Another day of culture in the city of temples.

We started the day by moving hotels and placing ourselves in the heart of Chinatown, the starting point of our next Intrepid tour around Thailand and Laos.

As the meet up wasn’t until 6pm, we decided to do a hop on hop off river trip and combine this with a visit to Wat Arun.

Our walk to the ferry station through Chinatown took us past what we assume is the wholesale area for sandals and shoes, such was the number of stores selling the same products.

From there we entered the spice market, then the hot food, followed by the kids toys, quite the combination!

After enjoying the various markets on our way, we eventually arrived at the ferry pick up point at Ratchawong Pier. From there we motored our way up Chaophraya River to Wat Arun.

For the first time since we arrived in Bangkok, the sun was in hiding and the rain arrived clearing most of the usual tourist spots. This worked in our favour as within a hour the rains had passed and we were able to walk around Wat Arun with little or no queues.

Wat Arun is an incredible place, which like the Grand Palace is made up of a number of smaller temples each with their own distinct architectural style.

The gold Buddhas denote memorials for those who have passed away with plaques showing the family members remembered.

After a couple of hours of walking around, latterly in the returning sunshine, we picked up another river cruiser and headed back up to the Grand Palace to view the Queen Mothers display of dress wear over here 60yrs in the public eye.

Getting back on the ferry was fun and a great way to view the city as you motor along taking in the various temples and skyscrapers in the distance.

Tonight we met up with our new tour group, who we will be spending the next 2 weeks with as we travel through Thailand and Laos. As on previous trips we are a League of Commonwealth Nations from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Uk. In all there are 14 of us, plus our guide a lovely Thai lady called Ning who originates from Chang Mai.

After our meet and greet we headed out for dinner together into Chinatown and witnessed the hustle and bustle of the city in the evening.

After an enjoyable meal at a local Thai restaurant where we tried a number of traditional dishes, we had a wander around the street market checking out the foods on offer and taking in the atmosphere.

With a full day of tourist activities tomorrow morning, plus a 13hr overnight train journey to Chiangmai, we decided to hit the sack around 10.30pm knowing that we might not sleep as well on the sleeper train!