Take a walk on the green side - Caminando en el lado verde

One of the most unusual places to visit for farangs in Krung Thep, is the so called “Green Great Lungs of Bangkok”.  A huge portion of land, on the southern banks of the Chao Praya River, right across the famous Klong Toey market and district.  After years – or just days - in Bangkok and it’s crazy concrete jungle that never stops, Bang Krachao appears as an escape, a green oasis. Without much effort you can disappear for hours, or days, and explore rivers, swamps, plantation fields, local floating markets and become a first-line observer of a very unknown and laid back lifestyle, right in the heart – or lungs - of Bangkok.

Uno de los sitios menos visitados por turistas en Bangkok, es el llamado "Los Pulmones de Bangkok".  Una enorme porcion de tierra al sur del rio Chao Phraya, justo al frente del ditrito de Klong Toey.  Despues de estar anos, o solo dias, sumergido en Bangkok y su alocada selva de concreto, Bang Krachao es un gran respiro. Sin mucho esfuerzo se puede desaparecer por horas - o dias - y explorar rios, pantanos, canales, plantaciones, mercados y ver de cerca una parte desconocida de la vida mas relajada en el corazon, o mejor dicho, los pulmones, de Krung Thep.

So after reading as much as we could about it, Elaine –my adventures sidekick- and I, decided to spend a weekend exploring this green paradise.  It is really easy to get there.  You just have to take the subway up to Klong Toey Station and then walk for about half an hour through the Klong Toey area.

Despues de leer todo lo que pudimos, Elaine y yo decidimos pasar un fin de semana explorando este oceano verde.  Para llegar hay que tomar el subterraneo hasta la estacion de Klong Toey y caminar una media hora a trves de este famoso distrito.

Not a very exciting walk to start the day, but on the way you can check out the Klong Toey Market, one of Bangkok’s most famous markets - a bit smelly, if you are not used to fresh fish and meat (fresh meaning alive – caged chickens, birds and frogs) and then take a look at the back streets of what once known and still can be, one of the most dangerous areas of Bangkok.

Camino al muelle, se puede pasar por el mercado de Klong Toey, uno de los mas famosos de la ciudad, y disfrutar de su fauna.  Aqui hay todo tipo de aves y carnes a la venta, incluidas ranas y ratas, verduras, frutas y todo lo que uno se pueda imaginar. 

The stunning Wat Klong Toey Nai

Once out of the MRT station, just walk east on Rama IV until you hit Sunthon Kosa. There, take a right. After crossing Rama III, Sunthon Kosa changes name to Na Ranong Alley, you just gotta keep on going straight, until you get to Soi Wat Klong Thoei Nai. Take a left into the Soi and it will take you towards a big wat and then, after you go through it, you will find yourself at the Bang Krachao Pier.  A small pier only for small ferry boats which cross the river, for 7 bahts.

Al salir del subterraneo, caminamos por la avenida Rama IV hasta llegar al cruce con Sunthon Kosa.  Doblamos a la derecha y bajamos derecho hasta llegar al templo de Wat Klong Toey.  Entramos y cruzamos el templo y llegamos al muelle de Bang Krachao.  Un pequeno muelle donde por un sol tomamos un pequeno ferry que nos lleva a nuestro destino.

Bang Krachao pier

As soon as you land on the other side, you will find a bicycle rental shop, right on the pier.  One bike costs 40 bahts for the whole day, so this is where we stopped walking and started riding.  Just make sure the tires are pumped and that the brakes brake! Now, Bang Krachao is completely covered by vegetation, swamps and minor canals, where the locals have developed a system of “high paths” (about 1.5mts) that take you anywhere you need to go. Although, the paths are wide enough most of the time, they might become quite a challenge if you are a nervous or wobbly biker, narrow sections and 90 degrees turn do demand a little bit of experience and concentration… or you might end up with not only your clothes wet but also your pride.

Al llegar a la orilla contraria hay una tienda donde alquilan bicicletas. Todo un dia por 3.50 soles, la mejor forma para explorar la zona. Bang Krachao esta completamente cubierto por vegetacion, canales y pantanos y los locales han desarrollado un sistema de "veredas altas" que te llevan adonde quieras ir.  Aunque estos caminos son suficientemente anchos, hay secciones muy angostas y curvas de 90 grados donde si eres un ciclista nervioso y con poca experiencia puedes terminar metido en el agua, con el orgullo empapado.

