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You’ll cross many 5 main tributaries of the Chao Phraya on the Northern Line. The Pa Sak is one of the main sources of flooding in downstream Bangkok, so in 1998, the Thai government built a dam about 100km upstream to the Northeast of here. At nearly 5 kilometers long and 37 meters high, the barrage forms the largest reservoir in central Thailand, thereby also helping to irrigate an area which is one of Thailand’s most dry.

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Ban Pa Chi Junction is just another fork in the road. It is here that the Northwestern Line heads towards Laos and Vietnam.

The station at the junction was rebuilt entirely after being hit heavily by Allied bombing during WWII.

If your train stops, and you’re feeling bold, this station is famous for the “Phachi” Coconut Ice Cream sold by the hawkers on the platform. It is normally slurped through straws, especially in the hot season when it melts quickly. Good luck!

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The Chao Phraya floodplain, which is where most of Thailand lives, is probably Thailand’s most important geological feature.

Once every 2 or 3 years when the river floods over onto the floodplain, a large amount of fine sediment called alluvium is deposited onto the floodplain. The finer and lighter alluvium such as clay and silt drifts further away from the river out into the plains during a flood, and this regular deposit of alluvium is what makes these areas so fertile and suitable for rice cropping.

The larger, heavier, and coarser alluvium such as gravel and sand is deposited closer to the river. This means that After many flood events, raised areas of land, called levees, build up on the river banks. This is what is often preventing you from seeing the Chao Phraya itself, or its tributaries, from the train.

To a large extent, you could consider Thailand a Kingdom defined by the Chao Phraya river system. Its agricultural richness is due to this flooding cycle. Thailand’s borders are in the mountains that skirt its basin. The early trade that made the Ayutthaya kingdom powerful was built on the river’s navigability, and the canals that spread from it helped to transport its levers of power to the neighbouring chiefdoms and kingdoms.

Flooding is a normal and necessary part of life in a floodplains. Yet severe flooding of this floodplain has also been the scourge of modern and developed Thailand. For example, the 2011 monsoon season innundated over 20,000 square kilometers, left Bangkok flooded for around 6 months – killing 815 people and further affecting 13.6 million with almost 50 billion dollars of damage, particularly in the industrial estates on the outskirts of Bangkok. Disrupted supply chains led to a global shortage of hard disk drives, and automobile parts.

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You may see some of the energy infrastructure of Thailand on your journey.

About 60% of the country’s electricity is generated through natural gas, and an additional 20% by coal. So Thailand is not a very green country, and although experts at the World Wildlife Fund calculate that Thailand could be 100% renewable by 2050 from a combination of solar, wind, biogas and hydro, the Thai government doesn’t seem to be that interested in that sort of thing. Whats more, with the climate getting warmer, the energy demands from air conditioning big cities like Bangkok is going to put more strain on energy generation.

The good news is that renewable energy is making inroads in Thailand. Unfortunately, the government has been promoting the production of biomass energy by way of biodeisel from oil palm, the mass cultivation of which is one of the greatest causes of biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia.

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Ayutthaya was the second capital city of Siam after Sukhothai. The remains of the ancient city sit out of sight to the West of the train line. The city used to occupy an island which was carved out by the meeting point of the Chao Phraya and Pra Sak rivers.

Founded by the King Uthong, the city takes it’s name from the birthplace of Rama, the city Ayodhya in India. It served as Siam’s capital city for over four centuries, from 1351 to 1767, when it was raised to the ground by the Burmese army after a long siege.

Now a world UNESCO site, the surviving Wats, such as the Wat Chaiwatthanaram, give an idea of the previous splendour of the old capital of Siam.

The city of Ayuttaya helped harbour in the golden age of Thai culture. During this time Ayutthaya became a centre for world trade, thanks to its position between China, India, and the Malay Archipelago. The wealth the city generated went into grand building projects such as the canal system, and fine works of art. By 1700 it was estimated to be the largest city in the world with over 1 million inhabitants, and merchants came from regions as diverse as the Arab world, China, India, Japan, Portugal, the Netherlands and France.

On a personal note, I love Ayutthaya Station.

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Chao Phraya translates to “the Chief”, such is the importance of this River to the Thai Nation.

