Chao Phraya River Cruise

Today, I spent a good part of the day on a riverboat sightseeing along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. The Chao Phraya River is actually the largest river in Thailand and runs north to south starting in the center of Thailand where two other rivers meet, the Ping and Nan river, and empties into the Gulf of Thailand. Some of the largest and most densely populated cities in Thailand are situated along the Chao Phraya River, including Ayutthaya, Nonthaburi, and Bangkok.

I waived down a taxi in the front of my hotel, jumped in and headed toward the Sathorn Pier, also known as the Central Pier, which is located near the Taksin Bridge. The taxi driver actually dropped me off at one of the smaller piers near the Sathorn Pier to catch a riverboat. The picture in this post was taken while standing on the pier, and shows the riverboat I road on while sightseeing along the Chao Phraya River. There were many popular historical landmarks which could be seen while traveling along the Chao Phraya River including a number of temples, the Grand Palace, and the Royal Thai Navy Dockyard.

If your visiting Bangkok Thailand for the first time I highly recommend that you take a riverboat cruise to experience Bangkok from a different, yet very interesting, perspective. If you have the whole day to spare, depending on what type of riverboat you take, you can tell the boat driver to stop at several of the piers so you can get off the boat and visit the popular landmarks along the Chao Phraya River.