NBN Book of the Day Michael Hurley, "Waterways of Bangkok: Memory, Landscape and Twilight" (NUS Press, 2025)
Feb 1, 2026
Michael Hurley, an independent scholar and ethnographer of Southeast Asia, explores Bangkok’s Chaophraya River and its cultural grip on the city. He discusses the river’s role in daily waterborne life, the shift from canals to roads, and the mix of ethnic communities along the waterways. Conversation also touches on flooding, pollution, and his next project on monsoon rain.
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River As The Nation's Binding Thread
- The Chaophraya River acts as the binding thread of Thailand's heartland and shapes Bangkok's history and culture.
- Michael Hurley frames waterways as central to national memory and urban development in Bangkok.
From Truck Driver To River Ethnographer
- Michael Hurley recounts transitioning from truck driver to anthropologist and falling in love with Southeast Asia after travel and language study.
- His study of Thai language sparked a research focus on Bangkok's waterways and memory landscapes.
River Geography And Urban Transformation
- The Chaophraya originates in northern tributaries, passes Ayutthaya, then Bangkok, and out to the Gulf of Thailand.
- Canalization and filled-in waterways reshaped the river's arcs and Bangkok's urban form.
