Having grown up in Seattle where little ferry boat key chains are sold as tourist trinkets and no snapshot of the city skyline is complete without a ferry stealthily maneuvering into the dock, I can really appreciate boats as a form of public transportation. As a kid going on a ferry meant we were going on a trip (actually it still means that). I associate boats with fun. Khlong boats in Bangkok reinforce this feeling.
One of the many great things about our apartment in Bangkok is that it was so close to the khlong (San Saeb) that runs East-West through the city. We have grown to appreciate the khlong and namely the boats that run on it because: 1) it is a cheap form of transportation, 2) it can bypass horrible traffic, and 3) I like boats (see above).
However, while khlong boats fit into the general description of public transportation boats, they are very different from any other boat I’ve experienced. Let me take you on a tour.
As you stand on the dock waiting for the boat you should take note of several things. 1) Please notice any place on the dock that is wet and proceed to move as far away from this spot as possible. This is because the boats come into the dock very fast and can splash water up and 2) the khlong water is of questionable cleanliness, well, okay not questionable, definitely not clean water. It is a grayish black with some trash floating in it, and some days it does not smell too great. However, if you’re lucky you might see 3) the trash collecting boat with about 3 or 4 collectors who have fish nets to scoop up trash and put it in
their boat. Also notice the "life preservers" attached to the dock - usually fashioned out of empty plastic oil containers.Now here comes your boat. If you’re on a dock that is not usually populated and no one currently on the boat wants to stop there you will have to indicate by sticking your arm out palm facing down that you would like the boat to stop. If you are the only one getting on, get ready. The boat may just slow down. Usually if the boat is packed (which it 90% of the time is) two of the boat attendants will hop off of the moving boat onto the dock and quickly circle their ropes around hitches on the dock while the driver throws the boat in reverse and slows the motor. This way the boat is almost completely against the dock which is usually slightly below the level of the boat sides.
Now here’s where it can get tricky depending mostly on your coordination and how full the boat is. You need to hop onto the edge of the still somewhat moving boat and then over the long plastic blue sheet that is stretched along both sides of the boat and then step down into the boat. These plastic sheets are raised up while 'cruising' along the khlong to keep the not so clean spray and waves from flying into your mouth, eyes, etc. We quickly learned that even though we usually wanted to see the view going by, it was best to do what most Thai people do and keep your head down. Inspite of the plastic sheets there were numerous times that we got more than a little splash! If the plastic sheets were not there, everyone would be drenched every ride as the wake from passing boats adds even more to the spray and chop of the water.
Once in the boat, you can either take a seat on the wood seats (holding about 150 total) or stay standing around the loud throbbing engine in the center of the boat. Most of the time, we would stand along with probably up to 70 or more of our closest friends. Rush hour is rush hour whatever the form of transportation. Sometimes it would be problematic as the docks along the side of the khlong are on different sides. So we might get on the boat on one side but then have to push our way through the crowd to get off on the other side of the boat if the dock was on the other side of the khlong.
Payment is made to the boat attendants who stand outside on the edge of the boat. You hand your money to them and shout your destination above the din and they give you a ticket. These guys (men and women) are simply amazing, often perched on the edge of the boat without even holding on as they collect money, jump on and off docks, and help people get on and off the boat! They all wear helmets as some of the bridges are so low that they have to duck as the boat goes under. Some of the bridges are so low that some of the boats have a retractable roof system that allows the driver to lower the entire roof to navigate safely under the bridge before raising it on the other side. Again, everyone standing leans forward and ducks their head. The first time the roof came down on our heads as we were not prepared for such ingenuity!
In spite of all the quirks and probably also because of them, this is a fascinating, cheap, safe and quick way to move from one side of the city to the other. We really miss it!
See Video of the Khlong boat in action in the next post!
Andrea
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