Satellite Exploration of Thailand > Projects

Slithering South - Ping River and Chao Phraya River

Ping 1/3:   Headwaters - Chiang Dao - Chiang Mai
Image Description Dimensions: 800 x 4300 Size: 0.6MB Toggle: Layer	Headwaters Due to navigational difficulties, Steve Van Beek launched his boat in Ban Mae Ja (Mae Cha), some 10km north of Chiang Dao, where "the Ping was less than 15 feet wide and about two feet deep." Further upstream of the Ping River, he explored on foot. Quote: Slithering South The waterfall flowed copiously over a ledge 70 feet above the pool, the thin rope of water hinting at the nearness of the headwaters. Savoring the tang of discovery, I began climbing the rock face framing the waterfall, grabbing for handholds on the water-polished stone heading for what I imagined would be a spring bubbling out of the ground.   Nearing the top, I realized that the tribesmen were still below, huddled beside the pool, regarding me silently.   "What's the problem?" I called down to Ca-Ui.   "It's dangerous," he said above the water's din.   "How's so?" I asked, puzzled. The rocks looked solid enough. What could be dangerous?   "The warlords have mined the upper riverbed."   "Why?" I demanded, unwilling to believe that something so beautiful could be threatening.   "To keep the Border Patrol Police from following them into Burma. This is an opium route. I'd come back down if I were you."   I now understood the reason for Ca-Ui's frown when I had suggested tracing the river to its source. Damn. So close it was tantalizing. Thailand is awash in rumors; should I listen or risk it? I looked up the rock face for long moments, weighing, considering.   It wasn't worth it. The Lahus had shown no reluctance to forge ahead when they encountered other obstacles, so they must know what they were talking about. The headwaters weren't worth the price of a leg. I banged my fist gently against the rock in frustration, and then worked my way back down. There was no point in getting angry, I reasoned, but a residue of irritation simmered. The impotence of not being on top of a situation is familiar to anyone living in a country not his own. [p. 29]
Ping 2/3:   Chiang Mai - Hot - Doi Tao - Bhumiphol Dam
Image Description Dimensions: 1700 x 6000 Size: 1.2MB Toggle:   upper: none   middle: 3 scenes   lower: none	Doi Tao This reservoir is a continuation of the Bhumiphol Reservoir, created by the Bhumiphol Dam. Being situated further upstream from the dam, and on gently sloped terrain, its waterlevel and surface area are subject to fluctuation. The water level is the consequence of a simple equation between the inflow and outflow. These factors are just as much regulated by social needs as the amount of rainfall. A recent trend, as I have read, is that the Doi Tao Reservoir is shrinking, with its water level getting lower and lower. One reason for this phenomenon is the recent expansion of agricultural lands in north Thailand. Water is diverted from the Ping River to feed these lands, thereby leaving less water to flow into the Doi Tao Reservoir. South of Doi Tao South of Doi Tao is a succession of curious landscapes, but the lack of access roads, together with its designation as protected areas, inhibits casual visits. The boat is practically the only means of physical access. In 1988, when Steve Van Beek paddled his boat through this long stretch of solitary gorges and reservoirs, he had been warned of bandit attacks, and actually survived threatening situations. Quote: Slithering South Over coffee and berries, we discussed the trip so far and the long stretch ahead which would carry me south of Chiang Mai through valleys and into the long, winding gorge that lay behind a dam.   "What am I up against?" I asked.   "More of the same, I'm afraid. Except in the gorges there are no villages," he replied.   "So it's completely uninhabited?"   "No, there are fishermen and poachers, all of them outside the law and living off the land. You could be a target," Bill said.   "And the others," his wife interjected.   "Others?"   "The 50,000 convicts the King released. Many of them will be in the hills," she said.   "I'd forgotten about them. Great. A welcoming party," I said, morosely.   Bill regarded me silently, adding "below the gorge, you'll be O.K."   I looked at the map. "It could take me 15 days to reach the dam. That's a long time."   "You were looking for adventure, weren't you?"   "Yeah. Me and the elements, not me and the wackos." [p. 139] Bhumiphol Dam Formerly, the Ping River was the main transportation route between Bangkok and Chiangmai. The construction of the railway in the early 20th century, and subsequent construction of the road reduced its importance as a transportation route. Furthermore, the construction of the Bhumiphol Dam submerged a large tract of the Ping River and permanently changed its landscape. Quote: Slithering South In the 13th century, the gorge had been a strategic conduit for goods and armies. Whoever ruled it controlled movement between northern and central Thailand. A sentinel city had been built on both banks and by the 14th century, had become wealthy enough to erect 99 temples and chedis. Since there were few tracts of fertile land to farm - and because the steep walls blocked the sunlight needed to grow crops - it survived by exacting tribute from passing convoys and caravans.   With the growth of north-south commerce in the 19th century, the river became an important transportation route. Below me lay what had once been the Gaeng Soy rapids, the most treacherous on any Thai river, and the most dangerous obstacles on the six-week journey between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Had I stood here 60 years before, I would have seen large boats inching their way upriver, serfs walking along the gunwales, pushing against the river bottom with long bamboo poles. In photos from the 1940s, long maeng pong (scorpion tail) cargo boats, their tall sterns curving over the boat's back, were pulled by men in loincloths and harnessed in ropes and bent almost parallel to the ground as they tugged the boats step by step up the river. The return trip would have been a toboggan ride, roaring through the boulder-strewn chute to the valleys below. Doubtless, among the splinters of shattered boats were the broken bones of sailors smashed between hulls and rocks.   Construction of the Bhumibol Dam in 1964 silenced the rapids and buried 98 of the monuments. The gorge walls no longer reverberated with the din of water, commerce, or war. Shouts once muffled by the roar of rapids were now smothered by a bed of water, men calling from beneath a pane of glass. [p. 209] Quote: The Chronicle of the Ping River Before the construction of the northern railway in early of the 20th century, the Ping River was the most important means of transportation and trade route from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.   There were many records written by foreigners referring to journeys along the Ping River In the second half of the 19th century, for example, journeys in 1863 and 1866 by Daniel Mcgilvary, a missionary who had a very important role in Lanna Kingdom; and a journey of Holt S. Hallet in 1876 in his survey to build a railway from the southern region of China and Burma to the Lanna Kingdom.   Although the construction of the northern railway from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was consequently completed in 1921, the transportation in the Ping River was still used. Prince Damrong recorded his journey on the Ping River from February - March 1921 in his book entitled An Explanation of a Passage along the Ping River from Chiang Mai to Pak Man Po. It has to be noted that many names of sub-districts that Prince Damrong referred to in his account on this voyage are not able to be identified and specifically located. This is because the geographical setting of the Ping River at present has changed a lot from the past. After a construction of Yanhee Dam early in the 1960's, the Ping River and archaeological sites, as well as communities along the river, were destroyed and lost. Quote: A Cry from the Upstream Despite being a small community, Ban Na has its long history back to at least the 18th century. Located on the west bank of Ping River, Ban Na once served as a popular place for stopover and was usually mentioned in the old records of both western and native travelers. Between the 19th to the 20th centuries, westerners travelling along the Ping River always put the location of Ban Na in their maps or reports, some of which discussed the contact between Ban Na and Moulmein in Myanmar.   In Thai records, the procession of H.R.H. Princess Dara Rasmi of Chiang Mai, a consort of King Rama V, once made a stop at Ban Na in 1908. Thirteen years later, H.R.H. Prince Damrong on his back trip from Chiang Mai also took a rest there.   However, in the 1960s, the long existence of Ban Na had come to an end as a result of the government's decision to build the Yanhee Dam across the Ping River in Sam Ngao District, Tak Province. With the Dam gradually taking shape, vast areas from Sam Ngao District in Tak up to Hod District in Chiang Mai were being submerged under water.   And even though official documents have recorded fair compensation given to land owners in Ban Na, personal memoirs of Pramoj Malathong (1918-1980) speak otherwise. In his writings, Pramoj recounts in great details about a solitary struggle the villagers had made as well as a number of pains and miseries they had suffered from self-help evacuation, theft and robbery, unfair compensation, officials' ignorance and cheating, etc.
