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| Long-tailed boat racing on the canal |
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| They go past with a roar... |
Speeding up the Bangkok Yai canal from the Chao Phraya River, they have huge engines mounted on the rear, with a little man in control, perched on the end of a long rudder.
No small passenger vessel needs that amount of firepower. Who are they racing?
The young barefooted guys who steer them, carving their way up the canal and intimidating everything in sight, are the equivalent of the teen motorcycles burning rubber on city streets every Friday night. I wonder if the tourists who hire them out know what hair-raising adventures lie in wait.
When a single boat goes by, the small pontoon I am on rocks violently. The vessel is going so fast, it has keeled over on one side. Wash from the vessel slams against the canal. Children are sitting on the cement apron of the bridge. They fall silent, as no one can hear above the ear-splitting noise.
An elderly man on a tiny ice-cream boat, as the size of a small log canoe, is almost knocked over. Another man on a little postal delivery boat knows what is coming, and sensibly pulls over to one side.
A larger ferry-style vessel passes next. This boat also has a large outboard motor stuck on the rear, which kicks up a large plume of water. For a moment it looks as if it might tip over.
It’s going way too fast for tourists to take photographs.
When a single boat goes by, the small pontoon I am on rocks violently. The vessel is going so fast, it has keeled over on one side. Wash from the vessel slams against the canal. Children are sitting on the cement apron of the bridge. They fall silent, as no one can hear above the ear-splitting noise.
An elderly man on a tiny ice-cream boat, as the size of a small log canoe, is almost knocked over. Another man on a little postal delivery boat knows what is coming, and sensibly pulls over to one side.
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| Selling goods boatside can be hazardous |
It’s going way too fast for tourists to take photographs.
I wonder if they have time to notice anything at all. Unseen Thailand, indeed – unseen, because it all goes by too quickly.
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