RTW Trip Day #57: Exploring Bangkok's Temples and a Nostalgic Walk Down Khao San Road

24 November 2025

Steps: 12,234

Wat Arun from the river

After a quick breakfast, we made our way into the centre of Bangkok to visit the main temples, the Grand Palace, and to spend some time in the Khao San Rd area.

Wat Arun

The traffic was horrible and it ended up taking us around an hour to get to Wat Arun (200 baht entry fee), our first temple in Bangkok.

Wat Arun sits on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River and is one of the most beautiful temples, as the central spire is covered in colourful porcelain tiles and seashells, which shines beautifully in the sunlight.

After wandering around the temple and the gardens close to the river, we caught the river taxi across to Wat Pho for 5 baht each as It’s just a short 5 minute ride across the river.

Wat Pho and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha

Wat Pho (300 baht entry fee) is a beautiful temple in its own right, but the main attraction is of course the reclining Buddha.

Unfortunately there was a long queue to get into the hall where the Buddha lies, which seems to be the norm these days.

The reclining Buddha is an impressive 46 metres long and fills almost the entire hall. The Buddha is made of gold and you catch glimpses of it as you walk past.

Once inside the hall, the sheer size of the Buddha is incredible to see.

Along the far side of the hall, you can drop coins into a long row of metal bowls for good luck. A small pot of coins is available for 20 baht.

From there we headed to the Grand Palace, only to find it was closed from 12 noon today and tomorrow, as people pay their respects to the queen mother, who sadly passed away last month. Entry is open from 8am to noon tomorrow, so we plan to return then.

Khao San Road

From The palace, we walked the short distance to the Tha Phra Chan pier, where we caught the river taxi up to Phra Arthit, which is close to Khao Sam Road.

Tip: At the pier, bypass the touts offering expensive tours and head for the ticket booth inside where you can get a one way ticket for 40 baht.

The walk from Phra Arthit was a bit nostalgic for us, taking us back to our backpacking days from 2006! The whole area is lined with bars, souvenir shops and massage parlours, and despite being a tourist area the prices are quite reasonable, but you still need to haggle!

Khao San Road during the day

We had planned to arrive at Khao San Road after 5pm, but since our visit to the Grand Palace visit was postponed, we got there a little early, so the market stalls weren’t set up yet - they usually start around 5pm.

Instead, we found a restaurant for an early dinner and a chance to rest our tired legs. The food was delicious, but the standout was definitely Nanna’s pineapple fried rice, served in half a pineapple and looking as good as it tasted!

Previous Day #56: Meeting the Parents in Bangkok!

Next Day #58: The Grand Palace and Chinatown

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