Sprays of water touched our skin as our chartered long-tailed boat whisked us down Khlong Bang Luang. One cloudy day, we travelled along the Chao Phraya to Khlong Bang Luang, Khlong Bang Ramat and Khlong Lat Mayom to visit several cultural attractions on the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's boat excursions along these canals in Thon Buri.
"We have chosen to explore the heart of each area. This is a rare opportunity for us to combine boat trips along Khlong Bang Luang and Khlong Bang Ramat. Usually, people travel along Khlong Bang Luang, Khlong Bang Yai and Khlong Bangkok Noi to Khlong Mon. Some people travel along Khlong Bangkok Noi to Khlong Bang Ramat. Today, we combine the hearts of both zones," said Rapeepat Ketkosol of the BMA's Tourism Division, who has long been working with local communities to promote tourism.
We boarded the long-tailed boats at the mouth of Khlong Bangkok Noi at the pier of Wat Moleelokkayaram, or Wat Thai Talat, which was a royal temple within the palace during the Thon Buri period. Our boat headed to Khlong Bang Luang, which has been important for centuries as the location of several major temples, old communities and the houses of several elite families, such as the Bunnags, and the American missionary Dr Dan Beach Bradley, who introduced surgery and smallpox vaccinations to the Kingdom. After our visits to a number of temples, we dropped by at the Artist's House (Ban Silapin Khlong Bang Luang) and a row of old wooden shophouses which sell retro-style goods and sweets.
Ban Silapin is an old wooden house-turned-art gallery where a Thai puppetry show is performed at 2pm daily. It is the evidence of the locals' efforts to promote community tourism and conserve their cultural assets.
After that, we travelled further past Khlong Mon and entered Khlong Chak Phra and Khlong Bang Ramat, both sides of which are old communities and have temples dating to the Ayutthaya era.
At noon, we dropped by at Koh San Chao Community to visit Wat Champa and Chao Phor Jui Shrine and tuck into delicious food such as khanom jeen namya, khanom buang yuan, phu lon, thod mun noodles and lodchong nam kathi. Surrounded by two canals _ Khlong Bang Ramat and Khlong Ban Sai _ Wat Champa community is an island. This community has long been well-known for its Wat Champa artisans who were highly skilled in painting, sculpting, banana-trunk carving and banana-leaf decorative art.
During World War II, several important people fled to the community to escape the bombings in Bangkok. One of them was Luang Watthanasilp, a royal court artisan, who later taught some local craftsmen, including Charoon Wangchan, how to design and carve banana trunks in the royal court fashion. The craftsmen here strictly follow tradition using specific motifs and patterns for specific occasions, such as the motifs of Phra Matulee, the charioteer of the god Indra, for funerals. They also decorate their banana trunk carvings with fruit carvings depicting flowers, dragons, Nagas and Devas as well as characters from the Ramakien.
After lunch, we visited Ban Wangchan to listen to the history of the community and see the art of banana trunk carving from by Thaweesak Wangchan, a son of Charoon who learned more about the art from Luang Watthanasilp. Thaweesak and his siblings are highly skilled artisans who specialise in banana trunk and fruit carving and floral decoration. In addition, Thaweesak is the community leader and has been active in promoting community and cultural tourism.
Another must-see is Wat Champa which dates to the Ayutthaya period and boasts beautiful stucco art and Chinese porcelain decoration.
Later, we travelled to the popular Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market. On the way, we passed Ban Chula Sewok, the residence of a close aide to Prince Chulachakrabongse where the prince stayed for a while during World War II.
Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market in Taling Chan district, which opened in 2004, is the fruit of cooperation between local communities along Khlong Lat Mayom. The objectives are to conserve the canal, find marketing channels for local produce, food and desserts, and to revive the spirit of teamwork and kindness.
At and around the floating market, visitors can take boat rides, visit orchid farms, vegetable and dragon fruit plantations, ride oxen-drawn carts, ride horses, visit a local fishing and farming tools museum, join Thai dessert cooking classes, watch various kinds of fish and birds and learn about organic farming.
"All vendors and villagers here refrain from littering the water and selling alcohol and cigarettes because they want to protect the environment, get rid of garbage and develop their community," said Chuan Chuchan, founder of Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market.
The market has three garbage collecting boats of its own and every house in the area has a waste filtrating tank. The community owns a machine for making organic fertiliser and cooking gas from organic waste.
Locals are encouraged to keep the water clean and suitable for the shrimp recently released into the area and the fish to be raised in nets placed in the canal.
"To make tourism sustainable, we must give top priority to the sustainability of local communities.
"We must use tourism as a tool for improving society and the quality of life of local people. Art and culture must be conserved.
"The environment must be protected. Local communities must become places for people to learn and relax," said Pranee Sattayaprakob, director of the BMA's Tourism Division.
She added that the office will survey interesting destinations and search for public-spirited local people to work together to improve their potential until they are all able to manage tourism in their own communities properly and sustainably.
The Tourism Division also plans to push for a new route for tourists to travel on these canals in the future.
For more information, contact the BMA's Tourism Division on 02-225-7612_6 or visit www.bangkoktourist.com or www.facebook.com/tourismdivision
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Writer: Pichaya SvastiPosition: Life Writer
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/07/01/preserving-waterside-traditions/
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