We got a long tail boat, just for our family, from saphan taksin, on the sky train line. Bought the trip from a guy at a table, not especially official-looking, and reduced our rate from 2000 to 1500 baht. We asked for an hour long trip along the Klongs, finishing at Wat Aran. Boat was duly whistled for, and we boarded but had to reiterate the agreed route to the actual driver. The trip was great - lovely sights, peaceful, much cooler than the rest of the city, and saw lizards and cat fish along the way. Stopped at Wat Aran ( which is so beautiful) then caught the orange line boat back. We’d recommend it!
We took a long boat ride through the canals and it was very interesting to see. Although those living along the canal seemed incredibly poor, but they were very kind and friendly with lots of waving. We even got to stop at a Buddhist Temple to feed bread to the river catfish. Very cool.
We booked an afternoon on the klongs having had a similar trip 30 years ago which I enjoyed and can remember vividly to this day. This time around, perhaps jaded after years of travel, I found it lacking in the type of sights that made me want to snap photos from each and every angle as I did all those years ago.
There seemed to very few local stilt houses on the canal banks and appeared to be more of an industrial area than a picturesque slice of local life.
We also had a canal running alongside our hotel with boats zipping backwards and forwards which was used more by locals than tourists. Perhaps if we'd been a little braver we could have taken a trip or two. Perhaps on our next visit.
It is always a must when in Bangkok that we go by long tail-boat to the klongs, the man-made network of canals where modern development did not take place. Cruising through the klongs you get a real sense of how people in Bangkok used to live and still do live . in shacks, old wooden townhouses and dilapidated lean-tos. A tour to the Klongs can be highly recommended and a must-do.
We took an hour long boat trip that ended at Wat Arun. It was very enjoyable to see the typical Thai homes along the water the multitude of temples and the vendors who rowed up to our boat offering drinks and souvenirs. It was a nice respite from the heat of the day as the breeze from the water was cooling. You sit low in the boat but it offers a nice perspective of this part of the city. I recommend it