Ping 3/3:   Bhumiphol Dam - Tak - Kamphaeng Phet - Nakhon Sawan
Image Description Dimensions: 4300 x 5900 Size: 1.6MB Toggle: Layer	Nakhon Sawan The geo-political significance of Nakhon Sawan is that it lies at the confluence of the Ping River and Nan River. In the former days, when rivers were the main means of transportation, Nakhon Sawan was indeed a strategic trading town, connecting central Thailand and north Thailand. Trade attracted Chinese immigrants and, today, Nakhon Sawan is known to be an exemplary ethnic-Chinese town where one can observe the most grand Chinese New Year celebrations. Quote: From Peasant to Rural Trader: The Ox-train Traders of Northern Thailand, 1855-1955   The routes used by traders to bring factory-made goods to the towns and villages of North Thailand fall into the following three groups: 1. The land route from Moulmein. This route passed through Mae Sot, Tak, Hod to Chiangmai. From Chiangmai it continued to Wiang Pa Paw, Chiangrai, Mae Sai and then to the Shan States of Burma and Yunnan in China.   Chiangmai was the important centre for this route. From here routes led to Lampang and Maehongsorn.8 There were routes connecting other towns with these centres and with each other. Besides Thai traders, there were also Shan and Yunnanese Chinese (Hor) traders. The latter mostly used horse-trains (Hallett 1890:170-2; 213). 2. The river route from Bangkok to the north. There were two important rivers involved in this route: 2.1 The Mae Nam Ping which had Chiangmai as its trade distribution centre; 2.2 The Mae Nam Nan which had Tha It in Uttaradit Province as the main distribution centre for the north.   The river routes connected with the ox-train trade routes, the main products supplied to the traders from Bangkok being clothes, thread, kerosene, matches, candles, salt and dried fish. All boats came up the Chao Phraya to Nakhorn Sawan. Here they branched either up the Mae Ping or the Nan to Chiangmai or Tha It. Ox-train traders from Maehongsorn or Chiangrai for example, would buy goods from the boat traders at Chiangmai for resale in more distant towns and villages. Traders from Nan, Phrae or Phayao would do the same at Tha It. Ping-Nan Confluence QuickBird (reduced sample) Aerial photograph On the Landsat image, as well as on the images thumbnailed on the right, the Ping River seems to be broader than the Nan River, giving an impression that the Ping River is the mainstream which continues as the Chao Phraya River below the confluence. There are other factors like the river depth and the volume of water flow, but I haven't been able to find these data. Historically, however, the Nan River, rather than the Ping River, seems to have been considered as the mainstream. In terms of river classifications, the four Chao Phraya tributaries are often named as follows: 1. Nam Mae Ping 2. Nam Mae Wang 3. Nam Mae Yom 4. Maenam Nan The term "Nam Mae" describes a middle-sized river, whereas "Maenam" describes a major river. In the 1911 Encyclopedia, the Nan River is simply called "Menam," whereas other tributaries are called "Meping," "Mewang" and "Meyom." Quote: 1911 Encyclopedia The Meping and Mewang on the W., rising among the loftiest ranges, are rapid and navigable only for small boats, while the Meyom and Menam, the eastern pair, afford passage for large boats at all seasons and for deep draught river~steamers during the flood-time. The Menam is the largest, deepest and most sluggish of the four, and in many ways resembles its continuation, the Menam ChaoPhaya lower down. The perception of the mainstream is probably largely a matter of politico-historical discourse in each era. Construction of the Bhumipol Dam on the Ping River (1964) and that of the Sirikit Dam on the Nan River (1974) must have affected the physical characteristics of these rivers. How these rivers used to look like before the dam constructions, as well as other forms of hydro-engineering, is a historical discussion. Quote: Slithering South   It seemed strange after all these weeks to say goodbye to the Ping. I felt a moment of nostalgia for attending its birth at the headwaters and its death and absorption into a larger entity here. It was a reluctant melding. The rivers ran side by side for more than a mile, the brown Nan on the left and the green Ping to the right. The line dividing them was so distinct I could have run a knife along it. Finally, in a curling of whirlpools, the two began to blend, the brown obliterating forever any hint of the pure green Ping's former existence. From here, they truly flowed as the Chao Phya River. [p. 313]
Chao Phraya 1/2:   Nakhon Sawan - Chainat - Singburi - Ang Thong - Ayutthaya
Image Description Dimensions: 2300 x 5500 Size: 1.9MB Toggle: Layer	Bueng Boraphet Quote: Provincial Guide / Nakhon Sawan Bung Boraphet is the largest freshwater swamp in Thailand. It has an area of around 212 square kilometers. It covers parts of Amphoe Muang, Amphoe Tha Tako and Amphoe Chum Saeng. In the past Bung Boraphet was called "the northern sea" or "Chom Bung" as there was an abundance of aquatic animals and plants. According to surveys, there are still some 148 species of animals and 44 species of plants here. Rare animals include white-eyed river-martin and tiger perch. Link BUNG BORAPHET (BORAPED RESERVOIR) Chao Phraya Dam It is difficult to recognize the Chao Phraya Dam on the Landsat image. This is not a storage dam but a regulating dam, which serves to provide agricultural irrigation in the vast Chao Phraya Delta. Constructed in 1956, its crest is 238m long and 14m high. It is the only dam in Thailand with a lock to allow boats pass. Quote: Slithering South   Built when boats were the workhorses of the kingdom's transportation system, the Chao Phya Dam was the only one in Thailand equipped with a lock. Planners conceded the demise of the boat age when they elected not to place navigation locks - or even fish ladders - in subsequent dams. For a boy raised on the Columbia River, where even the highest dam had locks and ladders, it was odd to see a river so compartmentalized, with boat traffic confined between concrete barriers.   