Does anyone know if longtail boats are going down the Kok river from Tha Ton area to Chiang Rai at the moment? An accomplice of mine made the journey by boat a couple of years ago but wasn't sure if it was currently possible what with potential low water levels in some areas of the river.

Regards

Toblerone2

It's probably better to ask this on thorntree, lonely planet. Most of the posters here rarely venture beyond hamburger restaurants.

It's probably better to ask this on thorntree, lonely planet. Most of the posters here rarely venture beyond hamburger restaurants.

I feel your being to generous,some never leave the comfort of their homes.

It would not surprise me if it was to low.

I am just basing that guess on how low the Ping is. Didn't seem to be an abundance of water this year here in the North.

I took my nephew and his mates there a few weeks ago and it was running. A message to saranya Riverside hotel may be worth a try. I had a long chat with the lady owner a few months back. She seems keen on promoting Thaton and the river trip and I think she has a boat or two of her own.

http://www.travelfish.org/accommodation_profile/thailand/northern_thailand/chiang_mai/tha_ton/all/7277

Thanks Chiengmaijoe, will give that a try.

The boats were running a few weeks ago. I don't recall the river ever being too shallow to run the boats. There is usually a central channel in the wide shallow sections such as at the bridge in Thaton that allows the boats passage.

I am back in Thaton and although the river is a bit lower than normal for this time of year it is nowhere near it's lower depths found later in the dry season. No problem for the boats.

Thanks everyone for your replies!

I was up there about 10 days ago and the boats were running.

You called walk across the Kok but the longtails could still navigate with their very shallow draught.

Also you are in no danger of drowning.