Attractions information

Laem Chabang Port

Laem Chabang is Thailand's largest port & is the main container port for Bangkok. It is located two hours to the southeast of Bangkok & about 30 minutes from the resort city of Pattaya.

The larger cruise ships have to dock here because of the shallowness of the Chao Phraya river's Klong Toey Port.
Laem Chabang Port undertook a major program to encourage development outside Bangkok and take advantage of the proximity to the Gulf of Thailand.

Construction began in 1988 and the Laem Chabang container port was completed in 1991.

It's now ranked in the top 20 of the busiest ports in the world. Much of the international shipping reaching Thailand goes through Laem Chabang. The port operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

As a port town, the economy is based on shipping services, as well as retail and tourism. The town is being marketed as an alternative to seedy Pattaya. Sukhumvit Road goes through the town.

Cruise ships using Laem Chabang Port during the 2009-2010 season include Costa Classica, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 & Queen Victoria, HAL's Amsterdam & Volendam, P&O's Arcadia, Diamond Princess, Ocean Princess & Sun Princess, Regent Seven Seas Mariner, Navigator & Voyager, Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, Silver Sea's Shadow & Whisper and Voyages of Discovery.

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Grand Palace Bangkok

The Grand Palace is the most spectacular place in Bangkok, so if you only see one thing whilst in the city, this is the place to see.Thai people respectfully refer to it as Phra Borommaharatchawang. It served as the official residence of the King of Thailand from the 18th -20th century.

The Grand Palace complex, construction of which began in 1782 during the reign of King Rama I, sits on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River and is surrounded by a defensive wall 1,900 metres in length, which encloses an area of 218,400 square metres. Within its walls, in times past, were the Thai war ministry, state departments, and even the mint.

Within the palace complex are several impressive buildings including Wat Phra Kaeo or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which contains the revered Emerald Buddha that dates back to the 14th century.

Thai Kings stopped living in the palace in the middle of the twentieth century, but the royal residence is still used by visiting dignitaries.

Important Information

A strict dress code applies here. The Grand Palace and The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is Thailand's most sacred site. Visitors must be properly dressed before being allowed entry to the temple. Men must wear long pants and shirts with sleeves. No tank tops or singlets. Women must be similarly modestly dressed. No see-through clothes or bare shoulders. No shorts or tights. Proper shoes must be worn. No flip flops.

Attractions information

Chao Phraya River

The Chao Phraya River is regarded as the bloodline of the Thai people. It has its origins in four rivers flowing from the northern region of the country, the Ping, Wang, Yom and Nan which meet at Pak Nam Pho in Nakhon Sawan Province. The Chao Phraya River is 370 kilometers long.

Much of Thai history can be traced along the banks of the Chao Phraya River, because in the early days Thai people settled along the river banks and only with the advent of roads in recent times have they ventured further away.

Today the Chao Phraya River remains the most important waterway for the people of central Thailand.

It is a working river, with daily commuter boats plying up and down from Nonthaburi to Sathorn covering 31 piers along the way.

Tug boats towing three or four barges laden with sand are frequently seen as they make their way to the various construction sites down river.

In the evening, as dusk gives way to night, many dinner cruise boats take their place on the river, going up as far as the Rama VIII bridge and downstream to the Rama IX bridge.

The Chao Phraya River is vibrantly interesting in the daytime and romantically beautiful at night.

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Bangkok Noi Canals

Bangkok has often been called the Venice of East, but over time many of the canals in the city have been filled in to make roads, so it is nice that this part of the city has retained the charm of living along the banks of serene canals. Take a long-tail boat and explore the myriad waterways.

Bangkok Noi Canal flows in a horseshoe shape through the old Bangkok Noi community in the Thonburi area.

The community was established in the Ayutthaya Period and King Chai Racha Dhiraj (1534-1546) commanded the excavation of a waterway from Bangkok Noi Canal to Bangkok Yai Canal as a shortcut to facilitate transport and communications.

Along both banks of the Bangkok Noi Canal, visitors see places of cultural and historical significance. On a boat trip you can pass the Thonburi railway station and the Royal Barges Museum. The boat trip also takes in several major temples and traditional Thai houses with carved designs.

Although cargo boats now use the direct route along the Chao Phraya River, the lively Bangkok Noi Canal community still endures. It reflects a bygone Thai lifestyle, inextricably related with waterways, and a Thai identity handed down from generation to generation.

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Floating Market Damnoen Saduak

Waterways have always been an integral part of Thai life and many communities depended entirely on them for their daily existence.

Long before cars, boats of all shapes and sizes plied the rivers and canals through the kingdom of Thailand, trading their wares and delivering their supplies.
The Floating Market at Damnoen Saduak is located in Ratchaburi Province which is just over 100 kms or two hours drive from the capital city of Bangkok.

This is a particularly fertile area, being irrigated by a 32 kilometre straight-line canal constructed by King Rama IV way back in 1866.

It connects the Taachin River with the Mae Klong River and became a major transport artery between the provinces of Samut Sakorn and Samut Songkram.

Apart from providing transportation, Damnoen Saduak Canal also provides year-round water, with more than 200 small canals having been dug by farmers to irrigate their land.

The area is famous for the quality of its fruit, namely grapes, mangoes, bananas, oranges, papaya & coconut.

Nowadays, both sides of the canal are densely populated and bright and early every morning vendors from the surrounding area turn up to trade their wares.