We’ve been watching and hearing long-tail boats go by on the Chao Phraya river ever since we arrived in Bangkok. They’re colorful, graceful, and they make a ton of noise, so they have a way of getting your attention. Today we’re going to take a ride in one through Bangkok’s “back alley” waterways.
Ticket kiosks for long-tail boat excursions are located at a big dock near our hotel. We took the hotel’s shuttle boat to get there. The kiosks advertise various trips you can sign up for. Long tail boat drivers hang around out on the river until they get the signal from the kiosk. Then they come in to pick you up.
Back in the Day…
We signed up for an hour-long ride through Bangkok’s “khlongs.” Khlongs are canals that used to criss-cross all of Bangkok, the same way canals do in Venice today. Most of them have been filled in, but in some areas they’re still around.
There used to be so many khlongs that there was no point in having roads. Everyone got where they wanted to go by boat. The first major road in Bangkok wasn’t built until the 1860’s. Even then, it was only built because Europeans living in Bangkok asked the king to build one to accommodate their horse-drawn carriages.
Long-Tail Boats
Long-tail boats are really neat. The “tail” is the propeller shaft that sticks out way behind the main part of the boat. The body is shaped like a long, graceful canoe. The driver sits at the back of the boat, where the engine is located.
The wild thing about these boats is that the engine sits up high, all the way out of the water. It’s as if the engine was delivered, left on the boat, but then no one came along to actually install it in the boat. Must be really easy to work on that way, though.
Some long-tail boats have little putt-putt engines. Most of them, though, have huge engines that look like they came out of a car or truck. They’re big, and when the driver steps on the gas, they’re LOUD.
The propeller is attached at the end of a drive shaft that comes directly out of the engine. What about the transmission? They don’t need no stinkin’ transmission. Why complicate things?
Our long-tail boat driver took us down the big Chao Phraya river for a ways, then turned off into a smaller waterway. After a few turns this way and that, we felt like we’d entered another world — the quiet back-alley waterways of Bangkok.
The Other Side of Bangkok
There was foliage everywhere, of course. We drifted past a lot of houses with open-air “living rooms,” (or maybe the only rooms), facing the water. People were doing their everyday activities, cooking, cleaning, working, there at the water’s edge. Lots of kids were swimming.
Most people gave us a look, and many of them waved. I got the feeling that we were the ones on display, not them. We should have charged the driver to take us where all these people could see some strange Westerners. But it did seem like we were getting an up close and personal look at what life is like for most people living in Bangkok.
Each house along the canal had it’s version of a spirit house. These are miniature houses that we see everywhere we’ve been since we arrived in Thailand. The main religion in Thailand is Buddhism, but there’s a lot of ancestor worship and spirit worship, too.
Spirit Houses
A spirit house is a miniature house like a doll house that’s been built for the spirits of ancestors to live in. They’re usually placed on a post on the property of a personal residence or maybe a business. Doll-like figures are placed inside, representing the particular ancestors who’ve passed.
People make offerings of food and other things regularly to ensure that the ancestors are well-taken care of, wherever they are. We saw offerings of everything from fruit, to drinks, to a pig’s head placed at spirit houses.
Some of these little houses are fairly elaborate. And some of the figures inside, or maybe sitting on the porch, have been carefully made so they resemble the specific people who’ve departed. Their favorite miniature car might even be sitting in the driveway.
We passed numerous temples, too. When these temples were built, the khlong was the “street”, so the front of the temples face the water. Between the temples and all the spirit houses, one gets the idea that people here are more religious than what we’re used to. “Religious” probably isn’t the right word. “Spiritual” is a more appropriate term.
The Khlong Lady
At one point along the way, a woman in a boat approached us. Our driver stopped so she could have a chance to sell us anything we might be in the mood to buy. She was a good salesperson, and she had a captive audience. I thought we’d seen all of here wares, but then she opened up a cooler full of ice-cold beers. Sold!
Eventually, we wound our way back to busier waters. We were almost back to where we started when the sky turned dark and it started raining cats and dogs. The boat had a cover overhead, so we stayed dry for the most-part. Then, after only 5-10 minutes, the rain vanished, as if it had never come.
We thoroughly enjoyed our ride through the “back streets” of Bangkok. It opened our eyes a tiny bit more to the world here that we’ve been visiting. Today is our last day in Bangkok . We’re sad to leave, but also excited, because tomorrow — Cambodia!
