat passed many of the sights that make Bangkok famous. As we neared Nonthaburi, the waterside dwellings became more rustic, interspersed with modern designs. Most buildings were raised above the water on stilts as the river is tidal and swells in the rainy season.

Nonthaburi is bustling and down-to-earth with a market along the main street. We had a really good bowl of pork and noodles for 30 baht, then found a shop selling posh Thai patisseries at budget prices. The dan tarts were the best we've ever tasted.
We bought a bag of ice from a 7-Eleven, retired to the balcony in our room in Bella Bella, and finished off the bottle of gin we had bought when we stayed with Peter.