Your friendly, professional, local guide will collect you from your Bangkok hotel as the sun rises for this Viator Exclusive: Morning Buddhist Almsgiving, Grand Palace and Flower Market Tour. You and your fellow travelers will travel by comfortable bus to a 6 am almsgiving. During this morning ritual, locals gather to offer food to Buddhist monks to live and study at the monasteries. Your guide will select the destination—likely the Marble Temple, known for its gabled roof and intricate designs. (Travelers may instead visit an alternate location, like the famous Grand Palace.)
You’ll check out the impressive monastery as monks silently pass by in their brilliant orange robes. Your guide will demonstrate how to participate in this daily ritual, which provides monks with the food necessary to sustain their meditation and study. This beautiful ceremony is a stunning reminder of the silence that lives in city streets before its inhabitants rush to start the day.
After almsgiving you’ll head with your local guide to Pak Khlong Talat flower market, where you’ll be able to wander the stalls at your leisure for about an hour. This colorful market is the largest wholesale retailer in Thailand, filled with orchids, roses, and other colorful blooms. Purchase a snack (own expense) before making your way to the Grand Palace.
This impressive structure is one of the city’s most famous sites. You’ll embark on a 1/5-hour guided tour of the complex, which once served as the home for the kings of Siam. You’ll hear stories about the royal family, who uses the Grand Palace for ceremonies today.
Your tour includes a stop at the Royal Funeral Hall and the Royal Coronation Hall, plus Wat Phra Kaew. You’ll see the iconic Emerald Buddha, which was made from a single piece of jade. Learn from your guide why this beautiful statue is considered the holiest object in the country. Your tour ends around 11:30 a.m. with a return trip to your hotel.
