“Do you want to go to the most dangerous market in Thailand?”
When I heard this I quickly responded.
“No!! I don’t want to risk my life and die to see a dangerous market! Though very tempting. Lets just go to the normal ones...maybe only a little dangerous”
That was how my day started. I was out venturing with my buddy Josh who was showing me around the country. He spends half of each year in Thailand and picked up the language which was pretty awesome, because it was like having a guide that drinks with you. I didn’t have any itinerary so I was pretty much going anywhere that was recommended, following like a cat and just soaking it in. It was very serendipitous, eating random street food and making plans day by day as we moved along.
My local friend Sid offered to scoop us up and take us to see one of Thailand’s famous floating markets. He knew that was on my list. To fill out the schedule a little more he planned to take us to get some lunch and the most “dangerous market.”
We went to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market which is the most popular one near Bangkok. Though it is catered to tourist and not the most authentic, it does gives you a classic floating market experience. The market was a few hours drive south of Bangkok so it would be difficult to see without being on a tour or having a car. Sid negotiated a small boat for us to float around through the market. It was really fun he was constantly buying interesting fruit and food for us to try. One was particularly sour, so sour that after biting into its our face would scrunch up from the tartness but he seemed to really enjoy it. Floating down I saw so many little knick knacks that I wanted to buy but I restrained myself. Nothing better to stop you from buying things you don’t need than thinking about carrying it for 6 months. Every little souvenir I bought had to really be thought out and weighed for its importance. One of the yummiest things we had to eat was the young coconut ice cream. So delicious, if you’re ever in Thailand be sure to buy some.
Next it was time for the most dangerous market Maeklong Railway Market. I was really apprehensive about coming here when I heard that title, but Sid made me feel better and explained that it wasn’t dangerous as in violent, but dangerous because it was located right on top of an operating railroad track. Every hour a train would pass by and the shop keepers would have to close up their awnings and move their wares inward to make space for the train. Contrary to what I thought, the train actually passes by very slowly so there’s plenty of time to get out of the way. This market existed since before the train tracks were built and is now still used as a place for the locals to purchase their produce. Because of the novelty it has become quite the tourist attraction but still serves its original purpose.
I’m so glad Sid took us around otherwise I don’t think I would have ever seen the two markets. After all that suspense we were famished. We went to fill our bellies at a local seafood restaurant . To end they day Josh took me to one of his favorite spots in Chinatown. A very cool hidden restaurant deep in a tiny alleyway with amazing views of the water called Samsara Bar. We sat there, watched the boats sail by, talked about life as the sun slowly dipped behind the skyline. Perfect way to end an eventful day.
Thanks for coming along!
See you on part 4 of the travel journey!
Xoxo SteemIt - Lilan
For more travel stories and photography follow
@Lalilands
Instagram:Lalilands
Pt 1- Follow Your Heart
Pt 2- A Contrast in Realities
Click here to see a video of my trip
Come Along -Philippines Video
You might like
Chichen Itza - Sacrifices galore
Falling in love with Central Park
Congratulations! This post has been chosen as one of the daily Whistle Stops for The STEEM Engine!
You can see your post's place along the track here: The Daily Whistle Stops, Issue #21 (1/19/18)
The STEEM Engine is an initiative dedicated to promoting meaningful engagement across Steemit. Find out more about us and join us today!
Omg so awesomeeeee!!!! So glad I'm part of steemengine 😊❤️
Heya, just swinging by to let you know you're being featured in our Daily Travel Digest!
Can you believe that I missed both these places when I was traveling in Thailand, well, now I know where to go next time I'm there, haha!
You may know that I am also part of @ocd, and I would love to nominate you there! Just let me know here if you accept that nomination!
Omg yes thank you so much! Yea I definitely wouldn't have known about it if it wasn't for my friend, such a unique place. I would love to me nominated for OCD ! Thank you!
You are welcome, I have nominated you for the next edition, so be on the look out for it!
OCD is a great curation digest @lalilands. Look forward to some great rewards on this post!
Thanks @donnymurph !! I'm thankful for such supportive communities on SteemIt ! 😊
That railway is impressive as well as it should be very dangerous Thank for posting!
Hahah I thought it would be too but it's not that bad! I feel bad for the store owners having to move things every hour though. Thanks for reading !
You're very welcome . Regarding your interesting post ... well... yes I mean dangerous for the store owners :)
Hahah @philfreetravel indeed indeed 😊
WOW! That train market is fascinating! I would love to visit Thailand some day and I hope we can find a great local guide to take us to places like this. What an amazing post/story you have! Thank you for sharing :)
Thanks for reading @byn ! Yes visit Thailand I highly recommend it. So easy to get around and the foood omg the street food!! I'm drooling already 😋
I imagine we will someday in the not too distant future. We've had some travel adventures already and Thailand is high on our list! Knowing my husband, though, he'll want to sail there. :(
Sail there !? How awesome is that! I wonder how long that would take. What and adventure !
It would take way too long for my taste! We spent almost 2 years on a sailboat along the East coast of the US, through the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and the Dominican Republic before settling back on land. My husband and son are ready to go again, but I'm not so sure! :) It is an adventure that I highly recommend for the adventuresome sort to try, though. It was amazing!
What an amazingly awesome adventure! Thanks so much for "bringing us along" on your journey - it's wicked cool that you had someone like Sid (ha! Our cat is also named Sid - LOL!) to bring you to the places tourists don't know about. And that dangerous train market is wild! Nicely done, @lalilands!
Thanks @traciyork !! I'm really glad Sid showed me around. Can't believe your cat is named Sid too who knows there might be an adventure if you follow him! Lol !
