Vietnam & Thailand 2025 Day 2: Temple Run

Susan Le

— 9 min read
Vietnam & Thailand 2025 Day 2: Temple Run
Photo Credits: Susan. Christine being a tourist and getting the perfect shot at the Grand Palace.

You’d think that after a long day travelling to Vietnam from Canada and then to Thailand, I would have planned a chill first day in Bangkok, but I didn’t. We were up at 8:00 am to start the day, bright and early.

Photo credit: Susan. Kelvin taking in the city vibes before heading out to explore Bangkok

Kelvin and I wanted to exchange money for some Thai Baht, but no cash exchange stores were open early in the morning. Luckily, Kelvin had some cash from his dad, who had travelled to Thailand recently. Thank you, Mr. Liew. So instead we just ate the things we got from the 7-11 the night before, got some coffee, and took the local transit ferry to the Grand Palace. It was so hot in Bangkok that day, and the city itself has very little green space and coverage (at least in the areas we were visiting), so we had to be prepared with lots of sunscreen and cover for a long day in the sun.

Photo credit: Kelvin. Riding the local Chao Phraya River ferry to see the Grand Palace.

First stop, the iconic Grand Palace. Something to note is that when you enter the Grand Palace, you start in the temple area that houses the famous Emerald Buddha. There are several structures to visit here, but the main one is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha statue itself was a lot smaller than I expected, but it was placed on a fairly tall structure, and the temple itself is covered in wall paintings telling the story of Buddha. You have to go barefoot into the temple, and no pictures are allowed. Overall, it was amazing to see, even on a scorching hot day.

Photo credit: Susan. Statues outside the Grand Palace as we’re walking toward the entrance.
Photo credit: Susan. The guardians of the Grand Palace on the spires beside the Royal Pantheon. The Royal Pantheon, originally built to house the Emerald Buddha but was deemed too small, is used to house the life-size statues of the former sovereigns of the Royal House of Chakri.
Photo credit: Susan. Christine and Jeff soaking in the sun at the Royal Pantheon. The walls were so beautifully decorated, and the detailing was absolutely incredible!
Photo credit: Susan. Jeff blessing Christine with holy water using a lotus.
Photo credit: Susan. Christine posing for a shot outside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. There were so many people visiting.
Photo credit: Susan. Kelvin admiring the gold mosaic tiling of Phra Sri Rattana.
Photo credit: Susan. Finding some shade on a super hot day.
Photo credit: Susan. Full view of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
Photo credit: Christine striking a pose in front of Phra Sri Rattana Chedi, a brick and mortar bell-shaped structure that is covered in gold mosaic imported from Italy which was constructed to house relics of the Buddha.
Photo credit: Kelvin. The detailing on the temples were so intricate, it was so amazing to see up close.
Photo Credit: Susan. The Emerald Buddha at a distance.
Photo Credits: Kelvin.

After the temple area, we walked over to the palace. Equally as hot, and in this case, we weren’t allowed to enter any of the buildings. I assume that it is still an active working area and the royals are there doing their duties. Didn’t stop us from taking a few fun photos.

Photo credit: The Grand Palace. Honestly, the architecture was breathtaking.
Photo Credit: Susan. Exploring the Grand Palace grounds.
Photo Credit: Susan. Golden reflection.
Photo Credit: Susan. Another angle of the Grand Palace.
Photo Credit: Christine. It was very hot.
Photo Credit: Kelvin.

After a sunny day, we had to get some Thai iced tea! So refreshing and so needed in the hot sun.

We also checked out the Queen’s Textile Museum, which was near the exit of the Grand Palace. It was so nice to be in an air-conditioned building. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but it was interesting to see the different outfits of the past Queens of Thailand.

Afterwards, we caught a complimentary 30-minute shuttle bus to see a traditional Thai play at the Salachalermkring Royal Theatre. This show was included in our ticket to the Grand Palace.

The costumes were amazing, and it was the retelling of an old Thai folklore. It was nice that they also included English translations above so that we could understand and follow along with the story.

The play was of the story of King Rama and his battle against the Giants or Titans. It began with the monkey warrior lord, who was cursed and needed King Rama to stroke him to break the curse. Once free, the monkey warrior lord called on his army of monkey warriors to pledge loyalty to King Rama, and he was then commanded to make a bridge to reach the Giants. As part of the process to build the bridge, the Monkey warrior lord had to make a nymph goddess surrender to him so he could build the bridge. Once the bridge was built, King Rama’s army could cross to fight the Giants. The performance was a dance with little narration. Vietnamese culture also has similar plays, so it was very interesting for me to see a Thai traditional play.

