An initial failure but then success...

This morning, my stupid body clock woke me up even earlier than usual at 2.11 am, and I’m wide awake. I spend the next 3 hours in bed reading my book (Nicola Sturgeon’s autobiography ‘Frankly’), which I’m finding really interesting, as strangely, there are some aspects that I can totally relate to, being about the same age as Nicola, understanding her background, her childhood experiences, her exhaustion after the pandemic, and dealing with male patriarchy. I had no idea that she was actually an introvert either – just goes to show you.

Anyway, after breakfast, we head out with the girls to the morning market at Srinakharinwirot University, as we think they will like it. Unfortunately, this was a huge failure as there was no sign of the morning market – it was like you would never have known it had been there the day before. What’s going on? Ok, not to worry, we also have a plan about visiting another place that we think the girls will like, but to get there, we need to take the Saen Saep Canal boat from the Prasamit pier (near the SWU) to Pratunam pier.

Saen Saep Boat Service

The Saen Saep Boat Service is a water-based transportation system in Bangkok that operates along the Saen Saep Canal. The service consists of long, narrow boats that are used to ferry passengers through the city's congested neighbourhoods. The boats offer an affordable and efficient mode of transportation. The Saen Saep Boat Service has numerous stops along the canal, making it easy to reach various locations in the city. Overall, the Saen Saep Boat Service is a unique and interesting way to experience Bangkok's waterways and avoid the city's heavy traffic.

The express boat service began operating in late 1990, offering an alternative to the congested roads of Bangkok. The service was designed to leverage the canal for fast commuting, especially in areas where the BTS Skytrain or MRT subway were not accessible.

The boats are long, narrow, and designed to navigate the canal's tight spaces. They have a capacity for 40-50 passengers, with seating at the front and standing room at the back. During peak times, the boats can be extremely crowded, so it is best to avoid them during those times.

The boat ride was great, although it was quite busy, so we all needed to stand and hang onto the rails. The cost of the ride for the 4 of us was £1.32 (14 baht each) – what a bargain and also a cool experience too! Before coming, I made up a few lists of things to do and try, so hopefully, we are helping our young guests tick off various items on these lists.

Platinum Fashion Mall

Our main objective in using the canal express boat was to get to the Platinum Fashion Mall. This is Thailand's largest fashion retail and wholesale centre, offering both international and Thai designer clothing in over 2,500 stores, including men's and women's clothing, accessories, and much more.

It comprises three zones, with up to six floors.

After getting off the canal boat, we went under the underpass and entered the complex via zone 3, although we had no idea about the zones or layout at this stage. We then split up from the girls and R, and I headed to the top level to start working our way down, as we usually like to do.

We were quite disappointed with the shops and food areas that we saw as we worked our way down, and even my first 10-minute chair massage did not resolve our disappointment. We spotted the girls in ‘Eve and Boy’ and popped in to tell them that we were not really impressed so far. They were also unimpressed by the lack of ‘fashion clothing’ that they expected to see. We then exited zone 3 and headed into zone 2, and this is where things improved massively. A quick run back to tell the girls not to bother with zone 3 but to head directly to zone 2, and we were back in the game.

OMG – this place was absolutely massive, and there was so much to see. There were a lot of places selling slightly similar items, but lots of really cool and unique stores too. We laughed when we thought of how the girls were going to respond to what they found – we imagined that they would be there for a long, long time (and spoiler alert – they were!)

The R Walk, or Ratchaprasong SkyWalk, is a modern elevated pedestrian pathway located in Bangkok, Thailand. Spanning several key areas, it connects prominent shopping districts and landmarks, making it a crucial transit point for both tourists and locals. The walkway is designed for comfort and safety, allowing visitors to explore the surroundings without the hustle of street traffic. Along the SkyWalk, you can enjoy views of the bustling cityscape, as well as obtain access to the various shopping centres, restaurants, and entertainment options. Its strategic location helps enhance the city's accessibility, promoting tourism and urban mobility.

CentralWorld is a shopping plaza and complex in the Siam area of Bangkok, Thailand. It is the ninth-largest shopping centre in the world.

Central World

After spending some time wandering around the Platinum Fashion Mall, where we did bump into the girls (and let them borrow some additional cash from us as most stores don’t take cards and they had already bought several items), we then made our way along the R walkway towards Central World.

We visited this mall last year, so it was familiar to us, and we didn’t feel like we needed to explore it again. Instead, we made our way to the Food Court for some lunch.

Lunch

I enjoyed a delicious som tum (papaya salad with shrimp), and R had a beef noodle dish. For dessert, we shared some chocolate crispy treats, which are a variation of a common dessert that usually contains crème and coconut shavings as a filling in a roll. We’re making an effort to be a bit more adventurous and to try more Thai dishes than we did last year. I forgot to mention in my previous blog that I even tried some ‘blood cake’ when we were in Terminal 21 yesterday. It was okay, but not something I would usually eat or try again. It didn’t have much in the way of flavour, but the jelly-like texture and the concept of it were probably more off-putting to me.

The total cost for lunch was around £7. Note, we didn’t have any drinks as we usually carry our fancy water bottles with us (I’ll discuss these in a future blog post).

We had planned on stopping by the nearby Big C store after lunch, but by this time we were getting quite tired, so we just headed back to the BTS (Chit Lom) and made our way home instead, stopping off at a nearby 7-Eleven for a few groceries on our way. Then we had the afternoon to relax and chill. I swam in the pool, continued to read my book, and we both enjoyed a well-deserved afternoon nap – bliss!

Today's Route

Day 3, 26 Nov, 2025

Bangkok, Thailand