In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Bangkok was known by European writers as the "Venice of the East"; it may have been better to call Venice the "Bangkok of the West", as the number and total length of Thailand's (then Siam) capital's canals, or "klongs" far surpassed that of its watery European sister. Indeed, today, although much of the city's klongs have long been filled in and paved, this Asian metropolis still has more miles (or kilometers if you will) of canals than Venice.
Tourists to Bangkok can catch glimpses of traditional Thai life along the city's central waterways, but to have a more authentic klong experience, one must venture farther from the city center to the outskirts and beyond. Even local residents are often unaware of the many tiny villages that straddle klongs around the city's farthest reaches and carry on with traditional ways of life, albeit often with motorcycles, cell phones and cable TV.
I recently made three trips along one of the many klongs that criss cross eastern Bangkok, which was mainly farmland only a few decades ago, but now experiencing rapid growth, traffic slowdowns and construction of a new skytrain. Yet, only a mere 200 meters from Ramkhamhaeng Road, one of Bangkok's heavily traveled six lane thoroughfares, I found people living quiet, simple lives along the canals much as their grandparents did. Two of my walks to the village were with videographer Jeremiah Boulware and on one we were accompanied by Paijit Odsuai, who, as a native Thai speaker allowed for greater understanding of "klong life" than my basic and often faulty grasp of Thai ever could. To both I owe a big "thank you" for their insight and companionship: it's fun to share the experience. Our latest "ramble" is now being made into a mini documentary.
What follows is a compilation of the three rambles along a klong village between Ramkhamhaeng and Seri Thai Roads. I hope that these images and brief descriptions will give the reader a sense of the life along Bangkok's canals, and the great enjoyment experiencing it can bring.
Note: Whether a resident of Bangkok or contemplating a visit, if you are interested in going on a photo ramble, please let me know or visit @photoramblers on Facebook.
All photos are copyright © by John R Stiles. It is illegal to use images without permission.
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| Small rural villages can be found in many locations within the Bangkok city limits. Here a man cycles past livestock that frequently graze in fields next to one of the busiest roads in the city. |
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| Village head man who chatted with me each of the three times I visited. |
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| A mother and child return home after walking another child to the main road to catch a bus to school. Many of the village children attend a school in the village; others go to different public schools nearby. |
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| This is the Saen Saeb canal that runs the entire east-west length of Bangkok. It is the city's largest; the village is at the crossroads of it and two north-south feeder klongs. Here Jeremiah captures footage for an upcoming documentary. Notice the mosque in the distance. This part of Bangkok has a large Muslim population, thus there are many mosques along the Saen Saeb. |
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| Many people pass over the bridges that span the klongs; they walk or take motorcycles or bicycles over. Along the big Saen Saeb, the bridges are arched concrete for strength as they are longer than those across the feeder klongs, which are mainly made of wood. |
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| A typical happy scene at the entrance to a house along the Saen Saeb. On this (south) side, the homes are owned; across the canal are rooms for rent, bunched together and with corrugated tin roofs, many of them nearly rusted through after decades of use. |
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| A villager plucks whiskers, a very common practice everywhere in Thailand. |
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| Two feline residents. Dogs and cats are numerous along the canals. |
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| Laundry day! |
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| A beautifully restored century old Chinese Buddhist temple along the northern klong tributary. |
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| A man proudly displays his prized fighting cock. Cock fights are very popular in Thailand, a tradition that is centuries old. As a graduate of the University of Iowa I was surprised and amused to see his choice of boxer shorts. |
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| At a very convenient spot on the klong near Seri Thai Road, this woman cooks up "guaytiow gai" (noodle soup with chicken) in huge bowls for 35 baht ($1). After two hot hours of rambling, it hit the spot and was chased down with ice cold beer. |
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| Small fish caught in the klong and then set out to dry. People generally use them for cooking, but may also snack on the tough and stiff fish. |
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| A cute resident of the village. |
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| Water lilies (also lotuses) are ubiquitous in Thailand, growing in large ceramic pots ("aungs"), often sharing the space with small fish that people put in to eat mosquito larvae. |
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| These two friendly men turned the tables on us, taking photos of the two photographers visiting their village! (This happened on two different trips.) |
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| This young boy appeared with his mother and gave us each a bottle of chilled fruit juice. The people in Thai villages are generally very friendly and inviting. It is refreshing to be welcomed by genuinely kind hearted people. |
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| This woman wheels her cart through the village daily, selling home made sauces and soups. |
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| Ice is big business in Thailand. This man delivers huge bags of ice to shops in the village. I asked him if he got tired carrying so much weight, and he replied, "No, they aren't that heavy." Sure. Call the chiropractor! |
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| This pleasant lady chatted with us about life on the klong. She has lived in one of the rental rooms for 30 years. The rent is 500 "baht" ($15) per month. When she first moved in the rent was 5 baht! When asked what she liked about living in the village, she said, "I like the weather, and being on the water." |
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| This young man married into a large family that has occupied homes in the village for 100 years. He raises Japanese chickens, turkeys and crayfish on a small organic farm. He gave us several fresh eggs to take with us. |
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| The farmer's young son and wife. |
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| The wife of the village head man spends a quiet moment on the klong. She and her husband are well known for their style of cooking various mushrooms, which they were preparing when we passed by and chatted with them. |
