3-Hour Bangkok Walking Tour: Wat Pho and Wat Arun

Tour name: Wat Pho & Wat Arun Walking Tour - 3 Hrs(Small Group Tour)
Tour Company: TripGuru
Tour Guide Name: Kul Shupadungsak (although he wanted us to call him “Mr. Thai”).

The tour was supposed to cover the highlights of wat pho and wat arun. The overall experience was really horrible.

We started the tour with wat pho temple, and the guide had no idea what he was talking about (he literally said wrong things, that I was checking and correcting using a book guide I had with me).
He took us to the most important monument of wat pho, the reclining Buddha, and he just said “it’s 15x70 meters, now you can take pictures. You have 20’.”
Literally no information on what the Buddha represents, why it was build, the decorations of the feet, nothing.

After this we go to another main attraction, the phra Ubosoft of wat pho, and he lets us know that it’s closed “although it shouldn’t be”. I get angry and tell him that it’s his responsibility to know when monuments are open. He then gets cranky and tells me it’s not his fault and if I want to go I can go. Very aggressively.

We decide to stay, finish the tour and start heading out. At the door I found an employee of wat pho, and I decided to ask her how come the phra temple was closed. She said it’s actually open. Confused, I ask the guide if by any chance he made a mistake, because the staff claims that it’s open. He gets cranky again and says that the tour of wat pho is finished and he has no more time.
We asked if we can go back and check it out, but instead he decided to proceed with the tour and leave us there.

The end of the story is that he didn’t even know WHERE THE DOOR OF THE PHRA UBOSOFT WAS, and the door that was “closed” was actually a side window. The entrance was in the back.
I’m guessing he never in his life went to wat pho, as this temple is literally one of the two main attractions??
Nonetheless we were left there without even being able to finish the tour, and with the first half done by someone who had no idea what he was saying.

I do have to say that TripAdvisor luckily took full responsibility for the troubles, and the entire price of the tour was reimbursed in less than 48hours.

Still I wanted to let everyone know that if by any chance you decide to take this tour, and you end up with “Mr. Thai” as a guide, you should try to change days because we completely lost all of our afternoon.

One of the best experiences ever! The temples were beautiful! Wat Arun was definitely one of my favorite and memorable places💜 Despite the very hot weather, my best friend and I really had a wonderful time! Special thanks to Nancy, our tourguide, who was fantastic that day! She was so much fun to be with, and the photos she took were superb!🤩

Great tour! Nancy was my guide and she was fun and very knowledgeable! Book this tour if you’re in Bangkok!