Yep, it's short for Obsidian (yes, he's a black cat - LOL), and he is definitely full of adventure! And you're very welcome!
Ooo!!! That's very cool! I love it. Has a mysterious meaning behind it
Thailand looks like it has some of the most interesting markets in the world.
I would very much like to visit them one day.
If only I had friends like Josh and Sid...
Definitly come visit Thailand !!! The people are very friendly, food is good and scenery is beautiful. Totally easy to navigate and get around. I'm sure you'll make friends during your trip !
That railway through the market is crazy!
Also, would you mind adding this to steemit worldmap? This post would be awesome.
Of course! Would love to! hahah Yea it's pretty cool that they still use it regardless that a railway is there. Ended up working out for the best, now they have tons of tourists =)
Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=lalilands
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=come-along-3-the-most-dangerous-market-in-thailand
Want to have your post on the map too?
Love the railway market, even though it is like 5 minutes of excitement and then every tourist leaves. Some traders get business, but most tourists are there for the snaps. Also, Amphawa Floating market is pretty especially at night!
I'm glad you saw it !!!! I think it's really cool that it's still around at least it's getting some notoriety now. Hopefully that won't change the origina purpose too much. Ooo wish I saw amphawa floating market at night. Thanks for telling me! 😊
Unbelievable ......this is my first time of seeing a market on a floating water.
This is astonishing. By the way thanks for sharing. @lalilands.
Thanks for reading @emmanuelachamp it's a famous market near Bangkok! You must check it out whenever youre there !
This post is sponsored by @appreciator in collaboration with #steemitbloggers. Keep up the good work
Omg thank you guys !! Loving @steemitbloggers ❤️
Wow! I will put that on my bucket list of places to visit. Thanks for sharing your travels with us!
Yes definitly stop by there if you're in Bangkok! Its much cheaper to buy things there than other markets. It's so unique! Thanks for popping by my page and reading! ❤️
Great photos. It looks like it was a really fun adventure!
Thank you !! It was a suspenseful one hahah. I love Thailand especially chiang Mai you gotta check it out
Nice you were mentioned by Appriciator, really lke this post! keep them coming
Thank you! I'm really thankful for the feature. So glad you decided to stop by and read my post. See you again in PT 4 😊 !
Railroad track market that is pretty intense. Looks like a very interesting tourist spot. I see those tourist out with their smartphones getting ready to take a snap.
Hahah right !? Everything now a days is to share on social media. But it has given the shop keepers more foot traffic.
Nice experiences. I have always wanted to do the floating market. I almost added Thailand to my Vietnam trip last year but just didn’t have time. I wonder what the tart fruit was...we tried a lot of weird fruit on Vietnam. The weirdest was probably milk apple.
Ohhh how was Vietnam!?? That's my home country !!!! The tart fruit looked like a mini green guava. I've never tried a milk apple before got to remember to try some when I come to visit
Vietnam was awesome. I liked the durian too. Halong bay was beautiful. The people were very friendly. It was a nice two weeks. We started in HCM and worked our way north to Hanoi. My favorite place was Hoi An.
Hahah I'm glad you were able to acquire a taste for durian. Sounds like a nice path you had. Hoi An is my favorite as well. It's so quaint!
You know the idea of visiting Thailand has never appealed to me because it's just so overrun with tourists, but after reading this post, now I want to go and check out that railway market!
It is definitly overrun with tourists but has its charm. If you want to check out something still authentic I highly recommend Myanmar !!!
Authenticity is definitely the name of the game for me!
Whoa! How freakin' cool! Floating market and train track market, those are new to me. These are on my bucket list now. Very interesting. Fantastic photos, thank you for taking us along on your little tour. Your friend did a good job making things happen. The dinner spot is superb. Reminds me of restaurant balcony sunset views here at home. Beautiful. Cheers to an eventful day!
I'm glad you got new things to add to your bucket list! So many amazing places to explore in the world now I'm glad it's much easier now than before to find these hidden gems. 🙌 My friends are so sweet very thankful they decided to show me around. Hope you get a chance to visit Thailand soon!
Me too! Yes, so many places to see in the world. I need to get started, 😂.
I once saw a documentary on the railroad market. It's so fascinating, I've not seen anything like that before. And it was good to see your post today make mention of it.
I enjoyed your post, felt like I was there at those markets also, with all those great photos.
There's a documentary on it !?? So awesome I'll need to look it up. Yea I love the preserverence of the people. Regardless what changes are made they'll still continue with life the same. Thanks for telling me!
Great post.
I'd love to visit the market on the tracks at least once. I had heard about it before, but completely forgot about it.
Yea I don't see it mentioned on any tours ! I'm glad my buddy took me there or I would have missed out on this experience. Were you visiting Thailand in the past ?
No, I saw it on a documentary. :)
didnt seem that dangerous. in fact from the photos it looked so welcoming and it also seem like you had an awfully good time there.
Haha yes it definitly wasn't that dangerous. The train came by pretty slow and there were even tourist riding on it snapping pictures of the journey !
I’m surprised that I’d never heard of this market before. I’m probably going to take my family to Thailand for three months, soon. We’ll have to check it out.
Omg yesss have fun!!! Check out Chiang Mai I highly recommend and do a jungle sanctuary I'm sure the kids will have fun!
I've heard and seen so much about Maeklong Railway Market on media , youtube ,magazine and always find it very fascinating! But everytime i m in thailand i always missed it . Hopefully i will make it there next round .
Yes definitly!!! It's a little hard to get too but super unique. I'm sure Thailand is a place you'll come to time and time again. Hopefully you'll get a chance to go!