Monday 24 March 2014

Thailand - Bangkok : Maeklong Railway Market + Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Maeklong Station + Damnoen Saduak Floating Market


Just days before our trip, I saw this floating market deal on one of the deals websites only for $26 per pax. I saw the same floating market prices on those local travel agents website was alot higher, not sure whether those local want to chop tourists or its really a good deal. I think its the former reason though lol.

Anyway, always email the travel agent to confirm the dates before buying the deal! They were quite prompt in replying email too.

We were very psyched for this half day tour as we have not been to a floating market before!

Had to wake up super early as the pick up timing was 6.45am.

Our first stop is this Maeklong railway market. It is a 90 minutes ride from the heart of Bangkok. It took more than that as we were stuck in the morning jam. What is so special about this railway market? It is one of the largest fresh seafood markets in Thailand and is centered around the railway tracks. Whenever a train approaches, the shoppers have to hop off the tracks and the vendors automatically move their stuff away from the rails and move back after the train has passed.




We were still early for the train so we went to explore this one of the freshest seafood markets which just opposite the station.




You can hardly find these scenes in Singapore anymore. 

what the hell is this?


While we were waiting for the train, we started to wander around to see there is any food to eat. Then we saw this food stall selling noodles! Bf was very skeptical about eating it but wth, this is what an adventurous tourist should do right - Do what the locals do, GO where the locals go and now is the part where EAT what the locals eat!

So I ordered chicken drumstick noodles for I think 25bahts only! It actually quite tasty and I finished it all! 


Some sort of flower flavour jelly. Wanted to try too but I saw bees flying around.. I scare they sting me when I open the jelly... lol


Suddenly the siren piercing through the air, we quickly ran towards the entrance and people were already crowded with cameras above their heads! The stall vendors quickly cleared their baskets skillfully and the locals scurried off the tracks and tourists stood infront of the train hoping to get a good shot of the train lol

I risked my life for taking this picture.



The market back to its original form in a flash and continued with their activities immediately after the train has passed. Impressive! 


OK. End of story....
.....
....
...
..
.


Next up! To the floating market! Damnoen Saduak floating market is one of the famous and popular floating market in Bangkok. It is only a short ride from the Maeklong railway market. I feel the place is so tourists popular that it kind of loses the traditional feel of a floating market should have. Nonetheless, this is a major tourists destination in Bangkok.






Filled with boat vendors selling all sorts of stuff, namely fruits, drinks, vegetables, souvenirs and even cooked food. You might want to haggle the price for souvenirs a little as the first price they offered normally is tourist price.

The fruits looked so fresh and sweet!






Even live snake for sale! lol actually I dont know lah.. maybe snake show.. 

MANGO STICKY RICE STALL!!! 

I read from many blogs that they have the best mango sticky rice and I wanted to try it since! This baby did not fail me at all! The mangoes were so sweet and the sticky rice is very flavorful but not too overly sticky! I did not add coconut milk though. 

50 bahts! I want to eat again! Saliva overloading... T.T


Then I saw this grilled banana stall, my eyes opened very widely again after the mango sticky rice. 

"Would you like to have some of my grilled bananas?"

Having high expectation, I fell quite hard on the ground.. 40 bahts

The grilled banana was quite dry as the moisture most probably dried up during the grilling process. It choked my throat that I have difficult time swallow them all, so I gave up after two or three pieces. SG's fried banana is so much better.....


This is the most raved coconut ice cream ever! 

Freshly made and served on the coconut husk. 30 bahts. 

Bf totally love this coconut ice cream! His mouth was full of this milky coconut taste after first spoon. I could even smell the coconut aroma from his mouth. He wanted to have another serving but I told him to try the one at Chatuchak market and compare. #Idontlikecoconuts

Tourists-congested floating market





6 comments:

  1. I will be visiting Bangkok in a few weeks, I'm looking forward to the floating markets, I've been to Thailand before but never visited them for some reason but this time I will make sure I go and love how cheap everything is! Definitely a bonus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You wouldnt regret including in your trip!! ^.^ hope you have fun there!

      Delete
  2. Hi! Congrats for your work posting about your experience there, It's very helpfull! I wonder if you remember the name of the company or the web deal? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! Its on deal.com.sg u can try to search.. they have such deals from time to time

      Delete
  3. ¡Thank you Yu! I've seen it, now I have my voucher :) Enjoy your travels and keep on sharing your experiences with us ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, can i know where to ride on the train?

    ReplyDelete