It is along this river that international trade emerged between the river capital of Ayutthaya (and later Bangkok) and the great civilisations of Asia. From this maritime trade, the Kingdom on the Chief River became the most wealthy in the River basin. With his wealth, the Ayutthaya Kingdom was able to build canals to the neighbouring rivers, allowing to extend their irrigation systems, and also transport their influence to dominate other Kingdoms and Chiefdoms, eventually forming the great Kingdom that continues to thrive today.

You aren’t likely to see the Chao Phraya much, as when the train gets close enough, your views may be blocked by its natural levies or human development on its shoreline. But the Chao Phraya and the rivers that feed it will never be far on the Northern Line.

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The Ban Pa-In Royal Residence has a strange assortment of architectural styles, even by Thai standards.

The small town of Ban Pa-In has a Royal Residence on the bank of the Chao Phraya River. Originally constructed in 1632 by King Prasat Thong, it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the 18th and 19th centuries before King Mongkut (Rama IV) reclaimed it from the jungle in the mid-19th century to use as a retreat from Bangkok life.

The royal palace stands amidst vast landscaped gardens, featuring an ornamental pond. It is an odd assortment of architectural styles. You may be able to see the brightly painted “Sages’ Lookout”. Around it is a throne room that was actually built in China and gifted to King Chulalongkorn by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1890, with Chinese architecture and enterior design, complete with ebony and red laquerware trimmings. There is also the Royal residence that was originally said to have been built to the style of a Swiss Chalet, but was refurbished to a “Paris Metro” art-deco style.

Wat Niwet Thamprawat stands adjacent to the palace on a river island. If it weren’t for the golden statues of Buddha, one might be convinced that it was a Christian church, as it was built in the style of a Neo-Gothic church, complete with stained glass and soaring ceilings.

These days the royal family only uses the residence rarely for banquets and special occasions, so the palace remains largely open to visitors.

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As we pass an industrial zone on the outskirts of Bangkok, lets talk about Thailand’s economy.

A quick romp through Thailand’s economic history suggests that it has always been intimately tied with politics, and further exposed to international politics and economy.

In old Siam, amidst the jungle, coastal ports welcomed merchants from the maritime traders of Arabia, India, and China. In the 14th Century, Ayutthaya, a city a little ways to the north, became a hub of trade with China, making the central Ayutthaya kingdom prosperous and powerful. Trade with China has been a source of economic power ever since, but the 19th century saw the signing of treaties with European countries and the United States that guaranteed privileges for its traders too.

Domestically, serfdom held the economy back until Chulalongkorn abolished the practice in the beginning of the 20th century, and he began linking the country with better trade infrastructure, including the rail line you are now on. Significant investment in education in the 1930s laid the basis of the development of industrial and service sectors throughout the 20th century.

The rest of the 20th century saw the economy become increasingly globalised and intertwined with geopolitics. For siding with the Japanese during the second world war, Thailand was forced to hand over 1.5 million tonnes of rice to Allied countries, which placed a heavy burden on Thailand’s post-war recovery.

However, from the 1960s to the end of the century, Thailand enjoyed relatively strong economic growth despite becoming the frontline for the West’s fight againt communism in Southeast Asia. The manipulation, and particularly devaluation, of the Thai Baht throughout this period led to a boom in exports, which saw Thailand’s market-based economy race up the economic ladder. But it came crashing down in 1997 when foreign speculation put more pressure on the Baht than the Bank of Thailand could handle, triggering the Asian Financial Crisis and the collapse of not only the Thai economy, but the entire regional economy.

Ever since, Thailand’s politics has limped along in a cycle of coups and democratic transitions, which has scared off tourists and investors alike, leaving the economy stagnant and rudderless. The latest Military Junta has declared Thailand 4.0, with an emphasis on investment into innovative and higher-tech businesses. The industrial park we’ve just travelled past is an important compenent of that. It hosts some of the largest food processing companies in Thailand and the world, as well as heavy industry further to the East, and is part of an innovation ecosystem that includes a various universities and government laboratories.

