Thailand Relies On Its Fascinating Waterways

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31861, 13 December 1968, Page 20

Thailand Relies On Its Fascinating Waterways

(From the Public Information Office of 5.E.A.T.0.) BANGKOK. Unlike many parts of the world where motor vehicles, railways and aircraft have brought a decline in the use of inland waterways, the majority of South-East Asian countries still rely on natural and man-made waterways for much internal transport.

This is particularly so in Thailand where each day large numbers of towed, overladen barges, hawkers in tiny sampans and hard - working poleboatmen testify that this is still the most inexpensive means of transport in this part of the world. Bangkok, built on both sides of the Chao Phraya River, is a good example of both modern and ancient transport working alongside. While the city is well served with busy roads, beside many of these roads are equally active Khlongs (the Thai word for canal) or natural waterways carrying just as varied a range of people and goods as the mainly Japanese built trucks and buses that cause the frequent traffic jams which are a nightmare to any visitor to Bangkok. Roads Scarce Away from Bangkok itself, the intricate system of waterways which covers large areas of Thailand becomes even more important, and in areas where roads are scarce often provide the main communication for isolated (village farms. i While internal road, rail and air transport links are being extended in Thailand, natural and man-made waterways are also being maintained and in some cases improved. _ ( From time to time, the • S.E.A.T.O. Military Planning Office in Bangkok organises (trips in Thailand to enable (officers from the S.E.A.T.O. (member nations to learn (more of the country and its (people and to obtain logistic I information for planning pur- ( poses. ( The most recent trip was i of the inland waterways of''

East Thailand, and four New Zealand officers, with one each from Australia, the Philippines. Thailand and the United States, made up the group. The New Zealand representatives were Captain M. J. McDowell, R.N.Z.N., the New Zealand Military Adviser’s Representative to 5.E.A.T.0., Group Captain A. L. Parlane, head of plans in the S.E.A.T.O. Military Planning Office, and two of his planning staff officers, LieutenantColonel P. W. F. Joplin (logistics) and LieutenantColonel R. K. G. Porter (operations). Travelling by the Royal Thai Irrigation Department launch Cholpraran No. 11, the group covered 463 kilometres of internal waterway in four days. During this time, in addition to checking maps of the waterways and gathering such data on the conditions of the canals as depth of water, bridge clearance, access to navigational rivers and many other things, the group was able to see a completely different pattern of life to that in Bangkok. River Traffic Away from Bangkok the khlong serves as a focal point of existence. It provides the main means of communication. It carries the essential water required to irrigate the rice fields found almost continuously along both sides of the water-! way. Huge barges laden with; rice navigate waterways to; take the crop to the ricej mills. Others bring supplies! to the country areas from the i cities. Old women, their small sampans burdened with the charcoal burner and the many j ingredients required for tradi-i; tional Thai food, paddle their] way along the waterways to! sell meals to the paddy field! workers. Huge nets strung;

on the banks show how much the people rely on the waterways to provide the fish to supplement the main rice diet. The river banks also support many duck and geese farms and even pigs are raised on elevated pig styes and spend their whole existence from birth to cooking pot above the water. In the early mornings and in the evenings, the waterways are a gathering place for the farmer and his family to wash before and after a hard day’s work in the paddy fields under the blazing sun. And the water buffaloes also rely on water for their very existence for without frequent swims they are unable to survive. While in the main the scene along the waterways is peaceful and picturesque, the harsh tone of a powerful motor driving at speed, a 30ft longboat loaded with school children, businessmen and women folk off to the market emphasised to the S.E.A.T.O. officers the importance of the waterways in the movement of the local people. Also from the deck of the Cholpraran, the officers were

able to see hundreds of Thailand’s 21,000 Buddhist temples, reminding them of the importance of the Buddhist religion in this country. On the first day, the Cholpraran carried the group some 73 kilometres from Bangkok along the mighty Chao Phraya River, then through Khlong Prakanong and Khlong Prawet to the Bang Pakong River to the important centre of Chachoensao. Here, the group, as on all nights, stayed in a typical Thai provincial hotel. The next day the Cholpraran covered 119 kilometres of the Bang Pakong and Prachin Buri Rivers to take the group to the provincial centre at Prachin Buri. The third day was the longest—some 144 kilometres being covered on the Prachin Buri and Nakhan Nayok Rivers before reaching Nakhon Nayok itself. On the final day, the group travelled 127 kilometres on the Nakhon Nayok River and the Rangsit Khlong before reaching the Chao Phraya River and returning to Bang!kok. Old Locks Altogether, it was necessary for the Cholpraran to ! navigate five sets of locks in , traversing either from a ! khlong to a river or because of an increase in the altitude. Most of the locks were built in the earlier part of the century. These, like lock Chulalongkorn connecting Khlong Rangsit and the Chao Phraya River, are extremely busy, handling hundreds of craft of all shapes and sizes daily. Others have a far more leisurely atmosphere about them. All are surrounded by attractively laid-out and well-kept gardens.

The trip was not without its incidents. Large patches of drifting weed and overhanging trees provided many navigational hazards for a ' launch of the size of the Cholpraran. The clearance on some of the many bridges which span the waterways was often low, and on one , occasion the launch had to be backed off and the canvas top upper deck lowered before the Cholpraran could proceed. The night spent at Nakhon Nayok clashed with an outside performance by a Chinese opera company right outside the centre’s only hotel ! m he novelty of watching the production had worn off by; the final curtain call at 1 la.m., especially since the (launch had to leave at 6 a.m.| (that morning. | While each member of the | (group had different tasks to complete each day, only the duty navigator and recorder i were kept so busy that they : had no time to observe the , beauty of the countryside, to return the thousands of waves received and to expend ! countless rolls of film. All the group returned to ' Bangkok with a far greater appreciation of life in Thai- ' land and a high regard for the people they met during their four-day tour of the Eastern inland waterways.