Thursday Jan 15

One of the sights I wanted to see was The Royal Barge Museum. It is on the other side of the river from the Old City, where most of the big sights are. This museum is tricky to get to. You walk through a maze of narrow lanes for about 15 minutes. There are lots of turns, but the signs to the museum are well marked. It is a different Bangkok though. Some real hovels, mangy dogs and cats. I met very few people, only locals. When I finally arrived at the museum there was one other couple, and a school group. It's a shame, because it is very worthwhile.

The tradition of these barges go back centuries. 

One thing, that I never realized was that Bangkok was bombed during WWII, and some of the barges were damaged. Another new fact I learned was that the Bridge on the River Kwai is near Bangkok, and can be visited on a day trip.

Back to the barges. The King decided to restore these damaged barges, there are about 50 of them. They are used in processions along the river for very special occasions. To celebrate the King's 50 anniversary, in 1996, a new barge was constructed, in his honour.

The barges are very slim, only about 3 m across, and up to 50 m long. They are rowed by up to 50 oarsmen, they use paddles, and the rowing is intricately choreographed.

There was an excellent video, explaining the tradition, the construction of the newest barge, and the training involved for the crew.

Excellent visit.

After walking back through the alleys I decided to have lunch. On this side of the river there is no English. I ordered a bowl of soup, by pointing. I really don't know what was in the soup, but it was delicious, very similar to Pho. The added bonus was that it was about a third of the price from the other side of the river.

The river is very busy with tourist boats, and there is a public commuter system, for 1 dollar a ride. I took one of these to China Town, which was a disappointment. Nothing but hundreds, I mean it, stores selling junk. There were material stores, but most looked tacky. Plastic is the word here. I have never seen so much plastic, in so many different colours and shapes.

I was quite happy to leave.

It was a long day, 6 hours of walking. I had a nice nap in the afternoon.

In the evening I joined the throng of tourists cruising the street. Quite the scene..noisy, but orderly; I haven't seen any drunks, but then I'm in bed well before closing hours. It is amazing how well behaved the crowds are. I haven't seen one policeman on the streets. The other wonder is how everything gets cleaned. There are no garbage cans, everything gets thrown on the street, yet by 7 next morning the streets are clean.

Thanks to my earplugs I sleep well, but the last couple of nights I wake up, at about 2, when the bars close, and the music stops. Strange!

The other thing I enjoy are the colours. Nothing drab! The taxi cabs are hot pink, or lime green and bright yellow. The tuk-tuks are also colourful. They are much sturdier than the ones I have used in Guatemala and India. The drivers though are just as maniacal.

I have enclosed some shots from the street in front of my hotel. That's the way it is every day, every night.