Tha Tien Pier

You're at Tha Tien, the pier where boats leave for Wat Arun. For centuries it was a port and market at the foot of the palace, and its name hides one of Bangkok's most charming legends.

1A market by the palace

In the early days of Rattanakosin, flowers and goods were sold here to the ladies of the court, who couldn't stray far from the palace. Under Rama V the U-shaped neoclassical commercial buildings went up, and the market became one of the city's first wholesale centres, famous for its dried fish and seafood. The façades were restored in 2013.

2The fight of the giants

Tien means something like "flattened" or "bare". Legend says the yak, the giant guardian of Wat Pho, lent money to the giant of Wat Chaeng, today Wat Arun, across the river. When the loan wasn't repaid, they got into a fight so brutal that they left this whole patch of land completely flat.

A less heroic explanation points to a great fire in the time of Rama IV that razed the area; another links the name to Hà Tiên, a Vietnamese port.

Whatever the origin, the view from here hasn't changed: the tower of Wat Arun right opposite.

3What to look for

• The neoclassical façades of the restored shophouses.
• The dried fish stalls that still hold out in the market.
• Wat Arun, across the river, seen from the landing stage.