Day: October 21, 2022

October 2022
Best for Bangkok tour places and klong tours

The nearness of Bangkok’s must sees and waterways make Prince Palace an ideal hotel for activities in Bangkok. Taking a longtail boat trip along the Saen Saeb Canal from Bobae Market Pier, just a 3 min-walk from in front of the hotel, makes Bangkok’s famous places a pleasure to reach.

Beginning in the Bangkok’s Old Town, near Mahakan Fort, the ‘klong’ or canal trips take you past temples, markets, traditional wooden houses and bridges of interest, and you can hop off in many places for closer encounters. While busy during rush hour, holding on tight for a klong tour is convenient for shopping and sightseeing while skipping the traffic. Simply wave a boat down and wait for helmeted deckhands to jump ashore and assist you aboard.

So, from Prince Palace you can easily explore: Wat Saket (Golden Mount Temple) and the Old City at Phanfa Leelard (1 stop or 5 mins from Bobae Market Pier); Democracy Monument; Khao San Road; and the Grand Palace.

In the opposite direction the 18-km-long canal cuts through central areas including: Phayathai on the way to Chatuchak Weekend Market; Siam, trendy shopping haven; Pratunam Market (3 stops or 15 mins), Platinum Fashion Mall, CentralWorld, Gaysorn, Ratchaprasong, Erawan Shrine, Ganesha and Trimurti in Ratchadamri Road; Chidlom, Central Chidlom, Central Embassy; Nana entertainment; Asok entertainment; Thonglor and Ekkamai’s pub, club and dining scene.

Chinese New Year:
Celebrate Chinese New Year in Chinatown Bangkok

Spending Chinese New Year in Bangkok? Make Prince Palace Hotel Bangkok your springboard to the heart of the celebrations: Bangkok’s world-famous Chinatown. While Chinese New Year is celebrated all across Thailand, beyond doubt, Yaowaraj, or  Chinatown Bangkok, is the best place to experience the country’s biggest Chinese New Year celebrations.

A 15-minute taxi hop from the hotel lands you in the thick of Chinese New Year in Thailand celebrations. It’s the time of year when families of Chinese descent gather to enjoy banquets and partake in street fanfare, and Chinatown in Bangkok comes to life with crowds of worshippers and cultural festivities, including dragon parades, acrobatic dances, and firecrackers.

On Chinese New Year 2023 Day, Wat Mangkon Kamalawat,  Wat Traimit and other places all around Chinatown market Bangkok will be packed with locals praying to deities. Try your hand at siem see (Chinese fortune sticks), a way to ask the gods for guidance on how to solve a personal problem or get advice on anything pressing.

To accommodate all the festivities and revelers the major roads in the area are cordoned off from traffic so everyone can wander freely and safely. The streets and side roads are simply flooded with people in red wishing each other ‘Xin Nian Hao’ or ‘Happy New Year’. Visitors are also drawn to the Chinatown Market and Chinatown Night Market.

Among the top places to eat is Prince Palace Hotel Bangkok’s very own China Palace Restaurant where “Yu Sheng” and other Special Chinese New Year Set Menus are served.         Yu Sheng is a Chinese New Year delicacy symbolizing good fortune. Thanks to the customary rowdy tossing motion required before tucking in, it starts the new year with a bang.

It’s the Year of the Rabbit this time, and according to the Chinese lunar calendar the new year commences on Sunday, 22^nd January 2023.  The rabbit, representing elegance, beauty and mercy, is considered the luckiest of all of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. So, the year should be a lucky one bringing a sense of calm and shaping up as a good year for negotiations.

Chinese New Year is a festival for all and you can get into the spirit simply by dressing in red.