Waterways of Bangkok: Memory, Landscape and Twilight

The Chao Phraya River is a maternal being at the heart of Bangkok. Long before the invention of Thailand, the river shaped life in Siam. In the 19th century, Bangkok had an extensive canal system, numerous floating dwellings, and people traveled primarily by water. Even now, although many canals have become roads, the river remains a vital artery of the metropolis. Furthermore, the waterways are full of meaning.

This ethnographic study explores memory along the waterways, a realm of boats and hovels, merchants and war captives, temples and ghosts. The river also flows into the dissonant realities of Thailand, a country of deep conflicts over power and national ideology. Based on research in a time of political turmoil, centered on the late years of the long-reigning monarch, Rama IX, this book invites readers to look beyond established images of Thai society. More broadly, this work will speak to readers interested in water, cities, and the bonds of memory and landscape.

Mike Hurley is an independent scholar who does ethnographic research in Southeast Asia.