Royal Barge Procession on October 22

[Guest fountainhall]

Mark a date in your diaries. On October 22nd there will be one of those “must-see” and relatively rare events in Thailand – a Royal Barge Procession on the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok. 4 royal barges and 48 other barges with more than two thousand rowers and attendants all in traditional dress will proceed down the river to Wat Arun to mark the end of Buddhist Lent and to celebrate the King's 84th Birthday Year. These barges are the last of their kind in the world. The last procession was held in 2006.

 

I have not yet seen details of how to get tickets, but they are always in great demand. Should you fail to get some for the 22nd or will not be here on that date, there will also be two full-scale dress rehearsals on October 13th and 18th

 

[Guest lookmespa]

Honestly, in my experience, there is no ticket for this event. My family and I saw this event many years ago. It was very beautiful and must-see event, and it was free. Thammasat University might be a good place to sit and watch. It will be easy to find F&B and toilet. Don

[Guest fountainhall]

Sorry my post was not as clear as it should have been. There are several thousand special seats on bleachers built for the Processions in a couple of the best viewing areas near Wat Arun. These are mostly for VIPs and tourists. I paid for seats in 1987 for myself and a Thai friend (I got them through the Tourism Authority, I think). That was the Procession to celebrate the King's 60th Birthday. The great thing about the seats is that you then have a guaranteed view without the need to queue for long - and you are seated throughout.

 

Of course, there are long stretches of the river where anyone can stand and watch it free. But then you have to get there early if you want to be near the front.

 

This site has lots of great photos -

 

http://keehuachee.blogspot.com/2011/08/bangkok-royal-barge-procession-on.html

[Guest billoutt]

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---- There are many hotels along the route that sell tickets which generally includes food and some beverages ----

.[/size]

[Guest fountainhall]

The official information about the route is this:

 

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will preside over the Royal Barge Procession and Royal Kathin ceremony at Wat Arun on behalf of His Majesty the King. The Crown Prince will board the royal barge Suphannahongse at Vasukri Pier at 3.30 pm.

 

Royal barge processions take approximately 55 minutes to make the 4.5 kilometre journey down the Chao Phraya River to Wat Arun, covering the section from Thonburi Bridge to Phra Phutta Yodfa Bridge. The official ceremony is expected to end at approximately 5.30 pm.

I am not sure which of the bridges is the Thonburi Bridge. Maybe someone can post the information so we know if the Procession will pass most of the major hotels downriver from Saphan Thaksin.

 

When I saw it all those years ago, you could see the barges first going up river. Then they turned and retraced the route downriver. I guess we'll find more about this in due course.

[Moses]

The path is the same every time:

 

The Procession proceeds down the Chao Phraya River, from the Wasukri Royal Landing Place in Khet Dusit, Bangkok, passes the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Grand Palace, Wat Po (Thai: วัดโพธิ์), and finally arrives at Wat Arun

[Guest fountainhall]

The path is the same every time

That will mean it goes nowhere near the 5-star hotels between Saphan Taksin and the Hilton. So there will be few if any hotels along the route.

 

When I saw the Procession in 1987, the paid seating was on the river bank opposite the Royal Palace, and so the view was magnificent. I guess I saw the barges twice because after they gone down river just past Wat Arun, they retrace their steps back to base, as it were.

[pong]

as above-on the longest part of the route you can just go and find some spot. There are a few hotels along that stretch with rooftop terrace-and thus most likely all-in fees with food/drink etc. Like New Siam III and Navalai-in the Banglamphu area.

AFAIK there is NO Thonburi bridge-all brdiges go to Thonburi. There is sapan=bridge Krung THON-which is more north, the narrow 2 lane-all steel bridge going due west from the Vict Monument, there is a big low-graded tourist hotel just north of it, Thoburi side. This spot is usually the start for most boat-corso's, like also for Loy Kratong. The boats (but I am not sure about this one!) mostly go due south along the river beyond wat Arun-till about the Post Office and turn back from there.

there is also sapan Krung Thep.

[Guest fountainhall]

Anyone planning on attending one of the rehearsals on October 13 or 18 of the Royal Barge Procession should note that these have now been cancelled due to strong currents (according to The Nation). No word yet on whether the date of the Procession itself - October 22 - might be changed.

[Guest travelerjim]

Anyone planning on attending one of the rehearsals on October 13 or 18 of the Royal Barge Procession should note that these have now been cancelled due to strong currents (according to The Nation). No word yet on whether the date of the Procession itself - October 22 - might be changed.

 

Looks like the entire event will be moved to early 2012...the Thai govt has asked

for permission to move the dates..watch the news for latest updates before you make plans to attend in October.