The local bike paths

Probably the worst thing is that there are NO maps of these paths, so try to know always which direction you are heading and where the main roads are.  It’s not really that hard and there is always a main road around.  At some points you can find some panels with “maps” of the area and if you take a picture of this they might be of great navigation aid.  One handy piece of advice would be to try to start biking as early as you can, the sun gets extremely strong here.

Lo peor de bang Krachao es que no hay buenos mapas de los caminos.  Por eso hay que tratar de saber hacia donde estan las vias principales.  La verdad no es tan dificil y siempre hay una cerca.  En algunos puntos hay paneles con "mapas" del area y si les tomas una foto te ayudan mucho con la navegacion.  Un buen consejo?  Empieza tu recorrido lo mas temprano que puedas, ya que despues el sol te castiga fuerte.

The easiest spot to get to from the pier is the Sri Nakhon Khuean Khan Botanical Park.  Just follow Soi Wat Pat Rangsan until you see the entrance to a big park. Can't miss it. Here you will not only find bike paths with very few or no people at all, but a few high view points from where you can see Bangkok behind an ocean of green. Quite an usual sight.  After you've explored and ridden the park, it is time to properly immerse yourself in a labyrinth of "floating" paths and their insane 90 degrees turns.  Just go out of the park and turn left and another left into the first cement high path you see.  You will be having an amazing ride in a maze of paths and minor paths - some only visible in dry season - that will be taking you through houses, farms, restaurants, temples, local shops and all of them with one thing in common, you can barely see them from the paths!  

Al salir del muelle, el sitio mas facil para llegar es el Parque Botanico Sri Nakhon Khuean. Vamos derecho por Soi Wat Pat Rangsan hasta llegar a la entrada al parque. Aqui no solo encontramos caminos a traves de la vegetacion con muy muy poca gente, sino tambien algunos miradores desde donde se puede ver Bangkok detras de un mar verde, un panorama bastante inusual. Despues de explorar el parque, es hora de infiltrarse en el laberinto de caminos "aereos" y curvas super cerradas. Asi que salimos del parque, doblamos a la izquierda y en el primer camino que vemos doblamos a la izquierda de nuevo.  La verdad no teniamos idea de cuanto nos ibamos a divertir. Algunos caminos son mas anchos y faciles, pero otros, menores son un buen reto - algunos solo se pueden usar en temporada seca - y te llevan a traves de casas, granjas, restaurantes, templos, negocios, todos ellos con algo en comun; casi no los puedes ver desde el camino asi que hay que estar atento.

Local and delicious fruits are available everywhere

Grilled Catfish with Thai Herbs!!

By now and after a few hours riding, it will be time for you to find a good place for lunch. Located along Petchahung Alley there is quite a few local restaurants.  A really good recommendation for lunch? Try the whole grilled catfish with Thai herbs. Superlative! Accompanied by fried rice with shrimps and one, two or three ice cold beers, makes the day perfect…. By now you will definitely be feeling the after lunch effect - combined with too much sun - laziness! So it might be time to find a place to spend the night.  

Despues de un buen rato andando decidimos que es hora de almorzar.  En la calle Petchanung hay varios restaurantes locales donde probamos una de las especialidades de la zona, pez gato a la parrilla con hierbas tailandesas.  Delicioso!  Con arroz con langostinos y una, dos o tres cervezas frias, perfecto.
Obviamente despues de tremendo almuerzo ya es hora de empezara a buscar un sitio para pasar la noche.

The Bangkok Tree House Eco-Hotel

We really liked the look and concept of the Bangkok Tree House. With just a few rooms, this eco-hotel is made out of recycled wood and materials, with its own orchard of vegetables and philosophy of using as much alternative fuel and energy as possible.  As they say on their website, they are not a place for anyone. And they mean it! There are hundreds of different bugs and creepy crawlies (not in your bed) including huge monitor river lizards; the toilets floors are see through and showers are out-doors; they do have wifi but no tv, the food is spectacular as is the view. If you like the thought of a true eco - retreat in the middle of a metropolis like Bangkok, then this place is definitely worth the price and time spent there. Beautifully designed rooms, great food (worth saying it twice) and peace and quiet, an extremely unusual combination for Bangkok.

