2 December 2016. Richmond Park relief and the Royal Barge Museum

Well, the great news came through as I was having my first coffee of the day. I was truly delighted at the LibDem victory and hope it brings the Brexit government to heel.

Suitably fired up, I set off on another reasonably unstructured excursion, starting again at Hua Lamphong.

I went rather more directly and speedily to the river than yesterday, passing along a pretty street along one of the canals that feeds into the river and featuring a tented snooker hall.

I stopped off to take a look at Wat Maha Phruekharam. It was pretty quiet, being lunchtime but a pleasant tranquil spot from the bustle of the streets.

At the river, I noticed one of the stops was the Royal Barge Museum. It seemed a good enough destination.

The trip down the river is amazing value at 14 Baht for a 20-30 minute journey. Arriving at Wang Lang pier on the other side of the river, it felt well away from the tourist epicentre.
The rescue service were practising their skills at throwing life buouys which was reassuring.

I turned right down a side street in the direction I wanted, only to find myself  in a massive hospital complex, the Siriraj,

itself sporting museums of anatomy and other medical topics. It truly was a huge complex and it also had a botanical garden, complete  with  a steam engine, as this was the site of the old Thornburi station.

It turned out that the barge museum was the other side of a river spurring off the Chao Phraya.

Once I got there, I had to walk though a navy establishment and was handed a badge to wear as I walked across to the museum.

The museum itself was in a huge hanger that accommodated a series of barges with great decoration and impressive prows. The blurb explained the different levels of royal barge, the most important of which were those used to carry the king on major occasions. These barges are more than 45 metres in length and suitably regal. Most of them are new or restorations, as the second world war destroyed much of the collection. The late King was keen on re-establishing the tradition of ceremonial travel by barge and the collection is a fitting testament to his focus.

On the way back I struck a conversation with a student of  English  and American at the main university of Bangkok, and I guess, Thailand. She was hoping one day to come to London but it is clearly an expensive trip even for the relatively well off. The boat was full with students and we were sat next to the Captain.

I checked out the hotel where I will be staying at the end of my trip, my usual one being full at the end of December. Although this alternative hotel is right on the river, it seems a bit less well connected by public transport. It is about 15 minutes from the skytrain, whereas my present hotel is just three minutes from the MRT. The system of metros in Bangkok is somewhat weird. It seems to be the perfectly disintegrated transport system with three different lines run by three different companies. The interchange stations are far from seamless and there is no through-ticketing. Oh well; best be grateful for TFL!