The Chao Phraya is not Thailand’s longest river by far. That distinction falls to the Mun River at 750 km closely contested by the Nan River at 740 km that flows from a mountainous source on the Laos border to where it joins the Chao Phraya. However, in the relatively short 370 km of bends and sweeps from Nakhon Sawan to the Gulf of Thailand, the Chao Phraya moulds and crafts the lifestyle of Thais more than any other stretch of water.

That is partly due to its path through the heavily populated heartlands of the central plains and its passage that cleaves the capital city Bangkok in half before it flows into the sea.

The majestic ‘River of Kings’ nourishes the nation’s rice paddies, stretching across the delta lands as far as the eye can see. It also provides a major transport channel for trade and even delivers the drinking water to Bangkok’s thirsty 12 million residents.

Sports enthusiasts have water-skied its wide expanse negotiating the river’s convoluted meanderings through Bangkok in minutes, while single-handed, a traveller kayaked its length, taking weeks to complete the task. Other visitors spend just seconds on a ferry crossing from a hotel in the business district to a restaurant clinging to the river bank on the Thon Buri side. Or they may travel on the capital’s river express, commuting to work from neighbouring riverside towns.

Barges, mostly laden with building materials and drawn by powerful tugboats, still ply the river. Weighed down to the gunwales, they nudge their way in convoys downstream to riverside port on the outskirts of Bangkok.

For most travellers the river provides a short interlude on a city tour to a floating market or a transfer from hotel to the famous Temple of the Dawn. It doesn’t need to end there. For the traveller ready to explore its course and tributaries north of the capital, the Chao Phraya offers fascinating insights into Thai rural lifestyle, moving with the times but still entwined with the river.

Luxury riverboats ply the river from Bangkok to the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, carrying thousands of visitors for a day excursion. Laden with buffet tables and drink trolleys, the boats speed their guests to Bang Pa-in, the site of the royal summer palace, approximately 60 km north of Bangkok. From here the remainder of the trip to the ancient capital of Ayutthaya is covered by tour bus.

However, to explore the river in detail the preferred options are the slower converted river barges with cabins below and a well appointed top deck to relax and enjoy meals.

THE THANATHAREE CHAO PHRAYA BARGE CRUISE TO AYUTTHAYA
Winner of the Award of Excellence for the Inbound Tour Programme,
Thailand Tourism Awards 2004

All photos © Thanatharee

Thanathep Pintusan, owner of Education Travel Centre, takes travellers back to the “roots of Thai culture” following the course of Chao Phraya River on the Thanatharee rice barge. “Thai life has changed dramatically in the city, but I noticed that once you sail upstream the inseparable link between the river and Thai people reasserts itself. We can capture that on our barge trip,” Mr Thanathep explains. Thanatharee carries 12 passengers who sleep in bunks dormitory style on the lower deck of the stout teak wood barge. There are just two bathrooms and showers, but “guests have all day to shower so it is not an issue on a slow moving barge,” Mr Thanathep adds. While not the most luxurious river barges, the Thanatharee compensates with a “hands on” approach to travel. Guests can learn how to cook a meal in the small galley tucked into the stern of the barge. At an early morning stop at the thriving market of Prathum Thani, 35 km north of the capital, they can shop for fresh spices, vegetables and fruits, learning firsthand about the ingredients that make Thai cuisine so special. Later on the first day of this two-night cruise to Ayutthaya, they embark on a side trip by mountain bike to the vast expanses of paddy where they learn how to plant rice and ride a quaint looking mechanical plough, powered by a noisy two-stroke engine. It’s a learning experience, an encounter with rural Thai values and heritage. Passengers live for two days almost as the villagers do, close to the river, dining on its fresh fish and the finest rice harvested in the vast emerald-green paddy fields of the Chao Phraya delta. The captain of the Thanatharee eventually steers a course off the main river at Bang Sai, up a tributary known as the Chao Phraya Noi, but not before paying his respects at the foot of a spirit house, the guardian of the river and the people living on it. This particular tributary cut a channel from the Chao Phraya far north at Chai Nat, running south almost parallel before rejoining the parent river at Bang Sai. Passing farming communities and orchards, the barge will eventually drop anchor for the night near a temple, allowing its passengers to admire a star-studded night sky while the cook conjures up yet another array of spicy Thai dishes for the buffet table. In the morning they will have an opportunity to make merit at the temple and meet the village residents. Visits follow to villages that specialise in making pottery, knives and handicrafts as the barge wends it way upstream to Ayutthaya, the former capital of Siam for 400 years until 1767. At the height of its splendour, the city boasted 400 temples, palaces and over 80 km of waterways packed with thousands of commercial boats and the splendid vessels that carried members of the royal household. All that remains today are the ruins of ancient chedis and prangs that were declared a World Heritage Site in the 90s, and the fascinating stories of the court of Ayutthaya that bedazzled visitors with its sheer beauty and opulence. Today a barge cruise on the Chao Phraya River provides glimpses into the times and legends of Ayutthaya but more importantly a trip on the river underscores the vast economic and cultural influence the river still holds today over the lives of millions of Thais living on its banks.

