Thailand: Ko Kret

Part of having a Bangkok expert guiding you through your vacation is you get to experience things most others don't know exist.  Something we got to explore was the little island of Ko Kret.  

This is the nicest wat on Ko Kret. 

The river that runs through Bangkok was very inefficient because it made a C-curve around Ko Kret.  For efficiency, they cut through the land making Ko Kret into and island and the river a straight shot.  This would be great except Ko Kret is one of the poorest place in Bangkok.

Most of the houses are on stilts or built high because the river often floods.

Last year about this time the island flooded so much that everyone was forced to evacuate and most of the houses, shops and everything else were ruined.

Even the sidewalk was elevated.  Since I am not the strongest rider, I kept expecting to fall off the edge.  Luckily, Ron was the perfect person to follow.

 

Ko Kret was so cool because it was almost frozen in time. There were no cars  or really anything newish.  It was all people who just lived off the land.

The wildlife was amazing.  We saw flocks of wild parrots and other breeds.

Riding around the island was awesome, although to get to it we had to load our bikes onto the small transfer boat from the mainland. 

On the island there is a family who makes really intricate pottery by hand.  It was so beautiful!  We were able to purchase some but we were too late in the day to actual watch it being made. 

It was such a cool experience to explore an island and get to know a more humble lifestyle.  I asked Ron if he thought the people would move to America because of the perks of our culture and he said they would miss the freedom of being lazy and talking to friends.  It is funny how the values of different places make different lifestyles understandable!