Thailand: River Boat Cruise

Our home for two days
Relaxing on the deck with Pacharin and Oak
Our "room"

Up with the sun
Giving food to the monks
Off to the morning market

Morning Market
Our Cook
Breakfast

A very busy river
Visiting an orpanage
Visiting a brick making family

Visiting a school
Visiting an incense making family
Tied up at dock of a Buddhist temple

Bangkok is the one of the major hubs of Southeast Asia. We have visited many times because there is so much to see and do. In Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the Chao Phraya River flows through the city. We usually stay at a hotel on the river because we find the river mesmerizing. The Chao Phraya is a working river with small colorful tugboats pulling three to five heavily loaded barges, water taxis crisscrossing the river, and many other boats. We have often wondered where the barges come from and where they are going. On this trip we found out.
An hour from Bangkok in the ancient capital of Ayutthaya we boarded a teak rice boat turned houseboat for a two-day cruise on the Chao Phraya River. Our boat could accommodate 12 passengers; however, we were lucky because there were two other guests along with our two guides, a cook, and the boat’s pilot. Interestingly, the other couple was from St. Catherines, Ontario, not all that far from our New York State home.

Along the way we visited small handicraft villages, usually by bicycle. Most farmers still grow rice but during the growing season when they are not busy in the fields some families have created small businesses to make extra money. Everyone in the family works together. Some were making bricks, others drums, incense sticks, charcoal, or growing mushrooms. One day we visited a Buddhist orphanage with about 1000 children. Another day we visited a school where the children were on recess and they all clamored to have their picture taken.

When our houseboat was traveling down the river toward Bangkok we relaxed, waved to people on the shore, and watched the activity along the river. People were fishing, watering their crops, or just resting by the river. The barges were especially interesting because families live on the barges so they went about their daily activities: cooking meals, doing laundry, and other daily chores. I imagine it was similar to the barges on the Erie Canal 100 years ago.