Maritime Wood
Rice Barge the Traditional Thai Teak Wooden Boat
The Rice Barge boat continues the trip to Ayutthaya early in the morning
 Sunset from the deck at Wat Kia Tia |
After a whole night rest at Wat Kai Tia, the Rice Barge boat continues to Ayutthaya early in the morning. The quiet, un-hurry pace enable all to appreciate the spectacular scenery along both sides of the banks of the Chao Phraya River, seeing the scenery lets me almost day dream about how early Westerner explores had being feeling, we are drinking some herbal tea on the teak deck until we going to reach the destination at Bang-Pa-In palace.
The Rice Barge boats are made of huge teak planks and are about 17 meter long by 5 meters wide. It has a cruising speed of around 10 kilometers per hour (5.4 Miles per hour) and there are altogether 6 perfectly appointed, air- conditioned double bed cabins with private western style bathroom. In addition they feature modern |
deck for sunbathing or lounging, an audio entertainment, a library with mostly English books, a host of indoor games, a telephone and a fully-stocked bar. A Rice Barge boat can accommodate from 21 to 26 persons, and there are 4 crew members on board to provide excellent service and guarantee complete safety.
The Rice Barge is a beautifully crafted barge that is adapted from an old traditional merchant ship wholly made of Teak wood. The owner of this traditional Thai merchant boat explains that many of this type of vessels where strip down for there teak wood. This two deck barge makes a daily journey from Bangkok to upriver Ayutthaya, retracing the journey of former Royal processions. Its destination is Bang-Pa-In or the Summer Palace, one of the best preserved places to see genuine Thai architecture; alone the way, the barge will also make stops at four important and sacred temples on it journey.
Bang-Pa-In or the Summer Palace was built by King Si San Phet V of Ayutthaya Era. The main rest house was constructed in the middle of an great pond, and was named the Aisawan Thippaard Palace. However, after the Ayutthaya town was completely defeated in a war and it was no longer the capital of Siam (former name of Thailand), this palace was left to dilapidation and ruins. In the reign of King Rama IV and King Rama V of Rattanakosin Era, this palace was once again restored to its former glory and it has become one of the favorite resting places of the to great Kings.