CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
River of Life River of Kings The Chao Phraya is formed by the confluence of four rivers, the Ping (715km long), Wang (400km), Yom (700km) and Nan (740km), which together form Thailand’s most important river system and drain 35% of the country’s land mass. About 20 million people (one in three of the population) live in its basin, most of which is given over to farming land with rice as the main crop. Some scholars think that Siam, the name by which Thailand was known until 1939, translates as ‘people of the river’. The Siam Kingdom used to include Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma). Chao Phraya can be translated as ‘General’ or ‘River of Kings’ and is sometimes prefixed by Maenam (‘River’ or ‘Mother of Waters’). The river only gains its proper name at Nakhan Sawan at the confluence of the Ping and Nan and from there it flows 370 kilometres south before being strained by mangroves and emptying into the Gulf of Thailand. Most of the country’s principal cities were founded on the river because these sites were easier to defend, because the river provided a means of transport and communication, because there was plentiful water to drink and because it provided Thai’s with their staple foods of rice and fish. Thai culture centres of water’s power and maternal benevolence. But Thai’s believe it has a dark side too. Mythically, it is home to Naga (see left), wrathful serpents seen adorning many Thai temples. Thailand’s three old royal capital cities were all sited on the Chao Phraya. First Ayuthaya (1351-1767), at the point where the rivers Lopburi and Pasak join the river. Then south to Thonburi (1767-1782) and finally across the river to a more easily defensible east bank settlement at Bangkok (1782 to present day). The climate is dominated by the southwest monsoon, which occurs between May and October. About 90% of the annual rainfall occurs during this period. The Chao Phraya and its tributaries are fed by these monsoon rains rather than by snow melt from the mountains. The rivers are full during the monsoon period but can dry to a trickle during February and March. The Chao Phraya is tide-affected along 180km from the Gulf of Thailand to just upriver of Ayuthaya at Ang Thong. The downriver monsoonal flow is met by bimonthly peak tides pushing up from the Gulf and, once every two weeks from mid-September to early November, the river is liable to burst its banks and flood. Until the last century, most Thais lived in floating or stilted houses that rose or stood above these annual floodwaters, remaining dry when land-based homes were flooded. Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
River of Life Water Shortage Thailand has serious water shortages and these became more severe with every passing year. These are due in part to the great success of the country’s dams, canals and irrigation systems. With plentiful water available, farmers have begun shifting to high yield rice strains with shorter growing cycles that allow for a second crop to be farmed. Demand for water climbed to such an extent that, by the 1980s, there was insufficient irrigation water to supplement rainfall. This led to conflicts between farming zones since the fields closest to the canals received most of the water leaving the distant areas without irrigation. In the 1990s, water shortages were commonplace. In 1994, the Thai government was advising farmers to expect their irrigation supplies to dry up and warned Bangkok residents that they faced water rationing, a situation unprecedented in Thai history. In that year, water levels were so critically low in the reservoirs behind the Bhumibol and Sirikit dams that the hydroelectric turbines had to be shut down, forcing a switch to electricity from coal and natural gas. The government acted by banning farmers from planting second crops and debating a tax on water use. Many in rural Thailand who beseeched help from the water deity Mae Thorani (see left) may have had their prayers answered since 1995 was a high rainfall year and this went some way to replenish parched water reserves. Perversely, the heavy rains also caused extensive flooding in Bangkok. One solution to Thailand’s water problems is to build reservoirs designed to store the monsoon rains. Another, more controversial solution involves diverting some of the water from the River Mekong into Thai river systems. In fact, the Chinese are already diverting flow from the Mekong. But this would impact negatively on the downriver countries of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. th Since the 19 century, drinking water has been drawn from wells in Bangkok. Then, the water table was just 12 metres below the surface and plentiful clean water was available all year round. As the city grew, so did the number of wells and water extraction soon begun to exceed natural replenishment. Industry used wells too and the aquifers became depleted. As a result, between 1930 and 1990, the ground level in Bangkok actually subsided by 1.7 metres. Over the years, the water table has dropped substantially and today, it is necessary to drill between 100 and 600 metres to reach the water table.
