klong kruisin'

a khlong or klong is the general name for a canal in the central plain of Thailand. These canals are spawned by the Chao Phraya, the Tha Chin, the Mae Klong Rivers and their tributaries. The Thai word khlong is not limited to artificial canals; also many smaller rivers are referred to as khlong followed by the name of the stream. (wikipedia)

as i've mentioned in my previous post, one of the side trips of our river cruise included traversing along the klongs. the klongs look exactly like the esteros right here in manila, only different. wayyyyy different. take a look. =)

along with the boatman and our tour guide, my friends and i have this boat ALL TO OURSELVES. =)

onward to the klongs!

gateway to a street. as you can see, even the gate has the ornate angkor design.

anywhere we would probably go, people will wave at us as long as we bring a camera. =)

my friends and i feeding the fishes that spawn ONLY at this particular part. the monks at the temple right on this spot (but not pictured) take care of the fishes, and they allow tourists to feed bread to the fish.

casa grande (above and below)

a watery street. most of the houses we passed have boats from the back entrance.

the lurking lizard

looks like any old estero here in manila, 'no? but no. the air is as fresh as could be, even in this part of the city.

waterworld!

more houses below.

i do believe we can also do something like this right in our own pasig river. =)

photo credits: C and C

cruisin' the chao phraya river

a trip to bangkok would not be complete without going on a cruise along the chao phraya river. so that's exactly what my friends and i did on our last day. our day cruise included a stop over at the grand palace as well as a side trip along the klongs (canals or esteros), which i will be featuring in my next post. here are some pics of the views you can see along the river.

the millennium hotel

the grand palace

a chinese temple

the wat arum or the temple of the dawn (doesn't the temple of the dawn have a nice ring to it? :D)

take a look at the vastness of the river

the royal thai navy headquarters

photo credits: C and C

samutprakarn crocodile farm

here are some pics i have unearthed from my trip to thailand with friends C and C (may 29-june 2, 2005). the first batch is taken from the samutprakarn crocodile farm and zoo. founded in 1950 by the crocodile king mr. utai youngprapakorn, the crocodile farm boasts of the distinction of being the biggest crocodile farm in the world. it houses over 60,000 crocodiles which includes different species from around the world as well as endagered ones. and aside from the numerous croc pens, the farm also has a zoo and a dinosaur museum. and oh, how could i forget the crocodile wrestling and amazing elephant shows? (although we were only able to watch the crocodile wrestling show. watching those guys do daredevil tricks like putting their hands inside the crocodiles' gaping mouths is an amazing, nail-biting and exciting experience.)

samutprakarn crocodile farm and zoo is located in samutprakarn, just 10 kms. from bangkok.

a brave, brave soul, i must say

half-submerged croc with a wide, gaping mouth. dyou know that crocodiles can just lounge around with their mouths wide open for hours? if they're not in the water, they look just like a fallen tree trunk or even a rock.

just one of the numerous croc pens in the farm

the bear necessities =)

note: photo credits go to my friends C and C =)