Thailand: Bangkok – Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

My favourite part of our time in Bangkok was actually a day trip we took outside of Bangkok. We drove out into the surrounding areas in order to go visit the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, about 90k (56 miles) from Bangkok.

En route, we stopped to visit a salt field. Salt can only be harvested when the climate is dry, so the workers “make hay while the sun shines”:

We went to the floating market by boat — we traveled down the waterways and saw where the locals live:

And the temples on the riverbanks:

And once we arrived at the floating market, we saw how vendors sell anything and everything, from boats and from stalls.  The vendors on boats mainly sold food and produce:

Can you imagine deep-frying on a moving boat?

And the stalls had everything from spices and herbs:

To fresh fruits and veggies (Nicole – here are some mangosteens for you, as requested!):

To hand-carved soap flowers that look just like the real lotus blossoms we saw at the temple:

And on the way out I had to snap a photo of the brightly coloured carnage of the hot day:

After the market we needed some nourishment, and stopped at The Rose Garden for a lunch and a show.

The ginormous buffet had a table of vegetarian options (Indian deliciousness):

Through this meal I discovered my new favourite condiment — pickled whole shallots!!!

And the sweets table offered fruit, sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, and caramel custard:

The guava had its own condiment — sugar mixed with crushed chilies — yummm, and also good on the pineapple.

After lunch we gazed upon orchids:

And then we watched a show that demonstrated various aspects of Thai culture: dance, martial arts, music, and a wedding ceremony.

Starring the cutest kids ever:

And of course, an elephant show.  When baby elephants dance with hula hoops, I’m happy.

And on our way home, we stopped at one last beautiful temple — Phra Pathom Chedi — which boasts the tallest stupa in the world. I thought this Buddha statue was particularly lovely:

At the temple you could choose to make an offering to a certain pose of Buddha — each pose corresponds with a day of the week. If you were born on that day of the week, there is a certain Buddha pose which is particularly auspicious for you. For example, if you were born on a Tuesday, your lucky Buddha pose is reclining Buddha.

There were also offerings available to take to the large standing Buddha statue:

A beautiful last day in Bangkok, just before we headed north to Chiang Mai.