Global warming could raise sea levels in the Gulf of Thailand by 1 to st 1.5 metres over the next 100 years. By the end of the 21 century, this rise, together with continuing land subsidence caused by overabstraction of water, could result in Bangkok becoming entirely submerged. As a result, during monsoon rains, surface water is being treated and then pumped back down boreholes to replenish the aquifers. Studies show that through this process, the water table could rise by 24 metres every two years. Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
Polluted River River in Danger The Chao Phraya is being destroyed along its entire length from headwaters to mouth. In the villages, trees are cut, allowing the growth of brambles and non-native plants such as Giant Mimosa and Water Hyacinth (photographed left), which choke waterways and invade farmlands - without tree roots to cement the soil, riverbanks crumble and flow away. The demand for increased agricultural productivity has led to the use of more chemical fertilizers and pesticides which leach into the waterways during monsoon rains. In the 1960s, 53% of Thailand’s land area was forested. Today, despite a logging ban imposed in 1989, only 12% of the country is forested. Dead animals are thrown into the river where they putrefy and fishermen use destructive techniques to catch more and more fish, which leave fish stocks perilously low. Huge dredgers cut deep into its banks and river bottom, scooping up sand for the construction industry – this process alters the river’s course, disrupts its hydrology, kills fish and erodes valuable farmlands. Ships moored in Khlong Toey harbour discharge oil, which destroy the mangroves and oyster beds in the Gulf. Towns of all sizes deposit their rubbish on its banks. Restaurants and factories empty waste and chemicals into its flowing waters. Some estimate that only 2% of Bangkok’s households are connected to a sewage system. In houses along the river and canal banks, a majority of the toilets flush directly into the river and where they don’t, the muck finds its way into the city’s canals and river. Like the houses that now face away from the river, Thais seem to have turned their backs on the Chao Phraya. th In August 2007, on the eve of her 75 birthday, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit made an impassioned plea to protect and conserve the country’s water and natural resources. Government ministers responded with the Chao Phraya River Clean and Clear Project, a special initiative that integrated both private and public sector efforts.
The project calls for people living along the Chao Phraya to help keep the river clean and to beautify the riverside landscape. The Thai Tourist Board introduced an award programme as an incentive to encourage this community spirit. There are also 49 schemes to be initiated between August and December 2008 in th time for the King’s 80 Birthday celebrations. These involve the control and eradication of pollutants and contaminants at source; the control and eradication of water hyacinth; the rehabilitation of mangrove forests and coastal resources; and improving river and environmental education for the general public. The schemes also include the improvement of wastewater treatment drainage systems; the establishment of a warning system for water crises; the surveillance of water quality; the collection of rubbish and the cleaning of clogged waterways. Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
Polluted River Magic Eyes In 1994, Thai architect ML Tridhosyuth Devakul purchased and renovated a 20 meter barge, turning its empty hull into a floating living and learning laboratory and spearheading the launching of a highly innovative education program for Thailand. His vision was a floating school that would provide young people with an experience that would both alert them to the problems facing the Chao Phraya River and inspire them to act to improve and restore it to it previous ecological health. Managed by the Prem Center for International Education, it became known as the Magic Eyes Chao Phraya Barge Program. The Magic Eyes Barge is what is traditionally called a ‘rua krachaeng’. Originally, it was an open hulled boat that was pulled in a line with others by a tug boat, with a small covering space for a family to live in. It did not have an engine. In the past it was used to transport rice, sand and soil, timber and other products up and down the Chao Phraya River The 20m teak barge has since been converted. Now it has a large covered main deck used for activities, an air conditioned sleeping cabin, sleeping 25 students, a kitchen, two showers, two western-style toilets and a small library. Led by a team of ten instructors, the Barge Program offers class groups three to six day live-in field trips to study the river's delicate ecology and diverse wildlife at first hand. Activities include water sampling that they then test for oxygen, phosphates, nitrates and other elements. By meeting people working on the river, and communities who live on its banks, students also appreciate how developments impact on the river and how the river shapes human lives. By looking at the pollution in the river, they also come to understand the impact their own actions can have in either destroying or preserving our environment. Water hyacinth investigation is another activity designed to teach pupils about the ecology of Thailand’s greatest river and what they can do to help preserve it. The young people sleep on the barge and clearly relish the experience of working together to keep the boat clean, preparing and cooking food, and even taking turns to help steer the boat. However, the barge can only hold a certain amount of water for each trip and one of the first things the pupils learn is ways to save water. Simple things, like only filling your glass with as much water as you want to drink and taking no longer than three minutes to shower are activities that have an immediate impact on everyone's thinking and actions, both on the boat and at home. Gradually the young people learn what a precious resource clean water is.
Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
Resourceful River Khlongs The Chao Phraya feeds thousands of kilometers of irrigation canals (called khlongs in Thai) that flow off on either side of it, a backbreaking effort that started in the 15th century. Canals were dug to serve three purposes: as defensive city moats; to link one river with another to facilitate the movement of troops and across the meandering bend of a river to reduce travel times. Between 1538 and 1722, Thai engineers dug six short canals which reduced the distance between Ayuthara and the Gulf by 62km. After the 1830s, canals were dug to open up land for cultivation and to transport produce from farms to Bangkok and other markets. And in the 1870s, canals were built to transport sugar cane from plantations in the west and Bangkok and to open up forested land in the northeast of Bangkok to rice cultivation. Thailand’s first comprehensive irrigation programme involved digging gated canals connected to the Chao Phraya northeast of Bangkok. This scheme, aimed at expanding rice cultivation, was begun in 1890. Over a ten-year period a total of 835km of canals were built. By 1900 , with the arrival of the car, the pre-eminence of the river was superseded. Long distance river haulage went into rapid decline with the construction of railway lines. Urban canal construction slowed and then ceased. After 1915 no new canals were built. Instead, after World War II, city planners began to fill them in, transforming them into roads. By the 1970s, only 17 main canals remained intact in Bangkok and these were now used primarily for drainage. Residents began to encroach by extending their stilted houses over and into the canals. The canals narrowed and stagnated as an increasing amount of sewage was dumped into them. There are some signs that town planners are rediscovering the tourism value of their waterfront heritage. The best preserved canals today are Khlong Om (photographed top) and Khlong Bangkok in Thonburi. On a longtail tour boat you pass wooden stilt house communities, ancient wats, pier-side shops and boat vendors selling hot noodles and produce to residents lounging on their flower-decked verandas. Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
Resourceful River Flooding Flooding in the delta region of the Chao Phraya used to occur every three or four years. As a consequence, Thai houses were built to accommodate the inundation on stilts or on bamboo pontoons. Because the river seldom rose rapidly, people had time to move their possessions to the upstairs levels. Most people had boats, so life continued virtually unchanged during the high water period between midSeptember and early-November. th
But from the beginning of the 20 century, new houses were built on solid foundations and tarmac roads and pavements became the norm. The delicate relationship in which Thais lived with the monsoon cycle became unbalanced and they sought to stem the flow of the river with dams and to contain the flooding waters with embankment walls. From the 1950s for 20 years or so, dams were constructed on the river and its tributaries, irreversibly changing the river’s flow. The first to be constructed in 1957 was the Chao Phraya Dam, located midway between Ayuthaya and Nakhon Sawan. The dam was designed to increase rice production by providing a regular flow of water to irrigate a huge area of the lower river basin. The dam also controls downstream flow during periods of peak rainfall to reduce the risk of flooding in Bangkok and other downstream cities. The Bhumibol (1964) and Sirikit (1972) dams are located further upstream. The Bhumibol on the Ping and the Sirikit on the Nan. Their reservoirs stockpile water in the monsoon to enable irrigation schemes during the dry season. Some think that the environmental impact of these dams is not worthwhile since they have resulted in an over exploitation of water supplies and hydropower only provides 4% of Thailand’s electrical energy. However, despite considerable investment in flood prevention infrastructure, flooding still persists. In recent years, severe flooding took place in 1975, 1983, 1986, 1990 and 1995. In 1995, excessive rainfall and related run-off breached dikes and caused flooding over 15,000 sq km of floodplain with damage estimated at 72 billion Baht (£1.4 billion). A new flood defense master plan includes heightening the existing flood barrier and dredging the khlongs (canals) and rivers from the flood plain.
Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
Working River Floating Market The Chao Phraya was once the Kingdom’s gateway to the world and the river was the principle conduit for overseas traders. Along its banks are numerous towns, monuments and cemeteries built by the French, Japanese, Portuguese, British, Chinese and Dutch traders. Those ships that brought cargoes on the cusp of the monsoon, when the river was most bloated, spent the four month rainy season moored below Ayathaya. From there, boatmen poled wooden barges west up the Pasak or continued on to Nakhon Sawan and from there up the Ping, Yom or Nan into the forested interior. The Journey up the Ping to the northern city of Chang Mai took six weeks. Boatmen had to time their return journeys to coincide with favourable winds and then paddled the flatter stretches to the sea. th In the early 19 century Thailand signed trade treaties with the British and Americans allowing oversees commercial activity in the Kingdom. A trickle and then a flood of foreign vessels began calling at Bangkok.
King Rama III was so alarmed by this sudden influx that he ordered the building of fortresses along the Chao Phraya to defend the country in case of foreign invasion. He also installed a chain across the river that could be raised in emergency to block the passage of ships. As it turned out he was right to be cautious. In 1893, the French sent gunboats up the Cho Phraya and Siam was forced to concede Laos and Cambodia to French rule. But trade flourished, especially in rice, sugar, tin, spices, teak and other hard woods. Today, Thailand is one of the world’s largest exporters of rice. The introduction of steam-driven launches in the mid-1880s revolutionized river travel. Powerful engines could now navigate upriver irrespective of the strength of the downriver flow. However, by the mid th 20 century, travel by roads had all but replaced river transportation and urban development was now orientated around highways rather than riverbanks. Thailand still has many floating markets. Damnoen Saduak, a canal off the Chao Phraya about 109km west of Bangkok, is probably its most famous. Day in, day out, from 8am to 11am the waterway is crowded with hundreds of small rowing boats with fruit and vegetable for sale. Although in truth, these boats now congregate principally for the hundreds of visiting tourists and their cameras, rather than for local punters to buy their produce.
Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
River City Bangkok The Chao Phraya slices through the heart of Bangkok and its twin city of Thonburi. Wooden houses on stilts still line both sides of the river just as they did a century ago, lthough they are being increasingly nudged out by high-rise developments. Among these are golden temples with painted, sloping roofs. Every few hundred metres small, narrow canals draw water from the river. The Chao Phraya throbs with river traffic with everything from slender express boats to ferries carrying school children and workers to hotel launches carrying guests and river cruise boats. An elaborate network of canals (known as khlongs) gave the joint cities the nickname of ‘Venice of the East’. The name Bangkok originates from the Thai for ‘Plum Tree Riverbank’ because of their profusion here. The growing metropolis was also known as the City of Angels. Floating houses have a long history in Thailand and their most spectacular congregation was in Bangkok where most inhabitants lived in houses floating on bamboo pontoons. During the 1840s, of a population of 400,000, almost 90% lived in such houses, while the rest lived in structures on stilts on the khlongs and riverbanks. At this time, hundreds of Chinese junks and other craft would have been moored along the middle of the river and thousands of small gondola-like boats would have been used to get from A to B. Larger boats were built as shops, floating theatres and gambling dens. Today, nearly all the khlongs have been filled in and converted into streets and those that are left are heavily polluted. However, the Chao Phraya in Bangkok is still a major transportation artery for a vast network of ferries and water taxis, also known as longtails (pictured left). Industry uses the river to transport its goods and major cargo consignments of Singha Beer and Pepsi are regular sights on the river. Some deluxe hotels also offer cruises up the Chao Phraya with dinner and even overnight berths in teak-paneled cabins. The Chao Phraya River Express operates a regular ferry boat service up and down the river. Sort of a bur for the river, fares are extremely cheap. You can get just about anywhere for 20 Baht (less than 50p). However, the boats can be extremely crowded during peak travel times. The River Express operator also runs a service designed for tourists. The new Chao Phraya Tourist Boat uses newer, more comfortable boats serving just those piers of interest to tourists. You purchase a single ticket for 100 Baht (£2) which entitles you an unlimited number of trips on the same day. Unfortunately, Bangkok does not have a single waterfront park or even a landscaped quay on which to stroll and enjoy views of the river. But fortunately, plans for expressways along the river’s east and west banks have been shelved. Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
