A river cruise and the klongs
Bangkok was built on marshland on both sides of its broad, snaking river, the Chao Phraya. In the early days, a network of klongs (canals) was devised to drain the marshland, and to provide the main thoroughfares. People lived along the canals in houses built on stilts. On the east side of the river (Krungthep), the main part of the modern city, these canals have been largely paved over as roads. On the west side of the river (Thonburi) many of these canals still exist. You can visit this fascinating floating world in a long-tailed boat (narrow boats with a long propeller shaft at the back); rides are available from many of the hotels that line the east bank of the Chao Phraya.
On the trip, you can also stop at the picturesque Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), which overlooks the river from the west bank. Its impressive 79 m (260 ft) tower, or 'prang', representing the mythical Mount Meru (the centre of the Universe), and the many tiered chedis, are ingeniously decorated with thousands of pieces of glinting pottery dishes, said to have come from ballast used by ships sailing from China. Also on the river is the Royal Barges Museum, a collection of eight large and fabulously ornamented boats used in ceremonies on the river.
