Dinner Cruise on the Chao Phraya

The Chao Phraya crosses Bangkok from north to south and remains, to this day, the axis the city was built around. Travelling it at night changes how you read the capital completely: the glass towers recede, the temples and palaces come to the front, and the traffic gives way to the sound of the water.

Boarding is at River City pier, a former warehouse turned antiques gallery, from 6.30pm. The boat casts off at dusk and moves upriver slowly. You pass Wat Arun and its porcelain-inlaid prangs, the Grand Palace, and the Rama VIII bridge with its lit cables. The buffet mixes Thai dishes and international cooking, served as you sail. A band plays live, alternating pop covers and Thai repertoire.

The return to the pier is between 9.30pm and 10pm, after which a vehicle takes you back to your hotel. The outing suits families and couples alike, and calls for tidy rather than formal dress. The upper deck is the best vantage point for photographs, but it fills up quickly as the boat passes Wat Arun.

The programme: 6.30pm, check-in at River City Pier. 7.30pm, boarding the Grand Pearl Cruise and the start of the cruise on the Chao Phraya, with a Thai and international buffet dinner and the landmarks of Bangkok — Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. 8pm, live music and Thai cultural performances. 8.45pm, panoramic views from the open deck, in a relaxed musical atmosphere. 9.30pm, back at River City pier and the end of the cruise.