If you choose Thailand as your travel destination and start sightseeing, you will most definitely be amazed at its culture. The Grand Palace, the Emerald Buddha — everything seems extremely beautiful and precious. All of them are great travel ideas.
But at the same time you should remember that you’re only a tourist, and if you really want to see things that are peculiar to that country and its people, go to places where you can see the country “from inside.”
The Floating Markets are among the most interesting trip destinations in Thailand. These markets are called floating, because they are on water. They consist of many canals along which hundreds of boats travel daily and sell the goods they carry. You can buy almost anything, from fresh tropical fruits to local cuisine made on floating kitchens. There are so many boats in a canal, that sometimes the water is not even visible.
If you want to visit a true Thai market, there are four trip destinations for you: the Taling Chan Market, the Tha Kha Market, the Bang Ku Wiang Market and, probably the most popular one, the Damnoen Saduak Market.
Two of these markets (the Kha Floating and the Taling Chan Floating Market) work only on weekends. The other two (the Bang Khu Wiang Floating and the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market) are open both for tourists and locals every day.
If your travel destination is the Kha Floating Market, check the lunar calendar as its working days are always in accordance with the calendar. From the everyday floating markets, the Bang Khu Wiang is the best traditional one, since it’s not crowded with tourists.
Damnoen Saduak Market is the most popular place for tourists. There are special tourist trips available through the market canals, which are very complicated and full of flat boats. I recommend you to take this trip, as it is guaranteed to be a very noisy, colorful and memorable experience. Also, keep in mind to set out to the market early in the morning.
In addition, don’t forget to buy something from whichever market you choose as a travel destination. You can keep it as a memory and when someone asks where did you get that item, your reply will sound cool and interesting: “I got this at a floating market.”