Boat people (part 1)

Bangkok Yai canal, which runs through Talad Phlu 

I can always tell when it's tourist season, even from the remote market in Thon Buri where I live. The canal close to my place becomes so full of long-tailed boats roaring up and down that it resembles a racetrack.

I visit the canal every day to watch the water gliding past under the bridge, which puts my mind at rest. First I order food from an eatery close to my condo in Talad Phlu, then take a five minute walk to sit on the local pier.

Lately, it has been so busy with traffic that watching the water is no longer such a peaceful exercise. On average, one long-tailed boat roars by every two minutes.

Tourists hire the boats on the Chao Phraya River. The boatmen, if we can call them that, take them past my pier on a round trip, to sample 'real life' on the river's edge in Bangkok.

As they race past my floating pier, they can glimpse a riverside eatery behind me, with a wooden deck reaching over the river, and its own hanging plants.

Next to that are a couple of run-down houses, built with foundations strong enough to withstand heavy wash from the boats. People sleep in there, though they would get little rest once the boats start up for the day.

They will also flash by the basketball court, where teenage boys play at almost any hour of the day, before passing a second pier, slightly larger, also on my side.

A bridge crosses the canal above me. As they speed past my pier, and then under the bridge, they can turn to the left to see a small apartment building. That has its own little pier too, which rocks violently as the boats whizz by. Middle-aged men like to fish from it, though how they attract fish with so much commotion going on I do not know.

Occasionally residents in the market mount the piers to catch a ferry boat, but not often. The pier just down from me is popular, as it is close to a well-known restaurant, Tek Heng restaurant, which takes customers from the boats.

Tek Heng restaurant

Frontage of Tek Heng

Folk hire boats in town to come to my market, just so they can dine at this restaurant. It is more than 120 years old, popular with Chinese, but pricey.

After dropping them off, the boatman ties his craft to the pier, and waits for them to finish. When they have eaten their meal, they totter back on board, and he takes them home again.

Sometimes the canal becomes so crowded that three long-tailed boats have to pass each other at once, side by side. Polite boatmen slow down. The wilder ones like to drag race.

Sensible tourists hire the boats in groups, but most often I see huge boats passing which are occupied by solitary tourists, small families, or couples.

I can't understand why lone travellers would want to hire such a large boat, as there is room in there for 10 people or more. They look as odd as peas in a pod.

They evidently care little about the way they look, or the damaging effect of the boat's wash on the riverside environment. If it's cheap to hire, looks powerful, and can carve up the river better than the next guy's craft, then why hesitate, right?

now, see part 2