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| Canalside art |
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| Unlovely canalside housing |
As for Thais, if they can make money from a stretch of water, they will. The river starts getting busy from about midday, after the tourists have woken.
The activity stops when the sun goes down, as tourists can no longer see anything on the riverbanks. By day, the river is an economic asset. In the darkness of night, it is worth nothing, so falls quiet.
Often when tourists whizz by on their boats, they wave to Thais sitting on the apron of the bridge, or playing on the pier.
They do not wave at me, because I have white skin, just like them - though they do give me curious looks. 'What is a foreigner doing around here?' they seem to ask.
Today the unexpected happened, as a boatman pulled over to talk. I was sitting on my pier alone, reading a magazine. 'You - where are you going?' he asked.
'I live here,' I replied.
'Oh, I thought you might have lost your way,' he replied, smiling.
I thanked him for his kindness, but said I was not going anywhere.
From close up, I noticed that the engine on the back of his boat was truly enormous - twice as big as the boatman himself. They make smaller versions of these noisy engines, with a long tail-like rudder sticking out the back like the blade on an electric cream beater.
I saw one perched on the back of a tiny coconut-shaped boat the other day. Like its bigger counterparts, it makes an ear-splitting noise.
As I watched my boatman friend pull away, I fought the desire to plug my ears. Surely, all that noise is just part of the fun of living in Bangkok.
The sooner you learn to live with it, the sooner you can call yourself an honorary Bangkok resident - even a 'real' Thai - because in this crazy land, there is no beating it.
Only foolish souls visit the water's edge to get away from it all. We must make for a comical sight, sitting in pensive mode on our rickety piers, rocking and swaying violently in the wash of every passing craft.
The river is there so boatmen can make money from tourists, and tourists can wave at the natives - why else was it created?
The activity stops when the sun goes down, as tourists can no longer see anything on the riverbanks. By day, the river is an economic asset. In the darkness of night, it is worth nothing, so falls quiet.
Often when tourists whizz by on their boats, they wave to Thais sitting on the apron of the bridge, or playing on the pier.
They do not wave at me, because I have white skin, just like them - though they do give me curious looks. 'What is a foreigner doing around here?' they seem to ask.
Today the unexpected happened, as a boatman pulled over to talk. I was sitting on my pier alone, reading a magazine. 'You - where are you going?' he asked.
'I live here,' I replied.
'Oh, I thought you might have lost your way,' he replied, smiling.
I thanked him for his kindness, but said I was not going anywhere.
From close up, I noticed that the engine on the back of his boat was truly enormous - twice as big as the boatman himself. They make smaller versions of these noisy engines, with a long tail-like rudder sticking out the back like the blade on an electric cream beater.
I saw one perched on the back of a tiny coconut-shaped boat the other day. Like its bigger counterparts, it makes an ear-splitting noise.
As I watched my boatman friend pull away, I fought the desire to plug my ears. Surely, all that noise is just part of the fun of living in Bangkok.
The sooner you learn to live with it, the sooner you can call yourself an honorary Bangkok resident - even a 'real' Thai - because in this crazy land, there is no beating it.
Only foolish souls visit the water's edge to get away from it all. We must make for a comical sight, sitting in pensive mode on our rickety piers, rocking and swaying violently in the wash of every passing craft.
The river is there so boatmen can make money from tourists, and tourists can wave at the natives - why else was it created?
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