Khlong San Saeb (a closeup)

Bangkok 020, originally uploaded by tatsushu.

Here's a closeup of the canal as seen from our window. I didn't get any of the canal boats in this shot, but we do see them going up and down regularly.

The canal boats on Khlong San Saeb have been described, and not inaccurately, as the world's only transportation that runs on toxic waste: the canal is very polluted, and it's not worth thinking about the ramifications of falling into the water. The boats have plastic sheeting along the sides that can be raised to protect against splashing as you're going down the canal at high speed. Best to keep your mouth closed instead of gawking at the sights!

We've only ridden the boats once so far, but it was a fun experience: you wait at a rather makeshift floating pier, and when the boat comes alongside, you jump down inside, to find a seat as quickly as possible. The boats only stop for a few seconds, so you have to be quick! You then purchase a ticket from one of the crew, and prepare to hop off again at your destination pier. The boat from the pier closest to our building (Sukhumvit Soi 3, or Nana Nua) doesn't go all the way to the final stop at Phan Fa, so we had to change at an intermediate pier, which was pretty straightforward.

There is a larger boat service that runs up and down the Chao Phraya River, and I'll try to post some photos of those boats later on.