Thailand - Amphawa floating market

Samut Songkhram was riddled with agricultural canals and green with coconut plantations. Our accommodation was tricky to locate, and quite strange when we did. A former lychee farm it was made up of an eclectic mix of buildings and boats, all made from dark varnished teak wood, in between which mosquitoes lurked. Its saving grace was that it was based on the Prachachon Chuen, a tributary of the Mae Klong, and it was wonderful to eat breakfast watching bright green floating plant debris and monitor lizards float past and kingfishers waiting above on telegraph wires.

Samut Songkhram Khram is famous for its markets. Only a stone’s throw from Bangkok the Maeklong Railway Market and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market are firmly on the tourist map. We had decided to give these very crowded tourist traps a miss and visit local Amphawa Floating Market instead. A weekend afternoon/evening market it is still popular among tourists but has a local vibe. We cycled the 20 minutes to Amphawa and spent a lazy afternoon enjoying walking through the canalside covered walkways looking at the stalls. A really chilled atmosphere - it felt a bit dreamy with all the traditional wooden buildings and gloaming afternoon light. The stalls sold regional specialities like palm sugar goods, pomelo fruit, and lots of seafood.

At dusk we went on a boat trip up the canals to see glinting gold wats against a coral sky, and once night fell, fireflies dance in cork trees lining the canal.

To finish off our great market experience we sat ourselves down on the waterside steps and watched as a beautiful woman, in a stylish large golden hat, whipped up our tea from her gently bobbing longtail boat. She had been cooking for hours, in the same cramped, twisted sitting position, hands never stopping. Spices, fresh herbs, pastes, vinegars, sauces, rice, and all other ingredients were placed in and around her, and were expertly thrown into her waiting wok. We’d been transfixed by her elegantly efficient skill at 3.30pm when we’d peered down at her boat from the bridge above. Now at 8pm she was still smiling as in minutes she fulfilled another stream of orders, tasty dishes being passed from boat to land to happy customer. Including happy us.Read more