The floods in bangkok

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Geo: 13.7308, 100.521

We had read about the really heavy rainy season and flooding north of Bangkok so decided to take a boat up the river and off the canal to have a look for ourselves. The level of the River of Kings was certainly high and even the Oriental had some protective sandbags between the railings just in case. Along the canals further up we saw very high water levels with the poor houses flooded. All the government buildings had flood walls along the edge of the river to keep them dry but even so there was evidence that all the walls had been breached at some time. We saw a lady curled up on her chair on her flooded front porch with water swishing round the chair legs. Water was seen in peoples front kitchens and they just had to wade through it. However they seem to just accept it and get on with it. Knowing that the river floods to some extent every year I am surprised they dont build the houses on stilts as in Cambodia. Even the dogs were walking along the flood walls and across the roofs to avoid the water.
Sailing back into Bangkok we had a brief stop where the Royal Barges are kept. They are normally in what would be a dry dock but the water was sloshing around the bases of these beautiful golden boats which only come out for special occasions involving King Rama.
On our return we stopped at Wat Arun which is a huge pinnacle overwhelmingly decorated with chinese porcelain flowers, dragons, monkeys and dancing figures - really beautiful. The steps up the side are really steep especially up to the top level but worth doing for the views and close up views of the figures. Remember to walk in a clockwise direction as this brings good luck. We did this on each level to make sure!
One evening we caught the sky train to Nana, got off at exit 3 for soi 11 and then walked down soi 12 to a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms. The Santa Claus and lady are constructed out of coloured condoms as were the light fittings. The message was that family planning should be as common as vegetables! The food was very good too and good price. The large flasks of house white were good value

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