From an early period the city was criss-crossed by canals which served as the main means of transportation within the city. One of the earliest canals dug appears to have been Khlong Maha Phram to the north-west of the city which connected with the Chao Phraya River, which at that time ran a few kilometers west of Ayutthaya (It wasn’t until 1857 that another canal diverted the Chao Phraya River to Ayutthaya). Located strategically at the confluence of the Lop Buri and Pasak rivers early canal building was focussed on shortening trade routes. But why were there so many canals, when were they built and why are they to blame for Bangkok’s terrible traffic-jams today? Short Cuts to AyutthayaĪyutthaya emerged as the centre of powerful state known as Siam around 1350. The “Venice of the East” description was originally from the Portuguese explorer Fernão Mendes Pinto writing about Ayutthaya in the 1540’s. In fact the history of Thailand’s canals is older than Bangkok itself. This scenery was recounted in at least two poems by Sunthorn Phu (1786–1855), a poet of that era, who was born in Bangkok Noi.Bangkok is famous for its canals or khlongs with tourist brochures promoting the city as having once been “The Venice of the East”. In the early- Rattanakosin period, there was a floating market where vendor's boats and wooden houseboats mingled, lining up along the waterways to Bang Bamru and Bang Khun Non. Eventually, the river diverted through the new canal, and its old course became the two canals known today as Khlong Bangkok Yai and Khlong Bangkok Noi. As time passed, the new canal was eroded and became gradually wider. In 1552, during the reign of King Chairachathirat of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, he ordered the construction of a canal bypassing the meander to shorten travel time, known as Khlong Lat Bangkok (คลองลัดบางกอก 'Bangkok Short-Cut Canal'). The canal, along with its counterpart Khlong Bangkok Yai, was initially a meandering part of the Chao Praya River's original course. ![]() The canal terminates at the confluence with Khlong Om Non and Khlong Bang Yai at the Old Bang Yai Market in Bang Yai District, Nonthaburi Province, along the way, it is also connected to many canals, such as Khlong Chak Phra, Khlong Maha Sawat, Khlong Bang Kruai.įor this reason it has been promoted as one of the cultural tourism routes, as well as other canals in Bangkok and the vicinity. ![]() The current flows north through many historical and cultural landmarks, such as Ansorissunnah Royal Mosque, National Museum of Royal Barges, Wat Suwannaram, Thon Buri railway station, Wat Amarintharam, and Wat Si Sudaram, a Thai temple known as the place where the poet Sunthorn Phu studied in his childhood, as well as Wat Bang Oi Chang in Nonthaburi Province, etc. ![]() The mouth of Khlong Bangkok Noi is located beside Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital (SiPH) and the former Bangkok Noi railway station (now the location of Thonburi Railway Station Pier). Khlong Bangkok Noi ( Thai: คลองบางกอกน้อย, pronounced lit 'Small Bangkok Canal') is a khlong (คลอง canal) in Bangkok its name is the origin of the name Bangkok Noi District. ![]() A map showing Chao Praya river's original course and its shortcut canals.
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