After 30 years of operating a passenger boat service on Klong Saen Saep, Chaowalit Methayaprapat saw a business opportunity to expand and he pounced on it.
On April 6, he quietly launched Bangkok Canal, a tourist boat service running between Pratunam and Bang Lamphu, about 1.5km farther than the original route of the passenger boat service which stops at Phan Fa Bridge into Klong Bang Lamphu.
While Mr Chaowalit's new venture is aimed at boosting tourism in the Rattanakosin area, some local residents, who have been preserving the Klong Bang Lamphu for a long time, doubt whether the project would benefit local communities in a meaningful way.
Currently there aren't many customers hopping on and off the seven boats especially designed for tourists, costing 6.5 million baht each.
But Mr Chaowalit is confident the business will soon pick up and eventually break even because of its unique selling point -- a connection between new and old towns. By then the number of boats will be increased to 10, as originally planned.
Mr Chaowalit, managing director of Krobkrua Khonsong Co which operates the Klong Saen Saep Express boat service, recalls that there were only about 10 passengers a day when the service was first launched three decades ago. Today, more than 10,000 passengers travel on the canal each day.
Foreseeing room for growth, Mr Chaowalit then decided to set up Bangkok Canal to run the new boat service for tourists into Klong Bang Lamphu.
He has denied rumours that he has been backed by a phu yai (influential figure) who was also behind the launch of the floating market in Klong Phadung Krung Kasem.
Annually, approximately 20 million tourists visit Bangkok, said Mr Chaowalit, of which he needed only 200 to use the service each day to keep his business afloat.
Over the years, he has seen many foreign tourists rely on inconvenient means of transport to reach the old town, including public buses.
"I thought about connecting Saen Saep and Bang Lamphu canals, so people can travel to the inner area of the old town and are able to explore the community on foot more easily," said Mr Chaowalit.
The route along the two canals is filled with dozens of tourist attractions and the final stop is also close to the Chao Phraya Express boat pier.
A few years ago, Mr Chaowalit shared his idea with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Phra Nakhon District Office, Marine Department and Ministry of Transport.
The idea was well received and given the green light, but on the condition that Bangkok Canal dredged Klong Bang Lamphu itself since the route had not been used for boat transport for a long while.
The company spent about four million baht, dredging and removing construction materials that had been irresponsibly left and accumulated on the canal banks for years.
Apart from the canal, Mr Chaowalit also said Bangkok Canal had invested quite a lot on the boats which have been designed for safety.
Bangkok Canal's boats are similar to the ones being currently used by Klong Saen Saep Express with 60 individual seats and only one entrance and exit in the middle of every vessel. For safety reasons, both sides are covered with a clear plastic sheets. The top of each boat is covered with thin green tiles and has six ventilators to allow sunlight.
The tour boat leaves every 20 minutes, operating daily from 10am to 6pm. There are six piers along the route: Pratunam; Hua Chang Bridge; Charoenphol Bridge; Bo Bae Market; Phan Fa Bridge; and Klong Bang Lamphu. A one-day pass costs 200 baht per person. Passengers can hop on and off at any pier within the operating hours. Children under 130 centimetres in height and people with disabilities can use the service for free.
There is a captain and a security guard on each boat to ensure passengers' safety, especially children and the elderly.
Bangkok Canal is targeting families with small children and big tourist groups that insist on travelling together.
On a Bangkok Canal boat, the captain navigates the canal slowly and does not rush passengers embarking or disembarking.
Sangdauen Noptakool, the service manager, said even with more customers in the future, there would be enough seats for all passengers and no one would have to stand.
Current customers are mainly Chinese, Malaysian and Singaporean tourists. There are a few Western and Thai passengers as well.
English-speaking staff are positioned at both ends of the route. Tourist sites and hotels also give out brochures and act as guides promoting the boat route and attractions near each pier.
The brochures, with information in Thai, English and simplified Chinese, contain a map and information about interesting locations within walking distance of each pier.
Adul Kornchan, 32, a tour guide working for Bangkok Canal, said he was an employee of Family Transport Company when Bangkok Canal was launched and volunteered to work for the new venture.
"I am trying to improve my English and Chinese and there are many Chinese tourists using the service. I am learning these languages through Google on my cellphone. Even though it is hard, I am enjoying the job. It makes me proud being able to help foreigners visiting Bangkok," he said.
Despite its promise to promote tourism, the tour boat service has, however, raised a few eyebrows as a proposal to launch a duck pedal-boat service in the canal as a tourist attraction by a group of Bang Lamphu residents was reportedly rejected a few years ago by City Hall, saying there was no money to dredge the shallow canal.
Orasri Silpi, president of Bang Lamphu Community, said the residents, who have been conserving the area and canal for years, had no prior knowledge about the introduction of the boat service.
She said the group understood that the operator must have made a deal with City Hall for the service, although Mr Chaowalit confirmed that the service hasn't been backed by any phu yai.
"We cannot obstruct him," she said. "We only hope the operator will be willing to work with the community to continue to conserve and improve Bang Lamphu in a positive way."
A group of young tour guides, called Kaysorn Bang Lamphu, has been trained to take tourists around the community. Ms Orasri only wants the boat operator to give its young guides an opportunity to work on the tour boats and show their home to the tourists.