Tag Archives: bangkok night bike tour

Sanam Luang

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Sanam Luang or the Royal Field is a large area not far from the Grand Palace in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. This large field has a long history. Starting during the reign of King Rama I in the 1780s, the field was the site of important royal events and ceremonies, specifically royal cremations. Starting the early 20th century, the area was opened as a public park. Throughout the years, it was used as the site for festivals, public recreational activities, and even more recently the site for demonstration against the ruling government. At night, the area served as temporary shelter for homeless people, and there were also big flea market operating in the area.

During our night bike tour with the Grasshopper Adventures, we passed Sanam Luang area on our way back towards the Grasshopper Adventures office from our last stop at Wat Pho. It was interesting riding on the bike and seeing on the grass fields many people lying on mats. It was kind of peculiar — seemed like you had people relaxing at the park, but at night. Later on I found out that these folks were likely homeless; they work during the day elsewhere in the city, but they didn’t have a place to stay at night, so they stayed at Sanam Luang because it was lighted and there were other people, so it’s somewhat a ‘safe’ place to be. And then not far after passing that area, we found ourselves riding on sidewalk that kept narrowing because there were flea market vendors setting up their display on both sides of the sidewalk, and with many people walking around checking out the display, we had to be very careful riding our bike through there (at one point one of our bikers fell onto a vendor’s display mat; I wasn’t sure if there was any damage on the goods that the vendor was selling, but fortunately it didn’t cause any big problem). Now looking back I thought it’s interesting to compare that to the National Mall area in downtown Washington, DC. They’re kind of alike, though I don’t think we see as many homeless people in the National Mall area (you could see some of them at other public parks in DC), and there is no flea market there. As I googled around before writing this blog post, I saw a couple of articles about Sanam Luang saying that in early 2011 the area was closed and cleaned up, and now it’s illegal to stay overnight, stage demonstration, or sell stuff in the area. So it’s back to its previous beautiful state, but I guess it’s not as culturally interesting as it was in the last few decades.

I took the photo below from my bike as we rode through the flea market. There was a little ‘traffic jam’ and we were stuck for few minutes at this location, allowing me to take a quick snapshot capturing the atmosphere there that night.

Sanam Luang Flea Market

Pak Khlong Market

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Pak Khlong Market is a market in downtown Bangkok, Thailand, that is the primary flower market in the city. Located near the Chao Phraya River and the Memorial Bridge, this market had its history all the way to the reign of King Rama I (1782-1809). It started as a floating market, then later it turned into a fish market, and for the last 60 years it’s been a produce market (flower, fruits, vegetables). The market is open 24 hours a day, though it is busiest around dawn when the fresh shipment of produce arrives from other provinces of Thailand. The market serves mostly wholesale customers, though it also serves direct customers as well.

We visited the Pak Khlong Market during our night bike tour with the Grasshopper Adventures after we’re done riding through Thonburi and crossed the Chao Phraya River on the Memorial Bridge. We spent some time walking through the busy market, observing the various colors of flowers and smelling the fragrance. We also stopped at a couple of street vendors to taste fresh fruits and some local snacks. I think for photographers this is a fun place to visit as you get to see the various colors of flowers on display and the activities of vendors preparing bouquets of flowers and people looking to buy those.

The photo below was taken as we walked around the market to observe the variety of flower arrangements being sold. You can see my fellow tourists were quite fascinated with what they’re seeing around.

Pak Khlong Flower Market

Wat Arun

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Wat Arun is a temple located in Thonburi area on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The temple was named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn, because the first light of morning reflects off the surface of the temple and making it glow. The temple has been there since more than 300 years ago. During the time when Thonburi was the capital of the Thonburi Kingdom, the palace was located on the grounds of Wat Arun. It was the home for the Emerald Buddha statue until the capital was moved across the river to present day Bangkok and the Grand Palace in Bangkok was built. Today Wat Arun is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Bangkok as it can be seen prominently from the river.

