We arrived in Bangkok by sleeper train at roughly 6am. Our hostel check-in time wasn’t until noon, but we headed to the hostel in hopes of being able to drop our bags off. We jumped in a cab and told the driver to head to Khoasan Road (we were staying one street away). It was still dark when we arrived at Khoasan Road, but we were able to easily navigate to our hostel as the sun came up. We arrived at the hostel around 7:30am, but the gate was locked, and it looked as if no one was around. We decided to sit outside the gates in hopes that someone would come to open the gates. We sat around for over an hour, and watched people walking around inside setting up for breakfast. We decided to leave and find some breakfast on Khoasan Road.

We returned to the hostel at 10 and a lady let us set our bags down inside. She said we could sit in the courtyard until the noon check in time.

By 12pm, we had checked in! We could not have been more excited for a shower and fresh clothes after the train ride the night before.

After cleaning ourselves up, we decided that we would go for a walk and see some of the major sights in Bangkok, starting with Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn. Walking from Our hostel to the water taxi took about twenty minutes, but the walk was enjoyable.

The water taxi takes about three minutes to cross from one side of the river to the other, and costs less than 1$. We had no trouble finding the launch, just walk along the river from the Grand Palace area and look for a tiny market, the boat launch is down a wooden covered pier.

The river is a bustling place! You could sit and just watch boats go by and not get bored!

Wat Arun was under construction (Feb 2015), but should be complete by the time I post this in 2017? The entrance price is 100 Baht or about $4 CAD. Even under construction, the temple is worth visiting. I was able to see the unobstructed Wat Arun in 2011, hopefully by the time we go back in 2018 the Temple will be completely uncovered. The temple is covered in what seems to be recycled porcelain plates. I loved looking at all the detail in the tiles.

From Wat Arun we crossed the Chao Phraya River again on the water taxi and walked towards Wat Pho (famous for the reclining Buddha). We stopped for lunch along the way, a nice break from the 40 degree heat.

Wat Pho or Wat Po is located right beside the Grand Palace. The entrance fee for Wat Pho is 100 Baht, and includes a bottle of water! We wandered around Wat Pho for quite awhile, the complex is pretty big! My favourite part are the many colourful pagodas that surround the reclining Buddha hall.

From Wat Pho we headed to the Golden Mount (Wat Saket). I believe we paid 10 Baht to climb Wat Saket, but my memory might be incorrect. This temple is located at the top of an artificial mountain. You climb up and around the temple to get to the top, and there are lots of things to see along the way. The mountain is covered in vegetation and tiny shrines. Once at the top, there is another set of stairs that lead to the roof (and golden stupa). I missed this top level when I visit the temple in 2011, but Jives spotted the stairs during our visit and we were able to climb all the way to the top of the mount for incredible views of Bangkok.

From Wat Pho we headed back to our hostel to change before heading back out for dinner. We wandered Khaoson Road and chose a place to eat. After our meal we purchased beers from a convenience store and walked around taking in the sights and sounds of the intense Khaosan Road.

If you are looking for a cheap way to book train tickets in Thailand (or anywhere in asia) we highly recommend 12goasia. We have used this site many times and love it!!!!