Thailand's Bangkok
Chao Praya River
The history of Bangkok was scripted on its waterways, as this is where life has centered throughout the ages. Look at a 19th century photo of Bangkok, and look at a city centered around its river, where all life played on the river’s stage. The port remained crowded, with large vessels, humble rowboats and royal barges all fighting for a place. The river and its man made waterways, as with the majority of landmarks in Thailand, represented the primordial oceans that surrounded the Buddhist heavens. It is within this river, that Rama I built his Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaeo and Wat Po, some of Bangkok’s finest temples. A visit to Bangkok is a visit to the Chao Praya River.
View the long tail water taxis, as they transport eager visitors throughout the maze of klongs, and be sure to catch a floating market, where vendors sell their wares upon the crowded river. Schedule several hours at the river, and witness some of Bangkok’s finest colors; people use the river to bathe, wash clothing, and even brush their teeth, while floating kitchens in sampans serve rice and noodles to other boats; men dance across carpets of floating logs and wooden houses spread from the banks of the river and klongs.
