In order to discover Bangkok by boat you’ll best start relatively south, on Central Pier. From there you head north, past innumerable temples (“Wats”). The boats also stop at the Grand Palace, the national museum, the River City shopping complex and luxury hotels that are located directly by the sea, such as the Mandarin Oriental or the Hilton.

 

At the Central Pier you either go on board of a (mostly two-storied) tourist boat (tickets for about 100 baht at the counter) or one of the public ships that more or less take the same route and cost maximally 15 baht (to be paid directly on board). There are stops every two minutes, on every pier on both sides of the river. So there’s no danger to suddenly find yourself in the middle of nowhere, without a chance to get off board before. To look behind the curtains of the megacity you board one of the narrow longboats that cruise along the Klongs (narrow waterways) and are almost exclusively used by locals. An access point is located right in Old Town at the Golden Mountain: Phan Fa Lilat. From there the reckless travelers among you dash east, past the shopping temple Siam Paragon as far as Asoke, where you can change to the subway (station: Phetchaburi) – and thereby back into ‘civilization’.