@EXPIQUE Bangkok: Diversity and Harmony Walking Tour Photo Essay #AmazingThailand

EXPIQUE provides unique tour experiences in the less travelled parts of Bangkok, like the Kudeejeen area with the street art above.

Here’s a photo essay of our Diversity and Harmony Walking Tour of the Modern Thonburi area, with the cool guys of EXPIQUE…

We met our Expique tour guides, Esso and Namo, at Saphan Taksin BTS Station Exit 1 at around 9am.

The tour kicks off with the group boarding a long tail boat in the Sathom pier.

We got off at Tah Din Daeng, which is opposite the Chinatown area of Bangkok.

We met with Simon Philipp, founder of Expique, to show us around the backstreets of Bangkok.

I was happy because it was the season for durian!

Don’t forget to try their local juicy plum called Salan.

These lychees look very tempting.

The streets are just starting to come alive by this time. They’re filled mostly with locals.

We passed through this local wet market for the community.

Also walked down a small, quaint neighborhood with single detached houses.

Our guide highlighted the importance of these spirit houses in the Thai tradition.

Don’t miss an opportunity to try authentic street food in Bangkok along the way.

It was interesting to see the different living conditions of the people in Bangkok.

This is one of the most elaborate spirit houses we’ve seen during our walking tour.

We walked along the backroads, where the warehouses are located.

We got to appreciate the scent of the different Thai herbs inside the warehouses.

Our guide, Namo, sharing the story of cinnamon and posing for the camera. 

It was a hot day! Make sure you wear shorts and comfortable shoes or slippers. It’s a good idea to bring an umbrella, too.

We also passed through the last old soap factory in Bangkok.

I like the feel of walking down the roads less travelled by tourists.

We saw this street vendor selling different unwanted parts of pork, like the tail.

Interesting to see the setup of these street stalls. 

We made a stop at the Somdet Phra Sri Nagarindra The Princess Mother Memorial Park for a restroom break…

…and to get a taste of traditional Thai snacks. 

Thai Snacks: Thong Yib (sweet egg yolk custard), Khao Neaw (sticky rice with pandan), Mo Kaeng Kai (egg custard like Maja), and Meang Kham (sugar cane, dry coconut, dry ginger).

I personally like the Meang Kham because of the surprising savory flavors that await you when you eat. 

I love this Ma Fai fruit, which is a burmese grape. It resembles our lanzones but with a juicier, grape-like texture.

The walking tour continued with a visit to the hidden Gootwatin Islam Mosque…

…and the Gong Wu Shrine.

It was nice learning about the significance of the shrine and the peculiarities of the temple.

Flaming Tiger.

Colorful Dragon.

We hopped on the long tail boat again for a faster trip to the Kudeejeen area.

We visited the Sta. Cruz Church.

This is the Christian Community area in Bangkok.

The major religions in Bangkok are Buddhism (95%), Islam (3%), Hinduism (1.5%), and Christianity (0.5%).

The highlight of the tour was a visit to the local community bakery, Thanusingha.

Thanusingha Bakery House
Soi Kudee Jeen 7, Thonburi, Bangkok
Telephone: +66 (024) 655 882
Open daily 08:00am – 4:00pm
Facebook: Thanusingha

It’s a quaint bakery with a limited dining area for walking tourists.

We ordered a refreshing ice tea to quenched our thirst…

…and this sweet baked Portuguese cupcake called Khanom Farang Kudeejeen, which translates to Foreigner’s snack of the Chinese Church.

Related Blog Post: Travel Fish | A Portuguese-Chinese snack near Bangkok’s Santa Cruz Church

The Thai chef’s family has maintained the more than 200-year old Portuguese baking tradition in this home bakery.

The classic baked snack is topped with raisins, pumpkins, and sugar, and is packed individually.

Thanks to Hong Yuk and Simon Philipp for sharing with us this awesome baked secret in Bangkok.

We loved walking down the narrow side streets of this cute model community, with street art on the walls.

This is the most famous and photogenic street in the Kudeejeen area.

A closer look at one of the works.

My favorite “Love Bangkok” street art.

The community isn’t used to tourists, so it was quite an experience to get a glimpse of how life is in this part of Bangkok.

It’s like a walking tour of the back kitchens. It would have been nice to get a bit of trivia regarding the houses in the community.

Thanks again to Simon Philipp for masterminding and designing this Expique walking tour! 🙂 

Our last stop for the tour was this Buddhist temple to offer our prayers to Buddha.

Ring this bell to cleanse your spirit and to drive away the bad entities.

We rode the long tail again to go back to the Saphan Taksin BTS area. It took us about 4+ hours to complete the walking tour.

My favorite parts of this tour were the long tail cruise, the walk around the Kudeejeen area (especially the street art eskinita), and the discovery of the Thanusingha Bakery.

The tour was a bit long and the first part somewhat dragging. Shortening the tour to 3 hours or less would make this a more awesome experience. 

I would recommend this for travelers who have been to Bangkok before and looking for ways to discover the hidden areas of the city.

Congratulations to Simon Philipp, Esso, and Namo for this promising walking tour. 🙂

Diversity and Harmony (Walking Tour)
A walking tour along the Chao Phraya River
46 Soi Sathorn 9, Yannawa, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120
Facebook: Expique
Twitter: @Expique
Instagram: @Expique
Email: info@expique.com
Website: http://www.expique.com/
Telephone: +66 (0)85 873 3308

Summary: This walking tour explores the diversity of Bangkok as we visit an area where original Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim communities live in harmony

The highlights of this tour are:

• Exploring the back streets of Thonburi
• Learning about the diversity of Bangkok
• Tasting local snacks as you walk

Price: 1,100 THB per person

Duration: The tour lasts approximately 3.5 hours

Bangkok Martial Law Experience Series:

• The Rise of the SOCIAL TRAVELER! (9 Learnings from the @DIAsiaTourism Conference)
• DOY KUAY TEOW REUA: Best Boat Noodle Restaurant in Bangkok @migrationology
• THAI JUNGLE CURRY: Ran Gaeng Pa Sriyan Restaurant in Bangkok @migrationology
• SOUL FOOD MAHANAKORN: Modern Regional Street Food in Bangkok #AmazingThailand
• My AMARI WATERGATE BANGKOK & THAI ON 4 Experience #AmazingThailand
• @EXPIQUE Bangkok: Diversity and Harmony Walking Tour Photo Essay #AmazingThailand 

 

Live an Awesome Life,

Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com 

Disclosure: Our Awesome Planet was a guest of Expique Travel, but the blog post was written for our own purposes and with my own biases. Read Our Awesome Planet Complete Disclosure Policy here.  

P.S. It was nice to see a Catholic Church community in Bangkok. 🙂