Sathorn — Local services in Yan Nawa Subdistrict

Definitely confusion for first timers but fret not!

There's an army of new staff that will coerce you to buy the unnecessary hop-on-off tourist boat that's 150B per person instead of using the public boat. They'll try to find excuses but will cease if they sense you know where you're going.

So...

Free shuttle boats to: Siam Icon & all the hotels on the water front i.e. Hilton, Sheraton, mandarin, ibis, Peninsula, anantara etc.

Applies as well to fancy condominiums on the riverfront like the river, Mandarin, Chatrium..... They're relatively frequent and do not ask you if you're a guest so can be used to go to the area where these hotels are across the river then exit. It's perfect for areas where the boat is available for you can and will enjoy the rife in cute boats - sometimes exclusive.

Free shuttle boats to Asiatique market too are available to from the afternoon...

Public boats are just as quick and cheap with 15thb per person per ride. So getting the tourist boat for 150+ then you'll need 10 rides which is unlikely in 1 day.

Don't get worried about public boats. Sometimes jam-packed but the tourist ones as well. Use public boats.

The staff are trying to make it all official so there's a nice lady with a huge megaphone shouting in loudspeaker instructions only Thai so it's a nice game to guess what is she really saying and why she seems so angry at times.

Flag colours simply indicate that orange stops at each pier (all have names but just memorize the numbers) with main pier (Sathorn and SkyTrain) is 01... Chinatown 05.. wat pho temple 08 .. royal palace 09 and khaosan 13 and so on.

Yellow jumps and doesn't stop at some stations but all stop at Chinatown and royal palace anyway.

Each pier has an attached ferry that will take you to the opposite side in case of need and the price is 3 to 4THB per person - you will probably need it from the Wat Pho temple pier number 8 to cross to the opposite side to see the wonderful Wat Arun temple.

Just a disclaimer that waiting times can be a bit longer around 8 or 9 a.m. as it seems to be the rush hour + most foreigners and tourists line up to go to the royal palace.. but otherwise the waiting times are around 15-20 minutes or thereabouts.

In all honesty I see little or no benefit in using the tourist boat as the waiting times and the frequency isn't any better than the public boats & once you have the tickets in your hands and everything is perfectly organized with proper queue + no one uses the boat 10 times per day to see the sights along the river. I dare say three or four times at the most and in the Bangkok heat usually you will run back true rest and live another day to see the rest of the sites. so you can calculate if you are a family of three or four people then that makes a real difference.

The attached pictures of the station is the main pier, so you decide whether you want the public or a tourist boat.

The picture with the boat line up together and looking at the city skyline is the end station which is only two stops south from sathorn and next to Asiatique (with the ferris wheel) otherwise everything goes to the opposite direction.

Enjoy the trip and...

The ticket agent was extremely rude. This morning, I paid 20 baht to buy a 16 baht orange flag ticket. She asked me if I had 1 baht, and when I said I didn't, she suddenly got angry and started speaking in Thai. I asked her why she was mad at me, but she kept getting angry. I told her, "If I had 1 baht, I would have given it to you," but she continued to get mad, so I asked again why she was so upset. Then another woman came out from inside and yelled at me, saying that the agent wasn’t mad at me but was talking to herself. She yelled at me!!! why???

I didn't want to argue with them, so I walked away, but the second woman kept yelling loudly at the back of my head. Everyone at the pier could hear it.

I know for sure that the ticket agent wasn’t talking to colleague, but cursing at me in Thai. I can understand and speak Thai. I’ve always had a great time in Thailand, but these people ruined my good trip. I don’t even want to...

Many piers

From left to right

•The Leftmost inside - free shuttle boat (evening), go to Asiatique the riverfront (wait about 15 mins - if not busy).

•The second pier at the centre(white building) - Express boat to go to Royal Palace, Tha Tien , Nontaburi province etc. , many colour of flags on the top of boat (price and speed are difference).

•The third pier (same building) - shuttle boat to hotel or condominium.

•The rightmost - there are many kind of boats

1. Ferry - Blue with orange colour boat, across the river. (Walk on the bridge might be faster).
2. Long tail boat - quite private boat , small information counter at the front before go to pier. (Depends on where you go - they have choices).
3. Express long tail boat - green colour, go to Ratburana Big C and Sathorn pier.(morning and evening).
4. Express long tail boat - green colour, go to Asiatique (not free but not long queue)(only...