Pak Nam: The Mouth of the River

Now that the Skytrain line extends southwest out of Bangkok and into the next province, it's easier than ever to make a day trip out of the city! We boarded the Skytrain at one terminal and rode it the entire 32 stations and 24 miles down to the other terminal, in Samut Prakan Province.

riding in the shuttle down to the bridge

Samut Prakan is just southeast of Bangkok. The area is sometimes called "Pak Nam", which means "the mouth of the river". This is where the Chaophraya opens up into the Gulf of Thailand. Stepping off of the train, I could already smell the sea. Since Bangkok doesn't have any beach to speak of (it's just a port), I sometimes forget how close we really are to the ocean.

First, we headed to the Bang Pu Recreational Center.

the bridge with the restaurant at the end

Before doing anything else, we walked along a long bridge to where a restaurant was built looking out to sea. Since we were visiting a coastal province, what else could we do but order seafood? For this meal, we ordered soft shell crab in chili sauce, a spicy and sour Thai seafood soup, a big bowl of mussels, and crab fried rice.

seafood lunch by the mouth of the river

I particularly loved the soft shell crab. Lately, it's become a favorite delicacy of mine.

soft shell crab... my favorite!

The Bang Pu Recreational Center is a nature reserve, educational center, and recreational facility operated by the Thai navy. There are a few coastal nature trails and a huge mangrove nursery area. Mangrove trees are especially important in coastal areas, as they grow well in water and their twisting roots help prevent erosion. Bang Pu is also famous for its seagulls.

seagull!

Every winter (starting in late October), a flock of seagulls migrate to Bang Pu. During these months, visitors can watch the birds swimming and flying around, and can even buy food to feed them with. If you toss a piece of food up in the air, one of the birds will swoop down and catch it before it hits the water.

food for the seagulls

These were the best behaved seagulls I've ever seen! They didn't swarm people and they didn't act aggressively. They mostly stayed over their water or on little wooden perches. I was really impressed at how calm and polite they were compared to most seagulls that I've encountered!

the gulls come to Thailand during the winter months

A taxi driver told us how lucky we were to be visiting this week. In November and December, there are more seagulls, but also many times more people. It can get pretty crowded, but when we visited, we were some of the very few people there.

feeding the birds

Bang Pu is also recognized as an area of historical significance. At the onset of the Second World War, just two hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces landed in Thailand. The Thai military and civilian volunteers amassed at Bang Pu Pier ready to defend their homeland against the Japanese Empire. Before the two armies could engage in combat, Thailand and Japan signed a treaty, allowing the Japanese army to pass through Thailand undisturbed in exchange for Thailand keeping out of the war.

the conservation area

Next, we decided to visit the Royal Thai Naval Academy Museum! The Naval Academy is located out here in Samut Prakan, and it used to be kind of hard to get to. Now, it has its own stop on the Skytrain line!

Royal Thai Naval Academy

The museum is free to visit. The very first thing that greeted us as we approached was this huge old seaplane sitting on the front lawn of the museum's historic building.

a big sea plane at the navy museum

Even though it's on the Skytrain line, I don't think too many visitors know about this museum yet. The staff was super excited to see us when we arrived, and the sailor working at the front desk gave Pinky and me a free tour of the bottom floor of the museum. First, he took us to a treasure room, where relics of the old Thai navy were on display. Among them were old compasses, swords, historic uniforms, and more.

Next, we got to view the armory, where historic weapons were on display, dating from the time of King Rama V.

a ship's gun

During the Ayutthaya Period, there was very little need for a navy. When the capital was moved to Bangkok, it became much more important to defend the city from the sea. After King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) returned to Siam from his travels throughout Europe, he set about modernizing the navy. He introduced Western military ranks and appointed the Prince of Chumphon as the head of the navy. The prince is honored to this day as the Father of the Thai Navy, and it's thanks to him that the country developed such a strong and efficient naval force.

the royal boat of King Rama V

Other artifacts on display included the 100 year-old wooden royal boat which once belonged to King Rama V. There was also an entire room filled with models of historic Thai naval boats, including one section dedicated to the royal barges. I'll unfortunately miss the Royal Barge Procession, but at least I got to see a few of the boats last week.

models of the Thai royal barges

The Royal Thai Navy is one of four branches of the Thai military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police. There is also a Royal Thai Marine Corps, but it is not an independent branch. Instead, it's a part of the Navy. Thailand maintains one of the most modern navies in the world. The navy is especially efficient at maritime rescue operations.

portraits of Thai admirals

The Royal Navy saw quite a lot of action in the late 19th century, when it was instrumental in defeating and holding off invasions by the French, who had already conquered and colonized neighboring Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

models of sailing ships

Against all odds, Siam was victorious against the French, who desperately wanted to add the kingdom into their Indochinese protectorate. In honor of the victory, Thailand constructed the Victory Monument downtown. Thailand remains the only nation in southeast Asia never to have been colonized by a foreign power.

a Garuda figurehead and a Buddha's relic shrine

There's more to see in Samut Prakan, but that was enough for one day. Now that the Skytrain goes all the way there, it'll be much easier to visit in the future.

the museum's lawn and a view of the barges from above