Kayaking in Bangkok

Photo: Facebook

Kayaking can be done in many places in Thailand, along the coasts through mangrove forests, over rivers through beautiful mountainous landscapes and much more. You don't immediately think of kayaking Bangkok, but there is still a possibility with a kayak a beautiful trip through some khlongs (canals) in the Taling Chan district in the west of the capital.

A reporter from Pattaya Trader made this trip with a Thai friend and wrote a nice story about it, which I am abbreviating below.

The beginning

A friend and I go kayaking through a water world in Taling Chan with temples on our left and mangroves on the right. We think that we have ended up in another world, far away from the center of Bangkok with the many concrete shopping centers and the eternal traffic noise.

These kayaks are simple craft with only three moving parts - a paddle and your own two arms. With a hand-drawn map written in Thai as our only navigational aid (fortunately I'm paddling with a Thai-speaking friend), we set out to sail a 13 km route independently. The breeze is on our backs, as is the tide. It's a lazy Sunday and we're gliding through suburban water edges and forgotten swamps. Houses, grand or ramshackle and everything in between, made of teak, tin or marble, back on the khlong. Families having lunch on the waterfront with a view of the water, who look up when a tourist paddles past with a Thai lady in a kayak. Local traffic is mostly longtail boats and occasional hawkers in wooden canoes.

Lat Mayon Floating Market

Half way through our tour we arrive at the Lat Mayom Floating Market, which is only open on weekends, and sail through the many boats carrying merchandise. We mask a halt, hop ashore for a serving of steamed prawns with noodles and ginger. After lunch we wander around the market and get back into our kayaks for the remainder of the tour.

Old Bangkok

We paddle on through the floating world of earlier Bangkok, a place of liquid alleyways and water hyacinths, of side-by-side mansions, shanties and spirit houses, plus contemporary satellite dishes and longtail boats. Fortunately, the latter see us coming and slow down so as not to flood our small craft with their bow water. As for the murky waters of the khlong, "Don't fall in" is the only instruction.

Photo: Facebook

Paddle forever

Egrets, reeds, palms, catfish, ducks and markets. I could paddle forever through this urban jungle of the most storied kind. But now we're battling the noon tide, making a last turn to get back to our starting point. Behind us are probably the best four hours, which for two hundred baht gave us a nice insight into what was once called the Venice of the East.

Kayak Bangkok Club

The kayaks are rented by Kayak Bangkok Club. When the boss, Boum Niyamosatha, puts the kayaks in the water for us at his house along the Khlong Bansai, he says: “I loved the way of life here when I was young, but unfortunately a lot has been lost.” After 200 years of living in the shadow of the canal's mahogany trees and bamboos, Niyamosatha wanted to spark the interest of his fellow car-obsessed Bangkokians in what he calls "the spirit of the waterways." He rents kayaks, for the almost philanthropic price of XNUMX baht, for those who want to rediscover this spirit. Ironically, he often has more foreign customers than Thais, perhaps because, as he notes, "Thais tend to like what's trendy." ”

If you go

Kayak Bangkok Club is in Taling Chan, half a car ride from the center of Bangkok. The kayaks, including a life jacket, are rented for 200 baht per person. You can make trips of 4, 6 or 13 kilometers and it is wise to have a Thai speaking travel companion with you. It is best to book in advance, the contact details can be found on Facebook: tinyurl.com/jc4pzbc

Here's another nice video: www.facebook.com/

Source: www.pattayatrader.com/playing-king-khlong-in-very-old-bangkok