Up the Lazy River

Up the Lazy River

Okay, so you’ve spent four days in Bangkok. You’ve crushed yourself and your significant other into the package tours to the Grand Palace, the Rose Garden and the River Kwai. You’ve seen the Emerald Buddha, Erawan and fought the crowds to shop in Siam Square. Now, you are ready for a little R & R and something completely different. What to do?

How about a half-day on the water cruising the Chao Phraya (the River of Kings) or plying the quiet canals (klongs) of Thonburi? It is easy to arrange, the photo ops are constant--and it is inexpensive.

There are several ways to experience these important lifelines of the City of Angels. One can spend anywhere from 10 Baht (25c) to 200 Baht ($5), depending on selection between public transport or a private charter.

The Chao Phraya Express is the transportation service that runs good-sized boat ‘buses’ from below the Taksin Bridge north to the suburb of Nonthaburi. (8 to 10 baht) Taksin Bridge is served by Saphan Taksin station on the Skytrain. Passengers can hop these narrow vessels along over two dozen stops on both sides of the river. Unless your ride is long, stand outside at the back and take in the view. Huge, teak-sided barges share the river with cheeky cross-river ferries and tiny fruit and vegetable vendors. Along the shore, small homes on stilts stubbornly hold their ground against the surrounding high rises. The Grand Palace, temples and colonial buildings all catch the eye as the crowded boat pushes upriver. Eventually, nearing Nonthaburi, the shoreline becomes more tranquil and rural.

You can experience another, more intimate, view of the river and klongs by hiring your own boat. Five hundred Baht ($12) will get you a long tail for a couple of hours. (The long-tails are powered by car engines and have ingenious tillers. The propeller twirls at the end of a long pole easily maneuverable by the driver). Narrow klongs wind peacefully past spanking new homes and battered teak shacks.

From the long tail, one glimpses the ordinary life of the suburb’s inhabitants. Women wash utensils in the murky water. Local water taxis buzz by, carrying businessmen and solemn monks in their orange garb home for lunch. You may pass under a bridge just when a youngster decides to cool off and leap into the water, splashing you with a surprise. When you tire of the trip, simply direct the bosun to take you back to the Chao Phraya and the nearest pier.

The boats can be hired from the same platforms where one catches the Express. Ignore the touts, who will tack a couple of hundred baht onto the tariff for doing what you can do—simply waving an arm to flag down a long-tail.

Whichever way you choose, a half-day on the river and canals will wash the Bangkok dust from your lungs and provide a never-to-be-forgotten view of the city.

River cruises
Taksin Bridge Pier
Chareon Krung Road
Bangrak
Bangkok 10500
Skytrain: Saphan Taksin

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Last updated: October 28, 2001.