3. Old Bangkok Temples and Markets by Tuk Tuk
Climb aboard a tuk-tuk for a rambling adventure through Bangkok. These little vehicles are similar to rickshaws and are the best way to discover Bangkok’s buzzing backstreets.
Your driver guide will show you all the famous and not so famous sights of the city. Marvel at the Phra Sumeru Fortress, visit the quirky Amulet Market and take-in the stunning Wat Phra Chetuphon Temple, the center of Buddhism in Thailand. Your guide will give you a tour of this ancient temple complex.
Your next destination will be Wat Saket, another temple that lies at the foot of the Golden Mount. Your local guide will take you up the 318 steps (sorry, your tuk-tuk can’t help you here) to the top for a 360-degree view of the surrounding Rattanakosin Island, a view which makes the climb totally worth it.
You’ll hop back into your tuk-tuk and head towards Pak Klong Talad, the flower market. This is the biggest flower market in Thailand and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Many different types of flowers are shipped here and the market acts as a distribution center, transferring flowers to other cities throughout the country. Your guide will introduce you to a local market vendor who'll show you how to fold the petals of lotus flowers just as Thai people often do when they use them in worship. You'll have a chance to try preparing the flowers for yourself and we'll take them to our next stop to learn how local people use them at the temple.
Just around the corner is the small community of Ban Baat who have been making alms bowls for monks by hand since the late 1700s. In Thai Buddhism, monks traditionally walk through the local community at dawn to collect donations of food so an alms bowl is an essential accessory. Learn how a handful of families in the locality are preserving the traditional methods that you'll discover as you walk through this hidden village. Meet one family who will give you the chance to try your hand at whichever stage of bowl-making they happen to be at on the day, it could be hammering in the pattern or polishing the finished surface.
Onward you’ll go to Wat Po, the temple that houses the most beautiful reclining Buddha image in the country, which is also the birthplace of Thai massage and medicines. Your local guide will take you on a tour of the area and tell you stories about one of the most fascinating parts of Bangkok. This temple is one of the places that should not be missed when you visit Bangkok.
From here you can either continue to explore on your own, or your guide will be happy to point you in the direction of your accommodation. No doubt they’ll recommend you take a tuk-tuk back, just to top off this tuk-tuk experience perfectly.