Nos gusto mucho el concepto del Bangkok Tree House.  Un eco-hotel construido todo con materiales y madera reciclados.  Tiene muy pocos cuartos, muy bien disenados, su propio huerto y una filosofia de usar la mayor cantidad posible de combustible y energia alternativos posible.  En su website dicen que no son un lugar para cualquiera y lo dicen en serio.  Hay cientos de diferentes insectos por todos lados (menos en las camas), enromes lagartos monitor, los pisos de los banos no son completamante cerrados y las duchas son al aire libre, hay wifi pero no tv y la comida y las vistas son espectaculares.  Si estas buscando un verdadero escape de la ciudad sin salir de la ciudad, es el mejor lugar de lejos en Bangkok.

This being said and after a full day of exploring by bicycle, it wasn't a surprise that we had an incredible night of sleep and rest.  The next morning, late and after a delicious breakfast, we thought we still needed to explore more before returning to the grey jungle. So, we pointed our feet towards the Bang Namphueng Floating Market, which is just a short walk from the Bangkok Tree House.

Habiendo dicho esto y despues de un dia de full exploracion no era sorpresa que esa noche durmamos increiblemente.  La paz y el silencio del lugar son espectaculares.  A la manana siguiente y despues de un delicioso y contundente desayuno, aun teniamos mucho por explorar antes de regresar a la jungla de concreto.  Asi q dirijimos nustros pies hacia el mercado flotante de Bang Namphueng y empezamos a caminar.

Open only on weekends, this is where you will find all the fauna of Bang Krachao interacting together.  Locals or outsiders.  Or even farangs.  In this market you will find an infinity of things, from typical ice or hot coffees, to little river fish deep fried and served with different sauces.  All kinds and colour of rice, noodles and meat! Snacks, pastries, handcrafts, clothing's, musical instruments, etc, etc and as many etc's as your mind can imagine.

El mercado soloolo abre los fines de semana y es aqui donde encontramos toda la fauna de Bang Krachao en un mismo lugar. Locales y no locales, incluidos muy pocos extranjeros. Todos disfrutando de todas las cosas que puedes encontrar, cafes, tes y postres tipicos de Tailandia, diferentes peces de rio fritos y servidos en diferentes salsas.  Arroz, fideos de todos los colores, carnes, antojos, dulces, artesanias, ropa, incluso instrumentos musicales, etc etc y tantos etc's como te puedas imaginar.

A really nice and cool place to spend a couple of hours, having a beer and watching people interact and just getting lost in the dynamics and flow of a real small town local floating market, without actually been a floating one! Let me explain. The market is right next to a canal and although a few of the vendors are on boats, which actually don’t move, most of the vendors and stalls are on firm ground.

Un gran sitio para pasar un par de horas dedicandonos a "observar gente" mientras disfrutamos unas cervezas y nos perdemos en la dinamica y el feeling de un mercado, local, pequeno y real.

Enjoying time with the locals.

By now we agreed that it was time for us to go and so we started our way back home. First, we headed back towards the Tree House, to collect our bags and cross the river. The way we came to Bang Krachao can easily be done backwards, but to make things a bit more interesting we took a different route. We went to a small local pier called Peppermint Ferry Pier located only 10 minutes walking from the Tree House and this time, for only 4thb we crossed the river.  From here and due to the long distance to cover (it’s about 10 minutes by taxi, so that makes it a very long walk) and our super mellow mood we taxi to the skytrain Bang Na Station. A half an hour skytrain ride later we get to Asoke, thinking what an amazing walk we had this weekend and where will our feet take us next time.

Despues de explorar el mercado y sus alrededores por unas horas y seguir llenandonos la panza con las delicias locales se acerca la hora de regresar a casa. Primero regresamos al Tree House a recoger nuestras mochilas y despues a cruzar el rio. La forma como vinimos puede ser usada de regreso, pero queriamos hacerlo de una forma diferente e interesante, asi que fuimos a un pequeno muelle local llamado muelle Peppermint (menta), a solo 10 minutos caminando y desde ahi por 4baths (menos de un sol) cruzamos el Chao Phraya por ultima vez. Desde el muelle es una larga caminata hasta la estacion del tren electrico asi que terminamos tomando un taxi hasta la estacion de Bang Na, desde donde tomamos el tren hasta la estacion de Asoke, mientras miramos por la ventana y pensamos en las caras tan diferentes que tiene esta ciudad y adonde caminaremos la proxima vez.

Information on the places visited and transport used / Informacion de los lugares visitados y el transporte usado.

The Tree House Bangkok
BTS Bang Na Station
MRT Bang Na Station
Complete guide to public transport in Bangkok