This is a spirit house at the entrance to the Temple markets which was our destination. Here I had the freshest coconut water I have tasted. The top part of a very fresh coconut was hacked with a machete to reveal the "eyes" & using a straw I was able to drain the contents.

A boat jam near the Temple Markets. There was actually a traffic policeman jumping from boat roof to boat roof, attempting to sort out the tangle & reduce the chaos. This he was able to achieve with short, sharp blasts on his whistle. He, quite literally, unravelled the mess.

These klongs are very busy. Note how the power poles sit right in the water.

A bit more peaceful here as it seems to be away from the more frantic areas of the klongs. Most of the homes on this part of the klongs have fish traps. The one to the right is set in the water. It is the long pole lying, almost, horizontally.

There is something different around every bend in these klongs.

This is getting to the more rural areas.

Thailand's temples, Wats, all have schools attached. There were 6,000 in Bangkok & 25,000 in the whole of Thailand. Another of the commuter shelters for those waiting for ferries & water taxis.

Part of a temple complex as seen from the klong. One of the many.

A beautiful small bell tower. Do not know what it or the watchtower are for.

This is a huge mat of water hyacinths in a rural area. It floats down the Chao Phraya River in large rafts. Watert buffalo are fed with it, too.

More water hyacinths.

These are the less congested regions of the klongs & river. The long arms sticking out & up, on the right side of the klong, are fish traps raised up. They hold an umbrella-shaped fine meshed trap.

Some boatsheds. These are as common around these klongs as garages are in our suburbia.

Another dwelling along a klong.

More dwellings along the klongs. These also have fishtraps set with the poles bent over the water.

Locals feeding the sacred fish, which are under the protection of the nearby Buddhist temple. The bread is bought from the temple to feed the fish & this will bring you blessings. For some reason these fish are about three times the size of the normal fish in the klongs. They aren't enclosed but seem to know not to leave this area.

One of our trips on the klongs & river was in a rice barge, which was nowbeing used for tourism. This barge has to be towed & this was done by a rather small boat. This cruise served Thai Dynamite which was the local Thai whisky served with orange cordial. Don't knock until you have tried it. There was also a large & very beautiful fruit platter which was very delicious.

Wonder if the power poles on the left regularly get run into like the ones on streets do.

Wow that had to be an education trip!

It was great, Glad & the Thais are, on the whole, such happy, pleasant people. Wouldn't mind going back for another visit. With a better camera this time though the camera I had back then didn't do such a bad job. Most of the problems were caused by differing standards of developing.