2010 September

Chao Phraya River Cruise, Bangkok (8)

Chao Phraya River Cruise in Bangkok. Filmed in 2005. Produced by Mihnea Voicu Simandan. Bangkok, Thailand. 2010 (c) www.simandan.com

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Chao Phraya River Cruise, Bangkok (8)

Thailand, Bangkok, cruise along its river in 1964

In 1964, after attending the Tokyo Olympics opening and several events, my wife Toyoko, her mother and I boarded a freighter of the Royal Interocean Lines from Kobe with accommodation for 40 passengers. This was the first part of our journey to Holland. The cruise took us to Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang (see separate videos), and from there by air to Bangkok. This video shows our boat tour through Bangkok’s ‘floating market’ and some of the city’s other sights.

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Thailand, Bangkok, cruise along its river in 1964

Amazing Thailand #7: River Cruise From Ayutthaya to Bangkok

After visiting the ancient city of Ayutthaya and learning about the capital of the kingdom of Siam (today Thailand), we took a boat on our way back to Bangkok (already included in the trip) in the Chao Phraya river. The river cruise takes a couple of hours but it is very comfortable and with good Thai food. By cruising in the Chao Phraya river from Ayutthaya we can see temples, Buddha statues and villages, until we get to the skyscrapers of Bangkok. Please watch Amazing Thailand #6 to see the ancient city of Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya (พระนครศรีอยุธยา) city is the capital of Ayutthaya province in Thailand. The city was founded in 1350 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya kingdom or Siam. It is estimated that Ayutthaya by the year 1600 CE had a population of about 300000, with the population perhaps reaching 1000000 around 1700 CE, making it one of the world’s largest cities at that time. In 1767 the city was destroyed by the Burmese army, resulting in the collapse of the kingdom. The ruins of the old city now form the Ayutthaya historical park, which is recognized internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.