Photo: John Goss
Philip Cornwel-Smith
SNAPSHOTS | very thai
Longtail Boats & Barges Water instincts guide life on land
“
B
oat building was, and still is today, the best example of Thai carpentry which, in turn, must be one of the most precise crafts in the world,” writes architect Sumet Jumsai, showing nostalgia for the disappearing Siamese water culture. “The crafts are the product of the tranquil riverine condition and an expression of an organised society.” That tranquility now shatters when an outboard motor saws past. Pootling sampans wobble in their wake, though never seem to capsize. Waves that sloping
> Very Thai
River Books by Philip Cornwel-Smith with photos by John Goss and Philip Cornwel-Smith B995 28 | JUL/AUG 2019
natural banks once absorbed now rebound off vertical concrete antiflood embankments. Just as hooking a motorbike to a rickshaw created the tuktuk, so bolting an Isuzu pick-up engine to a boat made the ruea hang yao. Named ‘long-tail’ after a trailing drive shaft that can turn through 270°, the long, sleek craft is tailored to cramped shallow waterways. Traditionally made of takian wood and lacquered with go-faster stripes, the hull tapers like a scimitar to a raised, needlesharp prow. Its roof displays the telltale arc of all Siamese boat
canopies, only made of deckchairhued plastic rather than of bamboo, thatch or galvanised iron. The passengers shelter behind plastic sheeting to avoid spray as the unmuffled engine rips through turbid khlong or salty shoreline, scattering swimmers and rattling nerves as the sound reverberates off cliffs and buildings. “The Isuzu is more powerful and economic than other car engines. Plus it’s faster and quieter now we use a turbo,” hollers Piya through the din at a Bangkok pier, which all seems to be run with the mafia muscle of a motorcycle taxi rank and are notorious for tourist scams. Serving as bus or taxi, large and small longtails weave deftly between barges, which glide gently by. The humped carapace of a fully loaded barge resembles a giant beetle swimming, with eyes painted on the stubby bow, and water lapping at the gunwales. Handsomest among these cargo vessels are the twin-ruddered ruea iamchun (salt boat) and dumpier ruea kracheng (rice barge). Formerly inched along by a punt, and later by outboard longtail propeller, these takian-wood tubs got replaced by larger barges of steel.
“Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture” is a virtual bible on Thai pop culture and an influential must-read among foreigners and Thais. It guides you on an unconventional technicolor tour of the quirky things that make Thailand Thai. Prepare yourself for the sideways logic and snap up a copy of the new edition at any good bookshop. bangkok101.com
