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A trip on the Chao Phraya riverboat is cheap and
interesting and a great sightseeing trip as your boat weaves it's way from
bank to bank to pick up passengers.There is no need
to plan a journey, just get on and go, then get off when you have had enough
or when you see something interesting. There are always taxis to take you
back, wherever you may stop although I would suggest trying to stay on the
right bank or Bangkok side of the river, to avoid a long trip over one of
the bridges.
The best boat to catch would seem to be the one with no
flag, as this stops at more places and operates 7 days a week. The green
flag seems to go the furthest, all the flagged boats operate during morning
rush hours and from 12:00 - 19:00 Monday to Friday.
The easiest place to catch the boat is at
 Sapan Taksin sky
train station which is right at the express boat stop. A daily pass can be
bought here for 75 Baht and although a bit expensive when you consider the
fares, at least it gives you a cheap and simple solution and you can travel
wherever you like, as many times as you want, all day. With the one day pass
you also get a map and a free bottle of water!
Make sure you are getting onto the right
boat though as there are lots of ferries and other river services as well as
boats for rent. The express riverboat looks like this:-
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Koh Kret Island
Koh Kret is an island in the Chaophraya River,
just 20km north of Bangkok in the province of Nonthaburi. You can travel there
directly by Express boat on a Sunday, leaving from Sapan Taksin pier at 09:00
and the boat returns you at about 15:30. This is a guided tour which costs circa
300 Baht.
Alternatively, on any other day of the week,
get the boat to Pakkred, top of the map, and catch the ferry from there.
Kok Kret is actually the "island" you can see
on the map that was artificially created in the 1720's by the digging of the
by-pass canal.
Koh Kret is a manufacturing centre for the
reddish brown pottery with over 20 workshops producing pots from as little as 10
Baht up to more artistic designs that will set you back several hundred or more.
The usual temples are there, at least 2, and
you can walk around the island easily as it is about 2 Km across.
The island retains many original wooden
buildings and is mostly un-modernised, take a camera.
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