There are many floating markets scattered throughout Bangkok. Though markets where vendors sold things directly from their boats in the canals was once a daily life activity, nowadays floating markets in Bangkok are mostly used as a way to escape the annoyance of city life and spend a day relaxing.
One of the coolest markets these days is Talad Bang Nam Pheung (ตลาดน้ำบางน้ำผึ้ง), a floating market that sets up on the weekends just south of Bangkok in an area called Phra Pradaeng.
Bang Nam Pheung is a wonderful place to spend the day browsing, shopping and of course, eating as much Thai food as possible.
In the course of the video I’ll take you on a little tour of the market to give you an idea of what to expect when you go.
I stopped to enjoy a delicious bowl of Thai noodles filled with ivy gourd leaves and also samples a dish of rice topped with smoked oven roasted pork. They food was served from a floating boat, but it was more of a permanent setting – but that was alright!
Gac fruit is very popular at the market and a trip to Bang Nam Pheung floating market (ตลาดน้ำบางน้ำผึ้ง) wouldn’t be complete without purchasing a bottle to sample. Big bottles cost 35 THB while small bottles run 20 THB. I thought it was extremely delicious, a refreshing taste of sweet tomato and papaya.
To get to the floating market you can either take a taxi directly there, or you can go the more adventurous route.
Here are further directions – it’s easiest to come this route via Bangkok’s Sukhumvit road.
Take a taxi to Wat Bang Na Nawk (วัดบางนานอก) which is a temple which is located on the river.
Take the the ferry boat across the river – it only goes one place and the cost is just 4 THB.
Get on the back of a motorbike taxi and they will take you straight to the doorstep of the floating market. There will be many others taking motorbikes to the market as well, so there’s no getting lost. Cost is 10 THB per person.
Opening Hours: Saturday and Sunday from 8 am – 2 pm, I showed up at about 11 am.
Time: The market is quite large so plan for about 2 – 4 hours of leisure browsing including lunch.
MUSIC:
This video contains royalty free music by Ludotrope.
The track used in this video is called “Singsiri – Asking for Her Hand in Marriage.” Here is a direct download to the song: http://soundcloud.com/ludotrope/21-singsiri-asking-for-her
All license information can be found here: http://soundcloud.com/terms-of-use and here http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
I used this song royalty free under the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0. The video includes attribution to the producer of the music.