Bangnamphung Floating Market

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in Thailand Travel Guide Tags: Bangnamphung Floating Market, Floating Market, Samut Prakan

Bangnamphung Floating Market

source: www.thai-blogs.com

you can see clearer what I meant about the loop in the river. That is a big diversion for ships heading to Bangkok. I told you before that the only way for me to take my car to the other side of the river is to go to the car ferry which I have marked on this map. To cross the river by bridge, I have to follow the bend of the river to the King Rama IX bridge which is just off the map in the top left hand corner. You can see the green road which takes traffic across the river. The yellow line is the boundary for Samut Prakan. North of the river is Bangkok. As they are now building a new canal alongside the bridge the land inside the loop has become a virtual island. This is where I went exploring on Sunday. You won’t find this area in the Lonely Planet.

Bangnamphung Floating Market Map

As it turned out it was quite easy to find the floating market as there were a number of bilingual signs along the way. I parked my car in Bangnamphungnai Temple and followed the crowd to what looked like a newly constructed canal. Or at least one where the banks had been recently reinforced with concrete slabs. I am not sure what I was expecting. I suppose I was thinking it would be a bit like the famous floating market at Damnoen Saduak. I thought there would be dozens of vendors paddling up and down the canal selling their produce to locals and tourists. Well, it wasn’t quite like that. Most of the vendors were on the river bank or were selling from boats which were firmly moored. The only people I saw on boats were some tourists who had rented them out.

There were the usual number of food stalls which was to be expected. But, there was also many OTOP stalls. If you don’t know, this stands for One Tambon One Product. It is a scheme started by Thaksin to encourage each district in the country to produce and sell at least one unique product. This alone made the trip worthwhile. It was interesting to see and buy some local products. There must have been over 100 stalls which provided quite a nice atmosphere. In addition to hiring boats, it looked like you could also hire bicycles. I walked along the canal for a while until the path stopped alongside a road about a ten minute walk away.

I think this is a place I would certainly come back to. The floating market is open every weekend between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. I came a bit late this time so if I bring some visitors next time I will try to go earlier in the morning. A nice touch for me was that there were no foreigners at all. Obviously it isn’t in any English guidebooks yet as it has been open less than a year.