A Long-tail Boat to the Mon Island

One of the classic tourist experiences in Bangkok is to hire a long-tail boat and take a speedy yet bumpy and splashy cruise up the Chaophraya River.

Over the weekend, I joined a group of expat friends from my Walking Adventures group to take one of these super fun and iconic boats up to Nonthaburi, the province just north of Bangkok, to spend a morning at a very special secret island.

We left Taksin Bridge, the city's central pier, heading north along the river past Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn, which sits across from the Grand Palace on the Thonburi side of the river.

There was a very faint rainbow in the sky as we passed the Grand Palace. It was a beautiful day and the sky was bright and clear, despite it being the rainy season.

Very rapidly, the skyscrapers, government buildings and luxury condos fell away to be replaced by small local villages built alongside the river.

It is really remarkable how quickly Bangkok transforms into the countryside as soon as you leave the city. It is almost like being transported to another time. As we cruised past the stilt houses, locals waved to us from their wooden rowboats or hammocks strung up on their porches, faces lit up with that famous Thai smile.

Children jumped up and down excitedly shouting "Hello! Hello!" when they spotted this boat full of foreigners sailing through their canal neighborhood. We must have looked for all the world like tourists, though each and every one of us was an expat in the Big Mango.

About an hour and a half later, we arrived at Koh Kret, an island formed by a bend in the river which was cut off by a canal in 1722 to shorten travel time along the Chaophraya between the sea and the capital city of Ayutthaya.

Koh Kret may be a man-made island, but it retains a very unique cultural heritage. The island is home to a primarily Mon population, an ethnic minority in Thailand who originally came from the southern border region that Thailand shares with Myanmar. Though they have lived in Thailand for centuries, the Mon people still retain some aspect of Burmese culture, language, architecture, and religion. 

The island is famous for its temples, Mon-style ceramic pottery, and slow-paced, laid-back lifestyle. Koh Kret is a popular retreat for Bangkokians looking to escape the city for a day.

We disembarked at the island. Noi, our group leader, released us to explore by ourselves for a few hours, and I made my way through the local market to buy an iced coffee from a local vendor.

After my coffee, I set off on foot to explore the local market, village, and temple near where the boat had dropped us off.

The island is fairly small, and no cars are allowed. The narrow road that encircles it is wide enough only for bicycles or motorbikes. The loop around the island is about 5km, but I didn't want to wander too far. Instead, I explored the market and local Mon village looking for something to eat before heading off to see the temples.

For lunch, I wanted to try a local Koh Kret specialty - a type of deep-fried fish cake served with a sweet chili sauce and slices of fresh cucumber.

I was interested in visiting the Mon temple which was located just by the boat docks. Wat Paramaiyikawat was founded during the Ayutthaya Era, but fell into disrepair when the Burmese army occupied Koh Kret.

In 1874, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) visited Koh Kret for a Rainy Season Buddhist ceremony. Seeing the beautiful old temple and wanting to preserve the disappearing Mon culture, he ordered it to be rebuilt and granted it a second-class royal distinction.

The great king named the temple in honor of the grandmother who had raised him, and the temple's current name means "Temple of the Grandmother".

An old monk grinned at me as I entered the temple hall. Even today, Koh Kret is not well known by tourists, and the majority of foreign visitors tend to be long-term expats. It was quiet. I walked through the ancient temple. exploring the ordination hall and various shrines.

The main feature in the temple is a large reclining Buddha clad in saffron. The statue is not as bog as the one at Wat Pho, but this temple was empty and quiet, and it felt a lot less commercial and more authentic.

For fun, I decided to try out the SiamSi fortune sticks. 

This time, I got a very, very good fortune!

Outside of the temple, a tall whitewashed Burmese-style chedi stood with cables running from the base to the tip.

I had seen something like this before at the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Burma! People can write a prayer or wish, place it in a tiny basket, then hoist it up via a cable to the pagoda, symbolically sending it up to Heaven.

https://michaeldesrosiers.blogspot.com/2014/08/tea-house-tour.html

We all met back up near the chedi in the early afternoon. It was a hot day, and I was starting to feel tired. I was very glad when Noi announced that it was time for a coffee break!

He led us through the village to a quiet cafe surrounded by a beautiful garden. One iced mocha later, and I was feeling refreshed and ready to carry on with the adventure!

We boarded the long-tail and began the voyage back to Bangkok. The trip was not finished, however! We had one last stop before heading back home - a visit to an old royal temple on the western banks of the river.

Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat is a royal temple built in 1849 by King Rama III, and dedicated to his grandparents who had lived in this area.

Uniquely, the temple is surrounded in a whitewashed wall, similar to the wall that surrounds the Grand Palace.

As I learned last week on my kayaking adventure, King Rama III was inspired by Chinese Buddhism and architecture. This temple is in an architectural fusion style, reflecting his interests.

The temple was nice, but I was a bit distracted by the two skeletons which stood in glass cases on either side of the door... creepy!

I asked Noi about them, but he didn't know.

It's probably a lesson about life's impermanence or something.

We were surprised to see a group of people dressed up in strange costumes, like this guy who is dressed like a forest shaman complete with tiger skin coat and fake beard.

Curious, someone from our group asked one of the people in a costume what was going on.

It turns out, they were filming a tv show at the temple! It was some sort of historical drama. Maybe I will see this show on Thai TV some day!

Leaving the temple, we raced back along the river towards home.

This was my first meetup with Mr. Noi since the lock-down was lifted. I got to see several of my friends again whom I hadn't seen in weeks.

I intend to travel a lot more with my meetup groups over the next few weeks! With the borders opening back up, I believe that a second wave of the coronavirus, and a subsequent second lock-down, is inevitable. I want to make the most of this time before we are all trapped back inside again.

Or maybe (hopefully!) I am wrong, and Thailand really is out of the woods. I guess only time will tell. Until then, I will keep adventuring!

I hope you enjoy this short video that I took on the boat ride. The first clip is as we are just setting out, and the second clip is as we were cruising through a canal neighborhood. You can see how quickly the scenery changes just as soon as we had left the center of the city!