It was a suggestion that was readily accepted by all in the group. This is to be our first time visiting a floating market. Yay! Had actually wanted to visit Amphawa or Taling Chan for they are being said to be more 'authentically local' as opposed to being touristy. But, as it turns out, only Damnoen Saduak is open on weekdays while the rest are during weekends. So, touristy Damnoen it is!
So glad to have Hence and Tracy, who took care of our transportation needs. They had arranged for a hired van with a driver to bring us to the floating market. As the day trip happens to be on a Monday, we will need to be off at 7am. The journey to floating market is about 2 hours drive. Actually I have no idea of which route we took, but we did get there. The screenshot below is to give an impression of the distance between Thonglor and Damnoen Saduak.
distance from our hotel to floating market
Monday morning, was all abuzz with excitement! Our van is already waiting for us. A comfortable 7-seater to house the 4-adult passengers. Wahahaha.
that's our ride
comfortable and clean
Our driver doesn't speak English, but he's pretty good in keeping the vehicle travelling smoothly. And, appreciate that he planned a 10-15 minutes pit stop at the rest area after 30 minutes of travelling, for restroom and coffee break.
eyes on the road
pit stop at Jiffy's - convenience store
yen ta fo if you want to eat something substantial
some deep frieds
grilled sausages
After getting our drinks, we went on our way again. It was a quiet ride and the zzz monster overtook some of us.
Along the way, I think we passed by Samut Sakhon province where one could see sea salt production.
salt mounds
Here's a video of the drive:
Then, we reached a town area where we could see more activities. Think this was the Maeklong Railway town. As Maeklong Railway Market is one of the tourist attraction, you might want to make a stop here to observe how the market vendors (and tourists) adjust themselves when the train rolled through the market.
Maeklong Railway town
telecomms wires all around
tuks tuks
We continued on and twenty five minutes later, we reached Damnoen Saduak. This was where we didn't do our homework. Haha! Found out that we have to purchase a boat tour in order to see the floating market. The boat tour through the market with a stop at the coconut farm costs ฿3000. The short tour is about an hour and a half. Best to visit the washroom before hopping onto the boat.
Damnoen Saduak boat tour map
to the floating market, lets go!
our boat
Didn't realize it then, but our boat was a pretty luxurious one, with awning and a motor. Some others (probably at a cheaper cost) either didn't have an awning, or didn't have a motor or both. The last option would be a sampan sort.
here we go
passing by another boat
It was pretty quiet on a Monday morning. The outskirts of the market were one or two stalls selling drinks and one stall offering exotic animals for photography opportunity. Didn't stop at any of these. We pretty much didn't know what to expect nor what prices do these people charge. At times, it felt very much like a tourist trap. But then, we are tourists!
As mentioned, we got off for a short while at the Coconut Sugar Farm. One will get to sample coconut sugar water, and you can choose to purchase the coconut sugar products. Bought some coconut candies for colleagues back in office.
pit stop at Coconut Sugar Farm
coconut tree
coconut flower, where the nectar is collected
cooking down the coconut nectar to get coconut sugar
for tourists to buy as souvenirs
After the short stop, it was back to the boat.
where are all the action?
an elderly man
Most of the stalls that we passed by in the floating market, were all selling handicrafts and all of the same. If you like art, there are only a handful of stalls selling artworks.
artwork
But, we were more interested in boats that sells food. Passed by quite a number that sells mango sticky rice and coconut ice-creams. There are others who sell phad thai (rare), som tam (rare), fruits and grilled meats. Most of the drinks stalls that we passed by, has Chang beer for ฿60 a can/bottle.
how about some noodle soup?
boat noodles soup
Grab some food or a bowl of hot noodles and eat it in the comfort of your own boat. Not too sure how the bowls will be returned though. They probably have a system here.
neighbours chatting
grilled squid seller
main market area
Was disappointed that we didn't get to walk around the main market area.
grilled squid that's unfortunately cold
slightly more crowded area
Grilled pork is one of the must-tries in Bangkok, so got my first sticks from Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, off a boat! Thought it was really good price at ฿100 for 5 sticks of grilled pork. Ivan said that in town, a stick would have cost just ฿10, so the price here was double of usual.
5 sticks for ฿100
But no regrets. This was one of the best sticks of pork that I've ever eaten in my entire life! So good!
succulent, juicy, piping hot grilled pork
really tight spaces
Some areas require skill to manouvre as the spaces are quite tight. Our boatmaster was quite skillful, and at the last lap of the boat ride, we entered into a wider canal/stream and thus, was able to throttle to full speed. Quite exciting, and a fitting end to the boat tour.
Here is the video of the last lap of our boat ride:
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