A Longboat and a Long Train Ride

During the 19th century, according to our already well-thumbed Lonely Planet, Bangkok could be heard called the "Venice of Asia." The multitude of smells wafting down the alley past our hostel aside, it was actually due to the city's rather extensive network of canals. While no longer a central route of movement, these canals still offer visitors a chance to travel the back neighborhoods of Bangkok in a less than typical manner.

"You! You! Sit middle of boat!"
This was the driver of the longboat we had just climbed into telling Matt that, for safety's sake, his butt really needed to be dead center. Jillian and I sat on the bench behind him, our centers of gravity forming an equilateral triangle of stability. Picture a 50-foot long canoe with an outboard motor. The driver sat perched in the back, steering us through the canals and narrowly past other longboats. All calls were close.

Passing into the canals from the main river

Inside the canals it was rather sleepy, with people going about their lives, albeit in plain view of us passers-by. The atmosphere was both urban and tropical; lived-in and wild with overgrowth. Some young monks standing on a protruding dock sold us a loaf of bread and told us to drop it over the side of the boat. We did. (Three second pause.) A 5x5 foot area was suddenly full of flopping, splashing catfish, emerging from the murky bottom to fight it out for human food.

And I never thought I'd hear this combination of words: "You want to buy a beer for the driver?" This from a woman who had paddled her little floating convenience store out to us later in the trip. Her trinkets were cheap, but her cooler of beer was appealing. After handing over three Changs, she asked about refreshing our guide. Well, we were going to tip him anyway...

Inside the canals

A fish feeding frenzy

Our driver, pre-beer

Then we headed north to Chiang Mai, a city renowned for its proximity to outdoor adventures. Despite being only a 300 mile trip from Bangkok, the train ride was scheduled to last a cool 14 hours. In reality it lasted 16 hours, which, for those of you keeping score at home, works out to a grueling pace of 18 mph. So we ordered a bucket of beer and passed the time watching the Thai countryside until dark, when we climbed into our tiny, pull down beds.