Klong Saen Saep and Klong Khamen

This track consists of one of my earlier jaunts (Klong Saen Saep - A small adventure), with a few extra klongs and kilometres added. Some traveling along roads and a small excursion through a office estate also include to make the whole ride a round trip. Now we are getting organized!

So, the track starts under the road bridge on Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Soi Thonglor), at the northern end. Turn right under the bridge and go through the car park. Follow the klong along the southern, right hand side. Once again, beware of waves from the boats as they go by, if the tide is high. The track here is in good condition.

At the bridge / water gate, pick up your bike and climb over the bridge.

One of the passenger ferry.

Looking back at water gate after crossing.

Wide path that veers left at klong junction.

After making your way around the bridge structure, you must duck under a low height underpass that leads to the path that follows the klong further.

Low under pass.

The path now clear and wide meanders along for a while. You pass a small klong on your left, but the path looks very uninviting. There is also a path on the other side, but it has more bridges to manhandle your bike than the side I travelled along.

Wide and clear.

Small uninviting klong.

Small uninviting klong.

The path, wide and clear, follows the long for some time. People jammed into the many ferry boats taking them on their way to work or perhaps a market. I’ve not ridden in this mode of transport, but a friend has, and found them an exciting and cheap way to get to the Chao Phraya River. I believe you cannot get the whole way there, but close enough.

Siroyul Ibadah Mosque

After a short distance, the path seems to disappear. Actually, it's hidden by a local resident's pot plant collection. Because of the foliage, and a small gate, you could be mistaken for thinking that the path has stopped. Here, you must demount you trusty bike and walk through the tight squeeze. Once through, you are presented with a path shaped I a wide arc. Why, is the first thing that came to my mind. But anyway, and interesting find. Ride the arc and just prior to an arched bridge, the path splits left. This is the point we will move onto the smaller Klong Khamen. Before we venture down this, I left the bike and crossed the arched bridge by foot and walked to the opposite corner of the klong entrance. Just for a look see. The path along Klong Saen Saep continues as far as I can see. That for another day.

Hidden Path	Curved path.
View back to curved path.	Up the Klong we go.
	Entrance to Klong Khamen.

The path is much narrower and is covered in dog crap. Close Encounters of the Turd kind! But an adventure, is an adventure. The water in the Klong is also much fowler. The path has many small huts etc dotted along the left side. A few of the locals came out to see what I was doing, but my Thai being extremely limited, I went on my way with strange stares and laughter. This is what I search for.

Typical small bridges.	The jungle tries to overgrow the path.
Start of Bike Path.	End of Bike Path.

As ridding along, a small klong was discovered going off on the left side. So, while I was in the area, I decided to explore it. It didn't go very far at all. I now know that this is part of Klong Chuat Yai. Like most of the paths along the klongs, they just seem to end. Maybe they have run out of construction material, or some of the older ones, have literally just fallen into the water. This particular one just seemed to end.

The surprise Klong Chuat Yai.	It just ends!

A private road running through what seemed to some type of Office Estate allowed some quick distance towards our starting point. The security guard paid no attention as I passed, but I did see him turn taxi and motor bikes away. Almost zero vehicle traffic around. Almost like a ghost town.

Deserted Office Estate.

The remainder of the ride was along busy, dirty, smelly roads. The path taken is clearly shown on the map below. The ride was fantastic, and did wet my appetite for many more exploring adventures.

(Ridden 12th December 2012)
Edit: Paths plotted 20Dec14.