Ferry Service Comes To Chiang Mai River

Ferry service comes to Chiang Mai river

CHIANG MAI: -- Water transportation is an unfamiliar mode of travel for Chiang Mai residents owing to the region’s mountainous geography.

Some enterprising businesses have introduced long-tail boat cruises, a few restaurants offer dining cruises, and sports-lovers have in recent years brought canoeing to the shallow Ping River. Yet for over five months now there has been water transportation in the northern capital with very few residents even aware of it.

“The more people travel by car the more they pollute the city, which is why we came up with the idea of launching a boat service in the hope of reducing air pollution with an alternative to land transportation,” said Tambon Faham Administration Organisation President Preecha Worakul.

The only service operating goes from Faham to Ton Lamyai market, a distance of just two kilometres. Although the trip takes about30 minutes, it offers a new atmosphere and lifestyle for people who often travel to the market, added Preecha.

The fee is Bt15 for a round trip. The boat has a 25-seat capacity, and all the crew are trained by the Harbour Department and have licences to ensure passenger safety.

“We admit that only two round trips a day is inadequate, and limited to people living near the river in the Faham area,” said Preecha. At weekends and on special holidays one or two trips are added to serve the extra travel needs of local people and tourists.

The main customers are housewives and children who have lot of free time during summer.

The TAO plans to extend the route and has discussed the matter with the Harbour Department. As talks stand, the boat service may expand to a small harbour in tambol Don Kaew in Mae Rim district and go all the way to tambol San Phee Sue and Faham, and end at Chai Mongkol temple in Muang district.

Route expansion depends much on dredging by the Harbour Department. If the route does expand, the boat service will give the city a new tourist attraction. Faham TAO will cooperate with Don Kaew and Sanpheesue to invite locals to put Otop goods on sale along the river bank and provide massage services for visitors, which would bring local housewives extra income and promote the communities’ Otop products, said Preecha.

If all goes to plan, the new boat routes from Don Kaew in Mae Rim to Ton Lamyai in Muang district will be up and running by year’s end

--THE NATION 2005-05-03