Once the train at the Train Market has chugged its way through, there is really nothing more to be done there. However, just a little further up is another unusual Thai Market – the Floating Market. It’s literally a market on water where both the customers and the vendors are floating in the water,in their boats. You enter a small boat usually paddled by a woman, and you are whisked for a 30 minute cruise through the canal. Vendors in boats are all around you, selling the usual touristy stuff, all beckoning you for patronage. There are shops on the banks too, selling similar ware, and when your boat passes close to one of these shops, the vendor hooks your boat with a small hook attached to the end of a bamboo pole, and pulls your boat towards her shop. She wants you to see the wares and perhaps do some business. And so on and so forth all the way.
Most interesting are the boats with food vendors. You can order from your boat and they will serve you sumptuous Thai food which you can enjoy as you cruise.
After the cruise, you are free to walk around the market which has several shop selling, T-Shirts, Ladies’ Bags, Fridge Magnets, and other such trivia. There are also plenty of eating places should you want to pickup a bite.
Once you are done with all this, the final thrill awaits you – a ride on a mechanized speedboat which will whisk you through the canal at near breakneck speed to where your tourist bus for the return journey is parked.
Here are some pictures from our morning visit to the Floating Market
We were now down to the penultimate day of our trip to Thailand. A lot had been seen and done, and I think we had spent just the right amount of time in Thailand. Our flight back to Delhi is tomorrow, fortunately we have permission for a Late Checkout (right till we leave for the airport at 4:30pm), so we will have more than enough time to go to the nearby mall, freshen up and pack comfortably as well as. Thank you Frasers Suite Sukhumvit for really taking such good care of us during our stay in Bangkok.