Do you remember the last time you sent a handwritten letter? It is accepted that letters on paper — whether for practical or even romantic reasons — are a dying form of communication.
Anucha Nuchphadung steers his motor boat through a khlong as he goes about his daily mail deliveries to waterfront communities. Photos by Phongthai Wattanavanitvut
Fewer letters, particularly those with personal notes, are being delivered by postmen these days. The age of "snail mail" has been superseded by instant messaging afforded by easy-to-download applications.
In the flurry of social media exchanges, writing a letter on a piece of paper and dropping it in a postbox at the street corner may be obsolete. But paper letters still find users in the older generation who prefer scribbling on crisp parchment to fiddling with the touch-screen key pad of a mobile phone. And so demand for postal deliveries remains robust — not least to those communities that are well served by water transport.
Some waterfront communities with mostly older residents would be cut off from correspondence without the floating mail service.
For Anucha Nuchphadung, his routine trip on a boat to deliver letters and parcels brings him professional pride for keeping the water mail service alive.
The 41-year-old postman, who took up a job at Thailand Post’s Bang Khunthian branch in Bangkok 18 years ago, agrees the age of the internet has not completely reached certain parts of the world.
To his surprise, the amount of mail he delivers to some communities along the canals in Bangkok’s Bang Bon, Bang Khunthian and Chom Thong districts — his delivery area — is actually on the increase. There are currently 22 water mail delivery zones in Bangkok and surrounding provinces.
On some days, he says with a cheery smile, he has to do extra rounds to cope with the workload.
Many waterfront houses have restricted access to the nearest roads and rely solely on mail brought to them by the floating postal service.
He said he and his motor boat carry bags of letters, mostly from credit card companies, advertising pamphlets from shopping outlets, EMS letters as well as parcels containing products bought online.
Mr Anucha said his employer gives him eight litres of fuel per day and 600 baht per month in boat maintenance allowance.
After 18 years, he has had three boats.
Every day, he delivers the mail and picks up items posted by canal-side residents. The mailed letters are taken to his office to be sorted before they are placed in waterproof boxes, ready for delivery the next day.
Navigating the narrow stretches and bends in the winding canals requires skill. The canals he plies are Khlong Bang Ranae Noi, Khlong Bang Ranae Yai, Khlong Bang Prathun Nai, Khlong Bang Prathun Nok, Khlong Ta Cham, Khlong Rang Bua, Khlong Bang Mot and Khlong Sanam Chai.
As he slows his boat when he arrives at a house to make a delivery, he blows a whistle to alert the residents. And that is when he sometimes faces his worst work hazard: Dogs.
The whistle alerts house and street dogs which come charging at him, complete with claws and fangs. He waves a stick to ward off the dogs, most of which are not on a leash.
He rolls up his trouser leg to reveal scars from nasty bites.
Mr Anucha said he has lost count of how many kilometres he has covered on his water-borne mail journeys. Yet he remembers most of the 700 households he has visited and passed along the waterways on his route, as he hands out more than 100 postal items and letters every day.
Before he became a skilled boat mailman, Mr Anucha was intrigued by the job even though he had not the foggiest idea how to handle a boat.
“I took the job because I felt the motivation to learn something new,” he said.
A few days out in the mail boat, away from the office atmosphere, and he realised he was cut out for a working life on the water.
Mr Anucha spent a week in the company of a senior mailman to survey the canals and learn the household locations and routes by heart.
He also had to practise the skill of handling a boat to high standards, which involves taking careful note of the ebb and flow of the canals. Once he ran his boat aground because he lost his way and did not know the timing of the tides.
One evening, the boat engine broke down in the middle of a canal away from the residential area. With no one to help him, he paddled for hours to get to his home, which is also on a canal bank, Mr Anucha said.
After that, Mr Anucha took to studying boat engine repairs to ensure he can carry out his duties without interruption.
Beside his knowledge of boat mechanics, he also had to understand water traffic rush hours.
Although new housing estates have sprouted up along his delivery routes, most of the houses he visits, which have been home to many families for generations, remain unchanged.
Sometimes he moors his boat at a landing and sets out on foot to deliver the mail because some houses are hidden deep in orchards, he said.
In the rainy season, he uses plastic sheets to cover letters and packages as he braves the rain, which can hold up his delivery rounds. During downpours, he finds shelter to dock his boat and waits for the rain to let up. The rain can force the mail delivery to be suspended.
Despite the many difficulties, Mr Anucha insists his job is a one-of-a-kind and that he would not give it up for the world.
“Also, driving a boat to deliver mail means less chance of accidents than by delivery on the road. There’s less pollution and I don’t get stuck in traffic,” he said.
Mr Anucha is immensely proud of his work as it gives him the opportunity to provide a service to the public and to meet new people.
As he grew acquainted with residents over the years, he also learned about their lives. After handing them their letters, they often give him gifts and snacks as a thank you for his service, especially during special occasions such as New Year.
Mr Anucha said the thought of trading work on the boat for life in an office does not cross his mind.
“Carrying out one’s duty with a heart to serve and with integrity is a motto of every employee here,” he said of Thailand Post.
Poonkal Rongthong, chief of Thailand Post’s Bang Khunthian branch, agrees that fast-paced communication on the internet has not decreased the amount of physical mail.
There will always be people wanting to do things the old-fashioned way. New housing projects may be mushrooming from rapid urbanisation, but the growth in population ensures the need for mail deliveries, he said.
Thailand Post is always improving its delivery system to suit the demands of faster mail services. Mail delivery will never become extinct as long as people still have to communicate, Mr Poonkal said.
Mr Anucha has the same problem as motorbike mailmen: Fierce dogs.
Clockwise from Above Residents get creative about receiving their mail as Mr Anucha has to venture into orchards to drop off parcels and letters. It is a common sight for youngsters to pick up mail from his boat. The water mailman often needs to duck under trees during his rounds. He also enjoys gifts of food from residents.