I started at the largest of the parks which is called Lumpini Park (A). It is close to the Silom business district. There is easy access here by MRT but you can only take your bike on the subway if it’s foldable. As you can see from these pictures, they have a bicycle route marked out around the park. You must keep to this. Be careful of joggers and people not looking where they are going like this little kid. You can only cycle in this park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Exit the park in the North-East corner and then turn left. A short distance away there are steps that take you up to an elevated bike track (B) that goes across the city. Unlike normal pedestrian bridges, the steps here had a smooth track to run your bike up and down. But, you should walk and not ride as they are very steep. There were three of these major bridges. One of them went over the expressway. The last stretch is along a very smelly canal.

When I came out, I turned right and then left and went through a small community and out onto the main road. Here I turned right and a short distance away was the side gate for Benjakitti Park (C). I entered through the North-East corner. This one is not as big but for much of the route around the large lake, there is a dedicated cycle track that is only for bicycles. However, on the Western side you need to look out for pedestrians. In this park you can also rent bicycles. If you want peace and quiet then spend longer here. Again, this park has easy access by MRT.

View larger map

This is the live map that people were following during my trip this morning. I had already done several laps before I turned on the tracking device. The ride time (one lap of each park) was 19 minutes and 55 seconds. Average speed was 19.71 km/h. Total distance was 6.55 km

After all the cycling during the morning I was really hungry and decided to go and check out the Firehouse on Sukhumwit 11. There has been quite a bit of buzz on social media about their burgers. As I didn’t have any breakfast (and won’t have any dinner tonight) I had two meals. First the Breakfast Burger and then the Fish and Chips. Both were excellent though I preferred the latter. The burger was a bit too juicy which was making a mess. Very difficult to eat. I had to resort to eating with a knife and fork. But, still good.

GPS Coordinates:

Lumpini Park A – 13.730818,100.541586
Shortcut Bicycle Track B – 13.733872,100.552851
Benjakitti Park C – 13.729599134785,100.55765726718
Firehouse Pub & Restaurant D – 13.745020632388,100.55626234722

Our first stop was to Wat Saman Rattanaram (A) where you can see a giant Reclining Ganesha. This is said to be the biggest in Thailand if not the world. It is 16 meters high and 22 meters long. Ganesha is a Hindu deity and has an elephant head and four arms. Images of Ganesha are widely seen across India and Nepal. There are thirty two popular iconographic forms of Ganesha and all of them can be seen around the base of this Reclining Ganesha. At the same temple there is also a floating market which has plenty of stalls selling a variety of food. You can also join boat tours. There is enough to do at this temple to spend a morning. So take your time.

You cannot visit Chachoengsao without stopping by at Wat Sothorn Waramram Woraviharn (B). This is alongside the Bang Pakong River and houses the highly revered Luang Pho Sathorn Buddha image. The temple dates back to the Ayutthaya period, but the building of main interest now is the recently finished wihan. This is believed to be the biggest of its kind in Thailand. It is very unlike any Thai temple that I have seen as it has many Western influences. We drove back to Bangkok along the road to Latkrabang. On the border between Chachoengsao and Samut Prakan there is an old riverside market called Khlong Suan 100 Year Market (C). We were there at about 3 p.m. It was still open but best to go in the morning as it looked like some stalls were getting ready to close. As well as plenty of food to buy and eat, you can join boat tours to a local temple at the weekend.

GPS Coordinates:

Wat Samanratanaram A – 13.701759,101.141167
Wat Sothon Wararam Worawihan B – 13.67328,101.067277
Klong Suan Riverside Market C – 13.661948453347888,100.95641076564789

The bicycle tour started under the Memorial Bridge (A). There are bicycles here that you can borrow for free seven days a week. Just show your passport. A short distance away is Santa Cruz Church (B). This catholic church dates back to 1769. A bit further we passed this old wooden house (C) full of character. Although it looks like it is in relatively good condition, it does seem deserted as the shutters are all closed. This whole stretch of waterfront (D) has this really good cycle path.

A short distance from the church is Kian An Keng (E) which is a Chinese Shrine. Within this old community you will find people of all religions. There are also mosques. Like at Ton Son Mosque (F) where they have a graveyard containing bodies of people that fought in the wars with King Taksin. Nearby is Wat Hongrattanaram (G) which was built during the Ayutthaya period. There is also a shrine here for King Taksin. Back towards the river is Wat Kalayanamit (H) which has a massive seated Buddha as well as the what is believed to be the largest bronze bell in Thailand.

Another Chinese shrine in the area is Kuan Yu Shrine (I) which has a history dating back more than 270 years. Nearby is the Princess Mother Memorial Park (J). This is dedicated to the mother of the present King of Thailand. She was born in this area and in the park you will find a small museum dedicated to her life. The last two temples that I visited were Wat Phitchaya Yatikaram Worawihan (K) and Wat Prayurawongsawas (L).

GPS Coordinates:

Memorial Bridge (A – 13.738408312462,100.49729174603)
Santa Cruz Church (B – 13.739217858942,100.49395472884)
Oold wooden house (C – 13.739858801812,100.49352021098)
Waterfront Path (D – 13.740134979906,100.49318225264)
Kian An Keng (E – 13.740218639883,100.49272107606)
Ton Son Mosque (F – 13.740041647262,100.4886437877)
Wat Hongrattanaram (G – 13.738869190378,100.48805906613)
Wat Kalayanamit (H – 13.739943,100.491509)
Kuan Yu Shrine (I – 13.737449109647,100.50013461839)
Princess Mother Memorial Park (J – 13.736584088011,100.49947479497)
Wat Phitchaya Yatikaram Worawihan (K – 13.732759,100.497123)
Wat Prayurawongsawas (L – 13.737230236394,100.49575981349)

One of the latest major tourist attractions to open in Thailand is the “Dragon Descendants Museum” in Suphanburi Province. Like the Erawan Museum in Samut Prakan that is shaped like a three-headed elephant, this museum is also a “Wonder of Thailand”. One of those rare places where perhaps the building itself is more interesting and beautiful than the artifacts it holds within. In the case of this museum, the building is in the shape of a giant dragon. It dominates the landscape as you drive towards the city pillar shrine. The brightly coloured dragon, which is made of fiberglass, is 135 meters long and 35 meters high. It is 18 meters wide.

