Out of Norm Travels - Thailand - Trio of Market Visits in 1 day and 1 night - 1 Railway Market and 2 Floating Markets i.e. Maeklong Railway Market, Damonseduk Floating Market and Amphawa Floating Market
Here's my Out of Norm Travels programme in Thailand titled 'Trio of Market Visits in 1 day and 1 night' which includes 1 Railway Market and 2 Floating Markets namely, Maeklong Railway Market, Damonseduk Floating Market and Amphawa Floating Market.
Locally known as the Umbrella Market, the Maeklong or Mae Klong Railway market is a fresh produce market that lies along the last part of the railway that runs for nearly 67 kilometres between Bangkok, and Samut Songkhram in central Thailand.
What distinguishes this market from the other markets in Thailand is that not only it is authentic i.e. it is patronised by local Thais who live around the area who come here to get anything from vegetables to fish to fruits, it is also visited by tourists who come from all over the world (most notably by Anthony Boudain). What's so special about this place is that the stalls are all located along the railway tracks and when the train siren sounds, the stall holders proceed to close their overarching awnings and shift their wares (mostly on wheels) to the inner area of the stall (thereby earning its other name, Talad Rom Hoop or tying the shelters when train pass). The train passes by so close that you can even touch it with your nose (although I will not recommend anyone to try it) and before you know it, the market is abuzz again with the stall holders unravelling their umbrellas and open for business with everything shifted back to its original position (as if nothing had happened just a few minutes earlier).
Here's a video of what I just described but if it doesn't load, you can head down to https://youtu.be/TpWrLri_m7I to take a look at the Youtube video:
I took around 1.5-2 hours to reach Mae Klong by car from Bangkok. Although the train comes through the tracks 8 times a day, it is best experienced in the morning (when the market is at its busiest). The photos uploaded here were all taken in previous trips as the train has not been working since May 2015. Although it was supposed to restart in Nov 2015, I suspect that it will be out of action for another 6 more months or so.
Although I do enjoy my Ice Thai Milk Tea / Iced Coffee while waiting for the train to whizz past at Mae Klong market, I usually save my stomach for some delicious brunch prepared by the boat vendors at my next stop which is the most famous Thai market.
Damnoen Saduak, aka Damonseduk Floating Market is a floating market which combines river transport with riverside sales. In this market, you can get around in small boats and have your meal along the river banks. This Floating Market is located in the Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi Province and is the largest and most well known floating markets. According to Thai history, King Rama IV ordered this 32 km long canal to be dug at Damnoen Saduak around 1866 to connect the Mae Klong River with the Tachine River.
It is about 100 kilometres southwest of Bangkok and open everyday in the morning till 11 a.m. The market can get pretty crowded with narrow waterways filled with hundreds of vendors and buyers of wares sold in floating shops in small boats filled with items ranging from agricultural produce (mostly from nearby orchards) to local food. This place is representative of the old style and traditional way of selling and buying goods in Thailand before the roads took over. Everyone knows this place is popular with tourists with many fruit sellers and boat vendors rowing their boats along the narrow canals.
I had taken quite a few great pictures at this location in between mouthfuls of tasty food which incidentally is best enjoyed sitting along the river banks. The food is made fresh and ranged from mini coconut pancakes to freshly cooked boat noodles in rich meaty broth and roasted pork strips over a bed of white rice. Quite a few stall holders have stalls here for some 20+ years and brought up their families from their time and hard work spent at this location.
If you do take a tour around using the long tailed boats, it will basically whizz you around the canal and do a few stop overs at fellow boat vendors who show you their wares ranging from souvenirs to hats to Tshirts. You don't get harassed and you are not obligated to buy so don't be too concerned if you don't feel like spending much here.
To complete my market-themed travel, I headed down to Amphawa Night Floating Market. This market has limited opening days/ times i.e. only from Fri to Sun and fully operational from 4p.m. till around 9p.m. although a few stalls do open during the day.
Located in Amphawa District, Samut Songkhram Province (72km from Bangkok), it will take some travelling to get here (especially if you are heading here from Damnoen Saduak Floating Market) but the trip is worth it if you plan your visit to include an overnight stay at Amphawa. There are so many types of places (including some located just next to the riverside) in Amphawa that a simple search using Tripadvisor will get you a nice inexpensive place to stay.
After putting the overnight bags into our overnight place and a little rest and relax, I put on my walking shoes again for a little roam around the Amphawa Night Floating Market. It is an excellent market filled to the brim with food stalls (yes, in boats) and local souvenir shops located along the banks. Seafood is excellent here and best enjoyed freshly cooked from the waterboats - I was spolit for choice with giant prawns, shellfish and squid readily available. Surrounded by a lovely sunset and excellent food, I was satisfied and relatively pleased with my experiences gained for the day.
But before hitting the sack, I got a relaxed boat trip to see the fireflies around this area. Frankly I was more thankful that it was a breezy night during the firefly tour than disappointed at not seeing more fireflies (which is generally difficult to spot unless your eyes are readily accustomed to the darkness with limited light sources).
