Floating Market

Saturday I went to the Ampawa floating market. I know I said I was over the whole school field trip thing, but when the school announced they were taking a trip to the floating market, I couldn't pass it up. I have wanted to go to the market since I got here, but it is surprisingly difficult to get to from Bangkok.  I decided it would be easier to have a bus drive me directly there, even if it meant suffering through another bus ride with the students.

On the way to the market we stopped at the “Siam Cultural Park”. It was actually a really pretty park with lots of trees and vegetation. They had a museum, Buddha statues from various time periods, and a few old Thai style houses that you could walk through. We had a tour guide, but of course it was in Thai and I couldn’t understand anything they were saying. At one point in the museum they had these wax statues depicting the life of a man who was apparently famous and important to the history of Thailand. I asked one of my teachers to translate what the tour guide was saying. The translation went something like this:

“This man had many wife”

“He ask Buddha for help”

“Buddha give him the last children”

“He eat too much”

“Stomach blow up”

Needless to say, I have no idea who this man was, why he was famous, or even why his stomach blew up. Bad Karma? 

The floating market was pretty cool but not what I was expecting. I have seen so many colorful pictures of the floating markets but it didn’t really look anything like those pictures. The coolest part about the market is the food vendors. They actually cook the food on the boat and you sit on the steps at the edge of the water to eat. Other than that, I found it to be crowded and touristy. I did find a few neat souvenirs that I haven’t seen anywhere else.  Overall I am glad that I went.