On the to-do list for many visitors to Thailand is a trip to the floating market.  But the challenge is finding one that is reasonably authentic and is reasonably nearby.  All the pictures you see of floating markets in your Lonely Planet guide are of Damnoen Saduak in Ratchaburi province.  This is a strictly-for-tourists operation and isn’t particularly worth it.

There is also a nighttime floating market that operates Friday-Sunday at Amphawa in Samut Songkram province.  This is geared towards Thais and is great fun, but requires you to drive ninety minutes each way, which is a drag.

Closer to home there is the Bang Nam Phung market in Phra Pradaeng.  That’s weekends only and has a nice selection of food, but there’s nothing floating about it.  Still, you have to take a ferry across the river to reach it, so there’s at least some nautical action along the way.

A fourth market, Taling Chan, is one I’ve heard about before but assumed it was very touristy and had never sought it out.  Finally, this weekend I had the opportunity as Otto and Han were in town from Singapore with their friend Dixon in tow, all at the same time as Pong from Kuala Lumpur.

After meeting them all for dinner on Friday evening at a local place near the Lumpini police station, Pong and Dixon decided that they were game for some sightseeing.  I met them at Saladaeng BTS station on Saturday morning and we headed to the end of the line at Saphan Taksin.  Instead of fighting with the touts, I stopped at the travel desk inside the station and negotiated a 2-hour canal tour for the three of us with a stop at the floating market for 2000 baht – about $20 per person.

Above: Long-tail boats floating on the Chao Phraya River.

We headed up the river for about about twenty minutes, passing all the fancy hotels (Oriental, Peninsula, Shangri-La, Sheraton, Hilton), until we reached the area of the Grand Palace.  Across from Tammasart University, the “UC Berkeley” of Thailand, we turned into Khlong Bangkok Noi – “Bangkok little canal” and headed west.

About ten minutes along the river we came to the Taling Chan floating market.  This is a combination of a land market and then a series of covered, floating platforms with seating areas in the middle of each.  Boat-borne vendors are moored alongside and you can order your food from them.

The crowd was mostly Thai, although I did see several other tour groups stop.  Our guide took the easy way out and left us to our own devices for a half-hour.  Perhaps if I had not made the effort to speak Thai with him, he’d have done his work.

Above, Dixon and Pong seated at the floating market.  The vendors are just over the side on the water.

We ate all sorts of nice things.  I didn’t take pictures of them all, but here is a selection:

From left to right: gwuitiaw moo – mixed pork over rice noodles; satay gai – chicken grilled with coconut milk and served with peanut dipping sauce; gung ob wun sen – Baked shrimp with vermicelli noodles, normally served in a clay pot but here on a banana leaf.

Dessert – khanom buang.  A Thai taco with a crispy shell, a meringue-like paste (not from egg whites, though) and either shredded sweet pork or shredded egg yolks cooked in palm sugar syrup. 

Across from the market some children played in the water.  The canal is surprisingly clean, more so than the Saen Saeb canal.

Back on the boat, Pong poses for a picture.

We had a nice ride back, enjoying the breeze and continuing through the canals until we came back to the river about halfway downriver from where we turned into the first canal.  Even on a hot day, the temperatures are cooler when you’re on the water.

Above: a picture of the Thai Navy headquarters and, on the right, Wat Arun – the Temple of Dawn.

Since we started so early, we were back at the Taksin pier before 11:00, plenty of time left in the day for other things.  I’m glad I took a chance on the Taling Chan market, though.  Well worth another visit.