Bang Khun Thien
an outing to Bangkok’s sea front

By Eric Lim


Mangrove in the area

Bang Khun Thien is a district in the south-western sector of Bangkok with a unique feature; it’s the only place in Bangkok that has a sea front. The vegetation in the area is mangrove; a vital element in maintaining the ecology and the balance of marine and terrestrial life.

This is an opportunity for a self-guided tour to a place that is really off the beaten track on the outskirts of Bangkok. Along the way, the visitor will encounter scenes that would not be usually seen or associated with Bangkok.

The history and background to Bang Khun Thien district have been covered in the Bang Khun Thien Museum earlier.

Take a look at this web page to give you an idea of the area you are visiting.

Please see this map of the district

I’ve been here before to visit the community museum but I’ve never been to the sea. There’s a small community around the Klong Phitayalongkorn School and the community museum.

If you like fishing, ponds in the area allow fishing for a small fee and the pond owners run small stalls selling refreshments as well. The bigger ponds on the way in rear clams, fish and prawns and many of these have restaurants located by the ponds


Fishing shed

There is also a boat service run by a sea food restaurant to take visitors on a boat tour to view Bangkok’s sea front and for a meal at the restaurant by the sea.


On the way to the restaurant

The tour starts from the pier opposite the community museum and takes visitors along waterways, both man-made and natural, out to sea. The effects of severe coastal erosion on the banks are evident along the way.





There are fishing communities on the banks of the waterways and they make their living off the marine life here. This is one of the places in Bangkok where the traditional way of life can still take place.





Fishing communities and fisherman at work

These stakes driven into the seabed are shell fish farms. The clams stick to the wooden stakes and the farmers will pick them off periodically.


Shell fish farms

The boat took us right out to the Gulf of Thailand, this was the first time I’ve seen the sea off Bangkok! 


Out to the Gulf of Thailand

After turning around we were taken to a seafood restaurant called the Bangkok Seaview Restaurant built on stilts or what’s commonly called "kelong" in Malay. We were dropped off at the pier for lunch. This restaurant can only be accessed by boat!



Now we come to the highlight of the trip. For lunch I had fried rice with crabs that was delicious, you can smell the aroma of the crabs in the rice. My other dish was deep fried catfish salad; the crispy pieces of catfish melt in your mouth.


Fried rice with crabs


Deep fried catfish salad

On the ride back, I finally managed to get a shot of all these birds together. 

The boat will take you from the seafood restaurant back to the pier opposite the museum where you can make your way back to the city.

While you are in Bang Khun Thien, drop in to the community museum on the district and the mangrove preservation area behind the Klong Phitayalongkorn School next door. 

The visit to the museum and school would take about an hour or so and would be ideal activities before the boat ride for lunch. 

Wouldn’t a trip to Bang Khun Thien be more interesting than taking some city tour? You could be venturing where few tourists have been.

Map to Bang Khun Thien


View Map to Bang Khun Thien in a larger map

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How to get there 

To get to there, please see map to the community museum. The pier and car park are just opposite the new building for the museum. 

The boat to the restaurant runs on a circuit, visitors are taken out to the sea then dropped at the pier at the restaurant.

The boat then takes the visitors who came for lunch earlier back to the pier near the museum. 

The trip takes about 20 minutes one way and boats leave the pier near the museum every 30 – 45 minutes. 

Take your time over lunch, there’s no rush, the boat service runs all day. You are not obliged to have lunch there, the place is big enough for you to walk around, take your photos and enjoy the fresh sea air.

But you wouldn’t want to miss out on the sea food would you? 

Boat fare 

Adults 50 baht

Children 20 baht 

Opening times 

The restaurant with the boat service is open every day from 1100 – 2100 hours except on Mondays. However if Monday is a public holiday, the restaurant will be open.

The last boat out from the museum pier is 1900 hours. However visitors at the restaurant can stay till 2100 hours when the last boat will take them back. 

Contact

Bangkok Seaview Restaurant
74/1 Mu 9 Tha Karm
Khet Bang Khun Thien
Bangkok 10150
Thailand

Tel: +66 89 613 1349 (when calling locally 089 613 1349) 

We hope that you have enjoyed this virtual tour of Bang Khun Thien, Bangkok’s sea front and the delicious sea food. Try it yourself. 

To return to Bangkok Guided Tours.

Other self-guided tours

Phasi Charoen Canal Boat

Phra Khanong Canal

Related page

Bang Khun Thien Museum



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Another self-guided tour

Phra Khanong Canal

Related page

Bang Khun Thien Museum