After many visits to Bangkok, it was time to ride in a long-tailed boat. We often watched these slim boats speed across the Chao Phraya River. 

Our expert guide helped us clumsily clamber onto the bobbing boat. She told us that long-tailed boats became famous in the 1974 movie Man With the Golden Gun.

Once aboard, we roared down the river. The driver piloted the boat with a tiller mounted automobile engine. 

While we hugged our slippery bench seats and our belongings, the narrow boat swiftly navigated the connecting canals called Khlongs.

Modern and traditional Thai-style homes sit beside abandoned buildings. 

The driver stopped in front of a random temple to remove a plastic bag from his propeller. Plastic is a problem around the world. At a Bangkok grocery store they have No Bag Tuesday. That’s a start.

The water in front of the temple was teeming with fish. Our guide said, “The fish are safe here.” The monks often buy live fish, turtles, etc. from markets and release them back into the water.

We continued to our destination—Wat Arun, one of 40,000 temples in Thailand. 

After arriving at Wat Aran, we straddled the treacherous watery space between the boat and the safety of the dock. This turned out to be our biggest adventure of the day.

Had any transport adventures lately?