Canals and Locks--Thailand and China

When we were in Thailand, we enjoyed a lot of tours on the water. This is what we do everywhere and it helps you to see a country from a different "angle."

For example, in Bangkok you can tour the canals that go through residential areas. In this picture, we are on our narrow canal boat waiting for the guillotine style lock to be raised all the way up so that we can go into this residential canal. This canal is lower than the river that flows through Bangkok; hence the need for the locks, to prevent flooding.

In China, we saw the massive locks they have built for the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River. Each of these locks is the size of a Panama Canal lock. At the Panama Canal, there are two lanes of six locks each. Here, there are two lanes of five locks each--so the lock portion of this dam project is quite a feat itself.

Look how far down they had to dig to allow the locks to be down at the level of the water below the dam--and above it. There are ships in the lock, way down below my left shoulder!

It is a mammoth project.

Closer to Shanghai, we took a train trip to Suzhou. One of the things you can do there is take a trip on the Grand Canal--one designed by a long ago Emperor to connect the moist south with the arid north.

You can tour local canals in Suzhou, too. It is another marvel that this old canal has survived so many centuries.

On the other hand, it appears that the local officials are amazed that the tourists have survived so long with the local gondoliers! Just take a look at the rules that are posted if you wish to take a local canal ride. I like the last line, especially.

So, all in one trip to Bangkok and China we saw some of the world's simplest and oldest canals and locks and some of its most modern.