Location: Suphanburi
GPS Coordinates: 14.478429, 100.111638

Lunch was at one of my favourite restaurants in Phuket Town. It is called Raya (A – 7.885947, 98.390926). I have been there three or four times now. One of their signature dishes is this crab curry which is really nice. After lunch we explored Phuket Old Town (B – 7.884733, 98.389161). The local administration have spent a lot of money in burying the electricity and telephone cables which gives an unobstructed view of the old buildings. Really worth spending a couple of hours walking around here. There is an interesting museum on Klang Road just to the west of my marker. In the afternoon we went up to the top of Khao Rang Hill (C – 7.893583, 98.379682). This gives some good views of Phuket Town below and the bay beyond. There are also some monkeys here.  At the same place is a good hillside restaurant called Tunk-ka Cafe (D – 7.892647,98.380224)

In the afternoon, we also did a brief stop at Patong Beach (E - 7.891237, 98.293315) as I wanted to get some pictures for my travel blog. As an interesting side note, Internet service on my iPhone was slow all around Phuket island but I managed to get some good 3G speeds on Patong Beach. At the end of the day we visited Siam Niramit Phuket (F – 7.931395, 98.375219) for the grand opening. This mega show gives foreign tourists a great introduction to the culture and history of Thailand. There is also a Thai village here with buildings from the four regions. The next day we travelled to Phang Nga Province to visit Ban Bang Pat (G – 8.362339, 98.575191), which is a Muslim fishing village. You can explore this village, join boat tours and also enjoy some delicious seafood. They also have homestay. We had lunch here at Krua Aree (H - 8.360691, 98.574784) which seems to be the most popular restaurant in the village.

Probably the most beautiful train station in Thailand is Hua Hin Railway Station (A – 12.567486026648, 99.954611063004). It dates back to the reign of King Rama VI. The building you see here is the royal waiting room. There is also an old steam train at this station. The most famous beach is Hua Hua Beach (B – 12.569559430208, 99.96267914772) which is in the heart of town. You can tell it is Hua Hin straight away because of the pony rides that you can go on here. One of the night markets that we visited was Cicada Market (C – 12.534167909308, 99.965752959251). It is an art and craft market that also has live performances and street buskers. If you want to buy something original then come here. It is open Friday to Sunday. For dinner we ate at Baan Itsara (12.58236075581, 99.95625525713) which is by the sea. They had some great seafood here and at a good price too.

The next day we visited two new floating markets. The first one is called Hua Hin Floating Market (E – 12.510733209122993, 99.92035388946533) and only opened in August 2011. The second one is called Hua Hin Sam Phan Nam Floating Market (F – 12.501751525398017, 99.91621255874634) and is a bit further down the same road. I thought that there wouldn’t be room for two floating markets so near to each other, but when we went, there were queues to go in and the car park looked full. I guess that is a different story during the week. Of the two, I preferred Sam Phan Nam as there were more activities and most importantly, a lot more food! We had a late lunch at Coco 51 (G – 12.579496874573136, 99.95688557624817) which is also by the sea. This also had a good selection of food. At the end of the day we visited another relatively new market called PlearnWan (H – 12.594237406651935, 99.94922786951065). This is a recreation of an old style market from Hua Hin. There were even things to buy that you don’t often see these days. This is open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Wat Okat is located on the waterfront near the customs house. It is one of the most revered temples in the province. It contains two sacred Buddha images, Phra Tiew and Phraw Tiem. They are both made of wood but covered in gold. According to legend, the images were found floating across the river from Laos hundreds of years ago. They have an important bathing ceremony here every year during the sixth lunar month.

Province: Nakhon Phanom
Geo Coordinates: 17.40246920480667,104.78853642940521

A must for anyone visiting this province is Phrathat Phanom which can be found in That Phanom District, about 50 kilometres from the provincial town. It is an important temple for people who were born on a Sunday. Since 1942, it has also been recognized as a royal class temple. The original structure collapsed in 1975 as it was very old and had been badly damaged by storms. A new one was quickly built from public donations. Inside the structure are relics of the Buddha.

Province: Nakhon Phanom
Geo Coordinates: 16.94241575660683,104.72427606582642

Nakhon Phanom Province has a lot of Vietnamese influence from the refugees that fled during the war of independence. A popular Vietnamese breakfast here is “Kai Ga Ta” which is an egg fried in your own pan. A kind of commemoration to this special tie is this 50 meter high clock tower that was built by Vietnamese artisans. On Friday and Saturday evenings the road here along the river is closed for a special Walking Street.

Province: Nakhon Phanom
Geo Coordinates: 17.40392551891034,104.78784173727036

The former Governor’s Residence has now been converted into a museum. Like some of the other buildings in this area, it was built with a Western influence, mainly French, during the Indo-China War. The museum contains information about the history of Nakhon Phanom and also of the famous Illustrated boat Procession called Lai Rue Fai. Their Majesties the King and Queen stayed here for one night during their visit to the region in the 1950′s.

Province: Nakhon Phanom
Geo Coordinates: 17.406467002373265,104.7862645983696