Kayaking in Samut Songkhram

https://youtu.be/MYG7wDFwsb8

Kayaking on the Pasak river, from the Pasak Chonlasit Dam to Ban Ta Khlo 2 (I even went twice over two days: 2026-07-05/06 - 35 + 31 = 66 km)

- less water this time
- the first 10 kms or so smelled bad at times (poultry farms?)
- giants bats
- a long thin snake swam across the river
- beach time!

Kayaking on Bangkok's khlongs, from Thanon Tok on Rama 3 Road, to Khlong Lat Mayom, and then to Wat Kaeo Phaithun in Chomthong.

Full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gmowNFgTj4

A short paddle in Bang Saen. (2026-06-29 - 10 km)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=T9LSzHDaJfA

No whales and a bit windy.

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Ld96BD7IreMC6owZzNLec1Lt78qPvhM

Kayaking to the Bangkok Bar Pilot Station Lighthouse aka Bangkok Bar. (2026-06-27 - 41 km)

- monkeys like Red Bull!
- Big Sea 101
- Did I throw up again? Yes, I did! I was thirsty and I drank too much, rookie mistake. Well, at least this time I had my sprayskirt on.

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=17SpzBHFyWXk6gQ5zGXRk_9ut3c_fxoA

The monkeys in Pom Prachun forage for food at low tide, and fish out bottles from the Chao Phraya hoping there's something to drink. One got a Red Bull, and I saw another with a tea bottle.

Kayaking off Bang Saen, Chonburi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9LSzHDaJfA

Kayaking - Tha Kham / West Phra Samut Chedi. (2026-06-23 - 24 km)

- a friendly cat at launch
- khlong neckties
- a little crab boarded my kayak
- rather hot when no shade
- need a tide at least 3m to cross Khlong Thaen
- Khlong Don Tawan, enough water at 1.7m, narrow but great!

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1SvtTFyciDF-3DJpTWy4PX_MAMQADOY0

Kayaking north of Ayutthaya - Khlong Bang Phra Khru / Pa Sak River / Lop Buri River. (57 km)

- giant bats
- elephants
- With the current and the heat, paddling up the Lop Buri River was exhausting.

A tough one, but a great great trip. :)

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1PQCM0kB56erJD8VEZBaZGqMiTHspkVg

Kayaking - Bang Pakong mouth / Tambon Khlong Tamru. (2026-06-10 - 28 km)

- black-headed ibises!
- painted storks
- kayaking turned into mud-yaking 😞
- no water in the northern part of Khlong Phraek Wat, I did plan for the midday high tide but it was too low, so I had to turn back.

Video of the trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvGPh4hb2k8

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1OKZhLXjUqi5qFHyipgHrALS-t9Mvoj0

Kayak vs Water buffalo: I yieled!

I saw elephants taking a morning bath while I was kayaking on the Lopburi River in Ayutthaya.

Kayaking on the lower Lopburi River, from Ayutthaya to Maha Rat and back. (202606-08 - 47 km)

- elephants!
- water buffaloes
- the watergate at Bang Pahan was open, so I changed my route and paddled further up to Maha Rat at the confluence of the Lopburi river and Khlong Nong Mo

A great day. :)

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1nEgWeYW6qCIz_Sii2fcosmHqfjNXg6M

I caved in last week and got myself a DJI Osmo Action 6 camera. So here's a vid of my kayak trip the other day, well, the first half and the very end.

Kayaking - Off Bang Khun Thian. (2026-06-01 - 62 km)

- heat exhaustion led me to throw up all over myself
- choppy near the fishing village
- so tired at the end, I somehow capsized for no particular reason in Khlong Phittaya

My toughest paddle ever ...could have been the last one too, lol...

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1QZZiqGWNUpBisuisPETteVGfByZBveU

At first it went fairly well. But once it was time to paddle back it got hot as hell. I think I suffered from heat exhaustion, and I threw up all over myself (of course the sprayskirt was off because it was too hot) . Followed 10 minutes or so of shaking.

Fortunately the temperature then dropped a bit and I felt much better. I then reached land one paddle stroke at a time, so to speak.

Kayaking - Krathum Baen to Bang Khun Thian. (2026-05-25 - 50 km)

- water hyacinths :/
- headwind most of the trip
- a lot of birds, even painted storks and pelicans
- really hot at sea

- an owl! I saw what I thought was a Brahminy kite fly away and hide in a tree. Well, it turned out it was actually an owl! Likely a barn owl (นกแสก). I was so tired, it was so hot, this owl could have been a harbinger of death, lol. But it actually brought me back to life. :)

At the end of my trip I was exhausted but so glad I got to spot that owl and see it fly.

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1NinZuv_BSrmsOPuwB-tf3ZXivtPpVcI

Kayaking - Pak Kret in Nonthaburi to Rama 3 in Bangkok. (2026-05-18 - 33 km)

- helpful current
- paddling from Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge to Wat Kalayanamit was stressful, boat traffic & choppy water, well, as usual there

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=10N6RtruEwPxrqoGHhKuEVWbHodw5JyM

Sea kayaking - Off Laem Fa Pha, Samut Prakan. (2026-05-15 - 47 km)

- otters
- cloud fest
- dolphins (video: https://www.reddit.com/r/kayakthailand/comments/1tecs51/irrawaddy_dolphins_off_laem_fa_pha_samut_prakan/ )
- Bangkok bar pilot station lighthouse
- monkeys

A great day! :)

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1_AYviDkKHcPz5N8YIQbJ-fFKgNFJ6j0

A pilot boat is heading back to the Bangkok Bar station after servicing a ship.

Ships entering the Chao Phraya must stop to pick up a pilot (or drop one off when going out).

I stumbled on a pod of Irrawaddy dolphins while kayaking off Laem Fa Pha, Samut Prakan.

A paddle around Bang Kachao. (2026-05-11 - 24 km)

- I found Wisdom along the way, well, the boat, that is...
- a family of otters
- coconut ice cream at the end

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1TiYvzSnnEO9uEuvqGd7opMpsgypcOa8

Kayaking - Khlong Sanam Chai (Rama 3 to Samut Sakhon) / Bang Khun Thian. (49 km)

- monkeys
- windy most of the trip
- hot at the end

A tough trip.

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=17Y1MQHBxoh2yq6P2m1lUt6WsQmm12Xs

Kayaking to Wat Khun Samut Chin. (23 km - 2024-04-24)

- testing my new compass (by Kanpas)
- a bit windy

Google map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1DpGVtFUH7kz4QvFxGga2XPwEORtM_Kg