[PLACE] 20150114 ‎Damnoen Saduak Floating Market @ ‎Damnoen Saduak, Ratchaburi

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Floating market is one of the unique tourist attraction for Thailand. Thailand is covered with wide network of rivers and canals where most of the populations resides. The river and canals are essential for the locals' daily commute as well as food and water source and the floating market has evolved from the vendors who carry goods and food to be sold directly from the boats.

The uniqueness of the floating market has attracted tourists to experience the daily lifestyle of the locals who lived by the canals and soon become a tourist hotspot, this is also where the popular local delicacy i.e. boat noodle is born. Nowadays, many have moved inland to the cities and the floating market has lost it's authenticity as a market to the locals and more to cater for tourism.

Among many floating markets around Thailand, the one in Damnoen Saduak is the most popular one which is opened daily with huge crowd of tourist. It is located about 100km away from Bangkok and is opened daily. However, do expect very touristy feel of this place but it is the most accessible and one of the better place to grasp what a floating market will feel like. If you are looking for a more local and authentic one, I'm afraid you might need to arrange for your own trip and also to be able to get around by yourself. Most of the floating markets are available in the weekend only. Other popular floating markets includes Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market (nearer to Bangkok - weekend) and Amphawa Floating Market (weekend).

Tourist scams:
One major precaution of Damnoen Saduak Floating Market or any other popular Thai tourist spot will be the number of tourist scams. Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is well known for taxi and boat scams where exorbitant fares will be charged on tourists. As most of the tours departs from Victory Monument terminal, even if you are able to negotiate for a fair price, the taxi or van will bring you to Damnoen Saduak but drop you at a village further away from the market, which you will then be given the choice to either take the very expensive longtail boat (feedback collected maybe up to 3000 Baht per person or per boat, depending on season) to the market or to go by foot (10 to 15 minutes walk). Many tourists will opt for the boat and try to negotiate the price since they don't have other options, it is much depending on the season whether it is a peak or non-peak season. So, beware of all the scams.

How to avoid being a victim? Pre-book your tour via reputable tour agency prior to your travel or ask your hotel reception to assist in booking. Usually reputable hotels will be able to secure a legit tour as they will not want to risk their hotel's reputation on dodgy ones, unless, you are staying in a dodgy hotel to begin with. Alternatively, if you have no choice but to book your tour at Victory Monument, try not to fall for cheap tour hagglers around. Be reminded, cheap tour is never cheap.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi, Thailand
Nearest BTS Stations: Nil
Telephone: N/A
Opening Hours: 09:00am until noon

TO GO


Majority of the tour departs from Victory Monument terminal. If you decided to take the tour from Victory Monument, then you need to take a cab or BTS very early in the morning to Victory Monument and you will notice many tour agencies around. Most tours departs between 7am until 8am, so be sure you are there early to secure a seat during peak season or prebook your tour.

Alternatively, if you have prebook the tour or booked via your hotel, the tour van will usually pick you up directly from your hotel lobby (major hotels). This saves time, hassle and money.



ATTRACTION


I booked my tour via my hotel (thank God!) for 900 Baht per person the day before and the van came to pick me up from the hotel lobby. The driver took everyone to a meet up point at the tour agency's office at Kao Shan Road before everyone is separated into respective tours. 


The journey from Bangkok to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market took us about 1 hour and finally we arrived at the floating market directly, instead of stopping us at some unknown area to slaughter us for more money. There are just a few boats, passenger boats to be exact around during my arrival and the sun is high up.


The market is not crowded as I initially expected, probably due to weekdays, the water is murky green. From here, you can choose to talk along the river bank or hire a boat to bring you around. It cost 160 Baht per person for a normal passenger boat. Chartered boat is much more expensive.


Most of the boat vendors gather nearby the bridge. carrying goods like fruits and souvenirs. Passenger boats mooring in between the vendors by both sides of the river bank.


If you show interest to buy, they will approach you and hand you over the goods. If you are too far away, they even have special made baskets attached to a long stick to collect and to hand over the goods.


There are also vendor who sells dried stock like dried shrimps and seafood but I wonder who will be her target market since tourist don't usually buy these stuff.


Fruit vendor offering fresh mango to curious tourist on a passenger boat.


If you are hungry, just order from the boat noodle vendors and enjoy your meal by the river bank on colourful stools. Such a cute and warm scene to see everyone in the family sitting in a row, having their meal.


The bridge and the marketplace is where both onshore vendors and onboat vendors gather.


Fruits (and vegetables) from local farms are the major product at the floating market. Street food and other staple food are also available but mainly cater for tourists. 


The colourful fruits offers a very good photo spot for photography enthusiasts. One not only captures the colours, but also the life of a boat vendor, making a living on these narrow canals.  


Clothings are souvenirs are mostly available at onshore markets but be reminded the price is at a higher side as the market now mainly caters for tourists instead of locals. Generally the same item sold here is 30% to 50% higher.


I'm hungry and it's time to eat. The ‎Damnoen Saduak Floating Market has a few options for food where you can choose to eat at the stalls nearby the market place, or, to experience it like the locals, just order off from the boat vendors. I found this noodle stall at the side of the bridge where they are a few locals having their breakfast.


I ordered a pork noodle with rice vermicelli in red soup. I believed the red colour came from bean paste instead of chili paste because the soup has sweet hint instead of spicy. The clear broth makes the bowl of noodle very enjoyable and not as bad as I thought.


Another variant of the boat noodle with thicker broth and hint of herbs. Unable to ask for more information because the vendor can't communicate in English. 


Saw a grandma vendor passing by in front of me so I decided to get one of her mango for dessert. The mango costs me 60 Baht if not mistaken, quite pricey but expected. The mango looks very inviting from the vibrant colours but it is full of fiber although very sweet.


The people here live a simple and humble life, unlike city people like us who are busy everyday.


"Hey, don't forget to wefie!"


My tour actually includes a 30 minute boat ride around the village, which is a bonus. The boat ride brings us around the perimeter of the village, passing by houses and orchards of the locals.


People on land have garages for their cars while the villagers here have docks for their boats.


The villagers here are used to the presence of tourists and are generally quite friendly. An old man waves his hands to us when we said hello from afar. The 30 minute boat ride ends and we are disembark at the other side of the village instead of our departure point. Some tourists continue their second tour thereafter but that's the end for my tour. The journey back to Bangkok city took another hour.

SUMMARY


Visiting the floating market gives you an idea on the daily life of the locals. Notwithstanding that the market is now commercialized to cater for tourists, it still gives you an unique experience on how the people did it in the past. If you are looking for a more authentic experience, I would suggest you to visit some other lower profile floating market. Just beware of tourist scams around for a pleasant travel experience.

Attraction
☆☆☆☆
depends on how you perceive the floating market, beware of scammers.
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
murky water, dirty environment
Entrance Fee
Free
Opening Hours
09:00am until 12:30pm (Daily)
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Nil
Website
Nil

GPS: 13.519981, 99.958773

farscope

Malaysian lad, engineer by background, banker by profession whom passionate in photography, food and travelling.

1 comment:

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