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I was telling you the other day about our trip to Amphawa Floating Market .
Unlike other markets, this one took place in the afternoon. When we
first arrived, we explored both banks of the canal on foot. I told you
about this before. By the time we got back to the pedestrian bridge it
was nearly half past four and the crowds had started to build up. We
could see quite a few people climbing into boats that they had rented.
We went to take a closer look and we were then soon approached by a man
who asked if we wanted to rent a boat. I asked how much and he said 400
baht per boat (about $10). Looking down I could see a flat bottomed
boat with no seats which reminded me of my uncomfortable ride on the
lake in Sangkhlaburi.
But he saw my look of dismay and quickly said “No, no, your boat is the
big one over there!” And it was certainly big. In fact, big enough for
16 people! He then said he had two Thai people already and it would
therefore only cost us 100 baht each. We agreed. Why not? It sounded
like fun. And it was.
Our boatman took us out of the canal and onto the
mighty Maeklong River. He then took us in a northerly direction with
the fast setting sun slightly ahead and to the left. We passed the King Rama II Park
and many traditional style houses on both banks. This area isn’t really
built up much and there were plenty of palm trees. It was coming
towards the end of the day and a number people were already climbing
down the steps from their houses to the river. Some were fishing but
many were taking a bath and washing their hair. Although the light was
good for taking pictures, I couldn’t really take anything on the West
bank because of the low sun. It might have been better to have gone on
this boat trip a little earlier. However, the sun would have been hot.
The Thai way of dealing with this is using an umbrella or improvising
with a folded newspaper.
Our first stop on this pleasant journey was Wat Bang
Kung. This is a historically important location because of a battle
between King Taksin’s forces and the invading Burmese. It is also
famous for being featured in the “Unseen Thailand” guidebooks. In the
temple grounds there is a small chapel that is completely enclosed
within the roots of a banyan tree. It is almost like the tree itself is
the pillars of the temple and that without the roots the chapel would
fall down. I took the above photograph from one of the windows near the
back. You can also go inside to pay respect to the Buddha image. In the
grounds of the temple is also a statue for King Taksin (no he is not
related to Prime Minister Thaksin – their names are not even pronounced
the same). There are also life-size models of Muay Thai fighters in
different poses.
Our boatman/guide then took us back to our boat. Before
getting in, we fed some of the massive fishes in the river. For some
reason, Thai people like doing this kind of thing. I have already made
a mental note that when I get around to creating a tourist attraction,
I will make sure that there is a pond so that Thai people can pay to
feed my fish! Back on the boat, we turned around and headed back,
though this time along the West bank. A short distance away we stopped
at another temple. This one was called Wat Bangkae Noi. This one was
very crowded as there was a big event going on. In the main chapel we
found quite a breathtaking view. The walls and ceiling had some amazing
teakwood carvings. These depicted the life and teachings of the Lord
Buddha.
After this we headed back to our starting point at the
Amphawan Floating Market. By this time our boatman was rushing us a bit
as he was keen to get back. In the early evening they do another boat
tour to view the fireflys which apparently is very beautiful. For this
he can get more money as they charge 600 baht per boat. So, we could
understand his rush. But, it was OK. The boat ride lasted about 90
minutes which was about perfect. We wouldn’t want to be on the boat any
longer than that. As we arrived back at the floating market we were
really shocked about the number of people. The pedestrian bridge and
both sides of the canal were jam packed with Thai tourists. I am glad
we had done our exploring earlier in the day.
I will certainly come here again and I strongly
recommend for you to visit too. I think next time I will come earlier
so that I can do more exploring. There certainly seems to be a lot to
see in this small province of Samut Songkhram. Certainly there are
hundreds of canals to explore and also to visit the local farming
communities. There are also other floating markets here to be
discovered.
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