Wednesday, October 22, 2014

CRUISING ON CHAO PHRAYA RIVER

Chao Phraya River came alive at last. It was last seen in my Geography text books many years ago. I was there in Bangkok with Mr. Suhaizie Jasmani, an ex-student of mine, to see what Bangkok had to offer, We arrived on 17th October, 2014 late in the evening and the journey started the morning after.




We soon discovered that people in Bangkok used boats to travel as it was cheaper and faster especially when one got stuck in a traffic jam. There were a few types of boat services available: the cruise boats for tourists which were equipped with guides who spoke English that sounded more Thai, the long tail boats which were more expensive but faster - also for tourists or just normal passenger boats which only cost Baht 15 per trip (about RM1.50)to any piers along the river.




You have just to move faster if you want to use the passenger boat - to get into or out of the boat, as more people are using the cheap service. At one time, Mr. Suhaizie was already there in the boat and suddenly the boat operators did not allow anybody else to get into it so I simply jumped because I knew I still could make it. A mother and her two kids were separated from their other family members (she sounded American) and the tickets were with the father who was not allowed entry. We witnessed an ugly scene when the panicking American lady started to had an argument with young Thai girl boat conductor but the girl was actually very rude.




















We were on the river every day, except on the second last day, mingling with foreigners and locals alike. It was a new experience - reading and studying the map of the river and deciding which piers to stop and which boats to take, something extra instead of just studying the train map.

RELATED LINKS

The Grand Palace [PART 1] and [PART 2]
The National Museum [PART 1] and [PART 2]
Bangkok's Amazing Siam Niramit [PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]
Chatuchak Market [PART 1] and [PART 2]
Siam Ocean World [Part 1] and [Part 2]

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