CITY LIFE
BANGKOK
Thailand’s capital city is a sensory overload, but between the tuk-tukpacked streets and steamy markets there’s a serene, silent side to be found — and it’s now easier to experience thanks to electric boat tours
WORDS: HANNAH SUMMERS.
Sightseeing boats in western Bangkok;
a lunch of roasted coconut at Poomjai Garden
PHOTOGRAPHS: MARK PARREN TAYLOR
A depiction of Buddha at Wat Ratchaorasaram;
Baan Silapin (Artist’s House), overlooking Khlong Bangkok Yai;
Wat Arun at sunset;
scallops with Thai herbs at Jim Thompson House Museum
Captain Tai is the embodiment of Zen. He hops onto the deck of his royal-blue wooden boat, twiddles a few switches and we glide away from the canal bank in silence. Around us in the neighbourhoods that stem from the western banks of the Chao Phraya River, longtail boat owners race along the water, engines roaring, faces crumpled in scowls. But Captain Tai? Smiling.
Welcome to an entirely new version of Bangkok. This chaotic city is known for its pulsing energy and bright lights —they’re just some of the reasons why I love it here. And yet, that heat. It can be savage. The noise? Even more so. It’s a place that can leave travellers feeling exhausted as well as exhilarated. But today, it already feels different.
“These longtail boat tours,” Tai says, nodding towards a huddle of wilting travellers packed onto a nearby boat, “they’re just ‘glimpse and go’ rides. No time to take in the city. Then it’s just a peep town.”
The 60-something captain, whose formal name is Mongkol Kiatkanjanakul, skippered yachts on the Andaman Sea for over 30 years and is newly retired from ocean life. Seeking something as equally serene as sailing —and wondering how that would be possible in a city as busy as Bangkok —he came across a solar-powered boat, one of only 50 or so in the city. “I had to have one,” he tells me. “So I could be on the water, but still live a calm life in the city.”