Southeast Asia Part 3: Thailand

Grand Palace in Bangkok

We had three action-packed days in Thailand and I loved every second of it!

Day 1:
The Celebrity Century docked at Laemchabang which is a 2.5 hour drive from Bangkok. We had pre-booked a shuttle from Oriental Escape to take us from the port to our hotel in Bangkok. The service we received from Oriental Escape was professional, comfortable and safe. I would recommend them in a heartbeat.

We chose to book a hotel near the Chao Phraya river because we wanted to avoid the infamous road traffic in Bangkok. After dropping off our overnight bags at our hotel we walked to Oriental Pier. We boarded an orange flag boat and the fare (15 baht) was collected on board. We got off at Tha Chang Pier and immediately smelled the aroma of fruits and grilled food at the market.

Market full of sounds and smells

We walked through the market, crossed the street and then walked alongside the white wall fence of the Grand Palace to get to the entrance. We bought our tickets for 500 baht which gave us admission into the Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and the Regalia Museum. We walked through the Regalia Museum to see displays of coins, jewellery and regalia worn by royalty.

The Grand Palace is huge and there is so much to see! It's hard not to just go crazy with taking pictures of everything. I had to remind myself to step back, put down my camera and admire what I was seeing before my eyes.

At the Grand Palace

Beautiful craftsmanship at the Grand Palace

We had to take our shoes off before entering the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and no photos or video recording was allowed inside.

Tip: In terms of clothing attire for the Grand Palace I made sure to cover my shoulders and knees and to not wear anything skin-tight. Since you'll need to take your shoes off to see the Emerald Buddha it is best to wear slip-on shoes. I wasn't sure if flip-flops were allowed so I wore closed-toed slip-on shoes.

We stayed at the Grand Palace until it closed at 3:30pm. We had originally planned to visit Wat Pho and Wat Arun as well. However, since they close at 5pm and 5:30pm respectively we realized the time needed to travel there wouldn't leave us with enough time to truly appreciate the temples. Therefore we decided to save them for the next time we went back to Bangkok. 

We headed back on the orange flag boat and went to eat at a Thai restaurant near our hotel called Tealicious. It is owned by a super friendly English gentleman and the food was very good too.

Day 2:

We had booked the Railway and Floating Market Tour from BKK Tours. It was a half day tour which allowed us time to explore Bangkok on our own for a couple hours after the tour.

Our day started with our tour guide Ms. Oi meeting us in the lobby of our hotel. We then sat comfortably in a family sized van as the driver drove us from Bangkok to Samut Songkram where a railway market is located. Along the way we saw miles upon miles of salt farms where sea salt gets harvested.

On our way to the railway market we stopped at a gas station to order some iced coffee from Cafe Amazon. The drinks tasted amazing and were a good deal too. Ms.Oi bought some freshly made hot coconut pancakes, a very common on-the-go breakfast for Thais, from a street vendor for us to try.

The railway market is a fully functional market set up at the edge of a railway track selling both fresh goods and household items. When the warning signal sounded to let people know the train was approaching the vendors pulled back their awnings and goods from the edge of the tracks with efficiency and ease. It was quite a thrilling experience to see the local train pass through the market mere inches from where we were standing. As soon as the train passed by the vendors immediately moved their awnings and goods back to the edge of the tracks and business resumed as normal.

The train approaching the railway market

After the railway market we visited a coconut plantation and traditional home located near a canal. We watched a guy make sugar cane from coconut water and sampled a piece as well. It's nice to see that no part of a coconut goes to waste since every part of a coconut can get re-purposed into something else.

All sorts of coconut goodies on display

We then went on our way to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Ms. Oi rented a rowing boat for us and we all went into the boat to experience the way locals used to socialize with their friends. By going through the smaller rivers instead of the main canal where all the markets were set up we were able to escape the crowds. Away from the hustle and bustle we saw locals' homes as well as lots of natural greenery. 

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

View from inside the rowing boat

Our tour finished after the Floating Market and we asked to be dropped off at MBK Centre (a 7 floor mall in Bangkok). After saying goodbye to Ms. Oi and our driver we went up to the 6th floor to eat at the food court. To pay for your meal at this food court you need to load money onto a reloadable/refundable card which you can purchase on the same floor.

After a few hours of eating and shopping at MBK Centre we left the mall to walk to our pre-arranged pick-up location with Oriental Escape. There was a large crowd of people gathered outside MBK Centre to watch a Muay Thai boxing event. We soaked in the atmosphere for a few minutes then went on our way. We got picked up by Oriental Escape and made the 2.5 hour journey back to the cruise terminal in Laemchabang.

Day 3:

We decided the best way to spend our final day in Thailand would be to book a shore excursion from Celebrity to ensure we would make it back to the ship on time. The excursion we picked was Elephant Experience. This was by far the BEST excursion I have ever gone on!

Our morning began with taking a shuttle bus to the Elephant Village in Pattaya. It was approximately a 30 minute drive to Pattaya from the cruise terminal.

We started off our tour by riding on an ox-cart being pulled by 2 oxen. It was a bumpy ride and my excitement kept on building with the knowledge that we would soon be riding an elephant.

The ox-cart ride

The ox-cart ride took us to a location where we boarded a raft to take us to the other side of a lake. At the end of the raft ride we went inside a silk house to learn how silk is made from silk worms. From there we went on a short nature hike to get to the area where the elephants were waiting for us.

Now my favourite part: the elephant ride! One by one everyone climbed up the stairs to a platform. This made it easier to get onto the wooden bench attached to the elephant's back. Once we were seated on the bench we were "strapped in" with a metal handle in front of us. It reminded me of an amusement park ride.

The platform used to get onto the elephant

It was a hot day and our elephant kept spraying herself with water from her trunk. We couldn't help but laugh when we got hit with the excess water several times. The elephant ride went through a rural area past homes and plantations and lasted about 30-45 minutes.

Elephant ride through the water

After the elephant ride we were treated to a delicious buffet lunch serving both Western and Asian food. Following our meal we went to see the elephant show. The show focused on showcasing the versatility of an elephant's trunk (pulling/pushing large items with their trunk to demonstrate strength; picking up a coin from the ground to demonstrate dexterity). We also watched the elephants having bath time in the water.

Elephants enjoying their bath time

The elephant show also demonstrated how mahouts (elephant riders) don't need to use a platform to climb onto an elephant's back. Instead, the mahout gets the elephant to lie down on all four legs so they can step on the elephant's bent front leg and hop onto it's back.

The host of the elephant show picked me from the audience to try climbing onto an elephant without the assistance of a platform just like a mahout would. It wasn't easy and I did need a little help from the mahout and host to get up onto the elephant. I caught myself saying "check that off the bucket list" after climbing onto the elephant without a platform and riding it bareback...just like a mahout!

Getting some help to climb onto the elephant

There is nothing to hold onto and nothing to strap me down once I was sitting on the elephant bareback. I'll never forget the feeling of the elephant's ear flapping against my legs. After going for a short ride on the elephant the host invited fellow audience members to ride bareback on an elephant as well. I felt honoured to be the only person in the audience to climb onto an elephant without the help of a platform.

Best moment ever!!

It still brings a huge smile to my face when I think back on my wonderful experience at the Pattaya Elephant Village. I definitely had one of my best days ever here.


Read Part 1: Brunei and Vietnam here
Read Part 2: Singapore here