A typical tourist part of every Bangkok visit is the exploration of the Khlongs – the old canals which criss-cross the old settlements. As Bangkok used to be swamp land you can still find them in a lot of places – especially on the left side of the big Chao Phraya (the second biggest river after the Mekong).
As can be seen the river banks are quite old and nature takes its toll…
First you head down the main river alongside the new developments (for the better?)
past some spectacular temples
and towards the watergate which connects the main river with the khlongs (which are aronud 1.5m lower)
as usual the longboats have some small flower decoration to please the gods in front
and some enormous engines to please the driver in the back…
Converted V8, huge truck engines… Powerful, loud, smelly
All this does not deter the local people to try to catch some fish (usually catfish)
Once inside the canals life all of a sudden has a differnt speed
people live there like they used to for ages – which doesn’t have to be good either as canalisation is an issue as well as fresh water, electricity, etc.
In between are small shrines and temples
and most houses have open air verandas
more or less…
and some are pretty grown in
the local way of commuting
real roads criss cross the swamp land and the river is usually only the one side of the building
abandoned structures everywhere
and shags still inhabited
Warans are quite common
but they are gentle and peaceful
Just neighbourhood
replacement engines
a trader (which really tried to press us to some beer with the help of our driver…)
and again simple living places
decoration attempts
gathering places
and restaurants
amazing idea to cook in a wooden boat
with open fire
pretty run down
another one
the house temple
water lillies
a field actually…
speeding longboats
roots
and abandoned civilization
cleaning up…
Impressive views and a nice time out, but no place to live really…
Impressive Thailand’s live.