On the Khlong Boat
When the afternoon traffic snarls and the SkyTrain is packed full of expats, tourists and shoppers, the best way to get across Bangkok is to jump into a noisy wooden boat as it storms through the waters of the fetid Saen Saep canal.
Riverine transport was once the main way of getting around in the Thai capital, but most of its khlongs, or canals, have been abandoned in favour of roads and rail. (In many cases, the city’s notoriously clogged thoroughfares were built atop canals.) The Khlong Saen Saep is the last canal with a functioning water taxi line, but it’s in no danger of disappearing — 40,000 people still ride the boats every day, because they’re fast and cheap. It costs the same to ride the entire line as it does to go just a few stations on the city’s clean but overpriced metro.
Of course, there’s a risk that you’ll get some nasty canal water sprayed in your face, but you’ll also get a glimpse of a more rustic side of Bangkok, one of wooden houses and waterside markets, though the Saen Saep is generally less picturesque than some of the other, quieter khlongs.
Last week, when I was in Bangkok, I took the khlong boat from Chit Lom, the city’s main shopping and garment district, to Thong Lo, an upscale neighbourhood in the city’s east end. What struck me was how efficiently the khlong boats work. When it pulls up to a dock, it takes less than 30 seconds for people to clamber out and jump on before the boat sets off again. Blue-shirted workers walk along the side the boat as it moves, holding onto a rope with one hand while they take change and issue tickets to passengers with the other.
If you can get past the dry narration, the video below offers some enlightening interviews with khlong boat employees. One employee says that she once fell in to the canal, but that it wasn’t so bad, because she knows how to swim. In fact, before it hires anyone, the boat company tests the swimming abilities of job candidates by asking them to take a dip in the khlong. I can only imagine how they smell afterwards.
Tags: Bangkok, Canals, Exploring the City, Streetlife, Water Taxis
