As the floating market is a well-known attraction that we had missed when previously in Bangkok, we made sure to visit it before heading south to the Thai Islands. About one hour south of the capital, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, the landscape consists of hundreds of small canals that eventually lead into the sea. As predictable, these small canals are the most common and convenient way to move around being it for recreational or commercial purposes.

The floating market used to be the local people’s manner of selling fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, rice, clothing, gadgets, and anything you could imagine! Monday and Friday are the two busiest days when the market offers a genuine blend. Little boats converted into “shops” invade the canals selling their goods which are perfectly displayed. They literally “do it all” on their boats, including the preparation of any dish you wish (boiled, steamed, fried…). There’s no such thing as lack of space for them. The result is a canal full of different colors, textures and delicious smells.

On the other days of the week, the market has become a very touristic location where many tour boats seem to have partially replaced the goods that used to be carried on them. We unfortunately were not there on Monday nor Friday (we only found out once there). However, we still very much enjoyed visiting the market, which truly gave us a good idea of how locals shop -or used to shop- in this part of the country. We even had the chance to try the delicious food on some of the boats, especially a very nice noodle soup that a lovely old lady cooked for us.

After making this brief pit-stop, we headed South to the Andean Sea, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta were the next destinations waiting for us.