January 3rd, 2024
Bangkok was once famous for its canals and floating markets and was referred to as the Venice of the East. Unfortunately, many of Bangkok’s canals are being filled in to create roadways and there are less and less of them. Instead of taking a taxi or train to the Giant Buddha, we opted to take a canal tour and experience how people lived and travelled before the automobile.
Although most of the boats on the canals were taking tourists around, the locals still use the canals as well. On previous trips to Bangkok, I don’t remember seeing Asian Water Monitors, but I seem to be seeing a lot of them on this trip and they give me the creeps. We also saw turtles and plenty of catfish.
After stopping at the Giant Buddha, there was another boat driver that was having problems getting his boat started. He had tour tourists who clearly annoyed and confused. Our tour guide asked if it was OK if we spent a few minutes trying to help them and we said it was fine. Our driver couldn’t get the engine of the other boat started and when we took off, he said that he was having problems steering the boat.
I need to put this all in perspective, the two other tourists were very upset about the situation and I found it humorous. We had a great view of the Giant Buddha and if I was going to get stuck in traffic or have my vehicle break down, this was the place to do it. The driver got us to a dock and another boat from the same company pulled up and we joined his small tour group and finished the tour.
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