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In the spirit of adventure, I decided to kick off the new month by
going somewhere that not many people have gone before. I went to the
beach in Bangkok! Yes, you heard right. Bangkok actually has a
beachside resort. Not many people know that. It is not even in the
Lonely Planet. I first heard about it last year and then I saw a brief
mention on tv the other day which reminded me. So, I decided to go and
do some exploring.
Bangkok Beach is at Bang Khunthian. It is only about 5 kms wide and
is squeezed between Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon. You saw on my map
the other day that this whole area is just shrimp farms and canals.
Hardly any roads at all. On my map, there is a road that goes that
direction from Samut Prakan but then suddenly stops. So, Bang Khunthian
isn't the kind of place you would pass on the way to somewhere else.
Like before, I had to take the expressway into Bangkok and then
cross the river on the King Rama IX bridge. (Incidentally, there are
some great views from the top of this bridge and it is a shame you
cannot stop to take pictures!) I then drove along Rama II road towards
Samut Sakhon. I have driven down this highway before. I have done
several weekend trips to Cha-am and Hua Hin as well as a massive drive
down to Phuket a number of years ago. After a while I started seeing
road signs that said "Talay Bang Khunthian". Some of them were really
big. But, as usual in Thailand, they are good with signs that say
straight on but they are not so good at telling you when to turn off!
So, I missed the turning and had to do a u-turn. Twice!
I didn't really have many clues about where to go or what to expect.
I knew I could join a boat tour. But I didn't really know where. Also,
the road marked on my map suddenly stopped a long way from the sea!
But, it turned out a little easier than expected. I eventually found
the correct turning from Rama II road onto Bang Khunthian Road. After
about 8 kms or so I saw a small sign on the left that said "ta reua"
which means jetty. I wasn't sure if it was what I was looking for, but
there was a big parking lot and a number of factory outlets. I went in
and eventually found the jetty. I was just in time, a tour was about to
leave. For the record, the boat leaves at 11.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m., 2.30
p.m. 4.30 p.m. on weekends only. It then returns 90 minutes later. It
only costs 100 baht for adults and 50 baht for children.
There were about a ten of us that climbed into the very long
long-tailed boat. They gave us life jackets and took our photos. That
reminded me of a newspaper report after the speedboat tragedy near Koh
Samui. The government said that they would now make it compulsory for
people to wear lifejackets and that everyone would be photographed. Of
course, that made me a bit nervous. How far out to sea would we go in
this flimsy boat? But, on my return, I soon discovered that they were
taking pictures for a souvenir plate!
I enjoyed the boat trip very much. We went down some small canals
passing houses on stilts and many many people fishing. In the photo
above, the lady is using this contraption to catch fish. She lowered it
into the water for a while and then quickly lifted it up hoping to
catch some fish! The mangrove forest was lush and green. The wildlife
was plentiful, we even saw some monkeys! On either side were fields of
water! These are shrimp farms. You can probably guess that the main
occupation for these people is fishing. And the main means of
transportation is boat. Just about every house we passed had a boat
moored underneath it. Some had two!
After about an hour we finally reached the sea. The concrete marker
you can see above is the boundary between Bangkok and Samut Sakhon. It
is a famous landmark which I have seen on tv. I guess this is what we
all came for. We circled around it for a while. Our guide pointed east
and said over there is Chulalongkorn Fort. Too far to see but it made
me wonder how long it would take to get there by boat. Maybe quicker
than the roundabout route I had to take to get here. If only I had my
own boat! Actually, that is one of my dreams. Anyway, back to reality.
In the photo on the right, you can clearly see a line of electricity
poles. Apparently fishermen used to have huts here but the sea has long
since eroded the land. From what I can tell, a lot of this shoreline
has disappeared over the last number of years. Our guide said that you
can sometimes see dolphins. But, we weren't lucky today.
It is funny about the electricity poles. You are in the middle of
no-where, but they have tv and electricty. Even the small wooden huts
made from bamboo had a telelvision set. But, it looked like they didn't
have running water. Outside every house were about six or so large
klong jars to catch rain water. This would be their only source of
clean water. The houses also had numbers, so I wonder if the postman
came down here in his boat to deliver the mail? Some canals in Bangkok
even had mobile banks!
Near the stone marker, we stopped at a restaurant built on stilts
high above the water. There were quite a few people here eating lunch.