Today, Thailand is the second largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, and could be characterised as an industrialised and export driven service economy. Although a lot of the economic activity you’re about to see derives from agriculture – and rice cultivation in particular – only about one twelth of its economic output is agricultural. Its much more about automobiles, electronics, synthetic materials, and financial services. Two thirds of its economic output derived from exporting, and although Thailand is one of the world’s biggest exporters of rice, this only makes for 2% of exports.

In 1988, roughly two thirds of Thai people lived below the poverty line. Today, that figure is closer to one in eight. So despite the hiccups, and although there is a long way to go, those statistics show Thailand as one of the great development success stories in the modern era.

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Thammasat is Thailand’s second oldest university, and has always been a critical and urgent voice of democracy since its founding, and throughout the turbulent decades in 20th century Thailand – which is maybe why they’ve moved it out of Bangkok…

Before it was established in 1934, there was only one university in the whole of Thailand that graduated less than 70 people per year. A new university was to be created called the “University of Moral and Political Sciences” – founded under the leadership of Pridi Banomyong, the father of Thailand’s democratic movement. He envisioned open education with low tuition fees, and admitted over 7,000 students in its first year, thereby transforming the entire philosophy of education in the Kingdom.

With the guiding philosophy of “love and cherish democracy” and with an original campus in Bangkok’s old quarter, Thammasat continued to be a political force throughout the 20th century. It was, for example, the headquarters of the clandestine Free Thai anti-Japanese underground during the second world war.

The coup d’etat of 1947 brought an end to Pridi Banomyong’s vision for Thammasat. It was brought under the military junta’s yolk and Pridi went into exile.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then: Thammasat students led two pro-democracy mass uprisings that were watershed events in Thailand’s political history – one in 1973 which led to a brief semi-democratic transition, before the other in 1976 which ended in a brutal massacre of students which continues to be a scar on the Thai collective psyche. Shortly after, Thammasat gradually moved all of its students out of the city centre to its Rangsit campus. Yet, it continues to be a political force in Thailand, with most of Thailand’s recent Prime Ministers and leading political figures and jurists being Thammasat alumni.

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One night in Bangkok and the world’s… your… oyster…

Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit is the longest city name in the world. It translates to “City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Visvakarman at Indra’s behest.”

That pretty much describes Bangkok: Big, messy, complicated, and lots going on. Incidentally, Visvakarman and Indra are principle deities in Hinduism and Buddhism respectively. The 9 gems refers to the auspicious combination of diamond, ruby, emerald, yellow sapphire, garnet, blue sapphire, pearl, topaz and cat’s eye - essentially Thailand’s crown jewels.

Bangkok is like Thailand’s beating heart.

It is the central node around and through which the economy, politics, and society ebbs and flows. And its Thailand’s portal to the rest of the world, which is why the Kings that held the mouth of the Chao Phraya became the Kings of Siam.

Bangkok is kind of a big deal even by international standards. It regularly exceeds even Paris and New York for the number of international visitors. There are more high-rises in Bangkok than any US city except New York. Were Thailand a wealthier country, Bangkok would be listed amongst the world’s most powerful and influential cities.
Bangkok is truly one of those cities - like Paris, New York, or Tokyo - that can take a weekend to see, but needs a lifetime to truly know and fully appreciate.

Bangkok is also Thailand’s black hole.

22% of Thais live here - over 14 million people - which, for an agrarian country, is kinda insane. Its a classic example of a “primate city” - a city that is disproportionately larger and more important than any other in its country. And as Thailand continues to grow - at around 4 to 5% per year on average - so does Bangkok grow even more disproportionately. It engulfs the surrounding countryside slowly, but is sucking in the whole country’s energy, including Thailand’s young people. There’s now just so much “stuff” in Bangkok that the city is sinking into its floodplain - around and inch every year on average. A tropical floodplain is a terrible place to put a Bangkok.

Bangkok is truly one of those cities like Paris, New York, or Tokyo, that it can take a weekend to see, but would take a lifetime to truly know and appreciate. I can’t really do it justice in this humble format, but I’ll leave it at this: If you’re leaving Bangkok and are happy about it, you probably didn’t do it right. If you’re arriving into Bangkok, my advice is to scrutinise where you’re getting your information about where to go and what to see – following the tourist crowd will probably lead to disappointment. There are so many authentic, fascinating, and energetic parts of the city to explore if you go against the flow.

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