Long Tailed Boats and the Kongs

One of our recommended trips for visitors to Bangkok is to take a boat around the klongs (canals) of Bangkok. This gives a fascinating insight into local life in Bangkok. The fact that people live alongside, on and in these klongs offers some fascinating sights. The trip usually starts on the Chao Phraya river vith a visit to Wat Arun ( The Temple of Dawn) and then you head of down the klongs in a long tailed boat which traditionally have there prows adorned with (now mostly plastic) garlands. These boats normally have huge, unenclosed V8 engines with a long propeller attached (hence the name long tailed!) and they are capable of blasting along the river at tremendous speeds. Fortunately, they tend to go rather slower around the klongs. Unless you pursuade the driver otherwise, you will generally get to see various “sights” such as a snake farm, fish feeding floating vendors etc. Whatever, it is a trip worth doing.

The Colourful Bangkok Taxi

 

The Bangkok taxi has become very colourful and can now be found in blue, red, yellow, green, bronze, purple and pink like this one. At one time, they seemed to be either red and blue or green and yellow but now they have turned to these much brighter colours. Unfortunately, it does not make them go any faster in the Bangkok traffic. To do that, you need to risk life and limb on a motorcycle taxi!

The Love Circle

 

I saw this pair of dragonflies seemingly having a lot of fun and while I wasn't quite sure as to what they were doing, I had my suspicions. A little bit of research on the internet revealed that they were indeed indulging in a little bit of copulation. It seems that this little position is known as a "mating wheel". The male attaches the end of his abdomen to a fixture at the back of his mate's head while the femail attaches her genitalia to the male's member. If dragonflies are at all romantic, I am sure that they would refer to this as a "love circle" instead of a "mating wheel"