Venice of the East

Bangkok’s canals - or Khlongs to the locals - were created in the 16th century to help speed up the voyage to the sea for foreign merchants. By the 19th Century there were so many Bangkok was dubbed the Venice of the East. Most have now been filled in but on the West side of the river some remain and are still used for transport but mainly exist as a tourist attraction.

We tour the canals in a traditional Thai long tail boat powered by a truck engine and a long propellor. We turn off the wide river into the narrow canal and the riverside properties range from broken and collapsed wooden houses through precariously balanced houses to carefully looked after solidly built properties with gardens. Several attempts at cleanups by the government have been made but this is one waterway I’d really rather not take a dip in. The locals must be annoyed constantly by the buzzing of these tourist boats. It is interesting to see a different view of Bangkok; there are many smaller channels off the main canal that look interesting to explore - some derelict, some wide enough only for a canoe.

We end our trip at the pier which serves Chinatown. A Thai approach to health and safety as we scramble from the low lying longboat via tyres acting as boat fenders onto the pier itself.En savoir plus