River Culture Festivals & Events River and water are intricately bound up with Thai village and cultural life and throughout the year, devout Buddhists release fish, turtles and eels into the river to atone for past sins and to gain merit. Water is the incubator for the staple foods of rice and fish; its physical presence is a protector and its flood and eddying currents a potential threat. The river has supported countless livelihoods and, down the generations, its importance has come to be reflected in traditional Thai festivals, the most important of which are Loi Krathong and Songkran. At Loi Krathong, small candle-laden floats are set adrift on the rivers and canals of the November full-moon night to send offerings to one’s ancestors, to carry away bad luck and to clear the slate for the new year. At Loi Krathong everywhere, in big cities as well as all over the countryside, millions of little lights flicker wherever there is water. The King and his retinue perform the ritual by launching very elaborate floats in Bangkok from a fleet of Royal Barges. The river is the favoured venue for Songkran. Originally, Buddhists sprinkled water on each other over the Buddhist New Year as a benediction, symbolically cleansing their souls. These days, Songkran is celebrated from 13 to 15 April and people roam the streets with containers of water or water guns, or post themselves at the side of the road with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. Images of Buddha are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at him, ritually ‘bathing’ the images as they pass to wash the residue of the old year from him and to pray for abundant rains during the coming rice season. River long boat races take place all over the country. They mirror ancient battles in which warriors rowed to war in boats with bows carved in the shapes of mythical swans. Their ultimate expression is the Royal Barge Procession on the Chao Phraya. While kings of other realms might ride on gilded, horse-drawn carriages, Thai monarchs were swept along on Royal Barges protected by a fleet of smaller barges and vessels. The International Swan Boat Races and Long Boat Race Championships take place in early September in Ayuthaya. Since 1988, the races have been held near the Rama IX Bridge with both national and international competitors. In 2008, there were over 20 international teams. There are 96 foot long boats, manned by 50 paddlers with one or two paddling steersmen, and a leading paddler. There is also a race category in 46 foot long boats, manned by 22 paddlers with one paddling steersman and a whistler to keep rhythm. Boat races are four abreast over a 650 metre course.
Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
River Culture Royal Barges Archaoelogists have traced evidence of Royal Barge Processions back to 1357. The first written account comes in the 17th century when Abbé de Choisy, France’s first ambassador in Siam, writes of traveling upriver in a flotilla hundreds of elaborately decorated barges. th
From the 17 century, one of the most colourful annual processions was the Royal Kathin Ceremony in October or November. The King and royal family would travel downriver in a procession of barges nearly a kilometer long to Wat Arun, where they would present new robes to the monks to mark the end of the 3-month Buddhist Rains Retreat. The general public joined in the procession in boats decorated in the form of crocodiles, shells and fish. Some boats carried musicians and dance groups. Barges used by the army had canons camouflaged by elaborately carved figureheads (see left). But when the Burmese sacked Ayathaya in 1767, all the grand ceremonial barges were burned in the plundering fires. In the 1790s, Rama I, who established the new capital in Thonburi, had new barges built in the image of the old ones. One of the greatest of these Royal Barge Processions must have been that which accompanied the Emerald Buddha on its return journey from Vientiene in Laos to its new home in Thonburi. The King himself joined the procession of 115 barges carrying the idol, monks, scriptures, musicians and members of the Royal Court. The use of the barges was largely discontinued after the coup of 1932, which overthrew the absolute power of the monarchy. During this time, most royal properties, including the barges, were confiscated by the civilian and military government. To make matters worse, many of the barges were destroyed or damaged in bombing raids by the Japanese during World War II. After the war, His Majesty Rama IX discovered the barges in a sorry state and had them restored. He also reinstated the Kathin ceremony. However, the barges are now in an increasingly fragile state and are only brought out for very special occasions. Eight of these barges are on permanent display at the Royal Barge Museum in Bangkok. Of these, the Suphannahongsa, or golden swan (pictured left and above) is the most impressive. This is the personnal barge of the king and was carved from a single teak tree trunk. The most recent royal th barge processions took place in 2006 to celebrate the 60 anniversary of the reign Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org
CHAO PHRAYA RIVER
of His Majesty the King and in 2007 to celebrate the King’s 80th birthday.
Chao Phraya River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009 Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s Conecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme www.riversoftheworld.org