Capital asset

The "River of Kings" has been redirected several times over the years. Even before the foundation of Bangkok, the rulers of Ayutthaya had ordered that some of the Chao Phraya's curvaceous bends be straightened out to facilitate the speedy transit of goods to and from the Gulf of Siam.

One of the most recent alterations was made in 1722; at Pak Kret, in Nonthaburi province, just to the north of modern Bangkok. The resulting canal, Klong Lat Kret Noi ("shortcut to Kret"), bypasses a meander, shaving four kilometres off the journey. Its construction created a large swampy island that is now known as Koh Kret.

Despite the trappings of modern life on the opposite banks, the island itself has remained steadfastly rural and an oasis of peace just a short hop from the city. The only way on and off it is by ferry; there are two, but the main one leaves from the pier at Wat Sanam Nua, in Nonthaburi City.

The island's most striking feature, as you gaze across the klong, is the gleaming white but lopsided Mu Tao chedi. It is part of Kret's Wat Paramaiyikawat, an old Mon-style monastery just a short walk from the pier. The chedi is modelled on the Shwemawdaw Pagoda in Bago, Myanmar, but subsidence has caused the spire to point north. The monastery houses a marble Buddha crafted in the Mon style, with murals and a chapel decorated with delicate European-style chandeliers, and stucco work on the doors and windows.

Originally from Myanmar, the Mon are believed to be one of the earliest peoples of continental Southeast Asia, and this area is home to one of the oldest and largest Mon settlements in Thailand.

Koh Kret is also renowned for its earthenware pottery: there are five pottery villages in the eastern part of the island. Most of the surviving old brick kilns are filled with rubble but you can peer inside and see how the red brick has turned black and glass-like from the intense heat. Modern kilns are powered by electricity, but the rest of the process has changed little over the years, and craftsmen still spin and carve intricate designs on everything from plant pots to hanging ornaments.