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“Where are you going?”, the man asked, as I jogged down the narrow lane between wooden homes towards the Chao Phraya River.
The road ahead was a dead end. It was obvious, from the way the residents in the makeshift homes lining the lane looked at me, that few outsiders found themselves down this path, in a small riverside community on the banks of the Chao Phraya river, just a few kilometers south of central Bangkok.
Google Maps on my cellphone had gotten me this far, but no further. I would have to rely on the locals for help.
“I want to cross the river to the other side, is there a boat?”, I replied.
“Yes, but not this way, you have to go that way…”
He pointed back the way I came, and walked me up to a narrow alley which could not have been more than 1 meter wide, lined on both sides with makeshift homes, with open doorways and laundry hanging outside...
“Go down this way to the river, then turn right…”
I pressed on down the narrow alley, and emerged in a clearing where a small canal led to the riverbank, where a couple of kids were playing. I could see across the Chao Phraya river.
On the opposite bank, the trees of Bang Krachao, a island in the middle of the Chao Phraya, also known as the “Green Lung” of Bangkok, across the waters of the river. It looked so close...but how would I get to the other side? There was a small jetty not far off, with a few boats moored to the pier, but this was a private pier, with no ferry service or water taxi’s in sight…
I pressed on along the road just inland of the river bank, and entered into a large trailer parking lot with trucks and trailers. Several stray dogs began barking and approached fast...it seemed I was encroaching into their territory...
I jogged quickly out of the trailer park and headed further east along the dirt road, and wondered where the road would lead.
As I jogged along the dusty road, with the sun high overhead, it occurred to me that it was a long way back to the W Hotel on Sathorn Road, and I might have to rethink my route back to the hotel, in time to check out, then head to the airport for my flight home to Singapore. For perhaps the briefest instant, I felt something close to panic: was I lost?
The road ahead was a dead end. It was obvious, from the way the residents in the makeshift homes lining the lane looked at me, that few outsiders found themselves down this path, in a small riverside community on the banks of the Chao Phraya river, just a few kilometers south of central Bangkok.
Google Maps on my cellphone had gotten me this far, but no further. I would have to rely on the locals for help.
“I want to cross the river to the other side, is there a boat?”, I replied.
“Yes, but not this way, you have to go that way…”
He pointed back the way I came, and walked me up to a narrow alley which could not have been more than 1 meter wide, lined on both sides with makeshift homes, with open doorways and laundry hanging outside...
“Go down this way to the river, then turn right…”
I pressed on down the narrow alley, and emerged in a clearing where a small canal led to the riverbank, where a couple of kids were playing. I could see across the Chao Phraya river.
On the opposite bank, the trees of Bang Krachao, a island in the middle of the Chao Phraya, also known as the “Green Lung” of Bangkok, across the waters of the river. It looked so close...but how would I get to the other side? There was a small jetty not far off, with a few boats moored to the pier, but this was a private pier, with no ferry service or water taxi’s in sight…
I pressed on along the road just inland of the river bank, and entered into a large trailer parking lot with trucks and trailers. Several stray dogs began barking and approached fast...it seemed I was encroaching into their territory...
I jogged quickly out of the trailer park and headed further east along the dirt road, and wondered where the road would lead.
As I jogged along the dusty road, with the sun high overhead, it occurred to me that it was a long way back to the W Hotel on Sathorn Road, and I might have to rethink my route back to the hotel, in time to check out, then head to the airport for my flight home to Singapore. For perhaps the briefest instant, I felt something close to panic: was I lost?
...
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