Further upstream, tributaries of the Chao Phraya unlock an even purer version riverside life and traditional commerce. One such waterway is the short 11-km-long Sakae Krang River that flows into the Chao Phraya at the small village of Manohrom in Chai Nat province. Here, converted teak rice barges that have plied the river for more than 50 years, journey upstream carrying tourists on a half-day tour to Uthai Thani, a typical town of the alluvial plains where traders, farmers and river fishermen mingle in the crowded market.

Four barges in the Khiri Nawa fleet have been sailing the Sakae Krang for 18 years, carrying mainly European tourists on an exploration of rural scenes. They pass the temples of Manohrom with their distinctive silver-gilded roofs and walls covered in mirrors that reflect the sunrays. From there the barge follows the meandering bends lined with raft houses, home to river folk who make a living from fishing.

Just a few kilometres from the busy Asian Highway, linking Bangkok to the northern provinces, the barges glide through rural scenes that have remained largely unchanged for close to a century, apart from intrusion of electricity lines and TV aerials.

These teakwood barges owned and operated by Pan House Travel are often cited as examples of an ‘unseen Thailand’ unlocked for visitors who count their travels by the different experiences encountered rather than kilometres covered.

Uthai Thani nestles between the banks of the Sakae Krang River and a mountain of the same name that is home to Wat Sangket Rattana Khiri. Here a unique merit-making ceremony is embodied in the annual Tak Bat Devo festival, held at the close of the Buddhist Lent in October. Tat baht is the act of making merit by presenting alms to the monks while Devo refers to the return of the Lord Buddha from heaven mentioned in Buddhist literature. Viewed from the outskirts of town, the early morning sunlight captures a spectacular procession of 500 monks dressed in their saffron robes descending the 449 stairs from the mountain top temple to the base where devotees wait to make merit.

Apart from a history that dates back to the Ayutthaya period the province is noted for its natural attractions; waterfalls, caves and hot springs, located in and around the Huai Kha Kaeng Wildlife Sanctuary.

Uthai Thani is just one of many unpretentious towns on the course of the River of Kings descent to the Gulf that reflects the culture and traditions of riverside Thailand.

Photo © Thanatharee	Contact information: Thanatharee Rice Barge Educational Travel Centre Tel: 02 224 0043, 02 224 4800-2 Email: etc@etc.co.th, Web site: www.thanatharee.com The Thanatharee Chao Phraya Barge Cruise operated by Educational Travel Centre is winner of the Award of Excellence in the Inbound Tour Programme category of the Thailand Tourism Awards 2004.
Photo © TAT	Naga Barges Piphitmaya Co., Ltd Tel: +66 (0) 2718 5520, 01 307 3344 (Khun Chalermpon) Email: reservations@thairivercruises.com, info@thairivercruises.com Web site: www.thairivercruises.com
Photo © Manohra Song	Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa, Manohra Song Tel: +66 (0) 2476 0021-2, (0) 2476 0021-2 ext 1728 Web site: www.manohracruises.com
Photo © Benjarong Boat	Benjarong Boat Co., Ltd. Tel/ Fax: +66 3573 6975 Web site: www.thaicruises.com
Photo © Wanfah	Wanfah (dinner cruises) Chao Phraya Chartered Co., Ltd. Tel: +66 (0) 2222 8679, (0) 2622 7657-61 Fax: +66 (0) 2622 7662 Email: info@wanfah.com, reservation@wanfah.com Web site: www.wanfah.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DON ROSS

Born in rainy Manchester, an industrial city in northern England, Don Ross came to Thailand in 1969 on a journey that was supposed to take him to Australia. He felt so at home in Thailand he never left and eventually was adopted as a Thai citizen in 1998.

After teaching at Assumption Commercial College, he learned his skills in journalism at the Bangkok Post's proof room before turning his hand to tourism writing under the watchful eye of author Jack Reynolds who penned Woman of Bangkok in the early 70s.

During his stint with Allied Newspapers he edited the first travel publication to target overseas travel agents who specialised in Thailand tours and in 1978 established his own weekly publication Travel Trade Report that focuses on travel in Thailand and the Mekong region. He continues to write a weekly travel column for the Bangkok Post's Horizons travel section.