Bangkok's Waterways

Filed in archive A World Away on July 5, 2007

Bangkok's canals (khlongs in Thai) have earned the city comparisons to Venice, Italy. However, the actual similarities are few. An afternoon on Bangkok's khlongs will reveal a traditional way of life that remains intact despite the odd mix of poverty and development along these narrow waterways.

Heading into the maze of canals that make up Khlong Noi will eventually lead to some aged, but still grand, teak houses perched on stilts above the water. If you have a whole day, you can visit nearby Khlong Mon and Khlong Yai, both which contain similar scenery, as well as canal-side fruit plantations and quaint pagodas that seem to come from another age. It seems odd to see these scenes with busy and cosmopolitan Bangkok not more than a mile away.

Colorfully painted long-tail boats can be hired on most of the piers on the Chao Phraya. From these jetties, the boats must weave through the gigantic barges and cargo boats plying their trade on the river. The Chao Phraya and its surroundings are as large as the khlongs are small and quaint. Beautiful Wat Arun is unmistakable on the other side of the river, a larger-than-life sized postcard. The skyscrapers of Bangkok have a different aura when viewed from the river.

An afternoon on the Chao Phraya and in the khlongs will give visitors a view of all Bangkok has to offer. From the grand to the traditional to the poor, all aspects of the city are on display.