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
Haha! I don't think fishing is permitted at that part of the river. It must be lovely feeding the bread crumbs to the fishes.
ReplyDeleteThose rivers flow right through the town!
ReplyDeleteIt's always fun to feed the fishes in the river while cruising. I like the whole tour ... Interesting na!
ReplyDelete;)
My cousins visited Thailand and they loved it. They took many river trips on bamboo boats. It looks like fun.
ReplyDeleteShoshana
share my point of view: yup fishing isn't allowed there :D but it is fun feeding the fishes, there are so many of them. :D
ReplyDeleteluke: yup! and coz of that bangkok is also known as the venice of the east =)
kyels: oh, true! you should have seen them scrambling for the bread hehe. the fishes look like catfish if i remember correctly =)
shoshana: wow, bamboo boats? i haven't tried that but yup, it looks like fun =)
Waterworld! may traffic din kaya sa watery streets nilang yan?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
if only manila's esteros were not that murky...it would be an added attraction pa sana for the nation's capital! hehe
ReplyDeletekris jasper: oo nga no! pero mukhang wala naman kasi hindi pa rush hour hehe :D you're welcome =)
ReplyDeletejm: korek ka jan! tho bago pa nung giyera ginagamit na natin ang mga estero for businesses. dumumi na lang ng husto nung dumami mga tao lalo =)
i would like to live in a place like this! :) hehe. very cool.
ReplyDeleteI think that part of Thailand is an Asia counterpart to Europe's Venice. Magaling daw talaga 'yung King ng Thailand, he personally overseer the development of Thailand. sana nga in the future 'yung pasig river natin sana mapaganda rin.
ReplyDeleteit's good to know that they somehow were able to retain the place to have fresh air. quite inspiring.
ReplyDeleteHi! Just came back from Thailand today--did my Klong touring a few years back and I felt quite insecure with their 'James Bond' boats kasi walang katig hehe...but it was a great experience going to the floating market on it. :)
ReplyDeletei really wish our waterways were as clean. dito sa japan, wala ka talagang makita basura sa estero at ilog. kakainggit!
ReplyDeleteacey: super! =) imagine, imbes na kotse ang sasakyan mo palabas ng gate, bangka. at hindi pa yan baha ah =)
ReplyDeleteysrael: amen to that. =) and yup, venice of asia nga ang tawag dyan sa bangkok =)
the dong: very. and i hope na tayo rin mainspire sa pag-iingat na ginagawa ng mga thais para sa kanilang natural resources. =)
gypsy: wow, full speed ahead ka talaga ah =) hehe oo nga no, wala palang katig mga bangka nila. sayang di kami nakapunta sa floating market. next time naman =)
r-yo: iba talaga pag nasa ibang bansa, no?
Good thing about the Thais is that they really take care of their waterways. It's their lifeblood, so to speak, kaya they cannot afford to let it go the way of our Pasig river. Dito sa amin pati yung mga guppies that used to live near the banks have all but disappeared. Toxic na kasi yung tubig dito, hahaha. :-D
ReplyDeleteparang sa malabon ah?! lol!
ReplyDeleteI practically waited for our Pasig River to be friendly to smaller boats just like what you were riding here. I can see developments though as our river here emitted foul odor much before as compared to the present time. Hayyy... kailan pa kaya...
ReplyDeleteMy former boss in the travel agency is a Thai and was returning back to her country. If she will invite me to go there, I might see this place myself, too :D