This completes my trio of market visit in 1 day and night and you can see my earlier blog post about this trio:
http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.sg/2010/01/recent-trip-down-to-my-fav-place.html#!/2010/01/recent-trip-down-to-my-fav-place.html.
Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!
Locally known as the Umbrella Market, the Maeklong or Mae Klong Railway market is a fresh produce market that lies along the last part of the railway that runs for nearly 67 kilometres between Bangkok, and Samut Songkhram in central Thailand.
What distinguishes this market from the other markets in Thailand is that not only it is authentic i.e. it is patronised by local Thais who live around the area who come here to get anything from vegetables to fish to fruits, it is also visited by tourists who come from all over the world (most notably by Anthony Boudain). What's so special about this place is that the stalls are all located along the railway tracks and when the train siren sounds, the stall holders proceed to close their overarching awnings and shift their wares (mostly on wheels) to the inner area of the stall (thereby earning its other name, Talad Rom Hoop or tying the shelters when train pass). The train passes by so close that you can even touch it with your nose (although I will not recommend anyone to try it) and before you know it, the market is abuzz again with the stall holders unravelling their umbrellas and open for business with everything shifted back to its original position (as if nothing had happened just a few minutes earlier).
Here's a video of what I just described but if it doesn't load, you can head down to https://youtu.be/TpWrLri_m7I to take a look at the Youtube video:
I took around 1.5-2 hours to reach Mae Klong by car from Bangkok. Although the train comes through the tracks 8 times a day, it is best experienced in the morning (when the market is at its busiest). The photos uploaded here were all taken in previous trips as the train has not been working since May 2015. Although it was supposed to restart in Nov 2015, I suspect that it will be out of action for another 6 more months or so.
Although I do enjoy my Ice Thai Milk Tea / Iced Coffee while waiting for the train to whizz past at Mae Klong market, I usually save my stomach for some delicious brunch prepared by the boat vendors at my next stop which is the most famous Thai market.
Damnoen Saduak, aka Damonseduk Floating Market is a floating market which combines river transport with riverside sales. In this market, you can get around in small boats and have your meal along the river banks. This Floating Market is located in the Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi Province and is the largest and most well known floating markets. According to Thai history, King Rama IV ordered this 32 km long canal to be dug at Damnoen Saduak around 1866 to connect the Mae Klong River with the Tachine River.
It is about 100 kilometres southwest of Bangkok and open everyday in the morning till 11 a.m. The market can get pretty crowded with narrow waterways filled with hundreds of vendors and buyers of wares sold in floating shops in small boats filled with items ranging from agricultural produce (mostly from nearby orchards) to local food. This place is representative of the old style and traditional way of selling and buying goods in Thailand before the roads took over. Everyone knows this place is popular with tourists with many fruit sellers and boat vendors rowing their boats along the narrow canals.
I had taken quite a few great pictures at this location in between mouthfuls of tasty food which incidentally is best enjoyed sitting along the river banks. The food is made fresh and ranged from mini coconut pancakes to freshly cooked boat noodles in rich meaty broth and roasted pork strips over a bed of white rice. Quite a few stall holders have stalls here for some 20+ years and brought up their families from their time and hard work spent at this location.
 |
| Lady selling noodles in her Boat |
If you do take a tour around using the long tailed boats, it will basically whizz you around the canal and do a few stop overs at fellow boat vendors who show you their wares ranging from souvenirs to hats to Tshirts. You don't get harassed and you are not obligated to buy so don't be too concerned if you don't feel like spending much here.
To complete my market-themed travel, I headed down to Amphawa Night Floating Market. This market has limited opening days/ times i.e. only from Fri to Sun and fully operational from 4p.m. till around 9p.m. although a few stalls do open during the day.
Located in Amphawa District, Samut Songkhram Province (72km from Bangkok), it will take some travelling to get here (especially if you are heading here from Damnoen Saduak Floating Market) but the trip is worth it if you plan your visit to include an overnight stay at Amphawa. There are so many types of places (including some located just next to the riverside) in Amphawa that a simple search using Tripadvisor will get you a nice inexpensive place to stay.
After putting the overnight bags into our overnight place and a little rest and relax, I put on my walking shoes again for a little roam around the Amphawa Night Floating Market. It is an excellent market filled to the brim with food stalls (yes, in boats) and local souvenir shops located along the banks. Seafood is excellent here and best enjoyed freshly cooked from the waterboats - I was spolit for choice with giant prawns, shellfish and squid readily available. Surrounded by a lovely sunset and excellent food, I was satisfied and relatively pleased with my experiences gained for the day.
But before hitting the sack, I got a relaxed boat trip to see the fireflies around this area. Frankly I was more thankful that it was a breezy night during the firefly tour than disappointed at not seeing more fireflies (which is generally difficult to spot unless your eyes are readily accustomed to the darkness with limited light sources).
This completes my trio of market visit in 1 day and night and you can see my earlier blog post about this trio:
http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.sg/2010/01/recent-trip-down-to-my-fav-place.html#!/2010/01/recent-trip-down-to-my-fav-place.html.
Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!
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