The source of the Chao Phraya lies deep within the wild, northern hills of Thailand. There, four main tributaries - the Ping, Wang, Yom and Nan - flow southwards and converge north of Nakhon Sawan, collecting a large volume of water. From that point southwards, the Chao Phraya aided by canals and monsoon rains, turns the fertile central plain of the country into a rich agricultural land and the most important rice bowl of Southern Asia.
During the southwest monsoon, from May to October, heavy rains transform the river and countryside into a vast monotonous scene of gleaming water through which the green rice plants grow. At the end of the monsoon, when the waters recede, the ripe golden crops emerge. It is now harvesting time, and sacks upon sacks of rice pile up. The Chao Phraya then takes on the role of transporting the staple food to Bangkok to be milled and exported.
A typical tributary of the Chao Phraya in central plain is the Pa Sak. At Nakhon Luang on the Pa Sak river are the many rice mills. Like most of the rice business, these rice mills are mainly owned by Thai-Chinese. At the harbour, sacks of milled rice are loaded into barges that will move downriver past Ayutthaya and Bangkok, and then out into the gulf, where the cargo will be transferred onto ocean-going vessels. About 100 countries purchase Thai rice. A truck takes a much shorter time to transport the milled rice to Bangkok, but it carries only 20 to 30 tons a trip. A barge will no doubt take up to three days to reach the sea but it can hold up to 50 times more than the load of a truck.
The Chao Phraya has been the home of many Thais. Living on barges that ply the river up and down, they spend more time on the river than on land. They are involved in the transportation of agricultural produce, timber and other items to the capital city downstream. Their school-going don’t follow them when school is on. They usually stay at the riverside home of close relatives. During the summer vacation, they will return to the barge and stay with their parents. It will be great fun for them during this time.
Centuries of silting has created the Chao Phraya delta out of the upper Gulf o Thailand. As silting persists, constant dredging alone renders the Chao Phraya estuary navigable. For ages, the river has served as the cheapest and most convenient means of transport for Thailand. Despite the advent of railways and highways at the turn of the 21st century, the waterway has not declined in importance. Besides being an indispensable waterway, several multi-purpose dams have been built across Chao Phraya for irrigation, flood control and generating hydro-electric power. Indeed the river is the ‘lifeline’ of the economy of Thailand.
