The River Tour in Bangkok

(This entry is a bit out of order in the series..but it took us this long to figure out how to upload our videos)....

After Wat Arun, we realized that long tail boats were to be the transportation of choice for the rest of the afternoon. Climbing in didn’t get much more graceful, but we did gain confidence that we weren’t going to fall into the crack between the dock and the boat.

From the main river channel, we moved into some very narrow canals and realized why the boats were built the way they are. You couldn’t maneuver through some of these places without that.

This was the part of Thailand you see in the movies. Riverfront property was truly “Riverfront”, and in some cases even “River-inclusive.” Looking at them, it appeared that this was where the poorest of the poor live, although just next to them or around the corner might be a very nice house, of course with a fence around it.

Lots of people were obviously working on businesses in their homes, and we saw several older women paddling small flat boats full of different goods to the floating market.  We've read about that in the guidebooks, but haven't seen it yet.  That can't be a retirement path that most of us would envy -- sitting on the water for hours on end, trying to peddle fish or fruit or baskets or whatever.

Sam told us that Thai people are the antithesis of Americans with regard to the sun.  They value creamy, light skin (think "library pallor" that so many of us had in college) and instead of suntan lotion in the stores you'll find racks of whitening agents.

It didn’t take long on the trip to recognize that a lot of the ornamental ironwork on the fences was designed to keep people out as well as to be decorative.  The "haves" constantly need to work to keep the "have nots" out.  Such is the state of man.

There is a surprising amount of traffic on the river. At one point, we got into a “drag race” with another boat as we passed them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7VpZcZaEhE



Later on, we ran into a traffic jam as boats from each direction tried to negotiate a sharp turn.




The river tour was enlightening, and words don’t do it justice. We took a lot of pictures, though.  It certainly makes a person appreciate the opportunities they have in life.