A BOAT RIDE TO DAMNOEN SADUAK FLOATING MARKET [PART TWO]

[CONTINUATION OF PART ONE]

20th DECEMBER 2018 ~ Even though it was not a weekend, the market was still busy on that day. The place was designed to attract tourists as I did not see any locals doing their shopping there. There were two types of business going on: those who were selling on the boats, peddling away here and there; and the other one, setting stalls on a permanent dry land.

Other than the usual touristy items put on sale, you can also buy fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as different kinds of food and drinks. I did not buy anything at all for the fear of the price hike at a place like this. And there was nothing interesting for me to buy anyway. If you have been to Thailand before, you will find that the items are always almost the same.

back to the starting point

Thailand's floating market - DONE. It is time to search for another place to visit in Thailand after this. Bangkok was the only place where I went with a friend while in other places like Krabi, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, it had been a solo travel and I would not hesitate to come back again.

That should wrap up my travelogue to Hua Hin, and two places on my way to Bangkok. Where should it be next for the upcoming school holiday?

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A BOAT RIDE TO DAMNOEN SADUAK FLOATING MARKET [PART ONE]

20th DECEMBER 2018 ~ The next spot in the itinerary on my last in Thailand (on the way from Hua Hin to Bangkok) was the floating market. There seems to be two types of floating market here: one, the traders are stationed and floated on their boats while the buyers stay on the dry land; two, both the sellers and the buyers are in the boats on the river doing business transactions.

I think the floating market that is the most popular among tourists near Bangkok is the Amphawa Floating Market. However, the market is only operational on weekends so I had to go to another one (I was there on Thursday morning) called Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. This place is near to Mae Klong Train Station. WARNING: it was VERY expensive to experience the boat ride at this market. I had to pay 1000 bahts for the 40-minute trip. I was not sure whether that would be per head or for the whole boat as I had the boat all to myself. I just wanted to do this and furthermore, I still had a lot of time to kill before getting to the airport to catch my flight.

During the early stage of the journey to the market, I saw the Thai's houses on high stilts on the river. Then only I understand better how the rivers are important like the veins in the human's body to these people. They move around from one place to another on boats but now the boats are used more to ferry tourists around I suppose. It is amazing how they are still able to live the way they used to many years ago.

Even before I approached the main market, there were people setting up shops at their houses. You would have to tell the boat operator to stop if you need to get something from the shop.

she works hard for the money

This was a popular attraction as there were many boats on the river carrying tourists around.

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