Being up the brown stained creek without a paddle can be fun. I spent last Saturday with a bunch of the local lads deep in a massive swamp in the middle of Bangkok.

Up to my neck in brown water covered by palm fronds, explosions of water and bodies falling everywhere accompanied the shouts … and laughter of a fruit fight. Capsized kayaks and paddles floated around as the boys ducked from then returned tennis ball sized fruit. For most of the teenagers this outlet in the middle of the jungle was their highlight of the day.

We were located an hour’s paddle from anywhere, along the canals that cover Bangkok’s Papadaeng district. This green tree covered area located in an arc of Bangkok’s Chao Praya river that turns back on itself is virtually an island. The south side is accessed via an isthmus by the only road. The remote northern end happens to be opposite the port and accessed by a small ferry that leaves from a temple attached to the slum.

Some of the guys were at my door at 8am ready to go. 14 teenagers and I made our way through the slum and crossed the river to wait for the kayaks to arrive. After an hour’s wait the pickup from the factory arrived with 6 Feelfree triyaks. The boys were eager and raced off. However the twists, turns and dead ends of the canals can cause disorientation quickly. After spending a day exploring them the week before I needed a compass.

The guys soon learned to paddle straight after a few dunkings. They followed and raced each other down the narrow tunnels of jungle growth scarring all wildlife away. I only saw a couple of monitor lizards this time. Last week by myself, there were a few basking or swimming about, the size of small crocs. As I’d already been down most of the overgrown dead ends there were fewer spiders this time too.

We stopped for lunch at a temple on the west side before making our way right across Papadaeng to the eastern most side. This included carrying the kayaks 100m along elevated walkways to avoid a section partitioned off by a temple for raising fish. The west to east trip also took us through a floating market with shouts of surprise. I’m guessing it’s the first time anything like this has been done.

In the end we were pushed for time and were picked up under the main road that accesses Papadaeng. Too much time spent on the fruit fight and other fun bits. Sharing this journey with the boys from my neighbourhood was a great experience. With the challenges and laughter we faced together over the 7 km we all got to know each other a bit better.

In the future I need to find an adult neighbour who can help. As 14 to 1 was a bit much. There’s also the possibility of taking small groups in a hundred year old canoe that’s owned by an old gran I met who still gets around the swamp. The eastern most end of our trip is just opposite a youth prison I visit regularly so there could be a chance of combining this to their day release program. There’s plenty more ideas that this trip brought up. Which ideas that end up happening, will depend on the resources and opportunities. Stay tuned to what happens next.