The Waterways of Bangkok
(thomas;2012-Jul-11)
In the old days, Bangkok used to be a water-based city; it was even called (by some) “Venice of the East”. And indeed, back then many canals (called khlongs in the vernacular) crisscrossed the townscape, much like they still do in Venice. Additionally, there was the winding, immense Chao Phraya river which cut the city in half, with the newly founded royal town (today's Bangkok) in the east and the old capital (today's Thonburi) in the west. Some of the Bangkok side khlongs were actually moats around the Royal Palace, built for defensive purposes: with its back to the mighty river and surrounded by three concentric rings of canals, the palace area was almost an island.
Alas, most of those old canals have been turned into streets: these days, cars and trucks are deemed much more important than boats and ships (though if you're gridlocked for half an hour in a typical Bangkok jam you really start to wonder why). However, the river is still an important transport artery and looking out from the terrace of a cafe or the ramparts of an old fort, the Chao Phraya always reminds us of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn: so many vessels, big and small, are crossing the river or floating up and down that there's no pause, no break, no moment of silence.
For tourists, getting a boat from the south of the city to the north (or vice versa) is a great way to get a breather. The trip takes about 30 to 40 minutes and there's a lot to see along the way: the Royal Palace glides by, there are many wats and a few mosques with squat minarets, humble houses and grand villas, bridges and glass-and-steel-clad skyscrapers. For new arrivals the best thing about these boat trips may be the cooling breeze which makes the Bangkokian heat almost bearable: you could do worse than spending a half-day with sailing up and down the river in some of the boats of the Chao Phraya Express Boats Company.
The glittering roofs of some of the buildings in the grounds of the Royal Palace as they slowly, teasingly glide by.
This bridge (called Rama VIII bridge, after the predecessor of the current king) is one the most obvious landmarks in northern Bangkok and best photographed from a boat or, if you stay in the Khao San area, from the roof of your hotel/guest house.
A tiny tugboat pulling a string of overloaded freighters up the Chao Phraya. Both the amount of freight traffic up and down the river and the way these freighters are loaded to the brim are incredible.
The east bank of the Chao Phraya, with a typical residential area. Houses built near the riverside, whether great or small, invariably have a large terrace overlooking the hustle and bustle of the river. Also note the modest mosque on the far left.
Another view of the Rama VIII bridge, this time coming up-stream, against a perfect blue sky.
Complete change of scenery: this is not the Chao Phraya river, but one of the very few remaining khlongs with regular boat traffic, the Khlong Saen Saeb. The boats here are smaller than those on the river but they thunder along with an earth-shattering roar (amplified by the buildings to the left and right of the rather narrow canal).
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$ updated from: Blog.htxt Fri 16 Aug 2024 15:40:13 trvl2 — Copyright © 2024 Vero and Thomas Lauer unless otherwise stated | All rights reserved $