The Khlongs - Bangkok's Canals., Bangkok

From Tha Chang pier by canal public boat ,the boat 'll lead you to Bangkok Noi canal where have so many interested things to see; old style houses,temples , people lifestyle and scene of gardens & canals. The trip 'll end at Bang Yai district of Nonthaburi,but at the ending pier ,it may hard to be back BKK,you must take a return trip only.
As for me, I always dropped at Wat Prang Luang pier (actually for working at this monument).It 's worth for visiting this temple where have an Ayudhaya Prang.
After that , walk along the road to the West ,just about 1 km, there 'll be a highway where you can take a bus to BKK (Pin kloa and Rajadamnoen area).

Klongs are the filthy narrow black waterways in the city - not the Chao Phraya river which is filthy, brown and wide.
There is one klong in Bangkok that is used for public transport. Boats roar up and down it delivering people between the Democracy Monument (near Khao San Road and the Grand Palace) up past the Asia Hotel, World Trade Centre, and then following along Sukhumvit Road out to around Soi 61 or so. The boats are small since the klong is not wide, and they are packed with people when they are going to work mornings and coming home in the evening. Try not to take it at these times (unless you are experienced or agile) because you have to be quick getting in and out, and because the boat is not secured when picking up/dropping off people, so there is a risk of falling in.
In the boats, there is little knee room, and you will probably get splashed with icky klong water.
So why go? It is exciting, and the view of Bangkok is completely different from down in the klongs, esp between the Asia Hotel and the Democracy Monument stops. At one point the roof of the boat will start to collapse and you will think the boat is falling apart, but not to worry - it is just lowering a little so that it can pass under a low bridge! Freaked me out the first time i was on it.
The trip between these two places and anywhere along the route is also much faster by water as there are no traffic snarls on the klongs.
To protect yourself from splashing water, there is a tarp on the sides you can lift up and down.
A trip costs about 7 baht (2000 prices). It stops running at 7 pm.

A good way to see life along the Chao Phraya River and the Klongs (canals) is to hire a long tailed boat. As part of you trip stop at the Royal Barges located on Klong Bangkok Noi. The ornate gilded barges are used during state occasions and when the annual swan boat races are held on the river.

This trip takes between 1 and two hours but i guess you can choose to do a longer one aswell. As for me the two hour trip i did was long enough. They take you on a longtail boat through the small water canals of Bangkok city. And what you get to see is how the average or normal thai lives. It´s lots of poverty and poor peoples houses along the canals which often are quite smelly. There´s almost anything floating in the river but that doesn´t keep people from having their daily bath in it or do their dishes with that dirty water.
I felt a bit bad as a tourist but this way you get to see how many people really live.

I really enjoyed taking a tour of the canals in a long tail boat.
At the time, I didn't think it was so great, because the smelly water was hitting me in the face, but I saw some really interesting things about how local people live. One guy was fishing out his living room window! People were bathing and washing clothes in the river. There were palatial homes next to shacks. Very interesting.

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You see a lot on a klong tour.

This is where you see the real people of Bangkok, and that there are no rich districts and poor districts. Slums are right next to Expensive houses.

Take one of that boats and discover the Klongs of Bangkok - it's a different world.