Shaped like the crossbar of a "T", the lock was slotted across the southern end of the dam, parallel with the bank. Forty feet wide, it could hold two rice barges side by side, a total of 12 barges in its 80-yard length. This morning, the lock was empty. Two gatekeepers in baggy khaki uniforms and glossy billed caps of the sort worn by trainmen, lounged on a railing, smoking.   "Are you operating this morning?" I asked.   "You have a boat?"   "Yeah," and I pointed back up the riverbank where the reddish hull rested. They half-turned to look.   "Sure, we're running," said the older one.   "When can I come down?"   "Whenever you want." I liked them; no crisp, authoritarian self-importance about their positions; service without fuss. I began the long trek up the riverbank to the boat.   "Ticket," the younger one called after me.   "Eh?"   "You need a ticket," he said, nodding towards a booth. Inside, a prim lady sat as though in theater box office awaiting the first patron.   "How much?" I asked her.   "Does your boat have an engine?"   "I pointed to myself. "I'm the engine."   She tore a handsomely-printed ticket from a book. "One baht."   "Four cents?" I thought. Did I mishear? When I pushed the baht across the counter, the ticket slid across to my hand. I thanked her and began walking away. On a thought, I returned to her window.   "How much if I'd had an engine?"   "Two baht."   This was obviously not intended as a money-making venture; even two baht barely covered the cost of printing the ticket. The gatekeeper motioned me over, tore the ticket along the perforation, and pocketed the counterfoil. "Keep your boat above the dam until we're ready. When the gates open, paddle in." The older man signaled to a workman on the upper gate who leaned on a capstan spoke and slowly walked around and around. Water began crashing into the lock.   By the time I paddled down, the upper gates were opening. I entered a long, narrow trough, the gates boomed shut behind me, and I was lost in a cavernous, roofless hall. The water level fell so slowly - perhaps five feet a minute - that I was unaware of my descent until I noticed the wall's wetted portion broadening. I rode a slow elevator thirty feet to the bottom, mindful of how small I was in the gigantic lock. I wasn't even aware that the ride had ended until I heard, then saw the enormous gates before me creak open, a birth channel into the lower river, the final stretch to the sea. [p. 348] Hydro-engineering The Chao Phraya Delta consists of a very complicated network of rivers and canals. Rivers sometimes changed their courses when there was a major flood, and hydro-engineering works have been known from as early as 1498. According to "The Chao Phya" by (again) Steve Van Beek, the original Chao Phraya River flowed west of its present course along what is now the Menam Noi River. The present Chao Phraya River is the result of some major shifts and hydro-engineering works over the centuries [p. 11]. Ayutthaya The geo-political significance of the choice of Ayutthaya as a capital city in the 14th century was that it lay at the confluence of the Ping River, Lopburi River and Pasak River. There seem to have been a lot of river shifts around Ayutthaya over the centuries - both natural and engineered - but I haven't yet read a book which takes up this topic systematically.
Chao Phraya 2/2:   Ayutthaya - Bangkok - Gulf of Thailand
Image Description Dimensions: 960 x 3500 Size: 0.8MB Toggle: Layer	Bangkok There are numerous canals in Bangkok - both big and small, old and new - and it is beyond my capacity to identify the construction date and historical significance for each of them. It is widely known that the shortcut canal constructed during the Ayutthaya period in front of the present-day Grand Palace has changed the course of the Chao Phraya River. Another famous one is that in front of Ko Kret, also constructed during the Ayutthaya period. According to "The Chao Phya," there are altogether six such shortcut canals constructed between Bangkok and Ayutthaya. The latest one, Pak Lat Canal at Pra Padaeng, turned out to be a failure. Quote: The Chao Phya A 600-metre-long canal called Khlong Pak Lat was cut across a narrow neck, effectively cutting 19 kilometers from the journey. Unfortunately, because the Chao Phya is tide-affected, the canal introduced saline water into the upper river, damaging marine and river-bank life. A dam would be built across its mouth in 1784 to halt salt water intrusion. Today, of the six khlong lat [shortcut], only this one has failed to become the main channel of the river. [p. 39] Quote: Through Travellers' Eyes: An Approach to Early Nineteenth Century Thai History From the Chronicle of the First Reign we learn that in 1784/85, only two years after the decision to move the capital from Thonburi to Bangkok, it was decided to shorten the route to the sea by digging the canal at Pak Lat. It was soon apparent, however, that this caused the water at Bangkok itself to become brackish, and in early 1785 the short-cut canal was provided with a dam, made of clay and bricks. [p. 55] Shortcut canal construction and the shift of the Chao Phraya River main course   1538   Khlong Lat Bang Khrua   1542   Khlong Lat Bangkok   1608   Khlong Lat Kret Yai   1636   Khlong Lat Muang Nonthaburi   1722   Khlong Lat Kret Noi   1784   Khlong Pak Lat