A nice walking path from Tha Phra Chan to Tha Phra Athit
I love walking, but Bangkok is not a great city to walk and I have told you why I hate walking in Bangkok. Anyway, a walking path along the river bank is an exception.
Last weekend my friend and I went to Bangkok’s old town. We visited Tha Maharaj, a new community mall on the Chao Phraya River bank.
From there we walked to Tha Phra Chan which is only around 5-minute walk. Then, walk through Thammasat University, one of the prestige universities in Bangkok. I did not know before that this university has a great river view.
We walked and walked until we saw Phra Athit Road. On this road, you will see the tiny two-storey old shop houses lining along the street.
This road is well-known for bars and also restaurants. While walking on this road, we stopped at two popular restaurants to have dinner: Vietnamese Noodle Restaurant and Roti Mataba.
At the end of the street, you will see Santichaiprakarn Park and Phra Sumen Fort.
The park is not big but lively with people strolling and lounging. From the park, you can walk to Tha Phra Athit (Phra Athit Pier) and take Chao Phraya Express Boat to other places in Bangkok.
Since I went there in the evening, I saw a group of people exercising in the park. I saw many foreigners watching them, and some people recorded the video. This might be an interesting or strange thing for the visitors, but for Thai it is normal. In Bangkok, there are free aerobics classes all around the city. If you live in Bangkok for a while, you will see something like this in the park and also in front of the supermarket (Yes, we have free aerobics classes in front of the supermarket!).
From the park, you will see the buildings and houses on the other side of the river. And you will see Rama 8 Bridge, an asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge crossing the Chao Phraya River. And these views in the evening were fabulous!
All in all, this area is one of the great areas to relax for people who live in Bangkok. If you visit Bangkok and stay at Khao San Road, I do recommend you to spend an evening walking on this road.
Great pics and commentary! I used to live near there when I worked in BKK.