Chao Phraya Express boat and the Khlong Saen Saep: Bangkok by boat

Bangkok was built on water and the boats are still the fastest way across parts of it. Two systems matter to visitors. The Chao Phraya Express boat runs up and down the river past the old town, and the Khlong Saen Saep canal boats cut east to west through the centre on a canal that the traffic above can only envy. Both are public transport, cheap and frequent, and both are more interesting than any tour.

Chao Phraya Express boat

The Chao Phraya Express is a commuter service of long, low boats with a roof and open sides, stopping at numbered piers along the river. Lines are marked by flag colour. The orange flag is the everyday service and stops at most piers; it is the one to learn. There are also faster yellow and green flag services at rush hour, and a blue flag tourist boat with an English commentary and a day pass that stops only at the sightseeing piers. Tickets are bought on board or at the pier.

The piers that matter, from south to north:

• Sathorn (Central pier): under BTS Saphan Taksin; the hub where every line stops and the free hotel and mall shuttles leave. See Charoen Krung and Bang Rak guide.
• Si Phraya: for River City and the Talat Noi lanes.
• Ratchawong: the Chinatown pier, five minutes from Yaowarat.
• Memorial Bridge and Rajinee: the flower market and Little India.
• Tha Tien: Wat Pho and the cross-river ferry to Wat Arun.
• Tha Chang: the Grand Palace, and the ferry to Wang Lang.
• Phra Athit: Khao San and Banglamphu. See Khao San guide.
• Thewet: Dusit and the Marble Temple.
• Nonthaburi: the northern end for most services, with a provincial market and the road to Koh Kret.

Boats run from early morning into the evening, with fewer after dark. The boats do not wait: step on and off briskly, hold the rail and keep bags close.

Cross-river ferries

At many piers a separate ferry, flat and slow, shuttles straight across the river for a few baht. The ones visitors use are Tha Tien to Wat Arun, Tha Chang to Wang Lang, and Khlong Toei to Bang Krachao. They are the cheapest river trip in the city and the best place to take photographs of the temples.

Khlong Saen Saep canal boats

The Khlong Saen Saep boat is a different animal: fast, narrow, loud and splashy, with a tarpaulin that the crew hoist to keep the water off passengers. It runs along a straight canal from Phan Fa Lilat in the old town, past Bobae market, to Pratunam, where everyone changes boats, then on under Sukhumvit towards Ramkhamhaeng and Bang Kapi. Fares are collected on board by a crew member walking the gunwale in a crash helmet.

The useful stretch is Phan Fa to Pratunam and on to the Sukhumvit sois. Stops worth knowing:

• Phan Fa Lilat: the old town, Golden Mount and Ratchadamnoen.
• Bobae: the wholesale clothing market.
• Pratunam: the change point; the Pratunam clothing market and CentralWorld are a few minutes' walk. See Ratchaprasong and Pratunam guide.
• Sapan Hua Chang: Siam and Jim Thompson House.
• Chit Lom, Wireless and Nana Nua: the back way into the Sukhumvit sois.
• Asok: for MRT Phetchaburi and Sukhumvit Soi 21.
• Thong Lo: the northern end of Soi 55.

The canal boat is not pretty and the water is not clean, but it is the only way to get from the old town to Siam in fifteen minutes at five in the afternoon. Sit in the middle and away from the sides if you are in good clothes.

Getting there

• The Chao Phraya Express starts at Sathorn pier, reached from BTS Saphan Taksin; most other piers are a short walk from the MRT at Hua Lamphong, Sanam Chai or Itsaraphap.
• Khlong Saen Saep boats are reached from BTS Ratchathewi, Chit Lom, Nana or Asok via the footbridges down to the canal.
• Both services reduce or stop in heavy weather and after the last evening boats; have a taxi fallback.
• Pair the boats with the BTS and MRT guides: BTS stops worth getting off at and MRT Blue Line.