Always take the boat ride

As I probably mentioned, we were in Bangkok over 18 years ago, and many things have changed during those years. For one thing, there is actually less pollution! When we rode in tuk tuks back then, you really felt, even more than now, that you were endangering your life just breathing in all that exhaust with every ride. 

One thing that endures is the river, the Chao Phraya. I remember how thrilling it was to look out our window( for one night ) at the beautiful Oriental Hotel and watch the busy river traffic from above. It seemed to be a real working river then, which it still is, but the cargo seems to be much more of the human type- tourists.

A great way to enjoy the river is to ride on one of the many forms of river craft, from water taxis to long tail boats. We decided to spend the morning on the river, so we rode the skytrain to the pier, where we were quickly herded onto a " tourist taxi" which I don't even think existed when we were here before.

Some of the more exclusive hotels have their own quaint water taxis which you can take up and down the river.Years ago, only guests were allowed to disembark at the hotel, and somehow they memorized the guests! 

These long tail taxis used to transport locals up the klongs, or small canals to and from school and work. Do they still? All I saw in them were groups of two tourists.

The temple in the background is the Temple of Dawn, and features heavily in our family mythology. Last time we were here, I decided that I really wanted to see it at dawn, on the morning that we were to fly home from Bangkok. As I prepared to leave early in the morning, on my own, Jim stirred and I told him my plan, saying that I was going, but he did not have to come with me, in spite of the fact that he had been here as a very young boy. He came, and really enjoyed it. That was a turning point, where he realized that if he goes along with me, he might see something cool, in spite of his initial resistance. 

Since we had good seats on our boat, we decided to ride upriver as far as the boat went. It is a good way to get to the main tourist sights, and the bait emptied out at the temple pier. 

We disembarked at the flower market, which I thought we had seen before, but I was wrong. 

For a flower lover like me, this place was incredible! Heaps of orchids, marigolds, every flower used in temple offerings. I couldn't resist buying a bouquet of these orchids, probably 15+ stems for about $1.50

These look like popcorn, but I know them as crown flowers from Hawaiian leis. They go from this, to these:

So incredible, especially considering that they are so temporal, lasting only a short time.

This was a delivery, just about to be wraped up.

Lotus flowers.

The same blossoms, transformed by having their petals carefully folded back.

Different orchid varieties.

And roses- 2 dozen for $5. It was really hard not to buy a little of everything...