The Venice of the East?
Cities can be horrible and Bangkok is no exception, though a century ago it was known as the Venice of the East. That was before they filled in its network of canals and replaced them with traffic jams.
To my mind the Chao Phraya River in the heart of Bangkok is still one of the great city riverscapes of the world. I never tire of taking the ferry for a few baht and going upstream from Saphan Thaksin past the great hotels, the Oriental and
Peninsular and along the shore lined with temples, wharves and markets. I then get off at Tha Chang where they used to bathe the King’s elephants to visit the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Gaeo.
Apart from the fact that the character of the river has changed little from the days of Joseph Conrad, it’s special because it’s so vibrant. In London or Paris for example the rivers are dead but for a few tourist boats, but
Bangkok’s river is a key thoroughfare taking thousands of people to work every day, with long barge trains carrying cement and rice and all the needs of a big city. The boats are old and wooden and the river’s crowded, bustling,
and alive.
I love it and am relieved that the twentieth century hasn’t ripped the heart out of it and that it still is much as it always was.
Sadly though, the Bangkok canals are as good as gone, all except for one. From where we stay in our concrete cell on Sukhumvit soi 71, it’s only a short walk to Klong San Saeb, perhaps the smelliest canal in the history of the world.
The water is a dark grey colour and it stinks, and as the boat surges through the churned up water, the spray hits your face despite the blue and white canvas dodgers along the side. I love it for its wild craziness. It’s just so very Thai.
The canal is ideal to take me deeper into Bangkok, to Asoke, Pratunam, Ploenchit and wherever I want to go. If you change boats at Pratunam it goes on further to Wat Saket near Rajadamnoen Avenue and the Democracy Monument, not far from the
river itself. It’s an important artery and a great means of avoiding traffic jams for only a few baht.
The boats are long and narrow and carry several hundred people. They come storming into the jetty at speed, the water heaving around them. The boy clinging onto the side throws a rope over the bollard as the boat overshoots. Its engine is
thrown into reverse and the hull comes crashing against the jetty, a sure time to leave this world if you miss your footing and fall into the water as you scramble ashore.
Health and Safety would close the service anywhere but in Thailand, as in every respect it’s incredibly dangerous. The water is liquid poison. With boats closing at speed in the narrow canal, there have been fatal collisions. The deck
hands collecting money clinging to the side of the boat wear helmets as a sop to safety consciousness but you have to be agile getting aboard and jumping off again. It’s definitely not for the faint hearted and that’s why I so love
it.
The boats are full of commuters on their daily grind… shop workers, elegant young girls, the wind in their hair, a hand over their mouths to stop the spray. Silent, stoic, jammed in together on the seats or standing like sardines at
the back, they do this twice a day. It’s normal, it’s tolerable and they know exactly how to climb up over the gunwhale in short skirt and spikey heels to get ashore. Yes, it’s a great place for tourists and people watchers
too.
As I stand beside the massive diesel engine, engulfed in noise and heat and the smell of oil, the tight press of bodies means I couldn’t fall down even if I tried to. I enjoy the rush of hot air, the raw power of the propeller as it
thrusts the boat forwards, the long wooden hull ahead of me flexing as it hits the waves. The tower blocks slip quickly past, followed by an older era of crooked wooden houses, all festooned with drying clothes, pot plants and the junk and chaos
that is so very Bangkok, so very Thai.
This is the unseen Thailand that I always show to visitors if I can. It’s amazing, it’s ugly, dirty, dangerous, alive and vibrant and I love it for all of that.
This small corner of Bangkok still is the Venice of the East, but Venice was never half as fun as this.
It’s Klong San Saeb and nowhere in the world can ever be quite like it.
Stickman's thoughts:
Away from Bangkok so no comments.
