I have been telling you about my recent trip on the Maeklong Railway in Thailand where my first stop was Samut Sakhon (otherwise known as Mahachai). This city has one of the biggest fish markets in the country and I enjoyed myself looking around and also going on a boat trip on the river. The railway line from Bangkok opened to the public in 1905. Along its 31 km length there are 18 stations, though we didn’t stop at all of them. There has been talk of discontinuing this service but I don’t think they will do so. There were four carriages and some people had to stand up for the journey. train started to slow down (not long after passing under the main highway from Bangkok) and people rushed to the windows on the lefthandside. I couldn’t see what was going on at first. Then someone tossed out a bag of cucumbers. Then about 30 monkeys ran towards the train. I have never seen so many monkeys in one place. That was fun. After we had watched them for a while, the train continued on its journey back to Mahachai. At the terminal station, we followed everyone to the front of the train and walked the short distance to the river to a different pier. I guess this was a special boat put on for people from our train. As the trip was slightly longer it cost 5 baht instead of 2 baht.

I was telling you the other day about our trip to Amphawa Floating Market.  Unlike other markets, this one took place in the afternoon. When we first arrived, we explored both banks of the canal on foot. I told you about this before. By the time we got back to the pedestrian bridge it was nearly half past four and the crowds had started to build up. We could see quite a few people climbing into boats that they had rented. We went to take a closer look and we were then soon approached by a man who asked if we wanted to rent a boat. I asked how much and he said 400 baht per boat (about $10). Looking down I could see a flat bottomed boat with no seats which reminded me of my uncomfortable ride on the lake in Sangkhlaburi. But he saw my look of dismay and quickly said “No, no, your boat is the big one over there!” And it was certainly big. In fact, big enough for 16 people! He then said he had two Thai people already and it would therefore only cost us 100 baht each. We agreed. Why not? It sounded like fun. And it was.

At the weekend, I drove down to Samut Songkhram to visit the King Rama II Memorial Park Fair. But, I also wanted to take this opportunity to visit the nearby Amphawa Floating Market. Unlike the famous one at Damnoen Saduak, this one doesn’t start to get going until the late afternoon. Very good news for late risers. It also means you can visit the nearby park first before finishing your day with a meal at the floating market. I am not going to pretend that Amphawan Floating Market is more photogenic than Damnoen Saduak. That isn’t true. You won’t see as many boat vendors here which means you will get a different kind of photograph. So, by all means, still go to Damnoen Saduak for your photo opportunity. But, if you have the time, also come to this floating market for the atmosphere which is so much better. It is also more authentic as you won’t find the rows and rows of stalls selling the same tacky souvenirs. The best thing about Amphawa Floating Market is that it is still relatively unknown among Western tourists as it isn’t featured in Lonely Planet yet. There must have been a thousand people there, but I didn’t spot one European face. This is where the Thai tourists come to experience a floating market.

During February of every year, a fair is held at the King Rama II Memorial Park in Amphoe Amphawan, Samut Songkhram. This is to celebrate the life and work of the poet king who reigned from 1809–1824. King Buddhalertla was an artist, composer and writer and was born in 1809 in Amphoe Amphawa. During his reign, a kind of renaissance took place in Thai arts and culture. The park was built here in order to honour his memory. In the grounds, you can find a traditional Thai style house, a large lawn and a botanical garden that has a copy of every plant that has ever been mentioned in Thai literature.