Our guide only gave us 15 minutes to get out and stretch our legs.
While I was walking around, I noticed several more boats arrive with
tourists. It was too soon for another boat to come so I deduced that
there must be another company operating boat tours. I decided that when
I got back to the car I would drive further down the road as far as I
could and see what else was on offer. I also wanted to see if the road
between here and Samut Prakan had been built yet. If it had, then that
would be a quicker way of getting back.
A Fishing Village in Bangkok
Yesterday, I told you how I drove down to visit the Beach in Bangkok.
It wasn't really a beach in the traditional sense. There was no sand to
play in and you wouldn't want to swim in the muddy water. However, a
boat ride along a canal in the mangrove forest was really refreshing
and a good way to beat the summer temperatures.
After I had returned from my boat trip I got chatting with the
security guard in the car park. I asked him first if it was possible to
drive all the way to Samut Prakan. He assured me that you could. I then
asked him if it was possible to drive down to the coast and he said no,
"mai teung" meaning the road didn't reach there. It turned out he was
wrong on both counts!
I think I was only driving for about 10 minutes and then I was off
the map! The road wasn't that good. A bit broken up in places and I had
to weave in order to find a smooth surface. In the end I just followed
the path of the songtaew drivers. They go up and down here all day so I
am sure they knew where to go for the smoothest drive.
Judging by the number of large seafood restaurants on both sides of
the road, I would say that they would get a lot of people coming down
here at the weekend. Though not by coaches yet as the road is pretty
rough. Another five minutes or so I reached a t-junction with no road
signs saying what was where. In theory, if I turned left I would end up
in Samut Prakan. Turn right I would end up in Samut Sakhon. I could see
a temple to my left and decided to go and investigate that first. It
was marked on my map but there was no roads marked. Just after the
temple there was a brand new bridge and a good road, but it only lasted
50 metres before I hit a pile of dirt! That was the end of the road. I
guess when the security guard said I could go to Samut Prakan he meant
the province! I turned around and headed back the other way.
Five minutes later I reached another parking lot full of cars with a
sign saying "ta reua tee neung" which means "the number one jetty". I
pulled in to investigate. Another sign by the river announced that
tickets cost only 40 baht for adults and 20 baht for children. However,
this wasn't a tour. The boats left here at 30 minute intervals to that
restaurant I had seen earlier on the coastline. Apparently it only took
15 minutes from here. Even though it was cheaper here, I am glad I had
gone on my longer tour.
I decided to keep driving. By this time I was back on the map. I
could see that the road now went straight to Samut Sakhon. I have never
explored that city but I would save it for another time. It was now
mid-afternoon. I hadn't finished exploring this area. I was trying to
find a road or track that would take me south towards the sea. Judging
by the map, the road was running parallel to the sea by about 4 kms.
Eventually I found a turn off. I followed it for a while over a few
bridges. After a while, the road suddenly became narrower and then
became dirt track. I saw some people up ahead on motorcycles so I
guessed it must be going somewhere. I finally parked the car and then
just kept walking south along a narrow track. Five minutes later I saw
a welcome view. It looked like there was a small estuary here with
fishing boats on either side. And straight ahead was the sea! I had
made it!
I walked through a small mangrove forest and came out on a muddy
beach. There was quite a large number of people here. Some were on the
shoreline and others were wading through the knee high mud. I asked one
of the guys what he was looking for. He said his friend was looking for
crabs under the rocks and that he was looking for shellfish. He showed
me that there was two different kinds. You can see his "catch" in the
photo below. He said some of his other friends were wading through the
mud. Can you see the bamboo polls stuck in the mud? If you go and look
closely you can see oyster shells stuck to the side. I took his word
for it. I didn't want to investigate! I asked if he was going to sell
what he had caught but he said they would probably eat it themselves.
It was the weekend and they had only come here for a bit of fun.
I am glad I had managed to find the sea. It had made the trip more
worthwhile. Now I had been here, it wouldn't be too much of an effort
to come again. It was only about 55 kms door to door and had taken just
over an hour and a half. I think there is more to explore and see in
this area. But, I will save it for the next time I have a guest. This
trip was really like sending an advance party. I think later this week
I will do some more exploring by boat, but this time closer to home!
There are still quite a few unanswered questions about the coastline
along Samut Prakan.
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