Riding the Khlongs

Riding the Khlongs
Venice of the East
A khlong is the name for a canal in Thailand. These canals are part the Chao Phraya, the Tha Chin, and the Mae Klong Rivers.
Traveling by boat along the Khlongs is a good way to avoid the rush hour traffic and to see a different side to Bangkok.
Finding a canal close to where you are and that travels to where you want to go is the hard part,many Thais if the direction of travel suites them use the canals as a way to get to and from work,there are small docks where you can board the boats some have rough maps of the Canal system.
One Canal I use I can go from the Pratunam market to the University not far from Suhkumvit road its a different way to travel and quicker than bus or taxi,the last time I traveled it was 7 baht it maybe 10 baht now as Bangkok transportation costs have gone up a few baht.
The Main canal route is 18km long that has around 100 boats of 40-50 seats,these boats operate between 5:30am to 8:30pm daily. Prices are 8 to 18 baht (may have gone up but not by much), depending on distance travelled.The boats move more than 50,000 passengers a day so is well used although not likely to be seen on a tourist brochure.Getting on and off is a challenge as the boat is rocking and people scramble out fast as the boats do not stop for long and its going going ready or not.
The boats themselves are long and not very wide they have a good size engine so they hustle,the downside with the speed is the spray,with the water somewhat polluted you do not want to swallow any,there is though a screen you can pull up to keep the spray at bay the downside is you cannot see out probably a good thing as the boats pass each other in a 20m wide canal. I have not heard of any sinkings.
If you have time you can hire a boat yourself from one of the Chao Phraya piers,then you can go to the floating market or cruise the waterways,it is a great ride I have done it,you can see the Thais living along the canals with houses on stilts and their own small jetty,the boys swimming or fishing and the Thai girls doing the washing or dishes,very relaxing journey and for me it ended to soon.
If this is somthing you want to do and new in town I am sure if you are meeting up with one of our friendly Asian girls from Find love Asia I am sure she will happily organise a boat trip for the both of you.