Bangkok Canal Tour by Longtail Boat – Explore Thonburi Klongs

3.00

(1 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing that hit me was the gentle slap of water against the hull as we set off from River City Pier. Our guide, Nok, waved us over with a grin—she grew up nearby and knew every twist of these old canals. The air smelled faintly of river mud and grilled chicken drifting from a tiny boat kitchen tied up near the bank. We passed wooden houses on stilts, laundry flapping in the breeze, and kids waving from rickety docks. It’s quieter here than I expected—just the hum of our engine and the occasional rooster crowing somewhere behind the palms.

We drifted through Thonburi, which used to be its own city before joining Bangkok in ’71. Nok pointed out how most of Bangkok’s klongs have disappeared under roads, but here on the west side of Chao Phraya River, you still get a taste of old canal life. At one bend, an elderly man sold iced coffee right from his canoe—his hands stained dark from years of brewing. You catch glimpses of golden temple roofs peeking through banana trees and sometimes spot a monitor lizard sunning itself on a concrete step. The tour felt like slipping into another era, far from the city’s chaos.