My brother Richy has lived here in Bangkok for the last three years and since then has established some good connections and made some great friends. Yesterday we went to chill with a friend of his named Nu, (sounds like new), and he took us to an emerging artist community on one of the outer Klongs (a labyrinth of river towns) of Bangkok. The Klongs are what Bangkok and the old cities used to look like before the modern road. This Klong in particular is one of the oldest remaining clong communities in the region, dating back over 500 years.
So about 45 outside the city, the landscape changes from crowded streets and skyscrapers, to winding dirt roads, lush vegetation, fresh air, and dozens of stray dogs. We were led to a small shack where we met all Nu's friends who happen to be artists and designers in Bangkok. Though most of them did not speak much English, it would not prevent us from enjoying the adventure we were about to endure together. Oi (pronounced like the "oy" in "Oy Vey") was Nu's friend who lived on the property, and arranged for a boat driver to pick us up and take us around the Klong to watch the sunset, relax, and get dinner. The boat is a long and narrow vessel that is equipped with NOTHING but an old car engine that has been rigged up to a propeller. Everyone is this region has similar boats with recycled engines and no seating. Aside from the engine, this style boat has been used for centuries. So the eight of us made our way down the Klong sitting indian style in a single file. There was so much weight in the boat that the top of the boat was only a few inches out of the water. Each time the driver completed a turn we would all cheer and clap. It was only mildly unsafe....
On the river we passed lots of houses that had amazing fishing rigs and naturally made docks. One of the fishing rigs was a netting system that was operated by a lever system made entirely from bamboo, that lowers a massive net to catch lots of fish at once. Another rig was for night fishing and used a bright light at the end of a net to lure the fish in. Lastly, the docks were all floating on a mass hundreds of empty coconut shells that had been cages in.
We would stop periodically to talk and take in the surroundings and after a little over an hour of sitting in the cramped boat, we came back around to our place for dinner. We ate dim sum, fried rice with pork and crab, noodles with prawns and pork and something else that I'm glad I didn't ask what it was.
Before I knew it, nine hours had passed, our stomachs were full, our butts sore from the lack of chairs, and it was time to leave. This was an amazing adventure and cultural experience that I know I'll have more of soon.
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