Published on Jan, 2020
Our tour guide Noina was an absolute gem. She picked us up in the lobby of our hotel downtown Bangkok and we drove south toward the floating market. Along the way she shared a massive amount of information about Thai living, history and culture. We stopped at a small family run coconut (farm?) where she showed us how they use the whole fruit to produce coconut sugar, lotion, bowls, etc. we were able to see their traditional home as well, which we were so grateful for. It was beautiful and really lovely to see something so uniquely local and hands-on. We went on to the floating market- the canal ride was a blast. The market itself was a little overwhelming (LOTS of vendors wanting your business) but plenty of shopping opportunities. Noina gave us advice on bargaining, which was kind and showed us her favorite food vendors - fresh fruit, coconut pancakes, mango and sticky rice, etc. We had a buffet style lunch on a boat just outside the market, which was a nice way to sample a variety of Thai food. We took an alternate route back to Bangkok, passing shrimp farms and more countryside life. The Grand Palace was unimaginably huge and beautiful and we were beyond grateful to have Noina to explain the history and significance and give us a proper tour - I can only imagine how overwhelmed we would have been to navigate it on our own. Overall, I couldn’t recommend this tour enough. Noina was amazing and we had wonderful time.