thailand: damnoen saduak floating market
in 1868, king rama iv ordered construction of a 32km canal to connect the mae khlong (we shall revisit this one eventually) and tha chin rivers. it was the damnoen saduak canal. this was to help the farmers get their produce to market, but eventually it actually became the market.
its difficult to describe the craziness of the floating market. some shops are on the shore, some customers are on the shore, some shops are in boats, and some customers are in boats. there is shouting, smells, a profusion of color and all kinds of wares available (though tending toward the touristy.)
when the boats get stuck together (frequently!), the always pleasant thai don't fuss, they just grab the other guys boat and use it as leverage to pull themselves through.
this old guy was selling raw meat to the shopkeepers. the lady below had her little grill in the boat and was offering delicious charcoal grilled meat. street food even on the canal!!
historically, river markets were an important part of the life of regular thais but over time this has reduced and most remaining river markets are maintained more for tourism. personally i think its a good thing, because it is a fascinating part of the culture here and its great to be able to get a taste of it in a small way.
and of course - thai soup. just saying that makes me start drooling a bit at the thought of these spicy, sweet, sour soups that just turn everything up to 10 and somehow end up being addictive. we took the bowls and spoons and everything and took off. karina and narit assured us that eventually the boat owner would return them to the shop we bought them from.
incidentally the damnoen sadoak river market has featured before in a james bond movie - the man with the golden gun in 1984. mr. bond steals one of these very same long tail boats and zips away from the bad guys. its a good thing i only discovered this after i went, or i would have done my best to replicate this scene.
all in all, this is an experience that is totally worth it, if you ever happen to be in thailand, take the time to visit the floating market. and don't forget to get some soup.