After the show, we took the shuttle bus back to the Grand Palace, and then we headed to the Chao Phraya River to take a ferry to see Wat Arun, another famous and beautiful temple in Thailand.

On our way to the Chao Phraya River ferry, there were a lot of food street vendors. We grabbed some fried baos, which were delicious.

Photo Credit: Susan. Street food snack.
Photo Credit: Susan. A view of Wat Arun from the Chao Phraya River.
Photo Credit: Susan. Jeff looking cool on his ride to Wat Arun.

No photos, but we did stop by 7-11 to cool down and get some snacks before checking out the temple. I will say it was super touristy with many people dressing up in traditional Thai clothing for photoshoots. Everywhere around the temple you could see vendors offering to dress you up and do your make up for only 150 Baht, which works out to be about $6 CAD!

To be honest, the temple was super beautiful but so crowded and so touristy. I was hard to take the time to admire and take photos with so many people around. I guess that’s to be expected since we were going to such a famous place.

Photo Credit: Susan. Can you spot Jeff and Christine?
Photo Credit: Susan: Can you spot Kelvin in the crowd?
Photo Credit: Susan. You can see the intricate details of the temple. Honestly, so beautiful.
Photo Credit: Christine. Edit: Susan. I get way everyone is doing a photo opt cause it really does make for a great photoshoot setting. Just look at Jeff here.
Photo Credit: Christine. Now, can you spot me?
Photo Credit: Christine. Stairs were steep and crowds were plenty.
Photo Credit: Christine. My instagram moment! Thanks Christine!
Photo Credit: Christine. A break from the crowds.

Afterwards, it was back onto the Chao Phraya River ferry to get to Iconsiam for dinner. At this point, everyone was pretty tired and hungry from a long day. We opted to have dinner at the giant food court at Iconsiam, which was designed to be a huge indoor food market that represented different cuisines from different regions of Thailand.

We tried some ramen fried noodle, mango sticky rice, Thai friend rice and crispy pork. The crispy pork was so expensive, so Kelvin was really sad. Overall, the food here was okay, definitely not the best Thai food you could get, but probably much safer and cleaner than getting actual Thai street food. Also, because this is a luxury mall, the food is more expensive. Regardless, I enjoyed exploring all the stores and the overall vibes.

Photo Credit: Susan. Mango sticky rice!
Photo Credit: Susan. Christine enjoying the Thai food market.
Photo Credit: Susan. Yes that is alligator meat for sale.
Photo Credit: Susan. Can’t go wrong with fried rice.
Photo Credit: Susan. These cute little fruit-shaped desserts called Luk Chup are mung bean paste covered in agar jelly. I thought they would be chewy, but they were more crunchy, surprisingly. Really tasty and interesting.

I will say that for our first day in Thailand, we did a lot. It was a bit jarring going from old temples full of tourists to a very modern luxury mall all in one day, but I will say it was fun. Everyone was so tired afterwards. We headed back to our Airbnb early to pack and go to bed early so that we could wake up at 4 am to catch our flight to Krabi.

Now, while everyone was heading to bed, I had to figure out how to send my suitcase to April via Grab. I had to store my extra baggage at her place to save money on checking in my luggage with Vietjet Air. The budget airlines can be really picky with baggage size and weight, so I didn’t want to deal with that this time. On our way to Bangkok, I was forced to buy another carry-on cause we were over our weight limit for carry-on. Anywho, it was such a nightmare cause the Grab app got the wrong location, so I spent a good 1.5 hours sorting that out and paying a bit extra to have the Grab driver detour to April’s place. In the end, they got the stuff to April. After that fiasco, I got to bed.

TRAVEL TIPS:

  • It’s good to carry cash in Thailand as there are food vendors, attractions, and ferries that use only cash or will provide a better deal with cash and help you avoid conversion fees.
  • Carry lots of sunscreen, a hat, cause it is hot and there is little shade in some areas.
  • The Grand Palace entrance ticket includes several other attractions, such as a traditional Thai play at the Salachalermkring Royal Theatre. Something worth checking out if you have time! This includes a 30-minute shuttle bus to and from the theatre from the Grand Palace.
  • The Chao Phraya River ferry is a great way to get around the city for a very affordable price. You can take the local transit, which gives you a nice view of Bangkok as well.

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