February 24th, 2023
I’m in Thailand.
The above photo is of Bangkok around dawn, about 6:30am, on Friday, February 24th. I took it standing on my balcony on the 6th floor (5th floor in Australia) of the Krungkasem Srikrung Hotel facing east; the white building on the lower left is the Hua Lampong Railway Station, formerly the main station in Bangkok.
When I was planning my movements six months ago, it became apparent that I would be staying in my parents’ house for almost three months, with nothing to do. So I planned this four-week escape to Thailand as a holiday inside a holiday. I deliberately didn’t plan this trip – a wise move, since I noticed symptoms of illness while changing planes in Singapore. I went straight to the coast and dosed myself with metronidazole, thinking it was giardia. I bought the medicine from a local chemist without a prescription. The funny thing is, last time I was in Thailand I also picked up giardia and went to the exact same hotel, the Queen Victoria Inn, to recover.
So, cured, with a week of my holiday remaining, I came back to Bangkok by train. I thought I’d amuse myself with traveling along the Chao Phraya River.
The above is a map of the entire Bangkok region; the Chao Phraya River runs from north to south in the centre. The location of my travel was the just below the upper border. I took the BTS Silom Line, marked teal, to the river; changed to an orange-flagged Chao Phraya Express boat, which took me up the river above Wat Arun to Phra Arthit; then turned around and came back down the river in another orange-flagged Chao Phraya Express boat, to get off at Saphan Taksin where I started. A good place to look is the Chao Phraya Express boat website at Transit Bangkok.
This article is a good summary of the Chao Phraya River. Incidently, why is the Chao Phraya River named that way? According to this article:
“For centuries, ‘farang’ visitors have always wondered where the river’s original name came from, since Thais call all rivers ‘Menam’ or ‘Mother of Water’ that sowed a lot of confusion as in all western countries every river, stream, branch and waterway has its own name. It was King Mongkut (King Rama IV), who spoke English, offered the first credible explanation in 1850 when he was interviewed by Dr. Dan Beach Bradley for the Bangkok Courier newspaper. King Mongkut explained that Menam is a generic word like the word river is in English. The Thais attached the name of the largest town or village along it, so the name would have been ‘Menam Bangkok.’ “
Unfortunately it doesn’t explain the reason the name was switched to the Chao Phraya River, and I couldn’t find out why in cursory searching.
The Chao Phraya River, looking south from the wharf underneath the Saphan Taksin – the name means “King Taksin the Great‘s Bridge”. The story of the life and times of King Taksin the Great, including the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767, is one of the most gripping and tragic tales in Thailand’s history.
I waited in the Waiting Area for my boat. A bit unusually, Thais and ‘falangs’ (Westerners) use the same boats and facilities, though some companies have brought in tourist boats for foreigners, with tourist prices.
While I was waiting, a private boat (above) went by, connecting a few of the big riverside hotels. This would be a fantastic way to arrive at your hotel by water.
There are many, many YouTube clips of traveling along the Chao Phraya River; the above is the first clip on the results. The clip runs in reverse of my trip, starting at the end of my travels at Phra Arthit pier and finishing at Saphan Taksin.
A Chao Phraya Express boat. Actually I took these pictures out of sequence, but it gives you an idea of the boat.
Another orange-flagged boat manoeuvering prior to embarkation, with a crewman controlling the boat through whistles. I’m standing on the wharf.
The boat doesn’t actually tie up at the pier; a rope is made fast from the stern to the wharf (above), the boat nudges up, and people cross while the boat is held in position by the engine.
Then a crewman attaches a red rope (above in his hand) and the boat moves off.
Traveling on the Chao Phraya River is a glorious introduction to Bangkok, from the tropical jungle on the banks…
…to the warren of buildings extending out over the river…
…to the skyscrapers and wats.
There are religious monuments…
…bridges (the Buddhayodfah Bridge, also called the Memorial Bridge)…
…speeding long-tail boats – “The longtail gets its name from the trailing drive shaft and propeller at the back of the boat. … The engines at the back of the boats are sometimes custom-made, but more often than not they are simply a converted car or truck diesel engine which makes them relatively cheap and easy to maintain” …
…and cross-river ferries.
I saw barges but unfortunately I didn’t get a picture.
We passed Wat Arun.
Unfortunately, I felt the heat of the day increasingly oppressive, even though it was only 10:30am. So I put away my mobile phone and sought shelter in BTS trains and malls.
Wandering Richard 