Saen Saep Klong (Canal) Trip
Deborah Lancaster (another BWG intrepid explorer) and I decided to follow up on an archive article featured in the BWG magazine 14 years previously and see how much of it remained the same. Firstly let me tell you that Nancy Chandlers and the Nelles map of Bangkok only show a few of the many stops along the Saen Saep Klong that we discovered on a Friday morning in June.
- Ramkhamheang The Mall 3
- Ekkamai
- Charn Issara - close to the Bangkok Playhouse on Phetburi Rd
- Wat Mai - (possibly only for Monks)
- Ital Thai - Hilton Thai Soi 39 and Phetburi Rd
- Prasanmit (Q house) - Phetburi Rd next to 7-11
- Sapan Asoke -next to the underground of Asoke and Phetburi Rd
- Nanachard
- Nana Nua - (Bumrungrad )- Soi 3 and Phetburi Rd
- Nai Lert - ( Nai Lert Tower,British Embassy) Wittayu Pier Wittayu Rd and Phetburi
- Sapan Chid Lom - Chidlom Pier - Soi 34 Phetburi Rd - Central
- Pratunam - (just opposite World Trade Centre- also handy for Pantip, Pratunam Market and Narai Phand. Interchange stop)
- Ratchathewi -(short walk to the right along Klong to Jim Thompsons House)
- Bobae Tower- Bobae Pier, Krung Kasem Rd
- Wat Sakkret -Golden Mount and Khoa San Road
We left the Charn Issara building at 9.30am and the boats were still pretty packed. Its difficult to say how long it took us to get to Jim Thompsons as with the sheer exhilaration of traveling by taxi boat
I didnt pay close attention to my watch! We did stop off for refreshments and Id guess we were there by about 10.05am which included a short top at Pratunam to change boats.
Next stop the Golden Mount, where we got off to do some research and can verify that this is the end of the line even though river taxi stops are marked further down the Banklampoo Klong (Im guessing these are only accessible from the Chao Phraya river). Two minutes in a taxi and we were at the Khoa San Road doing a quick recky of the market and the loads of wholesale silver shops to be found here.
One vendor some how seemed to get the impression I had a body piercing shop back in the UK and insisted on taking my email and giving me her card. Minimum order 2,000 Bt; let me know if youre interested!
We got on the boat around 11.15am and headed back to do the Bangkapi leg of the journey (16 baht each from Wat Sakkret to Bangkapi). Much quicker with a lot fewer stops, our intention was to get to The Mall Bangkapi. We passed the stop where we had initially got on and one more - possibly Ekkamai; then we veered off to the left (though another klong clearly led straight on) following the Saen Saep Canal. All too soon we arrived at a stop marked with The Mall logo and leaped (trousers/shorts are advisable) to our feet to get off before we missed the stop; it was some minutes later that we realized we had jumped ship too soon; discovering we were in fact at Ramkhamhaeng and not Lad Prao Road!
Deborah did say she would be interested in checking it out to the end of the line on another day and I spotted a sign identifying a pier on Klong Tan at Petchburi 41, so I am guessing there is still much to be explored!