Free luxury boat rides in Bangkok Thailand

The Mandarin Oriental comes in to ram the Hilton's boat.

I stumbled on a little secret recently, which I'll share with you ... come closer as I'm going to have to whisper.

Recently I had to attend a wedding at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok. Hard to get to in peak hour traffic on a Sunday evening. So my partner devised a route which got us to Saphan Thaksin Skytrain station which delivered us right to the waterfront.

The area is the millionaire's Golden Mile of hotels on the fabled Chao Phraya River: the Shangri-La, the Sheraton, the Mandarin Oriental, the Hilton Millenium, etc. And -- here's the best part -- all of them offer a free shuttle boat service for their guests. And, um, you. Jing jing.

Prefer something in leather? Try the Sheraton's boat.

All you do is turn up, wait at the jetty and roughly every half hour each hotel's boat turns up. Just hop on, quick smile and wave to the skipper, and you're on your way, always remembering to look as though you own the place, of course.

Enjoy a 10-15 minute cruise, take some photos, hop off at the hotel. Wander around looking at how the other half live on your way to wherever you have to get to. Of course, you could always be nice and stop for a drink at their bar, or a meal at one of the fabulous riverside restaurants. Then, repeat the process on the way home. Down to the jetty, on the boat, back to the BTS station.

On the other hand, you can also take public speed boat ferries from Saphan Thaksin up and down the river for an extortionate 15 baht ... that's 50 cents. A fast and fin way to get your bearings in the incredible city of Bangkok in Amazing Thailand.

Hope this is useful advice for those still waiting for their ship to come in.

Know any other good 'free' options in and around Bangkok you want to share? Leave a comment here.