During the night bike tour with the Grasshopper Adventures, we stopped at Wat Arun while riding in Thonburi area. The temple was closed at night, so we could only observe the architecture from outside. At night the temple was illuminated, so it still looked quite impressive. I thought it was interesting however, that the temple was located in a residential neighborhood, and there were many local residents hanging out around the temple. While we stopped and listened to our tour guide Tami telling us about the history of the temple, there were many local kids (5-10 year olds) playing around near us — some with their little bicycles even rode around with our group for a little bit. Many people were at the temple preparing floats and flower arrangements; apparently the following day was King Taksin’s birthday, so they were preparing for a ceremony to commemorate that. King Taksin was the Thai King when the capital was in Thonburi, and he was one who set up the royal palace near Wat Arun.

The photo below was taken from outside the temple. You can see the recognizable spires of the temple, and the area on the left was where the preparation for King Taksin’s birthday ceremony was taken place.

Wat Arun

Bangkok Night Bike Tour

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One of the unique ways to explore Bangkok is by participating in a bike tour at night. When my cousin Kristi and I visited Bangkok, Thailand during our Southeast Asia trip in 2010, we found out about this activity, offered by an outfitter called the Grasshopper Adventures, on TripAdvisor. It was listed as the top thing to do in Bangkok.

The Grasshopper Adventures is an outfitter that offers bicycle and unicycle tours in several countries in Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, India, Japan, etc.). Most of their tours span multiple days (for example, they have a multi-day tour traveling on bicycle from North to South Vietnam). The Bangkok Night Bike was one of the shortest ones; it’s a 4-5 hour ride around downtown Bangkok and Thonburi area, visiting some landmarks and neighborhoods.

We started the tour at the Grasshopper Adventures office, located near Khao San Road. Our tour group was led by our guide, Tami, and there were eight participants: Kristi and I, a mother and daughter from Australia, a couple from India, and another couple from Malaysia. Once we were fitted with the right size bike and helmet, Tami provided a short instruction on the hand signals she would give as she rides in front of all of us. We were supposed to follow with the same hand signal so other riders behind us see that as well.

I wasn’t sure what to expect before we started the trip, as the Grasshopper Adventures office was located at a major road near a very busy area around Khao San Road. I didn’t see any bicycle lane anywhere. After we started our ride, it became clear that we pretty much would ride on sidewalks, on the side of the street, through alley ways, etc. — anywhere we can squeeze in with our bicycles safely.

The trip started with a ride through the busy Banglamphu area near Khao San Road. We rode through some busy roads, small alleys near guest houses, restaurants, and clubs, until we reached the ferry pier on the bank of the Chao Phraya River. We embarked on a short ferry ride to cross the river to the Thonburi area across the river. We went through quiet residential neighborhood to visit Wat Arun, a majestic temple that looks beautiful especially at dawn and night time. Then we continued on through narrow alley ways in the neighborhood near the river bank, before crossing the bridge back to Bangkok area. We visited a busy flower market and then stopped at Wat Pho for a private tour at night when the temple was officially closed for the public. We finished with a ride back to the Khao San Road area, passing a night market on the street sidewalk between near the Khao San Road area. The trip took almost five hours.

It was another memorable part of our visit to Bangkok. The ride was not too strenuous — you can participate as long as you’re moderately fit. You do need to be careful if you’re not used to bicycling, as you need to be able to keep up with the group. Tami our tour guide was really good and keeping a reasonable pace for the group and ensuring we’re not leaving anyone behind, but with some crowded areas that we went through, I could see possibility that someone fell behind and got lost. Overall, it’s a highly recommended activity and I would love to do it again the next time I visit Bangkok.

The photo below was taken when we’re about to cross a busy intersection near Khao San Road at the beginning of our ride. You can see the crowded area; we just have to slowly inch forward across the busy intersection and follow the other bikes in front of us. I had my DSLR camera hanging on my neck while riding the bike, though in many places I used my little point-and-shoot camera instead. Since we were riding at night, it was a bit difficult to take photos with my Elph in low light. The DSLR with fast lens was definitely helpful in being able to take some photos.

Night bike tour