Chao Phraya and Khlongs

Bangkok is a "river town". Much of it is oriented around the Chao Phraya and the khlongs that criss-cross the city. It is a wonderful way to travel - if you like boats and canals and such - if not, then it is a horrible way to travel. You can get to quite a few places by taking the river ferries or the longtail boats that ply the smaller canals - and it is considerably cheaper than the other forms of public transport. Most of these images are from the obligatory longtail boat river and khlong tour ... which I always enjoy.

Big old giant tradtional Thai house. This is one of the private residences of a major player in govt. finance.

Fish feeding frenzy. The fish outside the waters of temple are off limits to fishing, from what I understand, but some allow feeding them. You buy a loaf of bread from the accomodating "fish feeding bread vendor" people and then enjoy the show. The fish are huge and make quite a scene. The girls got a kick out of it but were also a bit freaked out by it.

 I kept trying to get Emmerson to lean way over the sided of the boat so I could get a good picture of her and the fish, but she wasn't having any of that ....

House boat.

House on one of the khlongs. Notice the mailbox on the porch - delivered by boat.

Girls on the longtail boat tour. This is out on the Chao Phraya itself. The Chao Phraya is the principle river system in Thailand, draining much of the central plain and flowing into the Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, Pacific Ocean.

My three girls getting ready to board the longtail boat. The engine of the longtail boat is exposed and has a long shaft extending perhaps ten feet into the water. The propeller is affixed on the end of the shaft. The engine can be moved around and thus changing the angle of the shaft. This allows longtail boats to go in varying depths of water by changing the angle of the shaft and thus the depth of the propeller.

Temple from the boat.

This was on one of the river taxi/ferries that ply the river. Emmerson and a monk kid checking eachother out. In the Thai form of Buddhism, many people go and live in a monastery for varying degrees of time - no particular time commitment is necessary. Many will do it as a part of their religious life experience.

Taxi.

Three tugs pulling a long line of barges upriver.

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