Ko Kret เกาะเกร็ด

a chedi

Ko Kret is one of Thailand's often-forgotten islands, and that's just how the people like it. It didn't have more than a brief mention in my guide book, but I had heard interesting things about Ko Kret, and I wanted to check it out. It's one of those places that you don't hear much about if you're only a tourist.

Ko Kret's iconic leaning chedi

Ko Kret isn't anything like Ko Larn or Ko Tao. There are no beaches, it's not out at sea, and in fact it's not a natural island at all. It was formed in the early days of Bangkok when the Thai government decided to build a channel as a shortcut bypassing a long loop in the Chao Phraya River, cutting Kret off from the mainland in 1722. The island maintains its own life and culture.

I met my friend Ja and her mother at Bangkok's Victory Monument early on Sunday morning, and we took the air-conditioned 166 bus to Pak Kret, the area just across the river from the island. Although not technically in Bangkok (Ko Kret is in the neighboring Nonthaburi Province), the city bus still services this area, and it only took about twenty minutes to get there. From Pak Kret pier, a five-minute, five baht ferryboat ride takes you to the island of Ko Kret.

Ko Kret is a really special place. It's fairly unknown, especially to foreigners. The island has a few small villages, temples, restaurants, and shops. The villages are known for maintaining a fairly traditional lifestyle; there are no cars on the island, only bicycles and motorbikes.

The residents of Ko Kret are descended from the Mon people of Burma, and some of the signs on the island were actually written in Burmese. The food is unique too, as it also carries some Burmese influence. For breakfast we had khanom jeen, noodles in sweet peanut sauce. Although the name literally translates to "Chinese dessert," it's neither a dessert nor Chinese. After breakfast we tried a coconut-jelly dessert at a little open-air coffee shop called Country Coffee. I was met by a familiar and unexpected sight decorating the wall of this cowboy-themed cafe.

The villages in Ko Kret are famous for their pottery. We walked past one workshop where traditional unglazed clay statues sat waiting to be organized and sold. It seemed like every shop we passed was selling little ceramic cups, mugs, or tea sets.

a pottery village workshop

There is a path that circles the island, but we thought the best way to see everything was by boat. For 50 baht we got tickets on a boat that would stop at some of the island's highlights. I was pleased to notice that I was the only foreigner! Even many Thai people haven't been to Ko Kret before. It was nice traveling with my Thai friend. Since most of the signs were in Thai or Burmese, and many of the local people didn't speak any English, having a Thai speaker along made the outing easy and stress-free.

As the boat pulled away from Ko Kret pier, we got a closer look at the island's most famous landmark, which we had seen earlier from across the river. Ko Kret has several of these white structures known as stupas (or chedis, as they are known in Thailand) wrapped in red cloth. A chedi is a structure that contains important Buddhist relics or ashes. This one is unique though, as it's noticeably leaning towards the river.

the leaning chedi

The other side of the river offered some interesting views too, including a giant golden seated Buddha.

Nonthaburi Big Buddha

We stopped briefly at a floating market where we tried some fried herb balls (that taste much better than they sound). The next stop was "dessert canal," a small area where the people make traditional Thai desserts, most famously an orange stringy dessert that I forget the name of. It's very sweet!

The boat ride took about an hour to circle the island, stopping at a few more shops and village areas. One place we visited was a workshop where the people used colored dyes and white wax to paint the leaning chedi image (as well as other scenes of Ko Kret) on canvas.

across the river

We were very lucky that the day was sunny and not too hot. A cool breeze blew in over the water, and it really was very nice outside. The best part about Ko Kret was that despite being so near to downtown, the air was much cleaner and fresher. It was nice to be somewhere green for a change!

I was really intrigued by the leaning chedi, but we never found out much information about it. The signs didn't tell us anything. I guess its just famous for its strange tilt. I'm sure it's not intentional. We got back to Victory Monument the same way we got to Ko Kret, on the 166. Bangkok isn't too hard to get around, but it helps to know the bus routes. Besides helping to understand some of the language, culture, and history, that's another reason it's great to travel with a local!

my friends on the boat