Down In Phra Pradaeng

This all started when Guide Phichet told me about an abandoned fort worth visiting somewhere in Phra Pradaeng.

A few days later I set off with an old friend to check out the Phlaeng Faifa Fortress (*).

Another good reason to visit Phra Pradaeng was the simple fact that I'd never really been there, only passing through on the way to Bang Kachao...

Phra Pradaeng didn't disappoint, quite a few classic old shops and a (very!) wet market.

Friendly motorcycle taxi guy who insisted that I took photos of numerous bystanders, so instead I took one of him.

Smelly fish section.

Rickshaws are still actively used by locals here, nothing touristy about them!

The wet market was larger than expected.

And busy too.

No lack of bananas...

Vegans shouldn't come here...

Behind the market we found the entrance gate of Phlaeng Faifa Fortress firmly locked...

We ended up walking around the wall all the way without finding any other entrance, a bit disappointing, but at least I could take a few shots looking over the wall...

Pretty active riverfront with ancient car ferries still in use.

We took a passenger ferry to the other side.

Lots of serious ships on the Chaophraya in this part of Bangkok.

The Bhumibol Bridge 2 makes for a great skyline.

On the other side we got another surprise.

Most of us know the famous White Temple in Chiang Rai.

But I'd never heard of this Bangkok version!

Wat Laem is all white as well, but obviously not as extravagantly decorated as Chiang Rai's Wat Rong Khun.

All in all we enjoyed our first Phra Pradaeng trip a lot and probably will return some day.

(*) https://sites.google.com/site/rprqrcodeeng/amphoe-phra-pradaeng/pom-phlaeng-faifa

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Phlaeng_Faifa_Fort