It was my third time lucky for the food and night temples tour of Bangkok, which I had previously found on Viator. On the previous two occasions, I just didn’t have the energy to follow through, but thankfully this time I was able to go through with it for the $117 AUD price.
While that might be considered expensive by local standards, for an Australian tourist like me, it felt like extraordinarily good value for a four-hour immersive experience.
Even though the instructions for the meeting point at Lawson 108 near the BTS Krung Thonburi station were clear and simple, I wasn’t entirely confident in my own sense of direction.
To ensure I didn’t get lost, I took a $9 AUD Bolt ride to get there, which included a tip. My driver was incredibly friendly and professional, navigating through some fairly busy parts of the city to get me there as quickly as possible, and I was pleased to arrive as one of the first members of the group.
The group consisted mostly of Americans, along with a woman from Ireland and her partner from the Channel Islands. There were also two fellow Australians who I discovered had previously lived in Darwin where they owned a mango farm, though they are now living on the Gold Coast. Getting to chat and learn about their lives was a really nice part of the tour.
Our guide, Tony, was a former Thai Airways flight attendant who had been to Sydney hundreds of times, which explained his excellent English.
As the sole traveller with a disability and someone who moved a bit slower than the couples on the tour, I really appreciated how Tony and the rest of the group looked after me. He was incredibly friendly and kind.
The tour ran at a perfect pace, starting with a bit of history before moving to a street market. It was here that we enjoyed some lovely fish cakes and various local snacks.
Interestingly, several members of the tour group found the street market food to be quite spicy, often reaching for their water after just a few bites. I, on the other hand, found the flavours to be quite mild to my tastes and thoroughly enjoyed the balance of herbs and spices without any discomfort.
One of our main stops was the beautiful Wat Prayurawongsawat Worawihan, a temple that has received a UNESCO Award of Excellence for its heritage conservation.
I had been worried about the requirement to remove my shoes, as I cannot do so, but Tony assured me that because this was one of the “open” temples—which make up only about 10% of those in Thailand—it wouldn’t be an issue for the staff.
While the rest of the group climbed the steep stairs inside the Phra Borommathat Maha Chedi, I stayed below to sit quietly and enjoy a moment of reflection, soaking in the atmosphere of being in such a historic place.
From the temple, we wandered through the vibrant flower markets, learning how they take over entire streets in the centre of Bangkok. We also passed the Royal Palace, which looked stunning all lit up at night.
During the ride, we learned that the local name for the city is actually much shorter than “Bangkok,” though it also has an incredibly long ceremonial name that our Tuk-Tuk drivers sang for us.
This prompted a discussion about the song “One Night in Bangkok” from the musical Chess, which I remembered instantly from the early 80s.
For dinner, we joined the lengthy queue at Thipsamai, a legendary restaurant established in 1939. I had the “Superb Pad Thai,” which is uniquely wrapped in a thin omelette, and it certainly lived up to the reputation.
We finished the night in Chinatown with mango and sticky rice. Being a diabetic, I had to skip the rice, but I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh mango, even if the Australian couple weren’t quite as easily impressed as I was, given their history with the fruit in Darwin.
Throughout the night, I was touched by the kindness of both the tour group and the locals on the street who helped me navigate the high gutters with my “stumpy” leg.
My Tuk-Tuk driver eventually dropped me off at a 7-Eleven near my hotel, which was packed with tourists stocking up on beer for the upcoming 24 hours when alcohol sales are restricted. It was the perfect end to my final night in Thailand before heading back home to Australia. Hopefully I’ll squeeze in a few more things tomorrow