We had breakfast down the small soi and then got a a Tuk Tuk to take us to the Oriental Pier N1 on the Chao Phraya River. Unfortunately he took us to the wrong pier where his mate was waiting to offer us a private boat tour. We were not amused and walked off to go down the river to the right one!!
We met two French guys (one of whom was cycling the world) who gave us a run down on the boat system. They told us which boats go up and down the river and are marked by different coloured flags. Very confusing!! We got on a blue flag boat and got off at the Grand Palace Pier for 40 bhat.
The Grand Palace was not just one palace but lots of beautiful buildings in it's own grounds. Absolutely stunning! We walked around for a couple of hours but it was incredibly hot. We left and had lunch in a small restaurant outside the Palace.
We then went to Wat Pho and hired a very informative guide for half an hour who gave us a run down on the reclining, sitting and standing Buddha's in the temple. Learnt a lot from this chap who had lived at the temple for 30 years.
Then back to the river and caught an orange flag (?) boat back to Oriental Pier. It was so crowded on the boat that we were all standing squashed up and the little Thai lady, who you could barely see as she was only about four feet tall, was collecting money. She couldn't move about the boat to get fares so we ended up getting a free ride!
We then got a Tuk Tuk back to the guest house and got an early night as it was a very early start in the morning.