Monday, January 25, 2010

Dumnoen: A peculiar market place in the outskirt of Bangkok

January 16, 2010

Dumnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi Province, Thailand
Dumnoen Saduak Floating Market

Wakey! wakey! It’s a 7.00 start and by some miracle we are in the guesthouse restaurant by 6:30 for breakfast. Imagine the long walks we did, aching feet and sleepy heads. We woke up that early. Amazing! hehehe. Mr. San arrived at 8am for our last tour, which is the floating market. It’s a pretty long drive to the floating market but worth it. We took a trip in a paddleboat around the market, which is lots of fun and provides great opportunities for pictures. We later took a walk along the bank (avoiding unwarranted attention from a rather friendly young elephant).

Exploring the waterways is the best way to get close and experience the real culture of the infamous floating market. It is definitely worth hiring a paddleboat at the floating market rather than just walking at the side of the canal - you gain a much better experience of the market and get a chance to stop the boat at the stall of your choice and do some bargaining. (The maximum to pay for a boat is 150 baht, not 1000 baht, as some try to charge). Travel agencies charge a maximum of 350 baht for transport and can also arrange the boat. A hat would have been useful, as one is in the open on the boat.























Getting there by bus :
Take Bus No. 78 from the Southern Bus Terminal ~ air-conditioned bus, more comfortable :p
Each trip costs 64 Baht. 
By Train: from Hua Lamphong Railway station and Bangkok Noi station.
By Taxi: renting a taxi is quite expensive but more relaxing and you can always tell the driver to stop whenever you want to eat those delightful street foods along the way ^_^.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Translate Me